• The millennial generation generally includes people born between 1981 and 1996.
• Through their sheer size, they've affected industries such as fast food, fast fashion, and higher education.
• They parent differently from their parents — and run their lives differently, too.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Millennials are getting older — but they're still nothing like their parents.

The Pew Research Center defines this generation as people born between 1981 and 1996, meaning the last millennials graduated college this spring.

Millennials are now full-fledged adults — but they marry later, have more student loan debt, and delay homebuying.

Below, we rounded up some more ways millennials do things differently than their parents. Read on to find out how this much-maligned generation is changing life as we know it.

SEE ALSO: 13 simple ways to get better at small talk

Instead of preparing meals, millennials are more likely to order takeout.

The food industry is responding to major shifts in the way young people eat.

Business Insider's Akin Oyedele reported that millennials spent the least amount of time on meal preparation compared to older generations. Instead, they're more likely to eat at restaurants, pick up prepared meals, or order delivery.

Instead of drinking beer, millennials prefer wine and spirits.

Millennials are drinking less alcohol than older generations in general. But when they do drink, they prefer wine and spirits to beer.

Citing Nielsen data, Business Insider's Kate Taylor reported that beer penetration in the US market fell by 1% from 2016 to 2017 while wine and spirits stayed the same. UBS and Goldman Sachs have also found that millennials are less interested than previous generations in beer.

Instead of attending lectures, millennials want to learn online.

It's screens versus lectures.

Business Insider reported on a survey in which 69% of people 18 to 34 years old said they thought they learned more from technology than from people, compared with 50% of respondents older than 45 who said the same.

Instead of keeping their salary secret, millennials may share it with coworkers.

Money is becoming less taboo.

Business Insider previously reported that millennials were more likely than older generations to discuss their salary with coworkers, family, and friends.

One recent survey found that 30% of millennials (defined as ages 18 to 36) said they had discussed their pay with coworkers, compared with just 8% of baby boomers (ages 53 to 71).

Instead of waiting for an annual performance review, millennials crave more frequent feedback.

The annual performance review is slowly disappearing.

IBM, for example, ditched it for a system called Checkpoint, through which feedback is given on at least a quarterly basis. The company also uses an app called ACE to facilitate a more casual, ongoing dialogue among employees.

Experts say these changes reflect a shift in how millennials think about delivering and receiving feedback.

Samantha Klein, a former representative of IBM's Millennial Corps, told Business Insider that millennials "don't want an annual review."

"We don't want to wait until the end of the year to hear about what we've done right or wrong, what we can improve upon," Klein said.

Even generally, millennials are better about talking about their money than their parents were.

Millennials are much more open about money than their parents are, Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower reported.

Nearly half of millennials discuss personal finance with their parents, while just 24% of baby boomers discuss money with their kids. Thirty percent of millennials discuss money with their friends, compared to just 9% of boomers.

Instead of moving in together after getting married, many millennials cohabitate beforehand.

For many young adults today, a key comes before a ring.

One survey found that 72% of millennials believe cohabitation before marriage is a good idea, compared with 63% of baby boomers.

Insider's Kim Renfro reported that some sociologists think there could be a link between declining divorce rates and more people deciding to live together before marriage. Presumably, that's because people have a longer window of time to realize whether they're compatible.

Instead of buying starter homes, millennials are waiting until they can afford bigger houses.

Yes, millennials are interested in buying homes, just like previous generations. But they're renting longer, waiting it out until they can afford the real deal.

On an episode of Business Insider's podcast, "Success! How I Did It," Spencer Rascoff, the CEO of the real-estate website and app Zillow, broke it down for our US editor-in-chief, Alyson Shontell:

"Homebuilders really only build high-end houses now. It's very difficult for a builder to get it to pencil to build a 2,500-square-foot, 2,000-square-foot, 1,500-square-foot starter home, because they can just make so much more money building a 6,000-square-foot-plus home."

As a result, Rascoff said, home prices shoot up, leaving minimal inventory at the middle and low end of the housing market — and causing many millennials to end up renting into their 30s.

Millennials love Netflix.

About 20% more millennials use Netflix to watch TV compared to Gen Xers.

More Gen X viewers watch TV shows produced by television networks, while half of millennials watch Netflix original shows, Business Insider's Carrie Wittmer reported.

Instead of moving into golf communities, rich millennials are joining 'agrihoods.'

That's short for "agricultural neighborhoods."

Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback reported that "agrihoods could become the 21st-century version of those tony golf communities baby boomers flocked to in the 1990s."

Experts say that's because millennials may be more interested than older generations in societal impact — and agrihoods are designed to help them do good for the environment and their community.

Instead of asking friends and family for parenting advice, millennials turn to Google

Paging Dr. Google!

Millennial parents, a group The New York Times labeled"parennials," are less likely to turn to friends and family for advice than older generations. Instead, they search for answers themselves online.

Depending on how you look at it, that can be a good thing in that they're highly informed — or a bad thing in that so much information can be overwhelming.

'Parennials' also use social media to document their kids' lives.

About 4 in 5 millennials admit to posting a picture of their kid online at least once, according to a poll conducted by TIME and Survey Monkey. Half of baby boomers, meanwhile, have never posted a photo of their kids online, as well as 30% of Gen X parents.

Instead of traditional asset classes, millennials are investing in more sophisticated assets.

Many millennials came of age during the 2008 financial crisis. As Oyedele pointed out, they have "memories of traditional asset classes like stocks cratering and retirement savings being wiped out."

That's most likely why, according to a US Trust survey, millennials are more interested in "sophisticated" assets like structured products, venture capital, and private equity.

That way, they can hit their near-term financial goals (think: paying down debt) and invest in companies that do good for society — two common objectives among millennials.

Instead of shopping at department stores, millennials are dressing in so-called fast fashion.

Sayonara, Sears— plus Kmart and Macy's. All three chains are closing stores, Business Insider's Hayley Peterson has reported.

Business Insider's Kate Taylor reported that the closures are partly due to millennials not buying from aspirational, designer brands but from private-label lines and fast-fashion brands like H&M and Zara.

• Companies are scooping up major Hollywood players in deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster their original streaming content.
• Netflix landed "American Horror Story" creator Ryan Murphy in an estimated $300 million deal, while WarnerMedia attracted J.J. Abrams, who will create content for its streaming competitor HBO Max.
• Former HBO CEO Richard Plepler is in talks to join Apple TV Plus, The Wall Street Journal first reported last week, which would give Apple's streaming efforts a big boost.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

From "Friends" (WarnerMedia's HBO Max) to "The Office" (NBCUniversal's Peacock) to "Seinfeld" (Netflix), companies are dropping huge sums of money on valuable assets to boost their streaming efforts.

But as the streaming war accelerates, it's not just nostalgic sitcoms attracting mega deals, but some of Hollywood's most high-profile producers and executives, as well.

The latest potential example is Richard Plepler, the former HBO CEO who is in talks to join Apple TV Plus, multiple outlets reported last week. A deal "could be finalized within the next few weeks," a person with knowledge of the talks told The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the news. 

Apple is a newcomer to original TV and movies, so it will need someone with Plepler's experience if it wants to compete against the likes of Netflix and Disney, which debuted its own service, Disney Plus, last week and gained 10 million sign-ups a day after launching.

Netflix landed superstar producers Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes last year, and WarnerMedia nabbed J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company in September.

"The more crowded field has driven higher demand for content against a more limited supply of production and talent, resulting in cost inflation (particularly for marquee programs and show runners)," analysts at UBS wrote in a report distributed Tuesday.

Here's a rundown of the top mega-deals to happen as the streaming war has intensified:

SEE ALSO: We compared Netflix's top assets to new rivals like Disney Plus and HBO Max as the streaming battle heats up

J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath — HBO Max (WarnerMedia)

What they're known for: Bad Robot is the production company behind recent "Star Trek,""Mission: Impossible," and "Cloverfield" movies for Paramount Pictures

The husband-wife duo of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" director Abrams and McGrath are co-CEOs of the production company Bad Robot.

WarnerMedia, which is launching the streaming service HBO Max next year, landed Abrams and McGrath in September in a five-year deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Variety reported the deal was worth $500 million, while The Hollywood Reporter reported that it was worth "more in the line of $250 million."

Bad Robot will develop movies and TV shows for WarnerMedia, including for HBO Max, but the company said it "will honor existing obligations to Paramount Pictures," where Abrams has produced "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible" movies.

Greg Berlanti — HBO Max (WarnerMedia)

What he's known for: "Arrow,""The Flash,""Supergirl,""Batwoman" (The CW)

Berlanti is best known for executive producing or creating the shows of The CW network's "Arrow-verse," which includes multiple DC superhero series. They will be crossing over this winter in a television event called "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Berlanti signed a contract extension last year through 2024 with Warner Bros. Television worth $400 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Berlanti will produce two other DC shows for Warner Media's HBO Max: "Green Lantern" and "Strange Adventures."

Ryan Murphy — Netflix

What he's known for: "Glee" (Fox), "American Horror Story,""American Crime Story,""Pose" (FX)

Murphy struck a five-year deal with Netflix last year worth as much as $300 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At the Time 100 Summit in April, Murphy said that Netflix had greenlit 10 of his projects, including four TV shows, three movies, and three documentaries.

The first of his Netflix projects, the TV series "The Politician," debuted in September to terrible critic reviews and has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. But it has a more generous audience score of 85%.

Murphy's "Hollywood," a limited series starring Darren Criss, debuts in May. Murphy has called it a "love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown." He's also developing a "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" prequel series starring Sarah Paulson as the villainous Nurse Ratched.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — Netflix

What they're known for: "Game of Thrones" (HBO)

Benioff and Weiss wrapped up HBO's hit fantasy series "Game of Thrones" this year to mixed results. As showrunners, the duo was met with backlash from some fans who were disappointed with the final season. The toxic fandom even pushed them to exit a planned "Star Wars" movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But still, "Game of Thrones" was one of the most successful shows of all time.

The pair struck a multiyear TV and movie deal with Netflix in August worth $200 million, according to THR.

Shonda Rhimes — Netflix

What she's known for: "Grey's Anatomy,""How to Get Away with Murder,""Scandal" (ABC)

Rhimes signed a deal with Netflix last year worth $150 million, according to The New York Times. 

She has plans for eight series for the streaming giant, including one about Anna Sorokin, the "SoHo Grifter," who who scammed banks and businesses throughout the New York social scene for years by claiming to be a wealthy German heiress under the fake name Anna Delvey. She was convicted in May of stealing more than $200,000 and sentenced to four to 12 years in prison.

Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan — Amazon Prime Video

What they're known for: "Westworld" (HBO)

Joy and Nolan created HBO's sci-fi series "Westworld." Nolan has also cowritten some of his brother Christopher Nolan's movies, including "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Interstellar." Joy served as an executive producer and writer on USA Network's "Burn Notice."

The duo signed a five-year deal with Amazon in April worth $150 million, according to Variety. They'll develop original series for Prime Video through their production company Kilter Films, including "The Peripheral," based on William Gibson's 2014 sci-fi mystery novel.

Kenya Barris — Netflix

What he's known for: "Black-ish,""Mixed-ish" (ABC), "Grown-ish" (Freeform)

Barris, who created "Black-ish" and its spinoffs "Mixed-ish" and "Grown-ish," signed a three-year exclusive deal with Netflix last year to produce original series. The deal was worth $100 million but has an option for two more years, according to Variety.

Barris had to exit a contract with ABC that ran through 2021 before departing for Netflix, according to Variety. 

BONUS: Richard Plepler — Apple TV Plus

What he's known for: Former CEO of HBO

Plepler resigned from his role of HBO CEO after AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner (now WarnerMedia). Multiple outlets — including The Wall Street Journal, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter— reported last week that Plepler in talks to join Apple's recently launched streaming service, Apple TV Plus, in an exclusive production deal to develop new original content through his new company RLP & Co.

Plepler, who led HBO through the "Game of Thrones" era, would give a huge boost to Apple's streaming efforts. Apple TV Plus' original shows, which premiered November 1 with the launch of the service, struggled out of the gate with poor critic reviews and lackluster audience demand. Plepler's deal would likely be massive as Apple needs a big win to compete in the streaming war. 

BONUS: Kevin Feige — Disney Plus

What he's known for: Marvel Cinematic Universe

As the president of Marvel Studios, Feige has produced 23 hits in a row. He was recently promoted to chief creative officer of Marvel, in which he'll oversee all aspects of the company's creative vision, from movies to TV to comics.

The MCU is heading to TV on Disney Plus, as Feige will oversee seven TV shows that are currently in development for the streaming service. As Feige's reach grows, TV shows that aren't connected to the MCU are fading. Hulu's "Runaways" will end with its upcoming third season and ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is concluding with its upcoming season seven. 

Disney Plus' MCU TV shows — which include "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,""WandaVision," and "Hawkeye"— will cost"as much as $25 million per episode," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

• Low-level millionaires aren't as rich as you think.
• They may be able to buy penthouses or private school educations, but some things are out of their reach.
• Only the truly wealthy can afford things like superyachts and private jets.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Being a millionaire can only get you so far.

Low-level millionaires might be able to buy a nice penthouse or a private school education, but superyachts and private jets are out of the question. Thanks to an increased cost of living, $1 million, or even a few million, just isn't what it used to be. You have to have millions and millions — or billions and billions — to really buy everything you want.

Even a billion isn't what it used to be. Consider this: When Forbes started keeping track of the richest Americans in 1982, the richest person in the US, Daniel Keith Ludwig, had an estimated net worth of $2 billion. Flash forward 37 years to Forbes' 2019 ranking, and a $2 billion net worth doesn't even land you a spot on the list. That's right: The richest American in 1982 wouldn't even make it onto the list of richest Americans today. Instead, each of the 13 people tied for 400th place has a net worth of $2.1 billion.

Business Insider rounded up five things only the truly wealthy — think multimillionaires and billionaires — can afford, and that are out of reach for mere millionaires.

You may not be able buy these things, but hey, neither can the low-level millionaire.

SEE ALSO: Only 13% of millionaires think they're rich

DON'T MISS: A woman who studied 600 millionaires discovered that most of the superrich have surprisingly affordable homes. Here's what some of those look like.

Superyachts end up costing much more than their multimillion-dollar asking price.

Some older yacht models around 80 feet may sell for six figures, but a superyacht will most likely set one back by at least a few million.

An 84-foot yacht built in 2002 and refitted in 2015, for example, can cost $1.3 million, while a 270-foot yacht built in 2013 can cost $132 million.

But that's just the beginning. From yacht crew salaries and dockage to fuel and maintenance costs, owners can expect to spend about 10% of the purchase price annually on operating and maintaining a yacht. That's $1 million a year for a $10 million superyacht, although specific pricing varies.

So do private jets, thanks to upkeep costs.

Like yachts, private jets also cost much more than their (already high) purchase price. Jeff Bezos' Gulfstream G650ER jet cost an estimated $65 million, and Mark Cuban spent $40 million on a Gulfstream V jet back in 1999, Business Insider's Paige Leskin reported.

But paying for fuel, maintenance, and pilot salaries can total to more than $1 million per year, Chris Battaglia, the director of charter sales at Meridian Aviation at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, previously told Business Insider's Katie Warren. Pilot salaries can add up to $750,000 per year and hangar fees can run around $200,000 per year.

"Having an airplane is not for millionaires," Battaglia said. "It's for guys worth $50, $60, $100 million."

Buying a professional sports team can cost billions.

In 2014, Steve Ballmer paid $2 billion for the Los Angeles Clippers, nearly four times the team's perceived value at the time. It's helped reset the market for what franchises are worth, reported Business Insider's Cork Gaines.

Since then, pro sports team sale prices over $1 billion have become more common, he wrote, but relative deals still exist. They've sold for anywhere from $25 million to $2.2 billion, depending on the league and franchise.

According to Darren Geeter of CNBC, it can cost over $1 billion to buy an NFL team today.

Hiring a full-time staff housing staff can cost over $1 million, not including health benefits and bonuses.

Millionaires may be able to hire some help around the house, but they can't hire all the help. Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback previously spoke with David Youdovin, founder and CEO of Hire Society, a recruitment firm that helps high-net-worth individuals and families staff their homes and businesses. 

Youdovin shed some insight on the most common positions wealthy families are looking to hire for, and how much they pay annually. A full-time staff would include a chief of staff, management team, butler, assistant, chef, housekeeper, nanny, tutor, chauffeur, and houseman.

Depending on level of experience, that could range from $1.03 million to $2.4 million a year — and that's not including health benefits and bonuses.

Doomsday bunkers cost millions of dollars and come with luxury amenities.

It takes a lot of money to prepare well for the apocalypse.

Superrich Silicon Valley moguls are buying millions of dollars' worth of doomsday bunkers and installing them in New Zealand, reported Olivia Carville for Bloomberg. The most expensive cost $8 million.

Companies have been building "billionaire bunkers" that cater to the apocalyptic fears of the superrich, Business Insider's Aria Bendix reported. These high-end bunkers can cost nearly $20 million to build and are outfitted with luxury amenities: think swimming pools, movie theaters, gyms, rock climbing walls, dog parks, game rooms, and indoor pools.

At $20 million, the cost of preparing for the end of the world is out of reach for the low-level millionaire. That means that if doomsday does arrive, billionaires will be in good company: each others'.

• A recent study by personal finance platform GoBankingRates found the average number of hours those making the median hourly wage need to work in order to earn a comfortable salary in each US state.
• GoBankingRates looked at the cost of living in each state and doubled it to determine the comfortable living salary for that state, then divided that amount by the state's median hourly wage.
• In some states, those making the median hourly wage need to work, on average, over 70 hours a week.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In some states, a 40-hour workweek at the median hourly wage won't earn you enough to live comfortably. 

A recent study by personal finance platform GoBankingRates found the average amount of hours — in each US state — that those making the median hourly wage need to work in order to earn a comfortable living salary. 

In some states, like South Dakota and New Jersey, those making the respective state's median hourly wage need to work, on average, over 70 hours a week.

To gather this information, GoBankingRates looked at the average annual cost of living in each state (which includes the most recently available data for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare costs from the Missouri Economic and Research Center's 2019 second quarter cost of living data series). When determining the salary needed to live comfortably, the researchers assumed the following budget: 50% is spent on necessary expenses, 30% is spent on nonessential items, and 20% is put into savings.

In order to then find the average number of hours someone making the state's median hourly wage would need to work in a week to live comfortably, GoBankingRates divided the annual salary needed to live comfortably by the state's median hourly wage. 

You can read more about the study's methodology and data sources here.

Keep reading to find out the 15 states where employees making the median hourly wage have to work the most just to get by, ranked in increasing order.

SEE ALSO: The 15 best states for America's middle class, ranked

DON'T MISS: 13 mind-blowing facts that show just how expensive New York City really is

15. In Massachusetts, those making the state's median hourly wage of $23.40 need to work an average of 68.56 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $41,713.84

Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,427.68

14. In Florida, those making the state's median hourly wage of $16.62 need to work an average of 69.2 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $29,902.22

Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,804.93

13. In Alaska, those making the state's median hourly wage of $23.09 need to work an average of 69.32 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $41,615.90

Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,231.80

12. In Rhode Island, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.21 need to work an average of 69.94 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $36,750.27

Salary needed to live comfortably: $73,500.54

11. In South Dakota, those making the state's median hourly wage of $16.08 need to work an average of 71.32 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $29,818.34

Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,636.68

10. In New Jersey, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.96 need to work an average of 71.63 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $39,032.86

Salary needed to live comfortably: $78,065.72

9. In Montana, those making the state's median hourly wage of $16.87 need to work an average of 71.75 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $31,468.98

Salary needed to live comfortably: $62,937.96

8. In Maryland, those making the state's median hourly wage of $21.49 need to work an average of 73.23 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $40,916.40

Salary needed to live comfortably: $81,832.80

7. In Vermont, those making the state's median hourly wage of $19.10 need to work an average of 73.47 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $36,487.10

Salary needed to live comfortably: $72,974.20

6. In New York, those making the state's median hourly wage of $21.63 need to work an average of 76.16 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $42,828.30

Salary needed to live comfortably: $85,656.60

5. In Maine, those making the state's median hourly wage of $17.85 need to work an average of 76.25 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $35,386.83

Salary needed to live comfortably: $70,773.65

4. In Nevada, those making the state's median hourly wage of $17.09 need to work an average of 76.51 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $33,994.26

Salary needed to live comfortably: $67,988.53

3. In California, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.40 need to work an average of 84.85 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $45,003.09

Salary needed to live comfortably: $90,006.19

2. In Oregon, those making the state's median hourly wage of $19.03 need to work an average of 84.91 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $42,011.24

Salary needed to live comfortably: $84,022.48

1. In Hawaii, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.42 need to work an average of 121.86 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.

Total annual cost of living: $64,695.32

Salary needed to live comfortably: $129,390.64

• Hunter Biden, the former vice president's middle child, is at the center of a controversy that is being stirred by President Donald Trump's administration over a possible conflict of interest involving a business he was involved in and the Ukrainian government.
• Biden's personal life has created tension as it has played out amid his father's political life for years, and despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, his entanglement in the administration's contact with Ukraine is proving controversial.
• The lastest controversy is that Biden fathered a child with a different woman while dating his brother's widow. The DNA results confirming it was his child were reported on his father's 77th birthday.
• See how Biden rose through the ranks of Washington to land in President Donald Trump's latest scandal, and a scandal of his own.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joe Biden's middle child, is at the center of President Donald Trump's Ukraine scandal that launched an impeachment inquiry.

The 49-year-old's personal life has created tension as it has played out amid his father's political life for years, and is now coming into sharper focus as his dad has led the field of Democratic voters for months.

The controversies escalated on November 20, when DNA results confirmed he fathered a child with a different woman while dating Hallie Biden, his brother's widow. While he dismissed the claims by the child's mother, Lunden Alexis Roberts, earlier in the year, court filings now assert that he accepts the child is his.

See how Hunter Biden rose through the ranks of Washington, found himself involved in Trump's latest scandal, and discovered he was a father again in 2019.

SEE ALSO: The Joe and Hunter Biden Ukraine investigation, explained

SEE ALSO: Joe Biden is running for president in 2020. Here's everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.

Joe Biden's sons have been well-known fixtures in his public life since they were children.

Joe Biden was sworn into office for a Delaware Senate seat in a Wilmington, Delaware, hospital where his two young sons, Hunter and his brother Beau, were taken after being severely injured in a car accident that killed Biden's wife and baby daughter, Naomi, in 1972.

The senator's daily 90-minute train commute to Washington, DC, and back to Delaware to care for his sons earned him the nickname "Amtrak Joe."

Biden later married Jill Jacobs, Hunter and Beau's stepmother, in 1977. The brothers' half-sister, Ashley, was born on June 8, 1981.

Hunter Biden followed in his father's political footsteps and worked his way up in Washington.

Hunter Biden studied at Georgetown University and graduated in 1992. It was while earning his undergraduate history degree that he began to differ from his teetotaler father as he began to ramp up his social drinking habit into smoking Marlboro Reds and occasionally using cocaine, according to a 2019 interview with The New Yorker. 

After graduation, he spent a year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, working in Portland, Oregon, before earning a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1996.

In 1997, Hunter Biden returned to the family's roots in Wilmington, Delaware, where he began a career that immediately caused conflict-of-interest questions.

Hunter Biden bought a historic estate in Wilmington in 1997, where he lived with his wife, young daughters, and brother Beau. He assumed a role as an executive vice president at MBNA bank but later said he disliked the stiff corporate culture.

"If you forgot to wear your MBNA lapel pin, someone would stop you in the halls," he later told The New Yorker.

His role at the bank raised eyebrows as MBNA was known as a massive donor to several of Joe Biden's campaigns over the years, but he stayed with the company for nearly five years.

In 1998, he reached out to William Oldaker, a Washington, DC-based lawyer who had worked on Joe Biden's 1987 presidential campaign about getting a job in President Bill Clinton's administration, according to The New Yorker.

Hunter Biden flexed his connections and rose up the ranks in the Washington scene.

Oldaker connected Hunter Biden with Commerce Secretary William Daley, who had worked with Joe Biden and bonded with Hunter over being from political families, according to The New Yorker.

Hunter Biden was then appointed to the department by President Bill Clinton and served from 1998 to 2001 as a director in the Department of Commerce focusing on e-commerce-policy issues.

Hunter Biden moved his young family to a tony Washington, DC, neighborhood for the role, where he began to establish himself as a DC player, even though he later revealed his salary barely covered the family's house, the children's schooling, and the living expenses that kept them in pace with high DC society. 

From 2001 to 2008, he worked at Oldaker, Biden, and Belair LLP, a federal lobbyist firm he cofounded but resigned from to preserve the optics of his father's campaign.

CNN reported that Hunter Biden resigned from the firm when then-Sen. Barack Obama, who said he would refuse donations from lobbyists, asked Joe Biden to join his presidential ticket.

Hunter Biden later told The New Yorker that no one from the Obama campaign had directly told him to break his lobbying ties but that he knew "the writing was on the wall," so he resigned from the firm and from an unpaid seat on the Amtrak board in preparation for the election.

"I wanted my father to have a clean slate," Hunter Biden told the outlet. "I didn't want to limit him in any way."

As his father found his place at the top of Washington, Hunter Biden launched several new business efforts that raised eyebrows.

In September 2008, Hunter Biden launched a consulting firm, Seneca Global Advisors, and in June 2009, Hunter cofounded the private-equity firm Rosemont Seneca Partners. The New Yorker said that through his companies and his partners, Hunter Biden established various business connections to figures in China and Russia. 

His blooming international business relationships came to a head when his father adopted policy priorities to crack down on corruption in Ukraine, but he was not accused of any formal wrongdoing. 

Into adulthood, Hunter Biden became known for his tumultuous personal life.

Hunter Biden's tumultuous personal life became tabloid fodder during and after his father's time with the administration. 

He sparked confusion when he, then 44 years old, enlisted in the Navy Reserves in 2012, less than two years before reports broke that the Reserve discharged him in 2014 after he tested positive for cocaine.

Hunter Biden eventually confirmed the news and said in a statement that it was"the honor of my life to serve in the U.S. Navy, and I deeply regret and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge. I respect the Navy's decision. With the love and support of my family, I'm moving forward."

After tragedy struck the family through 46-year-old Beau Biden's death from cancer in 2015, Hunter Biden's personal life remained in the headlines. 

After he divorced his first wife and the mother of his three daughters, Kathleen, the Biden family acknowledged he was dating Hallie Biden, Beau's widow.

Hunter Biden raised eyebrows with a candid New Yorker interview in which he said he spent the aftermath of his brother's death on a bender that included him buying crack from homeless people. He also said that he and Hallie Biden discovered they were "sharing a very specific grief" and spent a lot of time together in 2016 before they became a couple.

The couple apparently tried to keep the relationship secret, but the former vice president found out when Page Six called him for comment on a story on the relationship, after which he and Jill Biden issued a supportive statement.

"We are all lucky that Hunter and Hallie found each other as they were putting their lives together again after such sadness," the statement said. "They have mine and Jill's full and complete support and we are happy for them."

It's unclear when Hunter and Hallie Biden stopped dating, but their breakup was reported in early May, shortly before TMZ reported the "secret" wedding between Hunter Biden and the South African model Melissa Cohen, which happened on May 16.

Despite his personal affairs, Hunter Biden's biggest public troubles came from questions into his business dealings.

In May 2014, Hunter Biden signed on as a board member of Burisma Holdings, Ukraine's largest gas-production company. He found the company through his business contacts at a controversial time, and as part of the board's anti-corruption efforts, he recommended the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, where he was "a counsel."

A press release announced upon Hunter Biden's hiring said he was in charge of the company's international legal relations with different companies, but he later denied that characterization.

The appointment caused concerns as it came at a tense time between the White House and Russia over Ukraine and its energy dependence, sparking criticism that Hunter Biden's role with the energy giant was a blatant conflict of interest.

But the Bidens dismissed the controversy, telling media outlets that Hunter Biden is a private citizen and his business interests don't represent or affect the views of the government.

The controversy was revived nearly five years later.

Within one month of his term on the board expiring, a bombshell New York Times story published on May 1 detailed Joe and Hunter Biden's ties to Ukraine and said the former vice president had successfully gotten a Ukrainian prosecutor removed from office.

The move raised questions about a possible conflict of interest and if Joe Biden was trying to shield his son from an investigation into the company, whose founder faced multiple investigations into allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.

The former vice president was reported to be just one part of a larger push coming from former President Obama's administration for the Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin to be removed over concerns of corruption in his office. Joe Biden has since publicly detailed his threat to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees from the country if Shokin wasn't fired.

However, it's since been reported that there was not an active investigation into Hunter Biden when the former vice president made the push for Shokin's firing, and Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine's prosecutor general, later said that he had no evidence of wrongdoing against either Biden.

Despite the absence of proven wrongdoing by the Bidens, the back-and-forth has been used by the Trump administration to obscure Rudy Giuliani's communications with Ukraine that were made public earlier this year and the growing concern that Trump actively collaborated with a foreign power to gain political leverage.

Read more: The Joe and Hunter Biden Ukraine investigation, explained

As Trump ramped up his hits against the Bidens, House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

On September 24, House Democrats announced they were opening an impeachment inquiry amid revelations about Trump's conduct with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the former vice president and his son.

A bombshell whistleblower complaint revealed days earlier put a finer point on the administration's contact with Ukraine, as the report alleged Trump had acted inappropriately in pushing for a foreign power to take aim at the Bidens, specifically in a July 25 phone conversation between the leaders.

The call reportedly came just days after Trump withheld nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. A memo released by the White House about the specifics of the call quotes Trump urging Zelensky to launch an investigation and instructing him to speak with US Attorney General William Barr and Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer.

Another damning detail from the call was identified when Zelensky promised Trump that "the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person" and "will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue."

As support ramped up among the public and lawmakers for impeachment proceedings, Trump and Giuliani lashed out at Democrats and media reports.

On October 4, Ukraine's top prosecutor, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, announced that authorities were reviewing past investigations into Burisma as part of a larger probe that will take a second pass at several previous investigations by the agency that was plagued by corruption concerns.

Then, on his father's 77th birthday, and in the middle of the impeachment hearing, a DNA test confirmed Biden fathered a baby with another woman while he was dating his brother's widow.

On November 20, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported DNA tests had confirmed "with scientific certainty," that Biden was the father of a baby with a woman named Lunden Alexis Roberts.

Despite the timing of the news, Roberts told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in June that she didn't want to cause a media spectacle, nor for the news to interfere with Joe Biden's presidential campaign.

She filed for a paternity test and child support in May. In August, Biden denied the child was his, and asked the courts to dismiss Roberts' complaint, The Daily Beast Reported.

Since the baby's DNA has been confirmed, Biden hasn't commented publicly. But according to the court filing, he isn't expected to challenge the results or the process.

The court filing also pointed to the fact the Biden family is protected by the US Secret Service, indicating Biden's child might need the same protections.

• You may know him simply as "Mister Rogers," but Fred Rogers, the man behind the beloved children's show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" that ran for 33 years, was more than a TV personality. He was also a producer, writer, musician, puppeteer, showrunner, and Presbyterian minister.
• As of November 2019, audiences can watch Tom Hanks take on the role of Rogers in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," formerly titled "You Are My Friend."
• Rogers started his career behind the scenes at NBC and worked his way up, moving from station to station and eventually getting his own hour-long program called "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" on PBS. 
• Mr. Rogers died in 2003, but he is remembered for the way he talked to children about feelings, life events, and, in general, conversations that were typically reserved for when the kids had left the room.
• Now, the animated show "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" based on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood continues the conversation.
• He was married and had two children of his own, and his life has been chronicled in the 2018 documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor."
• Here's a look at how Fred became the iconic Mister Rogers. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. 

Fred McFeely Rogers was the legendary man behind the television program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," which ran from 1968 through 2001.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions, NPR

He's most known for his TV show, and the way he used it to teach children about feelings, current events, and other things they may have to deal with throughout their lives.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

He used a family of puppets to convey each storyline ...

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

... and a model town to build the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

Even current TV personalities like Jimmy Fallon remember looking forward to watching the next episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" when it came out.

Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Now, there's a full-length feature film titled "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"— a nod to the show as that was part of the theme song — starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers.

Source: IMDb

The story chronicles the evolution of a relationship between Rogers and Tom Junod, a "skeptical" journalist who had been assigned a profile of the TV personality.

Source: IMDb, A Beautiful Day

The film is based on a true story, and shows how a friendship can form between two unlikely people — in this case, between Rogers and Junod — which was a common thread throughout many of the original show's episodes.

Source: A Beautiful Day

Before the feature film, a documentary titled "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"— also a line from the show's theme song — premiered in 2018.

Source: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

The documentary allowed people behind the scenes of the show, but also gave them a look into Fred's life.

Source: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Rogers was born in March of 1928. He grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a town that embodied the "strong, hard-working, and faith-driven culture of Western Pennsylvania," according to the Fred Rogers Center.

Source: Fred Rogers Center, Encyclopædia Britannica, Fred Rogers Productions

Of his hometown, Rogers once said, "It's the garden spot of the world, as Lady Elaine Fairchilde would say." Lady Elaine Fairchilde was one of the puppet characters on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"— she was a vehicle for displaying anger on screen.

Source: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, USA Today

"I was interested in puppets, you know, all my young life," Rogers said.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

His parents, James Hillis Rogers and Nancy McFeely Rogers, were both familiar with the world of business — both Rogers' father and maternal grandfather, Fred McFeely, were businessmen.

Source: Fred Rogers Center, Fred Rogers Productions

Although Rogers' work is known for how it brought community and children together to play and imagine, he didn't have a huge community of friends as a child himself.

Source: Fred Rogers Center

Fred's grandfather played a large role in the development of his self-esteem and level of empathy for others. In fact, he affected Fred so much so, that the TV star named a character on his show after the man.

Source: Fred Rogers Center

Rogers went to high school in Latrobe, and then went on to college at Dartmouth University. He began his college career at the Ivy League school ...

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

... but transferred to Rollins College in Orlando, Florida. Rogers graduated from Rollins with a degree in music composition in 1951.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

Rollins was also the place Fred met his wife, Joanne Rogers.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions, Today

In his final year of college, Rogers said he noticed a television program playing at his parents' house and thought it was "horrible." He said he announced to his family that he would go into television rather than the seminary as planned.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

So, after graduating from Rollins College, Fred moved to New York and got a job working for the NBC television network.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

His first gig with NBC was as a "gofer"— someone who does tasks like bringing coffee to studio executives. Eventually, NBC hired Rogers as a floor manager, "after I had carried my share of coffees and Cokes," he said. Rogers floor-managed the Gabby Hayes show among others.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

Hayes and Rogers would chat between filming, and Rogers said he got some great advice from the host: Forget the number of people watching and just connect with one of them. Rogers learned that television is "a very, very personal medium."

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

Joanne told Megyn Kelly that Fred proposed to her in a letter: "Fred worked here at 30 Rock at the same time that I was doing graduate work ... he wrote me a letter the second year he was here ... proposing marriage."

Source: Entertainment Weekly, Today

The pair married in 1952 and moved to Pittsburg a year later so Fred could help start "America's first community-sponsored television station: WQED."

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

Rogers said starting and working at WQED was extremely different from working at NBC. "Here we were, just a half-dozen people trying to get this educational television station on the air," he said.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

WQED featured many educational shows, one of which was a live show called "The Children's Corner"— starring actress Josie Carey and Rogers' puppet, Daniel Tiger. The show was the precursor to "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

While working at WQED, Rogers went back to school — he took classes at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Child Development. In 1963, Rogers was ordained as a Presbyterian minister — he wanted to continue his work with children.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

From WQED, Rogers moved his band of puppets to Canada — the Canadian Broadcasting Company gave him the opportunity for a daily special called "Mister Rogers." The CBC created parts of the now-iconic set for the Neighborhood of Make-Believe in late 1963.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

Three years later, in 1966, Rogers and his family moved back to Pittsburgh and his show evolved again — this time into "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." It jumped around from network to network until it landed on PBS.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions

By the time Fred and Joanne moved back to Pittsburgh again, they had two children — sons John and Jim.

Source: Fred Rogers Productions, Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times reported that the 2018 documentary featured an anecdote from John about having Fred as a father: "It was difficult to have the second Christ as your dad."

Source: Los Angeles Times

Fred and Joanne were married for 50 years before Fred died of stomach cancer in 2003.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Fred's legacy as a person lives on in many ways including through the Mister Rogers Memorial Scholarship from 2006 through '17 — which awarded $5,000 scholarships to students pursuing a career in children's media.

Source: Television Academy Foundation

Rogers also lives on in the memories of celebrities and public figures of today. "He talked about stuff that was adult stuff, to children," late-night talk show host, Fallon said. "He talked about divorce ... he talked about war, death, assassination ..."

Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Yo-Yo Ma, famed cellist, credited Mr. Rogers with his learned ability to be a public figure, Ma's son Nicholas said in an interview.

Source: Today

Talk show host Megyn Kelly said she remembered Rogers addressing the aftermath of terror attacks on September 11, 2001, by saying, "In these times, look for the helpers." Ma added that the saying came from Rogers' mother, who would say, "Wherever you go, there are always people that are trying to help."

Source: Today

In an interview with Variety, Tom Hanks said, "Everybody who we met who had worked with Fred ... said 'When you talked to Fred, you felt as though you were the most important person in the world.'"

Source: Variety

"Playing Fred made me a better listener," Hanks said.

Source: Variety

His legacy on TV is also continuing through the animated series, "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood."

Source: PBS

Joanne confirmed in an interview that the tiger puppet called Daniel was really the embodiment of Fred himself. So it seems only fitting that the small tiger cub wears a red sweater and sneakers, just like Fred was known for.

Source: Today

• Snapchat has released the newest iteration of its smart sunglasses, called Spectacles 3, designed to let you record pictures and videos from a first-person point of view.
• The new model is equipped with two high-res cameras to better capture depth and dimension, which allow for the introduction of 3D filters and effects.
• However, these 3D effects — Snapchat's major selling point — are subpar, don't enhance the Spectacles experience, and can only be added later in the Snapchat app after you're done recording.
• Snapchat says the Spectacles 3 are essentially just a next step toward AR hardware in the future, a bet that ensures not many users will want to shell out a sky-high $380 for this model.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Snapchat is betting big on a future when augmented reality hardware reigns supreme, but that wager comes at the cost of its newest pair of smart sunglasses, Spectacles 3.

Spectacles 3 were made available to the public on November 12. These new Spectacles come with two cameras and a trendier design, while also costing $380 — $220 more than the previous model released in 2018.

Spectacles design lead Lauryn Morris told Business Insider that the new glasses are designed to be more "premium and sophisticated," meant for the "mid-20s consumer who cares about that style and wants to explore technology." It's a risky move for a company whose first pair of Spectacles amassed a lot of early hype, but failed to deliver and resulted in $40 million worth of unsold inventory.

With a vacation to London scheduled right after Spectacles 3 launched, I decided to take the sunglasses across the pond to try them out in a city know for its cloudy skies and rainy days.

SEE ALSO: Teens are using TikTok as a new way to come out to friends and family, and it shows how vital the app is becoming to Gen Z's LGBTQ community

At first glance, the Spectacles 3 have an overhauled design that does make them stylish.

I received a pair of the glasses in "monochromatic black" (though they also come in a carbon color and a lighter "mineral" tone). The black matte finish and circular lenses put them in line with the vintage style that is popular today.

Compared with the oversized look of the first two models of Spectacles, the design of the new pair is a big step up.

"Form is just as important as function," Spectacles design lead Lauryn Morris told Business Insider. "You choose the clothes you wear because they reflect your style and values."

The biggest change with Spectacles 3 is the addition of a second camera to the glasses. This is intended to "capture the world the way your eyes do," Morris says — that is, the new glasses are designed to capture design and dimension.

While the symmetrical appearance of previous Spectacles models may have made it seem as if there was two cameras, Spectacles 3 are the first Snapchat glasses to have dual-camera recording capabilities. 

By adding two high-res cameras, Snapchat is opening the doors to a world of capturing 3D. That enables some filters and lenses, which are already popular in the Snapchat app itself, to be applied to Spectacles videos.

To be clear, the filters available in Snapchat are not catered for Spectacles — there are Spectacles-specific lenses and filters that Snapchat's community of creators have been working on, the company said.

One Spectacles feature I'm happy has lasted through the three different models is the wireless charging case.

The charging case is essentially a blown-up version of headphones cases for Apple AirPods and other wireless earbuds. They work in the same way: place the Spectacles in the case and they'll charge up to four times before you'll need to recharge the case via USB-C. Snapchat says the Spectacles can charge 50% in 15 minutes.

Additionally, the charging case nicely folds flat, allowing you to tuck it into a jacket pocket or bag when you're wearing your Spectacles.

One of the first bothersome things about using the Spectacles was the location of the buttons, one on each sunglasses arm, which are used for recording pictures and videos.

The locations of the buttons, right on the top of each arm, are where I would normally grasp onto when putting on and removing my Spectacles. The result: A ton of videos I accidentally recorded, with no ability to halt the recording.

Since the second version of Spectacles, users have had the ability to capture both videos and still images. With Spectacles 3, it takes a long press to take a picture, and a short tap to record a video. You can record up to six 60-second-long Spectacles videos.

As with previous models, an LED light blinks when your Spectacles are recording, and I found it easy to see the light while wearing my glasses. With Spectacles 3, you can also configure that LED light to blink when you receive Snapchats from specific users.

However, I did find it a bit odd that the LED light signaling that you're recording only flashes on one side of the glasses, although both cameras are recording. If both LED lights went off, it would make it a whole lot easier to ensure you don't remove your glasses prematurely before your recording is finished.

Ahead of putting my Spectacles to the test, Snapchat told me they had already given some of their Official Lens Creators (artists who work with Snapchat to create filters and effects) pairs of the new sunglasses to try out. You can see some of their Spectacles captures here:

Instagram Embed:
//instagram.com/p/B3-KeIoJsSY/embed
Width: 540px

However, I was crushed to discover, almost immediately, that the videos I captured with my Spectacles 3 weren't as nice as these masterpieces. Sure, the resolution is high-quality — but you have to ensure your ability to record video is too.

I quickly learned in using my Spectacles that you have to be extremely, extremely measured in your movements. It takes a while to figure out how to move your head super slowly while scanning a landscape, and you have to hold your head steady while walking to ensure the video doesn't violently bounce with each step.

For the average user, this steep learning curve would be incredibly taxing, and I might have given up on Spectacles in favor of my iPhone pretty quickly. 

And at night, Spectacles 3 have a lot of trouble. It depended on the color of the lights, but here — at a Christmas market in central London — many of the lights showed up over-saturated.

Previous Spectacles models have not performed well in low-light scenarios. Although the video quality on Spectacles 3 is 1216 x 1216 pixels, the high resolution hasn't drastically improved the glasses' performance at night.

Now, onto the new types of content you can create with Spectacles 3. The pictures you can take be converted into 3D images and GIFs (like the one below). It's cool I guess, but I honestly don't see the use or point.

Snapchat says that the point of these 3D images is to make your photos "more dynamic and lifelike" than a picture taken with a normal camera.

Then there are the 3D lenses and filters, effects that use augmented reality to make them reactive to the scene captured on your Spectacles. With only 10 filters at Spectacles 3's launch — Snapchat says there are more coming — the effects are pretty disappointing.

Some effects, like these "gradient blobs" in the above video, don't do anything more than add several dark blue masses that float around your screen. To me, this effect did nothing to enhance the video I took with my Spectacles.

While I was less than impressed by the 3D filters currently available, they're even less exciting when you consider you can only overlay them onto your video after importing them into the Snapchat app. You won't see these effects in action until you're done using your Spectacles.

The AR effects and lenses become less exciting when you learn they only get applied to videos in-app, after you're finished recording. Combined with my disappointment in the existing filters available on Spectacles, the new model's AR capabilities don't appeal to me.

Something that hasn't changed with Spectacles 3 is a long-standing complaint: the cumbersome process of getting your videos and photos ready to share. All of this is done through the Snapchat app.

Since the first Spectacles model, content captured with your Snapchat wearables are viewed, edited, and shared all through the Snapchat app. Importing content has gotten easier and faster, thanks to Spectacles' built-in WiFi network that allows photos and videos to get transferred at any time.

However, Spectacles videos are still buried within your Memories, a section of the Snapchat app I do not use frequently. You can use the Snapchat app to export your videos in a variety of formats. 

I was also frustrated to learn that if you record video for longer than 10 seconds, the video is broken down into 10-second segments anyways in the app.

Before Spectacles 3 even launched, Snapchat was already emphasizing that these glasses are meant to be just a small step toward a future where augmented reality hardware is widely adopted. It's a risky move to put out $380 smart glasses when CEO Evan Spiegel still envisions that era 10 years away.

When I first found out that Snapchat's newest Spectacles would cost $380 — $220 more than the previous model — I was surprised. Initial hype around the first Spectacles model in 2016 led the company to order 800,000 units, resulting in $40 million worth of unsold inventory. By any measure, Spectacles were a flop.

This time around, Snapchat only planned to make around 24,000 units of Spectacles 3, according to Cheddar. Morris, Spectacles' design lead, told Business Insider that Spectacles 3 are an "iterative approach" toward a future with widely adopted AR wearables.

That future, according to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, is still 10 years away.

While the sunglasses are indeed trendy and similar to a style I'd buy myself, there's no situation in which I could justify spending $380 on a pair of wearables with cool filters. Since Snapchat is betting on the future, I recommend betting — and waiting — on it too.

Essentially, Snapchat is expecting you the shell out an extra $220 for its new AR lenses and filters on Spectacles. But it's apparent that Snapchat still has a long way to go: The filters don't provide a clear benefit, and the learning curve for using the glasses means I couldn't see myself using these regularly after the allure of a new gadget wears off.

Everyone at Snapchat, from Spectacles' design lead to Snapchat's CEO, are telling people that we're still years away from widely adopted AR hardware. There's no reason then to rush to get a pair of Spectacles 3, and you may as well wait to see what Snapchat's next — and hopefully less pricey — next step is.

• Fiber-optic Christmas trees are a great option if you're looking for some unique and fun holiday decor.
• With these trees, you're certainly not limited to one color, size, or theme. To help you narrow down the options, we rounded up nine of our favorite fiber-optic Christmas trees.
• Whether you want to glam up your living room or brighten your desk this holiday season, we have something for you.

Fiber-optic Christmas trees are a unique spin on the traditional Christmas tree. With their innovative lighting design, they can add a new level of holiday magic to your decor.

They're a colorful, bright, and popular option for those who are looking for something more unique than the classic mainstay. As a beloved holiday alternative, they are available in a wide variety of styles, shapes, and colors, and they are often quite affordable.

To make your life easier, we did the research to find nine of the best trees to elevate your living space this season — from vibrant tabletop displays to more subtle options.

And if you need more Christmas decor inspiration for tree skirts, tree stands, ornaments, and more, check out some of our buying guides: 

• Best artificial Christmas trees
• Best Christmas decorations
• Best Christmas tree skirts
• Best Christmas tree stands
• Best Christmas lights
• Best Christmas tree ornaments

A lush tree with dense and realistic needles

$94.99, available on Amazon

Standing 7 feet tall, this fiber optic tree is an ideal centerpiece for larger rooms. Adorned in 280 LED lights as well as fiber optics, the tree can glow in white, red, green, and blue, and includes three brightness settings and eight light sequences.

Tree height: 7 feet 

Base diameter: 42 inches

Light count: 280

A tree that's decorated in colorful snowflakes

$54.98, available on Amazon

Compared to classic pine, this white tree makes a colorful statement. In addition to fiber optics, it is wrapped in snowflakes and multicolored lights — with a bright LED star topper to complete the look.

Tree height: 47 inches

Base diameter: 23 inches

Light count: not given

A tree that's wrapped in 180 multicolored lights

$59.99, available on Amazon

For dramatic effect, this fiber-optic tree features 180 multicolor LED lights and a spectrum of light-flashing functions, like waves, slow glow, slow fade, and twinkle and flash. 

Tree height: 5 feet 

Base diameter: 30 inches

Light count: 180

A warm gold tree with generous space for decorations

$75.37, available on Home Depot

This warm gold tree adds a sophisticated, regal touch while offering a blank canvas for decorations. Compared to larger options, it fits nicely in tight spaces.

Tree height: 5 feet 

Base diameter: 28 inches

Light count: not given

A mini tree that plays Christmas classics

$12.99, available on Miles Kimball

Perfect for desks, this mini tree features twinkling fiber-optic lights and holiday carols. With an on/off switch, you can play "Jingle Bells,""Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Tree height: 8 inches

Base diameter: 4.38 inches

Light count: not given

A shiny tree that's embellished with ornaments

$58.71, available on The Home Depot

This vibrant silver tree is trimmed with pre-decorated, multicolor ball ornaments. At the base are multicolored LED lights that illuminate the tree's fibers.

Tree height: 2.6 feet 

Base diameter: 19 inches

Light count: not given

A true-to-life tree with starry accents

$59.99, available on Amazon

Decked out in color-changing LED lights, this tree provides a cool, bright glow. It's also designed to hold plenty of ornaments.

Tree height: 5 feet 

Base diameter: 30 inches

Light count: 20

An all-red tree with poinsettia flowers

$121.99 on sale (originally $244), available on Macy's

Dare to be super festive with this all-red tree decorated in poinsettia flowers, which are strewn with colorful fiber optics. Given its size and unique design, it complements larger, more traditional holiday decor quite nicely.

Tree height: 4 feet 

Base diameter: 22 inches

Light count: not given

A tree featuring snowflakes and multicolored lights

$58.99, available on Amazon

A glitzier option, this tree is decorated in snow ornaments and seven different colored lights that change automatically.

Tree height: 6 feet 

Base diameter: not given

Light count: 28

• Cannabis companies have been hit with a wave of layoffs in recent weeks, amounting to over 900 jobs across both startups and public companies.
• The layoffs come amid a broader downturn in the sector. One index of marijuana stocks lost over 50% of its value since its high in January 2018.
• On the private side, a tight funding environment has made it difficult for growth-stage cannabis startups to raise capital.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories, and subscribe to our weekly cannabis newsletter, Cultivated.

The once red-hot cannabis industry is coming back down to earth. 

Over the past few weeks, cannabis companies — including venture-backed startups like Pax and giants like CannTrust — have announced a series of job cuts, amounting to over 900 laid-off workers in the sector as a whole.

There are unique reasons for the job cuts at each company, but industry analysts and experts say the operating environment for cannabis companies has entered a uniquely challenging phase. Headwinds include illnesses linked to vaping, lower-than-expected retail revenues in Canada and states like California, and legislative and regulatory hurdles that make accessing capital much more expensive than in other industries.

It has also become much more difficult for companies to raise money, thanks to cratering share prices for public companies and a shortage of investors for private firms.

The Marijuana Index, a composite of cannabis and cannabis-related stocks in the US and Canada, has lost over 50% of its value since its high in January 2018. CannTrust has seen its value crater close to 90% since its high in March after the company was found to be illegally growing cannabis following an investigation by Health Canada, the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing legal cannabis.

The decline in valuations has also made big cannabis megamergers harder to close, with companies like the dispensary operator MedMen pulling out of deals altogether. MedMen laid off 190 employees in November and divested stakes in a number of brands it invested in as part of its push to become cash-flow positive. 

An analyst at the investment bank Stifel summed it all up as a "toxic" operating environment. 

"It's put a cloud over the industry," Peter Horvath, the CEO of cannabis company Green Growth Brands, told Business Insider in an interview on Thursday. "The market has corrected — but has it corrected far enough? I don't know." 

Business Insider is tracking these job cuts here and will keep updating as we learn more:

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email jberke@businessinsider.com, or Twitter DM @jfberke. Encrypted messaging app Signal number available upon request. 

This article was published on October 25 and has been updated with new information.

Hexo Corp - 200 layoffs

Company: Hexo Corp

What it does: Cannabis producer based in Gatineau, Quebec.

Layoffs: 200 workers on October 28, or a quarter of workforce. Chief Marketing Officer Nick Davies and Chief Manufacturing Officer Arno Groll were among those laid off.

What went wrong: The company cited the slow rollout of retail stores in Canada, delays in government approval for cannabis derivative products, and early signs of pricing pressure on cannabis as reasons for the layoffs and stock declines. 

The company said it was shutting down several facilities as well.

"The actions taken this week are about rightsizing the organization to the revenue we expect to achieve in 2020," CEO Sebastian St-Louis said in a statement.

On November 15, Hexo released a statement saying there was a "limited amount" of unlicensed cannabis grown at a cultivation facility the company acquired from Newstrike Brands, and some of that illicit cannabis made its way into the regulated market.

CannTrust - 140 layoffs

Company: CannTrust

What it does: Cannabis producer based in Ontario, Canada.

Layoffs: Laid off 140 employees on October 27, or a quarter of its remaining workforce. In August, the company laid off 180 employees, or 20% of its workforce. 

What went wrong: The company is seeking to pare back expenses following the revelations that it was growing illicit cannabis in one of its facilities. In July, Health Canada opened an investigation into the illicit growing. The federal agency suspended CannTrust's growing license in September.

The company's former CEO, Peter Aceto, stepped down amid the fallout as well. Earlier this month, CannTrust was forced to destroy $77 million worth of cannabis in order to regain regulatory approval in Canada. 

Weedmaps - 100 layoffs

Company: Weedmaps

What it does: Online cannabis dispensary director based in Southern California. 

Layoffs: 100 employees, or a quarter of its workforce in October. 

What went wrong: Weedmaps CEO Chris Beals said in a Medium post the layoffs were the result of the slow rollout of legal cannabis dispensaries in California and other legal states like Massachusetts.

"Additionally, both the overall tech and cannabis capital markets have experienced tightening through 2019 that has limited the ability to predictably leverage outside capital to fuel growth during rapid expansion periods," Beals said. 

Weedmaps has faced regulatory scrutiny over listing illicit cannabis dispensary and delivery services on its site and app. In September, the company released a plan to remove all unlicensed dispensaries from its database by requiring them to provide their state license numbers.

Pax Labs - 65 layoffs

Company: Pax Labs

What it does: Maker of cannabis vaporizers, based in San Francisco. 

Layoffs: 65 workers, or 25% of its workforce in October. 

What went wrong: Fallout from the spate of vape-related lung injuries — which have caused 34 fatalities in the US so far— has affected the cannabis industry. 

Prior to that, Pax had been something of an investor darling this year, landing a $420 million funding round in April from a range of institutional investors including Fidelity and Tiger Global Management. The round, first reported by The Information, pushed the company into unicorn territory, valuing it at $1.7 billion.

Pax in September let go of its CEO, Bharat Vasan, after a little over a year on the job.

In an interview with Business Insider in January, Vasan said the company was talking to bankers about a potential IPO in 2020. That seems to not be the case anymore, according to statement Pax gave to Crunchbase News.

"[A]ny talk of an IPO timeline was premature," Pax's head of communications, Dianne Gleason, said.

Eaze - 36 layoffs

Company: Eaze

What it does: Cannabis delivery platform, based in San Francisco. 

Layoffs: 36 workers or 20% of its staff in October. The company also replaced its longtime CEO, Jim Patterson, with Rogelio Choy, formerly the startup's COO. 

What went wrong: Eaze is facing a protracted legal battle with Toronto-based cannabis company DionyMed, after DionyMed alleged Eaze was using shell companies to hide credit card charges for cannabis products. 

In August, Business Insider broke the news that Eaze was seeking to raise another $50-75 million at a $300-400 million valuation on top of the $65 million the company had raised in December. 

The startup has been forced to scale back its lofty ambitions of delivering $1 billion worth of cannabis. The company said in documents obtained by MarketWatch that it would sell about $412 million worth of cannabis products on its platform in 2020. 

MedMen — 190 layoffs

Company: MedMen

What it does: Cannabis cultivator and retail chain

Layoffs: 190, or 20% of its employees, on November 15.

What went wrong: The hits keep coming for the cash-starved MedMen. The company announced it will be laying off 190 employees on Friday evening, including 80 corporate-level employees, in a push to be cash-flow positive by the end of 2020.

MedMen is also planning to sell off stakes it bought in cannabis brands — which it says will net the company $8 million – and has engaged Canaccord Genuity to "explore strategic alternatives" for cultivation licenses and stores "not deemed critical to the company's retail footprint."

MedMen also plans to limit new store openings and delay investments in the medical marijuana markets in New York and Arizona.

On top of all that, MedMen announced earlier in November that it was selling its stake in Treehouse, a cannabis real estate investment trust.

In the past few months, MedMen has been hit with a litany of lawsuits and top executives departing, including David Dancer, the former CMO, and Michael Kramer, the former CFO. 

Flow Kana — 20% of employees

Company: Flow Kana

What it does: California cannabis distributor

Layoffs: 20% of employees (number of employees not disclosed).

What went wrong: Flow Kana, a California cannabis distributor, announced it was laying off 20% of its workforce on Thursday, November 14. The company did not disclose the exact number of employees affected.

Flow Kana blamed the lack of retail cannabis stores in California and said the "realities and size of the market" has proven to be much smaller than initially anticipated.

In a statement provided to the Sacramento Bee, Flow Kana CEO Mikey Steinmetz said the "alarm bell is ringing" for California cannabis companies and urged the state to help remedy the situation. 

Grupo Flor – 30 layoffs

Company: Grupo Flor

What it does: California cannabis cultivator and retailer

Layoffs: 30 employees or 35% of its workforce.

What went wrong: Grupo Flor laid off 30 employees earlier in November after a planned investment fell through. The company also put its plans to invest in a Colombia cultivation center on hold.

"It's not the end of the world. It's just a difficult time in the industry for everybody," Grupo Flor CEO Gavin Kogan told Marijuana Business Daily. 

CannaCraft —40 layoffs

Company: CannaCraft

What it does: California cannabis cultivator and retailer 

Layoffs: 40 employees or 16% of its workforce.

What went wrong: CannaCraft laid off 40 employees or 16% of its staff in November. The company cited "slower-than-anticipated growth" of the legal cannabis market in California, per Marijuana Business Daily.

Founded in 2014, CannaCraft raised a $34.9 million Series A funding round in April. 

Emerald Health Therapeutics — 65 layoffs

Company: Emerald Health Therapeutics

What it does: Canadian licensed cannabis producers

Layoffs: 65 employees or 33% of its workforce, since August 1.

What went wrong: The Vancouver-based cannabis cultivator announced on October 30 that it had laid off 20 employees, bringing its total number of laid off employees to 65 since August 1.

The staff reductions included the company's CFO, Rob Hill and COO, Sean Rathbone. 

"Although such decisions are difficult, we will evolve our strategy, structure, and capabilities as necessary to be able to capitalize on key trends in the changing cannabis sector," Dr. Avtar Dillon, the executive chairman of Emerald Health's board, said in a statement. 

Canndescent — 16 layoffs

Company: Canndescent

What it does: California cannabis retail brand

Layoffs: 16 layoffs on September 5

What went wrong: The California cannabis company Canndescent quietly laid off 16 employees and froze hiring for six open positions just before closing a funding round in September, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider.

The memo, written by Canndescent's chief people officer, Kerry Arnold, was sent on the evening of September 5.

Five days after the memo went out, Canndescent closed a $27.5 million Series C funding round that gave the startup a valuation of $200 million to $300 million, Business Insider reported at the time.

"Sadly we too have been impacted by the drying up of capital markets," Sedlin said in an emailed statement to Business Insider. "As a result we've had to make difficult decisions with regards to valued personnel. These decisions are never easy. We remain hopeful California regulators will act swiftly and partner with our industry to preserve as many jobs as possible through sensible public policy.

• Target is a destination for everyday essentials, and this holiday season, it's a smart place to shop for high-quality, artificial Christmas trees and decorations.
• Unlike many retailers, Target optimizes the selection process through search customization, allowing you to shop by specific characteristics.
• To save you time, we rounded up 10 of our top picks based on positive customer feedback and features included. There are options ranging from classic Christmas trees to more majestic flocked beauties.

There's nothing like a freshly cut Christmas tree to set the holiday mood. However, if you're too busy to chop one down, there are plenty of artificial options that resemble the real thing. The selection process can be overwhelming — but Target makes finding the right one seamless and easy.

The go-to destination retailer provides search customization, enabling you to shop by tree type, height, style, shape, features included, and more. You can then place an order online for home delivery or in-store pickup, depending on the demands of your schedule. 

To make your life easier, we've rounded up 10 of our top picks. We arranged our findings in order of tree size, so you can get a full scope of Target's selections.

And if you need more Christmas decor inspiration for tree skirts, tree stands, ornaments, and more, check out some of our buying guides: 

• Best artificial Christmas trees
• Best Christmas decorations
• Best Christmas tree skirts
• Best Christmas tree stands
• Best Christmas lights
• Best Christmas tree ornaments

Shop all Christmas trees at Target here.

A tiny Christmas tree that's convenient for small spaces

$48 on sale (originally $60), available on Target [you save $12]

This 4.5-foot tree is compact and light, weighing in at just 6.5 pounds. The tree's hinge branches pull down for easy setup — so all you have to worry about is fluffing its tips and adding your favorite decor.

Tree height: 4.5 feet 

Base diameter: 30 inches

Light count: unlit

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A 5.5-foot tree made with cashmere hard needle tips

$80 on sale (originally $100), available on Target [you save $20]

This tree is designed with cashmere hard needle tips that give it an authentic look and texture. It also features pre-attached, pull-down branches, making assembly and disassembly for storage a breeze.

Tree height: 5.5 feet 

Base diameter: 48 inches

Light count: unlit

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

An evergreen twig tree that's inspired by 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'

$144 on sale (originally $180), available on Target [you save $36]

Like Charlie Brown's beloved Christmas tree, this twig-designed tree is slim and adaptable. It's carefully wrapped in 102 warm LED lights for bright glow and can be situated indoors or outdoors. 

Tree height: 5 feet 

Base diameter: 36 inches

Light count: 102 clear lights

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A lush tree that mirrors forest foliage

$96 on sale (originally $120), available on Target [you save $24]

This 6-foot option mirrors traditional Virginia pine, adding a lush, authentic look to your living space — minus the inconveniences presented by real trees. And when it comes time for setup and breakdown, you won't need complex tools on hand.

Tree height: 6 feet 

Base diameter: 44 inches

Light count: unlit

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A tree that's constructed of plastic for long use

$48 on sale (originally $60), available on Target [you save $12]

This tree is made of plastic, ensuring its durability and quality over time. It resembles natural forest foliage while incorporating man-made, multicolored lights for dramatic effect. 

Tree height: 6 feet 

Base diameter: 40 inches

Light count: 250 clear lights

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A tree that resembles lush winter scenery

$128 on sale (originally $160), available on Target [you save $32]

This faux snow-covered tree brings the magic of winter weather into the comfort of your warm home.

Tree height: 6 feet 

Base diameter: 44 inches

Light count: unlit

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A tech-savvy tree with remote control clear LED lights

$176.99, available on Target

This tree features 400 bi-color LED mini lights with color-changing effects. With a simple remote control, you can control your tree's light functions.

Tree height: 7.5 feet 

Base diameter: 48 inches

Light count: 400 clear lights

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A tree that includes a stackable plug for your tree topper

$320 on sale (originally $400), available on Target [you save $80]

This ingenious tree features a stackable plug in the top section, so you can connect your pre-lit topper without much hassle.

Tree height: 7.5 feet 

Base diameter: 54 inches

Light count: 600 clear lights

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A 9-foot tree with a narrow shape

$160 on sale (originally $200), available on Target [you save $40]

This tree's height and slender pencil shape simplify the decorating process, giving you more time to fulfill other pressing to-dos. Unlike larger options on the market, it's flexible, fitting in both large and small spaces. 

Tree height: 9 feet 

Base diameter: 32 inches

Light count: 350 clear lights

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

A thick tree that's ideal for large spaces

$232 on sale (originally $290), available on Target [you save $58]

This 9-foot full-body tree is an ideal choice for larger rooms and entry halls. It's pre-lit with clear lights for a warm glow and uses AutoConnect technology to simplify assembly.

Tree height: 9 feet 

Base diameter: 58 inches

Light count: 700 clear lights

Other considerations: 30-day return policy applies

• Launched in 2014, Khalilah was the first all-carbon yacht ever built.
• The yacht (from US shipyard Palmer Johnson) has a distinctive gold exterior. 
• Khalilah was a standout at this year's Monaco Yacht Show in September, where its flashy exterior turned heads. 
• The vessel is currently listed for sale through SuperYachtsMonaco and G-Yachts with an asking price of €28.5 million (or roughly $31 million). 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The world's first all-carbon yacht is for sale, with an asking price of €28.5 million (or roughly $31 million).

The vessel, known as Khalilah, was constructed using all-carbon composites, designed to offer optimal fuel consumption and a top speed of 26 knots. The superyacht also has a distinctive gold exterior, made with custom Cordova Gold, and was a showstopper at this year's Monaco Yacht Show. 

Featuring five guest rooms — including two master suites — Khalilah can fit 11 guests on board, in addition to nine crew members.

The yacht is currently listed for sale or charter through both SuperYachtsMonaco and G-Yachts.

Here's a closer look at Khalilah.

SEE ALSO: The $200 million superyacht once owned by a fugitive businessman and later rented by Kylie Jenner for her 22nd birthday is now for sale — take a look inside

DON'T MISS: You can rent the James Bond villain's 'floating lair' from 'Casino Royale' — for about $72,000 a week. Take a look inside the sleek yacht.

Khalilah is the world's first all-carbon yacht. Its carbon composite construction was designed to give optimal fuel consumption, even when cruising at its max speed of 26 knots. In addition, it has an exterior finish of custom Cordova gold.

The yacht also doesn't need speed stabilizers because of its 10.8 meter beam.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

The interiors, designed by the team at Palmer Johnson, are said to mix "contemporary chic" with "Asian influence." And, with five bedrooms — including two master suites — the yacht can house 11 people, in addition to a nine-person crew.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

The master bedrooms are both finished with bleached birch wood and feature floor-to-ceiling windows, offering panoramic views of the ocean.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

Each guest bedroom also includes its own bathroom.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

The yacht comes with plenty of toys, including a custom 7-meter matching gold tender, a jetpack, a hoverboard, jet skis, kayaks, paddle board, inflatables, and a wake board. There is also a sunken pool, and a three-person sun pad.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

There are two al fresco dining areas, one of which has BBQ and buffet stations.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

The yacht's interior offers floor-to-ceiling picture windows, a contemporary LED light installation, and an open-plan galley located on the main deck.

There is also a full entertainment system and a sky lounge with panoramic views of the ocean.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco

Khalilah is currently listed for sale through both SuperYachtsMonaco and G-Yachts with an asking price of €28.5 million (or roughly $31 million).

The yacht can also be chartered through either company.

Source: SuperYachtsMonaco, G-Yachts

• McDonald's has long sat on the fast-food breakfast throne, but new forces threaten its sovereignty.
• As a result, the chain has been timidly tinkering with its breakfast menu, adding such oddities as breakfast bagels and McChicken breakfast sandwiches.
• But with its rivals growing stronger by the day, McDonald's must rally its breakfast forces and prepare for the epic battle to come.
• I took it upon myself to test McDonald's entire breakfast menu to see how well-prepared it is for the winds it must weather. And while its core is strong, it needs to be whipped into shape if it wants to fend off any would-be usurpers.
• Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

McDonald's has long been the king of breakfast, but recently, the iconic chain has been tweaking its menu here and there in an effort to boost disappointing sales.

Times are tough and getting tougher.

After the Chicken Wars of August 2019, McDonald's chicken sales slumped. Then, one of McDonald's biggest rivals, Wendy's, announced in September it would be launching a breakfast menu nationwide in 2020 — replete with finger-lickin' chicken sandwiches of its own.

Then, McDonald's decided to add chicken to its breakfast menu in 2020.

Old dogs need to learn new tricks if they want to compete with the pups. McDonald's breakfast has so far stood the test of time, but will it withstand the test of taste? I tried everything to find out.

SEE ALSO: I compared every item from McDonald's and Wendy's breakfast menus side-by-side, and found the newcomer is better in several ways

For the whole shebang, my total was $56.58 with promotional pricing. I ordered all of the entrees on the breakfast menu except for sandwiches that contained just egg or just sausage. I also ordered three drinks from the McCafe menu.

DRINKS — McCafe's selection is extensive but also can be overwhelming. I got an iced coffee, strawberry banana smoothie, and iced mocha.

ICED COFFEE, $2.69 — I didn't realize that the iced coffee came with milk added.

It was milky enough that the coffee flavor was muted. Although pleasant and drinkable, it's not for black coffee drinkers.

STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE, $3.69 — It's nice that McDonald's has smoothies now, although this one tastes like jam and ice blended together.

Sadly, the smoothie is sickly sweet to the point of being undrinkable. It's not healthy, and it doesn't taste good. So what's the point?

ICED MOCHA, $2.99 — Of all the drinks in this lineup, the iced mocha does the best job at pretending to be fancy.

It's gorgeous with a deep, rich flavor and more than just a hint of chocolate.

First on my table, biscuits. I bought three: the classic bacon egg and cheese, the sausage with egg, and the upcoming McChicken biscuit.

BACON EGG AND CHEESE BISCUIT, $4.19 — These golden butterballs are meant to be punctuated by the crisp of red, smoky bacon.

The biscuit, egg, and cheese are a power trio but lack the savory kick they need to punch it up a level.

Alas, McDonald's scant bacon does little to power up the flavor of this sandwich.

SAUSAGE BISCUIT WITH EGG, $3.99 — When McDonald's gets a biscuit right, it gets it right. But its biscuits are inconsistent.

At their worst, they are bland and dry. At their best, they're crunchy, golden, and hot. But they're usually good with sausage.

McDonald's sausage is reliably salty, soft, and fatty enough to bring out all the other flavors in a biscuit sandwich.

MCCHICKEN BISCUIT, $3.19 — This one hasn't arrived on national menus yet, but will do so in 2020.

The New York location of McDonald's I went to was one of the test locations selling the upcoming chicken breakfast items.

However, it truly doesn't compare to its chicken biscuit counterparts at Wendy's and Chick-fil-A.

It really is just a McChicken patty on a biscuit. And that just feels a little low-effort.

There are bagels on McDonald's breakfast menu? When did that happen?!

I spent most of 2018 living abroad, so there's a good chance it happened then.

BACON EGG AND CHEESE BAGEL, $4.49 — Bagels can be powerfully good — when they're good. They're the opposite when they're bad.

And sadly, McDonald's bagels are bad.

Even though everything else on this sandwich is fine, the dry, floury bagel makes everything else taste like dust.

SAUSAGE EGG AND CHEESE BAGEL, $4.39 — McDonald's sausage usually seems to fare better against stiffer sandwich buns.

But in this case, the sandwich is unsalvageable due to its bagel bun.

I'm baffled as to why anyone would choose these bready flats over the far superior biscuit or McMuffin buns.

Speaking of which, McDonald's most iconic breakfast item has got to be the McMuffin.

SAUSAGE EGG MCMUFFIN, $3.99 — McMuffin sandwiches have one main advantage over McDonald's other sandwiches: they come with a full cracked egg cooked on a griddle.

I'm also personally a fan of the soft, chewy, English muffin bun that has a lovely dusting of grit.

All in all, this sandwich has a great bite, solid and varied flavors, and ingredients that all taste relatively fresh and high-quality.

EGG MCMUFFIN, $3.99 — The name of this sandwich is a little misleading. If a sausage McMuffin also has egg in it, then this should be a ham McMuffin.

What's a McMuffin by any other name? Perfection. Hot ham, soft egg, chewy bun, and cheesy cheese make for one Benedictine egg sandwich.

But the one I ordered for this taste test was less than perfect. I learned that hard ham and burnt bun break a McMuffin.

SAUSAGE BURRITO, $1.99 — As far as burritos go, breakfast burritos are the least exciting, in my opinion. However, other people clearly feel differently.

It's an extra ingredient to keep track of (a tortilla) without the added excitement.

It's essentially the same ingredients in all McDonald's other sausage sandwiches, except in a tortilla. You'd think they'd toss in a slice of pepper or something.

McGriddles satisfy that special sweet spot that only a combination of salt and sugar can hit.

BACON EGG AND CHEESE MCGRIDDLE, $4.19 — The sweet and sticky McGriddle needs a strong salty beast to bring out the best in it.

Unfortunately, McDonald's bacon is chronically wimpy.

And the pillowy, watery egg doesn't do much to boost this sandwich's flavor profile.

SAUSAGE EGG AND CHEESE MCGRIDDLE, $4.29 — However, the mighty McGriddle meets its match in McDonald's soft, salty sausage.

This sandwich could use a bit of a texture upgrade, though.

Even thought the balance of flavors is perfect, everything in the sandwich is kind of mushy.

CHICKEN MCGRIDDLE, $3.39 — This is the second of the McChicken items McDonald's is adding to its menu in 2020.

I like McChickens. I like McGriddles. But there's nothing in this sandwich that makes me say "they should be together."

Like its biscuit counterpart, this sandwich feels like a low-effort attempt to get in on the chicken action.

BIG BREAKFAST WITH HOTCAKES, $5.69 — This breakfast platter contains hotcakes, a hash brown, and a deconstructed sausage biscuit with egg.

For hotcakes that come in a plastic box, McDonald's fluffy rounds are actually pretty good.

I imagine that they sell like hotcakes.

Another classic still going strong at McDonald's is the hash brown, which is the perfect potato pal for any solitary sandwich.

Whoever invented this crispy, pocket-sized spud probably didn't know that they were changing the world.

The rest of this breakfast isn't anything new. It's just egg, sausage biscuit, and a sausage patty.

But if you prefer your breakfast in non-sandwich form, McDonald's has you covered.

McDonald's is kind of the King Lear of breakfast. It's reigned long and well, but recent decisions have caused some to doubt its judgment, and there are many waiting to take its place.

Its classics are where the golden arches are strongest. Some of its best items, like its McMuffins, are also its oldest.

However, McDonald's hasn't brought any good new items to the breakfast table in recent years.

Even though its classics are often better than what the competition has to offer, McDonald's can't rely on the past to save it in the future.

It's going to have to innovate to keep up with changing tastes. And slapping a McChicken patty on a biscuit just won't cut it in a Popeyes chicken sandwich world.

• If you want to save on large appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, shop The Home Depot's Black Friday 2019 ad. The sale notably features Appliance Special Buys, where you can get up to 40% off top brands like Samsung, GE, and Whirlpool. 
• These Appliance Special Buys are live now through December 5 and include free delivery on purchases of $396 or more.
• The best deals you'll find include $251 off a Whirlpool Stainless Steel Dishwasher, $181 off a GE Over the Range Microwave, and $351 off a Maytag Top Load Washing Machine.
• To potentially save more on Black Friday deals this year, visit Business Insider Coupons to find the most up-to-date The Home Depot coupons and promo codes. 

Appliances, furniture, and home improvement items don't usually come cheap, but this Black Friday, you can save on all these home essentials at The Home Depot. 

Thanks to its great Black Friday deals, The Home Depot is one major retailer you should keep an eye on. Here's everything you need to know about the holiday shopping season at The Home Depot.

The best Home Depot Black Friday deals of 2019

1. Whirlpool Front Control Stainless Steel Dishwasher, $328 (originally $579) [You save $251] 
2. GE 1.7 cu. ft. Over the Range Microwave, $218 (originally $399) [You save $181]
3. Maytag 5.3 cu. ft. High-Efficiency White Top Load Washing Machine, $648 (originally $999) [You save $351] 
4. Samsung Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliance Package, $3,122 (originally $5,006) [You save $1,884]
5. Dyson Ball Total Clean Vacuum, $424 (originally $624) [You save $200] 
6. Gorilla Ladders Aluminum Slim-Fold Work Platform, $24.88 (originally $72) [You save $47.12]

How we selected the best deals at The Home Depot:

• We only chose products that meet our high standard of coverage, and that we've either used ourselves or researched carefully.
• We compared the prices against other retailers like Best Buy and Lowe's and only included the deals that are the same or better (not including promotional discounts that come from using certain credit cards).
• All deals are at least 20% off, with the occasional exception for products that are rarely discounted or provide an outsized value.

Why we selected these particular deals: 

1. Whirlpool Front Control Stainless Steel Dishwasher, $328 (originally $579)[You save $251] Fellow Home Depot shoppers love this dishwasher, which is currently more than 40% off. A notable feature that nearly everyone mentions is how quiet it is (55 dBA), so you can run the dishwasher at any time of the night without disturbing anyone. It also features an efficient one-hour wash cycle and a smart soil sensor that can adjust the cycle based on how dirty your dishes are. 

2. GE 1.7 cu. ft. Over the Range Microwave, $218 (originally $399)[You save $181] The sleek and compact microwave comes in six finishes, though you might want to get one of the lighter colors if you want to read the control panel easily. The special melt feature lets you melt things like butter and chocolate without making a mess, and you have the option to activate or deactivate the turntable. Other settings you can adjust include light brightness, fan speed, and beeper volume. 

3. Maytag 5.3 cu. ft. High-Efficiency White Top Load Washing Machine, $648 (originally $999) [You save $351] Depending on how long you've had your old washer, using this washing machine can involve a bit of a learning curve. However, the payoff is worth it. The wash basket is very large and handles 11 different wash cycles, including a PowerWash cycle that tackles especially tough stains. 

4. Samsung Stainless Steel Package, $3,122 (originally $5,006)[You save $1,884] Replace your kitchen appliances in one go with this package. The four appliances are a fridge, dishwasher, range with convection oven, and a microwave, all made with durable stainless steel. The high-tech fridge is WiFi and Bixby-enabled so you can monitor its temperature from anywhere. 

5. Dyson Ball Total Clean Vacuum, $424(originally $624)[You save $200] Dyson's cordless stick vacuum designs (and prices) aren't for everyone. The ball part of this vacuum increases stability and control, though the trade-off is that the vacuum is slightly heavier than other models. In typical Dyson fashion, it's powerful, thorough, and clean — the HEPA filtration traps allergens and bacteria inside the vacuum. 

6. Gorilla Ladders Aluminum Slim-Fold Work Platform, $24.88 (originally $72)[You save $47.12] A sturdy and durable work platform is one of the most versatile tools you can own. The standing area is nearly 4 feet long and has a 300-pound load capacity, but the platform ultimately folds down to a slim 3.25 inches. Reviews from home DIYers are overwhelmingly positive. 

Shop Home Depot deals by category: 

• Appliance Special Buys: Up to 40% off 
• Tools, storage, and accessories: Up to 35% off 
• Building materials: Up to 35% off 
• Paint: Up to 40% off 
• Bathroom: Up to 40% off 
• Kitchen: Up to 25% off 

The Home Depot Black Friday 2019 FAQs: 

Is The Home Depot open on Thanksgiving? 

 The Home Depot will be closed on Thanksgiving.  

When does The Home Depot's Black Friday sale start? 

Black Friday store hours vary based on location, so check your local listings. Online sales begin at 6 a.m. ET on Black Friday. 

One Black Friday event that's already live is Appliance Special Buys, which runs now through December 5, in participating stores and online. 

The Home Depot Black Friday deal predictions for 2019

The Home Depot is known for its Appliance Special Buys, which include washing machines and dryers, refrigerators, and cooking ranges. These discounted products come from top brands like GE, Samsung, Whirlpool, and Maytag.

This year, The Home Depot is featuring a deal of 40% off for its Appliance Special Buys. You'll get free delivery on purchases of $396 or more. If you're interested in upgrading any of these appliances in your home anytime soon, you don't need to wait until Black Friday. 

Other than large appliances, products like furniture pieces, power tools, and hardware are smart deals to shop at The Home Depot. 

The Home Depot return policies

In case your Black Friday purchase doesn't turn out as expected, you can return it to The Home Depot for free. You can bring it back to the store or you can schedule a UPS pickup from your home. 

More Black Friday deals and shopping tips: 

• 5 best things to buy on Black Friday — and 6 things you should skip
• When is Black Friday 2019?
• The best tech deals and sales to expect on Black Friday 2019
• The best deals and sales overall to expect on Black Friday 2019
• Is Black Friday or Cyber Monday better?

See more Black Friday sales and deals

• The absolute best Black Friday deals of 2019
• The best tech deals of Black Friday 2019
• Amazon Black Friday deals 2019
• Best Buy Black Friday deals 2019
• Kohl's Black Friday deals 2019
• Target Black Friday deals 2019
• Walmart Black Friday deals 2019
• The best mattress deals on Black Friday 2019

• Only 13% of millennial renters in the US can afford a standard 20% down payment on a median-priced home in the next five years, according to a new Apartment List survey.
• Apartment List broke down the percentage of millennial renters who can afford to buy a house in 16 of the biggest US metro areas.
• In three California metro areas, less than 10% of millennial renters could put down 20% if buying a house in five years.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Homeownership is looking ever more like a pipe dream for millennials.

Only 13% of millennial renters in the US can afford a standard 20% down payment on a median-priced home in the next five years, according to a new Apartment List survey. The survey polled over 10,000 millennials, defined as those ages 23 to 38. For a 10% down payment, that jumps to 25%; for a 5% down payment, it's 39%.

But those numbers vary depending on where you're buying a home. Apartment List broke down the percentage of millennial renters who can afford a 20%, 10%, and 5% down payment within the next five years in 16 of the biggest US metro areas. 

To estimate how long it would take each renter to save, Apartment List compared millennials' current savings levels, (adjusted for inflation and wage growth) against median metro-level condo prices from the National Association of Realtors (adjusted for historical home price appreciation).

Turns out, California is a hard place to save for a home. Only 7% of millennial renters in San Francisco can afford a 20% down payment in five years — and they don't fare much better in Los Angeles or San Diego.

Here's where else millennial renters are struggling to save for a home purchase. Note that all median home prices provided are from National Association of Realtors.

SEE ALSO: Student-loan debt and skyrocketing housing prices have become so bad that more millennials are planning to rent forever

DON'T MISS: 8 ways American millennials are changing homeownership, from moving to commuter towns to wiping out the starter home

The median home price in Atlanta, Georgia, is $238,100.

20% down payment: 16%

10% down payment: 24%

5% down payment: 39%

The median home price in Boston, Massachusetts, is $507,400.

20% down payment: 8%

10% down payment: 20%

5% down payment: 37%

The median home price in Chicago, Illinois, is $269,700.

20% down payment: 16%

10% down payment: 29%

5% down payment: 37%

The median home price in Dallas, Texas, is $271,100.

20% down payment: 14%

10% down payment: 29%

5% down payment: 45%

The median home price in Denver, Colorado, is $465,700.

20% down payment: 9%

10% down payment: 20%

5% down payment: 28%

The median home price in Houston, Texas, is $248,900.

20% down payment: 19%

10% down payment: 34%

5% down payment: 43%

The median home price in Los Angeles, California, is $649,600.

20% down payment: 8%

10% down payment: 21%

5% down payment: 37%

The median home price in Miami, Florida, is $365,000.

20% down payment: 13%

10% down payment: 30%

5% down payment: 43%

The median home price in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is $290,800.

20% down payment: 16%

10% down payment: 34%

5% down payment: 45%

The median home price in New York City, New York, is $400,100.

20% down payment: 18%

10% down payment: 31%

5% down payment: 46%

The median home price in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is $256,200.

20% down payment: 15%

10% down payment: 33%

5% down payment: 45%

The median home price in Phoenix, Arizona, is $289,200.

20% down payment: 13%

10% down payment: 18%

5% down payment: 35%

The median home price in San Diego, California, is $645,000.

20% down payment: 8%

10% down payment: 24%

5% down payment: 36%

The median home price in San Francisco, California, is $964,000.

20% down payment: 7%

10% down payment: 21%

5% down payment: 37%

The median home price in Seattle, Washington, is $520,500.

20% down payment: 15%

10% down payment: 23%

5% down payment: 37%

The median home price in Washington, DC, is $439,800.

20% down payment: 14%

10% down payment: 28%

5% down payment: 40%

• Black Friday is just around the corner. 
• Here's a list of when all your favorite stores are expected to be open for sales and doorbusters this year.
• Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Black Friday is almost here.

Though the annual shopping day's popularity has started to wane in favor of Cyber Monday, retailers will continue to open their doors early in hopes of luring consumers for doorbuster deals. 

Here's when your favorite stores are kicking off Black Friday sales, plus other important times you should know before planning your shopping trip. 

SEE ALSO: Black Friday is dying, and the rise of Cyber Monday may be to blame

Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and closes at midnight. It reopens at 6 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Belk

Belk will be open at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day until 1 a.m. on Friday morning. It reopens at 6 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Best Buy

Best Buy will be open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day until 1 a.m. on Friday morning. It reopens at 8 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Costco

Costco is closed on Thanksgiving Day and reopens on Black Friday at 9 a.m. with normal hours that vary by location. 

Dick's Sporting Goods

Dick's Sporting Goods is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving and from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

Gap

Gap is closed on Thanksgiving Day and open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Black Friday. 

Home Depot

Home Depot is closed on Thanksgiving Day and reopens on Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

JCPenney

JCPenney will be open at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving through 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

Kmart

Kmart opens at 6 a.m. and closes at midnight on both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

Kohl's

Kohl's opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and stays open leading into Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Lowe's

Lowe's will remain closed on Thanksgiving and open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Macy's

Macy's is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving. It reopens at 6 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Michaels

Michaels opens at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, though closing times vary by location. Stores reopen at 7 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours.

Nordstrom

Nordstrom is closed on Thanksgiving Day and reopens on Friday with normal hours, which vary by location. 

Old Navy

Old Navy opens at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and stays open until 11 p.m. on Black Friday. 

PetSmart

PetSmart is closed on Thanksgiving Day and reopens on Black Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Sam's Club

Sam's Club is closed on Thanksgiving Day and opens at 7 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Sears

Sears opens at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and closes at varying times depending on the store. It reopens on Black Friday at 6 a.m. with normal hours that also vary by location. 

Sephora

Select Sephora locations will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving Day. Stores will reopen at 6 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Staples

Staples is closed on Thanksgiving Day and reopens at 7 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

Target

Target opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and closes at 1 a.m. Friday morning. It reopens at 7 a.m. on Black Friday with normal hours that vary by location. 

TJ Maxx

TJ Maxx is closed on Thanksgiving Day and reopens on Black Friday at 7 a.m. with normal hours that vary by location. 

Walmart

Walmart opens at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and will be open through Black Friday, though hours vary by location. 

• One Direction shot to stardom in 2010 after competing on "The X Factor."
• After member Zayn Malik left in 2015, the band continued as a four-piece but later that year they announced they'd be going on a hiatus. 
• Since the hiatus, Malik has spoken negatively about his time in One Direction, saying he made no friends and didn't like the music they created.
• Members like Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have spoken about a possible reunion, but have not given details. 
• Liam Payne recently shared that Malik "didn't even say goodbye" when he left the band. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

One Direction was one of the most popular bands of the 2010s, producing multiple top-10 hits and five full-length albums. They sold out tours in stadiums and arenas around the globe.

The band was formed in 2010 on the UK version of "The X Factor" and it is comprised of five guys who auditioned as solo artists. The members include Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson.

After years of reaching milestones and breaking records, the band started to slow down. In early 2015, it was announced on Facebook that Zayn Malik would be leaving the band. The four remaining members released a final album and announced an extended hiatus in August 2015.

Since the announcement of the hiatus, members have gone on to pursue solo interests and have commented on potential reunions as well as their current relationships with their bandmates.

Here's everything members of One Direction have said about the band and each other since announcing their hiatus.

In his first interview after leaving the band, Zayn Malik called One Direction's music "generic as f---."

In his first solo interview since leaving the band, Zayn Malik told Fader magazine that One Direction's music was "generic as f---" and that it didn't fit his style. 

"Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn't fit us. There was just a general conception that the management already had of what they want for the band and I just wasn't convinced with what we were selling," he told the publication. 

He said he wasn't 100% behind the band's music and that the group was recording what they were told would sell. 

In 2015, Malik said he wouldn’t listen to One Direction’s music.

After leaving One Direction, Malik went on the record to say he isn't a fan of the band's music.

He told Rolling Stone, "That's not music I would listen to ...Would you listen to One Direction at a party with your girl? I wouldn't. To me, that's not an insult, that's me as a 22-year-old man."

"As much as I was in that band, and I loved everything that we did, that's not music that I would listen to. I want to make music that I think is cool s---. I don't think that's too much to ask for," he added. 

In 2015, Malik seemed to suggest One Direction's music wasn't "real."

In 2015, Malik teased the release of new music on Twitter. He shared the announcement along with "#RealMusic."

Many fans interpreted this as a jab at One Direction's discography, feeling as though Malik meant to imply the music he had previously made with One Direction was fake or not quite up to his standards.

In 2016, Malik said he never wanted to be in One Direction.

In 2016, in his first solo, on-camera interview with radio station Beats 1, Malik said he never wanted to be in One Direction. 

"I think I always wanted to go, from like the first year, really," he told the interviewer. "I never really wanted to be there, like in the band."

"I realized the direction we were going in — mind the pun — with the music, I instantly realized it wasn't for me because I realized I couldn't put any input in," he added.

In 2017, Malik said he and Harry Styles didn't really talk when they were in the band together. He also said he didn't really talk to any of his bandmates anymore.

Malik told Us Weekly he and Styles were not close while they were in the band together. He said he "never really spoke to Harry" and that he had never been under the impression they would keep in touch after Malik left the band. 

That same year, he told Billboard that he doesn't really talk to anyone in the band anymore. 

"Our relationships have definitely changed since we were in a band together, but I think that's just life," Malik told the publication. "Everybody grows up — two of the guys have got kids now. But no, I don't talk to any of them, really."

In 2018, Malik has said he didn't make a single friend during his time in One Direction.

In an interview with GQ, Malik said he "didn't make any friends from the band." He explained, "It's not something that I'm afraid to say. I definitely have issues trusting people.

This came as a surprise to fans because in the Facebook post announcing his departure, Malik wrote that he had "four friends for life."

That same year, Malik told GQ he felt his vision was not aligned with the band's.

In a 2018 cover story, Malik explained he felt underrepresented in terms of the music One Direction was producing. He told GQ, "My vision didn't necessarily always go with what was going on within the band."

In contrast to the pop music of One Direction was known for producing, Malik released an R&B album in 2016.

Malik has also said, toward the end, he felt he wasn't able to enjoy the experience of being in the band.

Speaking with Vogue UK in 2018, Malik referred to One Direction as a "machine."

He discussed the band's sudden rise to fame and rigorous touring schedule saying, "I think back to the performances towards the end when we were in stadiums — I wasn't really ever able to enjoy the experience. The machine had gone too fast."

Harry Styles responded to some of Malik's comments in 2017.

The youngest member of One Direction, Harry Styles, has since released a critically acclaimed album, gone on a world tour, and co-chaired the 2019 Met Gala.

Since the band's split, he has been relatively quiet about his relationships with the other members of One Direction, but he has mentioned his distant relationship with one member in particular, Malik.

In a 2017 profile for Rolling Stone, Styles responded to Malik saying One Direction's music wasn't "cool."

"I think it's a shame he felt that way ... but I never wish anything but luck to anyone doing what they love. If you're not enjoying something and need to do something else, you absolutely should do that. I'm glad he's doing what he likes, and good luck to him," said Styles. 

Styles has also explained why he felt the band's hiatus was best for their long-term success.

In that same 2017 interview, when asked why the band agreed to take a hiatus, Styles told Rolling Stone he "didn't want to exhaust [the band's] fan base" and spoke for the other members saying, "We all thought too much of the group to let that happen."

Styles went on to entertain ideas of a future reunion, saying, "I love the band and would never rule out anything in the future. The band changed my life, gave me everything."

In 2017, Styles said a 1D reunion could eventually come about if everyone was in the right mindset.

Styles told Another Man magazine that a One Direction reunion would never be ruled out. He thinks it is good for the members to be "exploring different things," but that if a reunion were to happen when everyone felt comfortable, it would be "amazing."

While hosting "Saturday Night Live" in November of 2019, Styles made a joke about Malik's leaving the band.

During his turn hosting and performing on "Saturday Night Live," Styles made a reference to his boy-band days, saying, "I love those guys, they're my brothers: Niall, Liam, Louis, and, uh, Ringo, yeah, that's it." 

By swapping out Malik's name with Ringo Starr's, Styles referenced how Malik was the first person to leave One Direction — sort of how Starr was technically the first member to leave The Beatles.

In 2017, Louis Tomlinson said he was feeling more confident than ever just before the band's hiatus.

During their time on"The X Factor," Louis Tomlinson had minimal screen time. He didn't sing any solo parts on the show and was never the band's frontman. Over the years, he began to perform more solos on the band's albums and during live tours.

In 2017, he told The Guardian,"In the last year of One Direction, I was probably the most confident I ever was. And then it was: 'OK, hiatus!'"

That same year, Tomlinson said he thought he would have a harder time than his bandmates trying to work with major names in the music industry.

When beginning his own solo career, Tomlinson expressed uncertainty in his ability to team up with any superstar collaborators.

In 2017, he told The Guardian, "I couldn't say to you now that I could definitely get a superstar writer in a session with me," later adding, "Harry [Styles] won't struggle with any of that."

Tomlinson has already released music with Bebe Rexha and Steve Aoki and his bandmates have also had created hit songs with famed artists.

Styles has collaborated with Stevie Nicks, Ariana Grande, and Kacey Musgraves; Malik has collaborated with artists like Taylor Swift and Sia; Horan has worked with Julia Michaels and Maren Morris; and Payne has worked with stars like Rita Ora and Zedd. 

On the nine-year anniversary of the band being formed, Tomlinson sent his love to his bandmates.

"So many incredible memories. Days like today are days for reflection, so proud looking back! Thank you for ALWAYS having our backs! Big love to the lads! #9YearsOfOneDirection," the musician tweeted on July 23, 2019 — the ninth anniversary of the band being formed. 

In 2019, Louis Tomlinson said he thinks a 1D reunion is "inevitable" and he wasn't ready for the band to split when it did.

In a 2019 interview with ODE Entertainment, Louis Tomlinson said he feels a One Direction reunion is "inevitable" but he doesn't know when exactly it'll happen. 

In a later interview with "Build" that same year, the singer said he wasn't really ready for the band to go on a break.

"It surprised me to a certain degree, so I didn't have any plan in place or anything like that,"he added. "I think I just thought that I was going to carry on writing for other people, but not necessarily for myself."

He said he ended up writing a lot of songs and liking some, so he decided to pursue a solo singing career. 

Earlier this year, Tomlinson spoke about his and Malik's strained friendship.

In December 2016, Tomlinson's' mom Johannah Deakin died of leukemia. He was previously slated to perform on "The X Factor" just days after her death so he stuck to his commitment and performed his first solo song in her honor.

He said all of his former bandmates except for Malik came to see him perform. Tomlinson later spoke about the incident on the "The Dan Wootton Interview" podcast in 2019. 

"... All the boys had agreed to come to that performance and he didn't show so that really bugged me ... It was just seeing everyone there — Harry, Niall, and Liam — that was what I needed that night, that support," he said. "So on the other end of the spectrum it kind of really showed."

Tomlinson has continued to speak about his strained relationship with Malik.

In October, the singer told Metro that he didn't think he was ready to decide whether or not he could forgive Malik. 

"I just don't think I am mature enough, even in my own head, to give that a real answer. At the moment, I am still pretty mad about the whole thing," he told the publication.

"I don't think [Zayn] handled it very well. But never say never. Who knows? He chatted a lot of s--- in the early days. I thought One Direction were pretty good," he added. 

In 2017, Liam Payne said he isn't a fan of Harry's song, "Sign of the Times."

In a video for Music Choice, Liam Payne was asked about some of his bandmates' solo music.

He said Styles' single "Sign of the Times"' is not "[his] sort of music" and isn't something he'd listen to but he respects Harry's taste and thinks he "did a great job of doing what he wanted to do."

"He'd say the same thing about me," Payne said of Styles. Payne creates hip-hop-style music whereas Style's solo tracks have classic-rock vibes. 

Payne said Horan's solo single "This Town" was "great." 

That same year, during a speech, Payne made a joke about Malik's departure from the band.

While presenting friend James Corden with the Man Of The Year award at Glamour's Women Of The Year ceremony in 2017, Payne told a story about the band Corden was in when he was younger.

Corden's band apparently had a slogan, which Payne followed up with"[One Direction] never had a slogan, but if we had, Zayn might have stayed."

In 2019, Payne told a fan on Twitter to stop asking him about the hiatus.

Payne, who has had success with solo songs like "Strip That Down," and "Get Low," recently responded to a fan on Twitter when they asked him about a reunion.

The fan reportedly shared two screenshots of conflicting reports of a reunion tour, asking Payne if he could make up his mind.

Payne responded by writing, "Can people stop passing blame to me about this I get asked this ridiculous question 500x a day (exaggeration)... so I just say whatever guess I have at the time... but still this band has 3 other members you want the answer ask them."

In 2019, Payne spoke about how "dumb luck" played a role in 1D's success and how the fame could get toxic.

"It literally was the perfect storm," Payne told Men's Health magazine in 2019, speaking of One Direction's success. He said so many scenarios had to fall into place for the band to be as successful as it was and a lot of it came down to "dumb luck."

He also spoke about how the group's fame took a toll on him and impacted his mental health. 

"When you're doing hundreds and hundreds of [concerts] and it's the same 22 songs at the same time every single day, even if you're not happy, you've got to go out there," he told the publication. "It's almost like putting the Disney costume on before you step up on stage and underneath the Disney costume I was pissed (drunk) quite a lot of the time because there was no other way to get your head around what was going on."

He said it was fun but parts of being famous and being on tour "just got a little bit toxic."

Payne said he'd like to collaborate with Styles.

During a November 2019 interview with the "Hits Radio Breakfast Show," Payne said he'd be interested in collaborating with Styles— even though he once said he wasn't a huge fan of his music. 

"From the first song off his album, I feel like me and Harry could do a really cool song together," he said on the show, speaking of Styles' album "Fine Line" and the first single from it, "Lights Up."

"There could be a good mix between the two things because the first song was kind of funky so I feel like we could break down into some sort of hip-hop-R&B thing halfway though, and have like a little megamix," Payne explained.

Payne said going solo was tough but fun, and that he and his bandmates are finding their place in the music world.

In a November 2019 interview with GQ, Payne said "everything changed" once One Direction parted ways.

"New teams, new managers, new labels. Building those working relationships can be tricky. You also become the boss of your own s---, and I was 21, 22 when I first started doing my own thing, so it's all a bit scary and can be a bit lonely," he told the publication, saying the process is a lot of fun, too. 

"Now the band members have all worked our way through this first couple of years, you can kind of see everyone's finding their own feet. Take Harry [Styles] at the moment. You know, he's just found what I think is his sound and exactly where he wants to be, which took him a little minute to get into since he had his last album out," he added.

The singer also mentioned that a few years after the band went on a break, he went into therapy to cope.

"That first therapy session and being like, 'I don't even know what I like or anything about myself' — it was pretty scary stuff," he told GQ. 

He also said he and his bandmates have had their differences, but he found it "strange" that Malik never said goodbye.

Payne also told GQ that he and his bandmates have always had their differences, and that he still thinks about things he'd do differently but that it's "all part of growing up."

"Being in One Direction was such a schoolyard mentality somehow — the One Direction University, I call it. Everyone has stuff they've said at parties they wished they hadn't but, for us, the difference was that it was all happening in front of the world," Payne told GQ. 

He said now that he's older, certain things don't bother him as much but Malik leaving the band was tough.

"I think with Zayn's particular exit and the way he chose to go, we haven't really heard from him since he left. He didn't even say goodbye, if I am being honest. It was a really sordid scenario, from our side certainly. A bit strange. It's difficult," he added. 

Payne has said Malik was the best singer in One Direction.

"For Zayn, he loves music and he's an amazing talent. He genuinely was the best singer in One Direction, hand on heart, out of all of us," Payne also told GQ.

He said he tried to reach out to Malik, but got to a point where he "wouldn't know where to begin."

"I hope he has good people around him, but I don't at this stage think it's anything the rest of us can solve," Payne added. 

In 2017, Niall Horan shared that he doesn't regularly keep in touch with Malik but he has kept in touch with some of his other bandmates.

Niall Horan told The Sun that Malik is the "hardest man to get in touch with" due to the fact that he is constantly changing his phone number. 

He did say that he met Payne's son, Bear, and brought him gifts. He also mentioned that he'd been to see one of Styles' solo gigs and got a drink with him. 

He also mentioned a possible band reunion in that interview, saying, "It's only been like two years or whatever so I'm not worried about it. I'm not rushing it and I'm not worried that it won't happen."

That same year, Horan said he sometimes feels as though he is still in One Direction

In an interview with Billboard, Horan said he sometimes feels like something is missing when touring solo as opposed to in a band.

He said, "You're sitting in an airport lounge, they call you for a plane, and you don't stand up initially because you're waiting on ­everyone else, you know? 'Oh, Louis'll be back from the toilet in a minute.'"

In that same interview, Horan said he has nothing but respect for his former bandmates.

Speaking to Billboard, Horan said he sees Tomlinson and Tomlinson's son, Freddie, often. He said they live near each other in Los Angeles and see each other "all the time."

He also spoke about his plans to hang out with Styles and Payne and shrugged off questions about Malik's shady comments: "I know what Zayn's like — outspoken, and fair play to him."

• The 2019 Mercedes-Benz A220 is an entry-level four-door in the luxury carmaker's A-Series lineup, which has only recently hit US shores.
• The nearly $50,000 car I tested was packed with performance extras and technology.
• Budget-minded buyers might look elsewhere, but the A220 is fun to drive, easy on gas, and a great introduction to the Mercedes way of life.
• It's one of the best small sedans I've driven, and that's why it's a 2019 Car of the Year runner-up.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Editor's note: Business Insider will name its 2019 Car of the Year on November 23. Each day this week, we're taking another look at the five vehicles that were runners-up selected from a pool of 16 finalists. Thus far, we've named the Lamborghini Urus, Nissan Leaf SL Plus, and Cadillac XT4. Our fourth runner-up is the Mercedes-Benz A220. You can read our full 2019 Car of the Year coverage here.

Mercedes-Benz has been selling cars in the US for decades, but until quite recently, Americans were denied the rinky-dink A-Class vehicles that Mercedes had delivered elsewhere on the globe.

The A-Class was created in 1997. I saw my first one in the early 2000s — I'm pretty sure it was a Brazilian-made car that had been sold in Mexico and had made its way to a parking structure in downtown Los Angeles.

Fifteen years later, the A-Class has finally made it to the USA, for its fourth generation. I had never driven one before, so I was delighted to check out a 2019 A220 sedan with Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. My tester didn't have an official sticker price, but by my estimation it was roughly $46,000.

That ain't chump change, but my A220 did have pretty much every option that could be added; base-priced examples hover around $32,000, which is about $10,000 cheaper than the lowest-grade C-Class. Bear in mind that you are getting a Merc that, unlike other sedans in the automaker's long history, is based on a front-wheel-drive architecture — the same idea behind Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas.

I tried to avoid allowing my bias for rear-drive German luxury sedans to come into play with the A220. And when it was all a wrap after a week in the New York-New Jersey area, I was perfectly happy with the Benz's engineering.

But what about the rest of the ride made the A220 good enough to be a 2019 Car of the Year runner up? Read on to see what I thought.

Photos by Hollis Johnson.

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The A220 is a subcompact four-door that now slots in below the C-Class. A-Class rides are Mercedes' new point-of-entry. In "Iridium Silver Metallic," the A220 looks sharp, but it also blends in.

If I had to sum the A220 up, I'd say the front is sleek and elegant, while the stubby rear ... is not.

The compact stance definitely works better up front. My A220 had a special AMG Line package ($2,600 extra) that included a diamond-block grille, vented front disc brakes, and a dropped suspension.

The Mercedes tri-star badge is prominent against the blacked-out grille, with a pair of chrome wings that add some real design energy to the fascia. And of course, the hood ornaments of yore, so easy to steal, have been supplanted by bas-relief badges.

The sloping roofline is on-trend for auto design these days, but I'm no fan of the A220's rear end, which manages to be both truncated and insubstantial.

It's also rather busy, with the angled tail lights crowding out the tri-star badge. The dual exhaust pipes look good, however.

To be honest, I think the A220's design is mostly successful, given its scale. The idea of a small Mercedes is a tough sell, and the A220's styling works well with what it has. Overall, the sedan simply has a lightness that could appeal to some buyers. But it might be a turn-off to longtime Benz fans.

The powerplant is a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, making 188 horsepower with 221 pound-feet of torque. The transmission is a crisp-shifting seven-speed dual-clutch unit.

The motor is one of the best things about the A220. Does it deliver a mountain of horsepower? No. But the combo of ponies and available torque makes for snappy driving, and the AMG performance goodies added to the car mean you're getting a platform that can be pushed to max out its potential.

The interior of the A220 should turn off nobody. On the inside, Mercedes is doing a phenomenal job with its cars, balancing bling with posh and throwing in a heapin' helpin' of high tech.

The seats are upholstered in two-tone leather: "Titanium Gray/Black." It's a handsome color scheme, a bit less flashy than what I've seen on more upscale Mercs.

For some, Mercedes bling is off-putting. I'd call the A220's interior minimalist and tasteful. Minimalist, that is, in the Mercedes context — an Audi this isn't. The grabber is the large instrument panel/infotainment screen that extends across the left half of the dashboard.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel is outfitted with the usual batch of buttons, thumbwheels, and switches, controlling many vehicle functions and enabling the driver to keep those hands on the wheel.

The instruments are all digital, and the resolution is stunning.

The instrument/infotainment screen is over 20 square inches. The 10.25-inch infotainment display runs Mercedes' pretty good, yet not great, system.

Resolution is crisp, GPS navigation is solid, and Bluetooth device pairing is easy. There are also USB/AUX ports for gadget integration.

My A220 had an $850 Burmester "Surround Sound" audio system that sounded fantastic, full of dynamic range and detail. A SiriusXM satellite radio subscription was also included.

The screen also provides info on drive modes and offers numerous ways to customize interior lighting and vehicle settings. (You have 64 interior lighting options to choose from.)

The system uses a touchscreen, but there's also this wrist-rest configuration with buttons and inputs to prevent excessive interaction with the screen while driving. It's a mixed bag, performance-wise. I'd grade it a B-.

So what's the verdict on the Mercedes A220 4Matic sedan?

Apart from my reservations about the design, which aren't terribly substantial, I really liked the A220. It's a capable daily driver, and even though its trunk isn't huge, it's big enough to provide some versatility for weekend road trips and grocery store runs. The back seat is snug, but this is a subcompact sedan, so expecting more would be pointless.

With a passel of performance features added in, I found the A220 to be one of those cars whose power can be fully accessed by mere mortals. Too many driver-oriented cars have so much punch that owners never get to use their vehicle's full potential. Not so with the A220. I felt that I could grab all 188 ponies and 221 pound-feet of torque and direct it joyfully to the wheels. 

The 0-60 mph time is about six seconds, which is plenty quick. You're also going to get reasonable fuel-economy, something in the ballpark of 30 mpg (the official numbers are 24 city/35 highway/28 combined). Impressive, and a strong argument for torque-y little turbo-fours.

My tester came with a $2,250 Driver Assistance Package that combines assorted safety features — lane-keep assist, blind-spot-assist, evasive steering — with some semi-self-driving tech, such as steering assist and augmented adaptive cruise control. They all worked as advertised, although I enjoyed driving the A220 so much that I didn't rely on them.

There are cheaper four-doors in the world. But if the Mercedes name appeals to you — and it should, because Mercedes is doing some nice stuff these days with its cars and SUVs — the A220 is an excellent starting point. My test car pushed $50,000, but it was optioned up the Teutonic wazoo; the A220 with front-wheel-drive and diminished tech can be had for far less. 

I'd call that a good deal, enhanced by the fact that I enjoyed the A220 at least as much if not more than any small premium sedan I've driven in the past few years.

That's why it's a 2019 Car of the Year runner-up.

• House investigators leading the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump are hearing testimony from Fiona Hill and David Holmes on Thursday.
• Hill, the former top Russia adviser on the National Security Council, in closed-door testimony already offered a scathing picture of shadowy efforts to urge Ukraine to investigate Trump's political rivals.
• Holmes is a top staffer at the US Embassy in Ukraine and worked closely with Marie Yovanovitch while she was serving as the US ambassador to Ukraine. He overheard a phone call with Trump relevant to the inquiry.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fiona Hill, the former director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council, and David Holmes, a top staffer at the US Embassy in Ukraine, are testifying before House investigators Thursday for the public impeachment hearings into President Donald Trump.

Watch the hearing here:

Read more of Insider's impeachment coverage:

• Think Trump will get impeached? Gambling sites say the odds are in your favor
• Congressional Republicans are repeating many baseless conspiracy theories in Trump's impeachment inquiry. Here's why they're all bogus.
• Trump could be impeached and removed from office but still win reelection in 2020
• Here's everyone testifying in the public hearings on the possible impeachment of Donald Trump

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Trump's impeachment process: What's happened, who the players are, and what comes next

In her testimony, Hill recounted a very tense July 10 White House meeting in which Sondland emphasized he had an agreement with Mulvaney to get Ukraine to announce an investigation into Burisma.

In an episode Hill also described in her closed-door October 14 deposition, Hill said that Bolton "stiffened" when Sondland raised the prospect of Ukraine announcing an investigation into Burisma in exchange for a White House meeting. 

After Bolton abruptly ended the meeting, Hill said she tried to intercept Sondland and make clear to him there should be no discussion of investigations with Ukranian officials.

Hill testified that when she recounted the conversation with Sondland to Bolton, he told her to report it to NSC counsel John Eisenberg immediately, saying, "You go and tell Eisenberg that I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up on this."

Hill also defended the ousted Ambassador Yovanovitch, saying the way Yovanovitch was "smeared and attacked" was "shameful."

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1197544749688864769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Hill: "I had already brought to Bolton's attention the attacks, the smear campaign against Amb. Yovanovitch and expressed great regret about how this was unfolding and, in fact, the shameful way in which Amb. Yovanovitch was being smeared and attacked."https://t.co/hsjAHbktujpic.twitter.com/wfKFjoLSLu

Hill said she was "shocked and saddened" to read the White House's notes of the July 25 Trump-Zelensky call, and see that Trump had brought up the Biden investigations.

Hill left the White House on July 19, six days before the call took place. She also said there was "no basis" for the theory Trump pushed on the July 25 Zelensky call that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.

On the July 25 call, Trump also referenced a discredited conspiracy — also heavily pushed by Giuliani — that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and that Ukraine was somehow in possession of a DNC server.

"I would like you to do us a favor though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike ... I guess you have one of your wealthy people ... The server, they say Ukraine has it," Trump said on the call. 

In the call, Trump was referencing the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which the DNC retained to help them respond to Russia's breach of its servers during the 2016 election. In reality, there is no single, physical DNC server, and there is no evidence that Ukraine's government "hid" it from investigators or was in any way involved in the 2016 US presidential election. 

In her opening statement, Dr. Fiona Hill slammed the conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election as "a fictional narrative" that plays into Russian hands.

"I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary and that Ukraine—not Russia—attacked us in 2016. These fictions are harmful even if used for domestic purposes," Hill said. 

She added: "The Russians have a vested interest in undermining Ukraine," and that the Russian government was "hoping for" a situation that would "put one side of our electorate against the other." 

Holmes recalled overhearing a July 26 phone call between Sondland and Trump where Trump asked if Zelensky would do "the investigations" into Burisma, and Sondland confirmed he would.

Holmes also testified that Sondland told Trump that Zelensky "loves your ass," and that Trump and Sondland further discussed rapper A$AP Rocky's detention in Sweden. 

Holmes said he could clearly hear Trump's voice and the two men were "clearly addressing" Holmes' area of expertise, with Sondland making it clear that 

Holmes also said that Sondland told him that Trump cared about "big stuff" in Ukraine as it related to the Bidens, and not major national security issues, like the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. 

Holmes later said that he learned the aid freeze was intended to express Trump's dissatisfaction with the lack of investigations into Burisma, and Zelensky was set to "commit on a cable news channel to a specific investigation of President Trump's political rival "just days after the hold on the aid ended up being lifted.

Holmes said he was "shocked" to learn during a meeting on July 18 that the US had placed a hold on a previously appropriated aid package to Ukraine.

He added: "the order to freeze aid came from the president and had been conveyed to OMB by Mr. Mulvaney, with no further explanation," referring to acting White House chief of staff and former OMB Director Mick Mulvaney. 

Holmes said that when the transcript of the July 25 Trump-Zelensky call was publicly released on September 25, said he was "deeply disappointed" to learn that Trump had not raised any of the US' security priorities in the call. 

Holmes also recalled US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland complaining about Giuliani's interference and saying, "Dammnit Rudy, every time Rudy gets involved he f--- everything up."

Holmes described in detail how Sondland, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and former US special representative to Ukraine Kurt Volker— termed "the three amigos"— committed themselves to securing a White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky. 

Holmes confirmed that it was "made clear" that Ukraine announcing investigations into Burisma was a necessary precondition for a White House meeting, but Holmes said he became increasingly worried that a meeting in which the US did not express sufficient support for Ukraine would be "worse than no meeting at all." 

In his opening statement, diplomat David Holmes praised former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's "dedication, determination, decency, and professionalism"

Holmes is a career foreign service officer who currently works as the director of political affairs at the US Embassy in Kyiv.

In his opening statement, he praised former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, a veteran diplomat who was suddenly recalled from her position this spring, and described how Trump's personal attorney became involved in US-Ukraine policy and ousted Yovanovitch.

Holmes testified that the US' diplomatic and security interests in Ukraine "became overshadowed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a cadre of officials with a direct channel to the White House," Holmes said, then describing how former Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutensko spread smears and false allegations against Yovanovitch. 

"The barrage of allegations directed at Ambassador Yovanovitch, a career ambassador, is unlike anything I've ever seen in my professional career," Holmes said. 

What Hill and Holmes testified to behind closed doors

Hill was the top adviser on Russia in the White House until she left the administration over the summer.

Her testimony could offer the clearest picture of how the national security adviser John Bolton responded to shadow efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations into Trump's rivals. Bolton, who has refused to testify, was apparently disconcerted by these efforts, according to Hill's closed-door testimony.

The Russia expert testified privately that Bolton, who exited the White House in early September, once said he didn't want to be part of whatever "drug deal" the US ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, and the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, were "cooking up" with regard to Ukraine.

Bolton did not initially realize the extent to which Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was involved in these matters, Hill said.

Hill said Bolton described Giuliani as a "hand grenade that is going to blow everybody up" and instructed her to communicate with the NSC's lawyer about the efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch the investigations.

She offered a particularly scathing assessment of the smear campaign that ultimately led Marie Yovanovitch to be removed as the US ambassador to Ukraine.

Yovanovitch's removal was a "result of the campaign that Mr. Giuliani had set in motion," Hill testified. She said there was "no basis" for removing Yovanovitch.

The impeachment inquiry spiraled out of a whistleblower complaint that centered on a July 25 phone call in which Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden as well as a baseless conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.

The White House released a memo that summarized the call. Hill said she was "very shocked" and "very saddened" when she read the memo.

Hill is a widely respected academic and expert on Europe and Russia, directing the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution from 2009 to 2017. She began working in the Trump administration in April 2017 and also served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009.

Holmes, who testified to House investigators in a closed-door hearing last week, was a last-minute addition to the list of witnesses in this week's impeachment inquiry schedule. As a top staffer at the US Embassy in Ukraine, he's worked closely with Yovanovitch as well as another key impeachment witness — the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor.

In his closed-door testimony, Holmes told House investigators that he overheard Sondland mention investigations in a July 26 phone call with Trump, which was one day after the call with Zelensky that prompted the whistleblower complaint. He was sitting with Sondland at a restaurant in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv at the time of the call.

Holmes testified that he overheard Sondland tell Trump that Zelensky "loves your ass" and that the Ukrainian president planned to move forward with "the investigation."

"I then heard President Trump ask, 'So, he's gonna do the investigation?' Ambassador Sondland replied that 'he's gonna do it,' adding that President Zelensky will do 'anything you ask him to,'" Holmes said.

• In June and July, Business Insider surveyed more than 3,000 readers to determine which fast-food chain's fried chicken fans love the most.
• Rankings were determined by the percentage of visitors to a chain who said that that chain had the best fried chicken.
• More people than had visited Popeyes in the last six months said the chain had the best fried chicken. KFC came in at a distant second, with a little over half of visitors saying the chain had the best fried chicken.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Before there was the chicken sandwich, there was fried chicken.

Good fried chicken is crispy, juicy, and well-seasoned. Some might say finger-lickin' good, but they might get in trouble with a certain retired colonel. And does that colonel have the best fried chicken? And if not, who does?

In a survey conducted in June and July — before the debut of Popeyes' chicken sandwich in August— we asked our readers to tell us which chains have the best fried chicken in fast food. Over 3,000 readers responded, and five chains were clear favorites, although one was a clearer favorite than the others.

To determine our rankings, we compared the percentage of respondents who said they'd visited a chain in the previous six months against the percentage of respondents who said they thought that chain was the best at something.

According to our readers, these are the five fast-food chains with the best fried chicken:

SEE ALSO: Five Guys has the best french fries in fast food, according to our survey of more than 3,000 customers

5. Wingstop

23% of people who visited a Wingstop in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

4. Zaxby's

36% of people who visited a Zaxby's in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

3. Chick-fil-A

50% of people who visited a Chick-fil-A in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

2. KFC

60% of people who visited a KFC in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

1. Popeyes

107% of people who visited a Popeyes in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken. The extra 7% comes from respondents who did not visit a Popeyes in the last six months but still said the chain had the best fried chicken.

• 2019 was a big year for natural beauty.
• Not only was the "no-makeup makeup" look popular throughout the year, but many celebrities chose to ditch their foundation and eye makeup entirely.
• Kim Kardashian West, for example, posted videos of herself with no makeup to share her struggles with psoriasis.
• Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, and Lana Del Rey all shared similar photos.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

At the start of the year, Kesha revealed her face is full of freckles.

"This year my resolution is to love myself," the singer wrote on Twitter. "Just as I am, all f------ up and imperfect and whatever else. And to let my freckles liiiiiiiive." 

A few days later, Sarah Michelle Gellar followed suit.

The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress took the photo after working out, writing: "This pic is #nomakeup #nofilter and probably the last time I will be upright for the rest of the week." 

Alicia Keys showed her glowing skin at the 2019 Grammy Awards in February.

She paired her minimal-makeup look with simple jewelry and a red Armani gown for the Grammys.

Lena Headey used Instagram to showcase her makeup-free skin that same month.

After posting the makeup-free video to her Instagram story, she later shared a screenshot of messages she'd received from critics online. She wrote: "I shall continue to not wear make up. Go f--- your self."

Lady Gaga revealed her natural skin after attending the 2019 Oscars in February.

Despite going without makeup in 2019, Lady Gaga broke into the beauty industry that same year, launching her cosmetics line Haus Laboratories.

The photo above was seemingly taken before the star attended the 2019 Oscars, where she wore a 141-year-old diamond necklace from Tiffany & Co.

In March, Lana Del Rey showcased her natural look online.

She accompanied the photo with a long poem.

Kim Kardashian West also used Instagram in March to share a video of herself without makeup.

She also used the video to reveal that she was experiencing a psoriasis flare-up at the time, writing "psoriasis face" across the screen. Psoriasis is a skin condition which causes red, scaly patches across the skin — most commonly on the elbows and knees.

Like her daughter, Kris Jenner showcased her makeup-free skin on Instagram.

Jenner shared the photo in March, and added the hashtags "#nomakeup" and "#nofilter" in the caption.

After a workout in March, Carrie Underwood shared a selfie online.

In the caption of her photo, she wrote: "When your face matches your shirt = you had a good workout! Unless your shirt is blue — then maybe you should be concerned!"

Kate Beckinsale posted a barefaced selfie in April.

She used the Latin phrase "Mens sana in corpore sano" as the caption of her photo. It's typically translated to mean "a healthy mind in a healthy body."

Ciara opened up about loving her natural appearance that same month.

On Instagram, the musician described her photo as being "vulnerable" because she wore no makeup or extensions while taking it.

"My beauty marks and all," Ciara wrote. "The real me — and I love it. Finally embracing myself fully! It feels good."

Christina Anstead took to Instagram in May with before-and-after photos following a makeover.

Underneath her photos, many fans commented that she "looks beautiful" with and without makeup.

Marisol Nichols shared some skin-care tips underneath a photo of her bare face in June.

"Clean and fresh," she wrote on Instagram. "No makeup confidence." Nichols also tagged Kate Somerville Skin Care, and used the #lasergenesisfacial hashtag.

Heidi Klum isn't afraid to go makeup-free online.

While filming an Amazon Prime show in June, Klum documented her hair and makeup process on Instagram. 

Jessica Biel shared a makeup-free selfie in August to encourage "self love."

Biel said in the caption of her post that she was inspired by model and actor Kate Upton to go without makeup.

Jennifer Lopez looked radiant without makeup in a YouTube video from that same month.

The musician's YouTube video was a visual diary of her "It's My Party" international tour. It included clips of her swimming with her children, traveling, and performing all over the world.

Sarah Jessica Parker went barefaced while hanging out with her friend Andy Cohen.

Cohen shared a selfie of himself and Parker on Instagram, writing "Magic Hour, Magic Lady."

Also in August, Ariel Winter ditched makeup to play with puppies.

In the caption of her post, Winter encouraged people to consider adopting the dogs she'd played with.

Jada Pinkett Smith used a simple caption underneath her makeup-free selfie this year.

"Good Morning,"she wrote on Instagram, followed by a sun emoji.

Bella Thorne spent much of 2019 sharing makeup-free photos online.

In September, the multihyphenate star shared three photos of herself seemingly without makeup. The images were accompanied by a messaged about "falling in love."

In September, Miley Cyrus posed with her pet while seemingly not wearing makeup.

The photos she posted on Instagram were taken outdoors as she rode a boat.

Kelly Ripa opted for the no-makeup look while taking a selfie in October.

She shared the selfie, which also featured one of her stylists, on Instagram.

Yara Shahidi shared a barefaced selfie as a reminder "to not sweat the details."

She shared the photo on Instagram in November, and added that she's "committed to love" her skin "in every and all states."

"With travel + work + 24/7 in makeup, I have to actively remind myself to not sweat the details (aka the blemishes) and reframe it as a reminder to make sure I'm taking care of myself," she wrote.

Tracee Ellis Ross shared her beauty secrets — which include ditching foundation — in November.

She appeared makeup-free in a Vogue video titled "Tracee Ellis Ross's Guide to Curly Hair."

• Read more:
• 16 of the most shocking beauty YouTube transformations of all time
• The surprising real names of 14 popular beauty influencers
• 10 beauty trends that should disappear by 2020
• Kylie Jenner just agreed to sell a majority stake in her makeup company for $600 million