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YouTube is trying to keep up with genre-bending influencers like James Charles and MrBeast, who defy traditional categorization

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no more lies

  • YouTube's 2019 "Rewind" video featured several different ranked lists, and Insider talked to Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube, about how the platform divides its content into genres.
  • Allocca pointed out that creators like James Charles, who makes beauty videos, are now also considered celebrities by the platform. When beauty community drama happens, the response videos, like Charles' "No More Lies," aren't necessarily considered beauty content.
  • That's why "No More Lies" was ranked as the seventh most-liked creator video of the year, but didn't appear under the most-liked beauty videos.
  • On the flip side, Shane Dawson isn't a beauty guru, but the first episode of his latest docuseries with Jeffree Star is considered a beauty video – which shows how genre-bending and mainstream YouTube's biggest stars have become. 
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

For some of its biggest stars and genres, YouTube has to find new ways to categorize their viral fame.

"Like MrBeast, what is that? What genre would MrBeast be? It's hard to place but it's obviously hugely successful, people love it," Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube, told Insider. "You're also seeing a lot of creators who are crossing genres and categorization lines that are hard to actually fit into one box."

The specifics of the new genres were on full display in 2019's "Rewind" video, which is comprised of a series of ranked lists (much to viewers' dismay) that include the most-liked creator videos and the most-liked beauty videos. 

James Charles' explosive response to 2019's Dramageddon, "No More Lies," was the seventh most-liked creator video of the year. But unlike Charles' "Makeup Tutorial en Español" that topped the most-liked beauty videos list, "No More Lies" isn't considered a beauty video by YouTube – it's now categorized as celebrity drama.

rewind shane dawson

"While James Charles does beauty videos, he is also a celebrity because of those videos," Allocca said. "This video is not a beauty video based on our methodology."

What counts as beauty videos includes beauty tutorials, beauty product reviews, and the creation of beauty product lines. That's why Shane Dawson, who isn't a beauty guru, placed right after Charles with "The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star," which documents the beginning of his makeup collaboration with Jeffree Star. 

Allocca says the genre-bending content and the categorization of YouTubers as celebrities responding to traditional celebrity gossip point to how much the platform has evolved since the "Rewind" tradition began in 2010.

"They are the people that people are discussing and talking about online, they are the people who draw huge audiences for the things they create," he said. "Shane can put out just ten videos over the course of the year and have a massive audience for all of them. You would never really see that ten years ago or seven years ago."

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NOW WATCH: Behind the scenes with Shepard Smith — the Fox News star who just announced his resignation from the network


'This has been a devastating week' — 4 people are dead after a shooting at a Florida naval base just 2 days after a fatal shooting at a base in Hawaii

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The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Fla.

  • A shooting at a US naval base in Florida on Friday morning left four people dead, including the gunman, and seven others injured.
  • The shooting began just before 7 a.m. CT (8 a.m. ET) at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
  • The Escambia County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook at 7:48 a.m. that the shooting was over and that the shooter had been confirmed dead.
  • The shooting happened two days after an active-duty US sailor opened fire at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, killing two people before shooting himself, authorities said.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A shooting in a classroom building at a Florida naval base on Friday morning left four people dead, including the gunman, and seven others injured.

News of the shooting stunned the US Navy, already reeling from another fatal shooting at a base only two days before.

Jason Bortz, a spokesman for Naval Air Station Pensacola, confirmed to the Pensacola News Journal that an active shooter was reported just before 7 a.m. CT (8 a.m. ET).

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook at 7:48 a.m. that the shooting was over and that the shooter had been confirmed dead.

Emergency responders near the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola, Fla., Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.

The US Navy initially said two people were killed in the shooting.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office later said four people total had died: Three were killed at the base, and one died at a local hospital.

Seven others, including two responding officers, were injured. One officer was shot in the arm, and the other was shot in the knee and was in surgery on Friday morning.

The Navy confirmed the information on Twitter.

Citing law-enforcement officials, NBC's Pete Williams described the suspect as a foreign national who was in the US for training. Other outlets said authorities identified the suspect as a Saudi aviation student.

Authorities said they would release the victims' identities after their families had been notified. They declined to say whether the shooting was being investigated as terrorism-related.

The naval base said on social media that it was on lockdown after reports of the shooting.

Family members of base personnel were awaiting news about their loved ones amid the lockdown and subsequent closure of the base, a center for training Navy and Marine Corps aviators and a hub for the Navy's education command that oversees professional training.

"For those who are on the base, can you make sure that your sailors reach out to friends and family so that we know they are safe!!!" one person commented on a US Navy Facebook page. "For those of us that thousands of miles away, we are worried sick!!! Please please please please!"

Vice President Mike Pence, whose son is a Marine aviator, said in a statement that he was "praying for the victims & their families."

President Donald Trump was slower to respond, initially retweeting a report about the confirmation of the shooter's death before tweeting about the latest jobs-report numbers. On Friday afternoon, the president tweeted that his "thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time."

The shooting came two days after an active-duty US sailor opened fire at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, killing two people and injuring one before shooting himself, authorities said.

"This has been a devastating week for our US Navy family," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday wrote on Twitter. "Our hearts break for those who lost their lives in Pensacola and the wrenching pain it causes their loved ones. When tragedy hits, as it did today, and Wednesday in Pearl Harbor, it is felt by all."

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What 15 presidents, first ladies, and their children looked like at the same age

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John F. Caroline Kennedy

  • Have you ever wondered what US presidents, first ladies, and their children looked like at the same age?
  • We've combed the archives to find out.
  • By and large, the familial resemblance is obvious in America's first families, like the nearly indistinguishable baby photos of Michelle Obama and her daughter Sasha.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The children of America's presidents bear a striking resemblance to their parents, as evidenced by a set of images Insider has compiled, showing members of the first families at the same age.

Some were almost impossible to tell apart, especially as babies and toddlers. Richard Nixon and his daughters looked like triplets since they all had the same bowl cut at the age of 4.

The photos cover a wide range of ages, from the baby photos of Michelle Obama and her daughter Sasha, to the graduate school snapshots taken of Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea.

Continue to see more of these comparison photos of America's first families, from the Trumps to the Roosevelts.

SEE ALSO: 45 of the best pictures White House photographers took in 2019

DON'T MISS: Incredible photos show how the White House has celebrated Christmas through the years

President Donald Trump and his three sons are pictured in elementary school. From left to right: Donald Trump in an undated photo, Don Jr. at the age of 10 in 1988, Eric at the age of 12 in 1996, and Barron at the age of 8 in 2014.



President Barack Obama is seen attending his high school graduation on the left in 1979. His eldest daughter, Malia, is seen attending a state dinner in her senior year of high school on the right, in 2016.



First lady Michelle Obama (left) and her youngest daughter Sasha (right) are pictured as babies. Michelle was born in 1964, and Sasha was born in 2001.



George W. Bush (left), Laura Bush (center left), and their twin daughters Barbara (center right) and Jenna (right) are pictured at the age of 18.



President Bill Clinton (left) and his daughter, Chelsea (right), are pictured during their college days at Oxford. Clinton attended the British university on a Rhodes Scholarship in 1968. Chelsea followed in his footsteps for graduate school in 2001.



Four members of the Bush family are pictured in the sixth grade. From left to right: President George H.W. Bush, 12, circa 1936; Barbara Bush, 11, in 1936; President George W. Bush, 11, in 1957; and Jeb Bush, 12, in 1965.



President Ronald Reagan (left) and his youngest son, Ron Jr. (right), are pictured at the age of one. The elder Reagan's photo was taken in 1912. The photo of his son was taken in 1959.



Jimmy Carter (left) and his youngest daughter, Amy (right), are pictured around the age of 4. The photo of President Carter was taken in 1928, while the picture of his daughter was taken in 1971.



Gerald Ford (left) and his youngest child, Susan (right), are pictured as babies. President Ford's photo was taken in 1913. Susan Ford's photo was taken in 1958.



Richard Nixon and his two daughters are pictured at the age of 4. From left to right: Richard Nixon in 1917, Tricia Nixon in 1950, and Julia Nixon in 1952.



Lyndon B. Johnson (left) and his youngest daughter, Luci (right), are pictured as toddlers. The picture of President Johnson was taken in 1910, when he was 18 months old. The picture of Luci was taken when she was about a year old in 1948.



The Kennedy family is pictured at the age of 4. From left to right: John F. Kennedy in 1921, Jacqueline Kennedy in 1933, Caroline Kennedy in 1962, and John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1965.



Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) and his son John (right) are pictured as cadets at West Point. The picture of President Eisenhower was taken in 1911, when he was 21. The picture of his son was taken in 1944, when he was 22.



Harry S. Truman (left) and his daughter, Margaret (right), are pictured as teenagers. The photo of President Truman was taken when he was 15 in 1899. His daughter is pictured at the age of 16 in 1940.



Four members of the Franklin D. Roosevelt family are pictured at the age of 5. From left to right: FDR in 1887, Eleanor Roosevelt in 1889, James Roosevelt II in 1914, and Elliott Roosevelt in 1916.



Teddy Roosevelt (left) and one of his sons, Archibald (right), are pictured in their late 20s. President Roosevelt is seen in 1884, at the age of 26. His son is pictured in August 1922, at the age of 27.



Elon Musk wins in defamation trial over his 'pedo guy' tweet

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Elon Musk

A jury ruled on Friday that Elon Musk is not guilty of defaming Vernon Unsworth, a British diver who took part in the 2018 rescue operation that freed 12 boys on a soccer team and their coach after they became trapped inside a cave in Thailand.

"My faith in humanity is restored," Musk said after the verdict was announced, Buzzfeed's Ryan Mac reported.

Mac described Unsworth's expression as "stone faced." 

Unsworth sued Musk in 2018, accusing him of defamation after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called him a "pedo guy" on Twitter. (Musk later apologized to Unsworth and deleted the tweet.)

Musk had delivered his insult to Unsworth when the diver criticized him days after the successful rescue operation ended. Unsworth called Musk's "minisub" that he had sent to the rescue operation a "PR stunt" and said Musk "can stick his submarine where it hurts."

Lawyers for Unsworth argued that the term "pedo guy" was widely interpreted as Musk suggesting the diver was a pedophile. Musk denied that assertion, saying the phrase is a common expression in South Africa, where he was born.

The case put front and center the potential consequences of public musings from an outsize figure like Musk and the effects those statements can have on a private citizen who happened to cross him.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

SEE ALSO: The Tesla Cybertruck is the first stainless-steel vehicle since the ill-fated DeLorean — here's a closer look at both

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Why are Apple Pay, Starbucks' app, and Samsung Pay so much more successful than other wallet providers?

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mobile payments lumiscapeThis is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

In the US, the in-store mobile wallet space is becoming increasingly crowded. Most customers have an option provided by their smartphone vendor, like Apple, Android, or Samsung Pay. But those are often supplemented by a myriad of options from other players, ranging from tech firms like PayPal, to banks and card issuers, to major retailers and restaurants.

With that proliferation of options, one would expect to see a surge in adoption. But that’s not the case — though Business Insider Intelligence projects that US in-store mobile payments volume will quintuple in the next five years, usage is consistently lagging below expectations, with estimates for 2019 falling far below what we expected just two years ago. 

As such, despite promising factors driving gains, including the normalization of NFC technology and improved incentive programs to encourage adoption and engagement, it’s important for wallet providers and groups trying to break into the space to address the problems still holding mobile wallets back. These issues include customer satisfaction with current payment methods, limited repeat purchasing, and consumer confusion stemming from fragmentation. But several wallets, like Apple Pay, Starbucks’ app, and Samsung Pay, are outperforming their peers, and by delving into why, firms can begin to develop best practices and see better results.

A new report from Business Insider Intelligence addresses how in-store mobile payments volume will grow through 2021, why that’s below past expectations, and what successful cases can teach other players in the space. It also issues actionable recommendations that various providers can take to improve their performance and better compete.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • US in-store mobile payments will advance steadily at a 40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to hit $128 billion in 2021. That’s suppressed by major headwinds, though — this is the second year running that Business Insider Intelligence has halved its projected growth rate.
  • To power ahead, US wallets should look at pockets of success. Banks, merchants, and tech providers could each benefit from implementing strategies that have worked for early leaders, including eliminating fragmentation, improving the purchase journey, and building repeat purchasing.
  • Building multiple layers of value is key to getting ahead. Adding value to the user experience and making wallets as simple and frictionless as possible are critical to encouraging adoption and keeping consumers engaged. 

In full, the report:

  • Sizes the US in-store mobile payments market and examines growth drivers.
  • Analyzes headwinds that have suppressed adoption.
  • Identifies three strategic changes providers can make to improve their results.
  • Evaluates pockets of success in the market.
  • Provides actionable insights that providers can implement to improve results.

Subscribe to an All-Access membership to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
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The LA Times joined the growing group of major papers calling for Trump's impeachment

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a working luncheon with permanent representatives of the United Nations Security Council in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., December 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

The Los Angeles Times editorial board on Saturday called for President Donald Trump to be impeached, joining an expanding list of major newspapers offering public support for either Trump's impeachment or the impeachment inquiry into his dealings with Ukraine.

Less than a week after the impeachment inquiry transitioned into a new phase in the House Judiciary Committee, the Times' editorial board wrote: "We've seen enough. Trump should be impeached."

"The Times' editorial board was a reluctant convert to the impeachment cause," the paper's editorial board said, citing concerns about how divisive the impeachment against Trump could be and the high probability he'd ultimately be acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

"But those concerns must yield to the overwhelming evidence that Trump perverted US foreign policy for his own political gain," the Times' editorial board added. "That sort of misconduct is outrageous and corrosive of democracy. It can't be ignored by the House, and it merits a full trial by the Senate on whether to remove him from office."

The Boston Globe earlier this week also called for Trump's impeachment, with its editorial board writing that the results of the House Intelligence Committee's inquiry"make clear that the answer is an urgent yes" to the question of "whether President Trump's misconduct is severe enough that Congress should exercise that impeachment power, less than a year before the 2020 election."

Some papers have been less direct, while still leaning toward support for impeachment. The New York Daily News editorial board, for example, wrote on Tuesday:"The truth hurts: The House Intelligence Committee presents a coherent and compelling case for impeachment."

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune has said that both chambers of Congress should censure Trump over his dealings with Ukraine, as opposed to taking the historic action of making him the third president in US History to be impeached.

And USA Today's editorial board earlier this week said the fact Trump and his legal team have refused to participate in the House Judiciary Committee's is a "damning argument in itself," adding that when the reaction to the damning allegations against the president "consists primarily of name-calling and tweeting and denouncing and deflecting, it's hard to avoid concluding that the White House has no substantive defense to offer."

The Washington Post and The New York Times, perhaps the most prominent papers in the country, have not explicitly called for Trump's impeachment. But both have been critical of Trump's dealings with Ukraine and efforts to stonewall the inquiry, a process the New York Times editorial board endorsed in late September.

During a July 25 phone call, Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden, as well as a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. At the time, Trump was withholding roughly $400 million in congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine.

The July 25 phone call prompted a whistleblower complaint from a US intelligence official, which spiraled into the impeachment inquiry. Trump has been accused by House Democrats of abusing the power of his office by soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election and engaging in bribery with regard to the frozen military funds.

"The facts are uncontested. The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security by withholding military aid and a crucial Oval Office meeting in exchange for an announcement of an investigation into his political rival," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday as she announced the House would move forward with articles of impeachment against Trump.

SEE ALSO: Trump lost battles on 2 fronts this week, embarrassing himself on the global stage while on the brink of impeachment back home

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Suspect in deadly shooting at Florida naval base hosted a dinner party to watch mass shooting videos before the attack, according to a US official

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A general view of the atmosphere at the Pensacola Naval Air Station following a shooting on December 06, 2019 in Pensacola, Florida.

  • The suspect in the deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, a Saudi military service member in the US for training, held a dinner party before the attack to watch mass shooting videos, a US official told the Associated Press.
  • During the attack, another Saudi student, one of three who attended the party, reportedly filmed the shooting at the US naval base while two others watched from a car.
  • Ten Saudi students have reportedly been detained for questioning. Some of the Saudi nationals at the base are, however, currently unaccounted for.

The suspect in the deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida held a dinner party before the attack to watch mass shooting videos, a US official briefed on the situation by federal authorities told the Associated Press.

The suspect, a member of the Saudi Air Force who was in the US for training, shot and killed three people and wounded another seven Friday in a horrific act of violence. During the attack, another Saudi student, one of three who reportedly attended the suspect's party, filmed the shooting at the US naval base.

Two other Saudi students are said to have watched from a car.

Ten Saudi students have reportedly been detained for questioning. Some of the Saudi nationals at the base are, however, currently unaccounted for, the AP reports.

The suspect has been identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani. An analysis by SITE Intel Group of what is believed to be the suspect's Twitter page, a social media account that has since been suspended, said the page featured posts that echoed Osama bin Laden, Rita Katz, SITE's director, wrote on Twitter.

The user, who is believed to be the suspect, reportedly wrote that the security of the US and the Muslim world is a "shared destiny," explaining, "You will not be safe until we live it as reality in [Palestine], and American troops get out of our land."

Katz noted that the tweets did not indicate allegiance to any one group. "Given that ISIS has very little to lose at this point, it wouldn't be surprising if it claimed the attack, regardless of the attacker's potential allegiances," she speculated.

The Associated Press reported that US authorities are investigating the situation to determine whether or not Friday's attack was an act of terrorism. Authorities have yet to determine a motive.

Alshamrani was involved in a special training program for foreign military service members and was, according to USA Today, one of 5,180 students from 153 countries in the US for training.

"Immersing international students in our U.S. Navy training and culture helps build partnership capacity for both the present and for the years ahead," a senior officer overseeing the training previously said. "These relationships are truly a win-win for everyone involved."

In the wake of the shooting, some have called for this program to be re-evaluated.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott posted on Twitter Friday afternoon that "it's clear that we need to take steps to ensure that any and all foreign nationals are scrutinized and vetted extensively before being embedded with our American men and women in uniform."

Update: The Associated Press initially reported that the party took place the night before the attack, but it actually took place earlier in the week.

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NOW WATCH: We can thank the US military for the smelliest weapon in the world

Goodbye screens, Hello voice: Tech's biggest platform shift since the smartphone is happening. Here's what it means.

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shift to voice computing 2x1

  • Smart speakers are one of the top-selling gifts this Black Friday and holiday season.
  • Devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home are at the frontlines of a new platform shift in tech: voice computing.
  • Business Insider Prime takes a look at the opportunities, challenges and implications of the shift to voice in this special series of stories.

Smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and the Google Home are some of the hottest tech products this holiday season. 

The compact gadgets have no keyboards or mice, and usually no screens. Just talk to one of the devices and it responds, serving up news, recipes and other info, playing your favorite music and even controlling the lights and thermostat in your house. 

But Smart speakers are just the most visible manifestation of a broader shift happening in tech: the rise of voice computing. 

Thanks to advances in speech recognition, artificial intelligence and processing power, it's now possible to step away from the screens of PCs and phones, and tap into the internet simply by speaking. The virtual assistants that make this possible, like Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, can live inside all sorts of products beyond smart speakers — from wristwatches to microwave ovens and eyeglasses

The age of voice computing promises to open up exciting new opportunities that once seemed possible only in science-fiction movies (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has even credited "Star Trek" as the inspiration for the Echo device). But it also brings new challenges and implications for privacy, security as well as accessibility and diversity.

Who are the startups leading the voice revolution? What are the different ways businesses can adapt to the emerging voice platform? And what are risks to prepare for?

In this special report on Business Insider Prime, we take a close look the tech industry's next big platform shift: voice.

2 Amazon execs discuss plans to make a smarter Alexa that can anticipate your needs and stay ahead of Google in the voice wars

Rohit Prasad, Amazon

Hackers are inventing clever ways to trick the microphones in smart speakers, and it's opening a 'new world of dangers'

voice computing hackers 4x3

These 10 'voice-first' startups are building apps for smart speakers, cars and watches that will completely change how we use computers

maslo app founders

In-house venture funds at Amazon and Google are leading the charge into the voice-first revolution and pouring millions of dollars into startups

Paul Bernard

Smart speakers have been been reluctant to bombard users with ads, but that could be about to change

amazon echo

Check back here for more stories about the shift to voice computing in the coming days and weeks.

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5 of the best and 5 of the worst Netflix original thrillers of the year

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best and worst netflix original thrillers

  • Netflix released a number of original thrillers this year, but not all of them have been a hit with critics.
  • Critics enjoyed haunting flicks like "I Am Mother" and "The Perfection."
  • On the other hand, they widely panned thrillers like "Polar" and "The Red Sea Diving Resort."
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more.

Netflix released a limited amount of original thrillers this year, and they've received mixed reviews across the board.

Here are some of the best and worst Netflix original thrillers of the year, according to critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Note: The scores listed throughout the piece were accurate at the time of publication but are subject to change.

"I Am Mother" impressed critics with its unique premise.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:90% 

Starring: Hilary Swank, Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne

As critic Brad Newsome wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald, "An intriguing premise, fine performances and a string of startling reveals that just keeps on coming make this Australian sci-fi film a real winner — and a must-watch for the Black Mirror set."



"The Perfection" was called seductive yet disturbing by critics.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:73%

Starring: Allison Williams, Alaina Huffman, Steven Weber, Logan Browning

As critic Katie Rife wrote for the AV Club, "The Perfection takes deep, fetishistic satisfaction in pushing the envelope, then pushing it some more, building in seductive fits and shocking starts to an orgiastic frenzy of cinematic excess."



The heist-focused thriller "Triple Frontier" was praised for being loaded with action.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:72%

Starring: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam

"Triple Frontier makes a decent stab at looking beyond the usual ambitions of the genre. There's thought behind all this gun-toting," wrote critic Clarisse Loughrey for The Independent.



The thriller "Velvet Buzzsaw" featured a number of familiar faces.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:63%

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, John Malkovich, Billy Magnussen, Toni Collette, Natalia Dyer, Rene Russo

As Cosmopolitan's entertainment editor Emily Tannenbaum wrote, "Is director Dan Gilroy trying to catch us in our own shallow consumption? ... Frankly, if this is the case then thank you. I'll take it."



"Fractured" is a mystery thriller that most critics enjoyed.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:62%

Starring: Lily Rabe, Sam Worthington, Stephen Tobolowsky

"When I wasn't busying myself making an internal checklist of films I was reminded of, I was happily playing armchair detective, curious enough to engage with the pieces I was given,"  wrote critic Benjamin Lee for The Guardian.



On the other hand, the horror-thriller "In the Tall Grass" didn't spook most critics.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:37%

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, Harrison Gilbertson

As critic Noel Murray wrote for the Los Angeles Times, "'In the Tall Grass' runs too long and repeats itself too much to be as gripping as its source material. Turns out there's a limit to how scary weeds can be."



"Secret Obsession" is a thriller that left critics wanting more suspense.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 31% 

Starring: Brenda Song, Mike Vogel, Dennis Haysbert

As critic Linda Holmes wrote for NPR, "This is a pretty bad movie, but it seems to be bad in the way it's meant to be bad. It's cheerfully trashy, and if that's up your alley, have at it."



"The Silence" couldn't be saved by a star-studded cast.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 30%

Starring: Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, John Corbett

As critic Brian Tallerico wrote for RogerEbert.com, "Even the always-welcome Stanley Tucci can't add any flair to a movie that feels so much like a relative of John Krasinski's 2018 smash hit ['A Quiet Place']."

 



The spy thriller "The Red Sea Diving Resort" didn't receive high marks.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:30%

Starring: Chris Evans, Michael Kenneth Williams, Haley Bennett

As Mark Kennedy wrote for the Associated Press, "A large part of the problem is the casting of Chris Evans as the leader of the Israeli spy ring that set up the hotel. He is most known for playing Captain America and seems not to have put aside his shield for this film."



"Polar" is a thriller that fell flat for most critics.

Rotten Tomatoes rating:20%

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Matt Lucas

"Polar is pure trash, but the generousness — and, in the final stretch, the poignancy — with which Mikkelsen approaches even the most lurid of the film's conceits at least pushes it toward the top of the garbage heap,"wrote Keith Uhlich for The Hollywood Reporter.

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Target is selling $5 holiday string lights that look like mini snow globes

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target

  • People are spotting holiday bulb lights that look like mini snow globes in Target locations throughout the country.
  • The battery-operated strings feature snow and a miniature Christmas tree inside each bulb, making every light look like it holds a tiny holiday-esque world.
  • Shoppers have been posting images of the lights on social media, indicating the products are in Target's dollar section. 
  • The lights are not available for online purchase at this time, so you'll have to go to your local Target location to see if they're in stock.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Target is a popular destination for Christmas decorations, both because of its abundance of holiday-themed products and affordable prices.

The superstore just added a new product to its holiday lineup that offers double the Christmas cheer. 

According to avid shoppers, Target is selling string lights in which each bulb looks like a miniature snow globe. 

The current hottest trend in the @target dollar spot! There a must have for sure! 🎄#target #targetlights

A post shared by JEN⭐️Scentsy Star Consultant⭐️ (@mamaoftwobears) on Nov 18, 2019 at 4:37pm PST on

The battery-operated lights feature a miniature Christmas tree surrounded by fake snow in each bulb, creating a tiny holiday-themed scene.

The lights are not available on Target's website at this moment, but shoppers have posted photos of the lights on social media.

Target shoppers have indicated that they found the lights in Target's Dollar Spot, which is its dollar section.

The lights cost $5 per pack, according to one shopper.

Those who purchased the lights have also noted that the strings were previously sold out, but it seems as though Target stores have restocked them.

You can go to your local Target for more information.

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NOW WATCH: This Christmas sweater can hold an entire wine bottle

23 tech gifts moms will actually love to get this holiday season

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Bellabeat leaf chakra

Moms — parents in general, really — have generally been derided as ludites or tech-illiterate, but as tech grows more mainstream every day, that's no longer the case (if it ever even was). Regardless of whether the mom in your life is tech savvy, surely she can benefit from one or more of the tech gifts we've dug up specifically for moms.

Whether she's a total bookworm, a fitness nut, or a new mother who wants the best for her kid, we've found at least one excellent tech gift for her.

The 5 best tech gifts for moms:

  1. A mobile printer for her phone
  2. A pair of blue-light-blocking glasses
  3. A fitness tracker
  4. A smart picture frame
  5. An ebook reader

Check out all 23 tech gifts for Mom:

An alarm clock that uses light to wake her up gently

Philips Light Alarm Clock, available at Amazon, $149.95

Moms work hard, and they often have to wake up early. Just because she has to wake up before the sun rises that doesn't mean she has to awaken to the blaring of an obnoxious alarm clock.

Philips makes a lovely alarm clock that gradually lights up to mimic the sunrise and wake her up naturally. The light alarm clock also displays the time and has customizable sounds so she can wake up feeling rested and ready for the day. This clock is the top pick in our buying guide, so you can be sure she'll love it.



A fun grip for her phone

Shop all PopSockets grips for $10.00 and up

Tech products can look and feel generic until we put our stamp on them, and PopSocket grips are a great way to add personality to a boring phone or case. PopSockets has hundreds, if not thousands, of fun phone grips in all kinds of materials, colors, and patterns. No matter what your mom likes, you're sure to find a style that will match her taste and personality.

In addition to looking super cute, PopSocket grips make it easier to hold a large phone comfortably, give a better grip, and also double as a kickstand for watching video or sharing photos with others. These grips are among the best iPhone accessories I've tried.



A piece of smart jewelry

Bellabeat Leaf Urban and Leaf Chakra, available at Amazon, from $71.50

If your mom cares more about style than high-tech features, but she still wants a piece of tech to track her activity, she may love a piece of smart jewelry. Bellabeat makes our favorite smart jewelry— hands down. Both the Leaf Urban and the Chakra are lovely pieces of smart jewelry that can be worn as pendants on a necklace or as a clip on clothing. If your mom prefers bracelets, the Leaf Urban can also be worn as a bracelet.

Both models track activity and sleep quality. Your mom can also use the app to keep tabs on how much water she drinks, her period, and her mindfulness minutes. The app even has a cool meditation feature to give your mom a few minutes of tranquility each day.



A Tile Bluetooth tracker for everything

Tile Mate and Tile Slim Bundle (two each, 2018 versions), available at Tile, $29.99

Moms have lots of things to keep track of in their lives, and it can be easy to, you know, lose track. This is when Tile Bluetooth trackers are handy. Mom can throw one of these on her keys or in her wallet, so that she never has to go scrambling for one of those things when it's time for work or an appointment.



A pair of blue-light-blocking glasses

Shop all glasses at Felix Gray for $95.00 and up

These days, we all spend a lot of time looking at screens that display harsh blue light, which can lead to eye strain and disrupted sleep patterns. Luckily, Felix Gray makes incredible blue-light-blocking glasses for people who don't need glasses at all, as well as those who need reading or prescription glasses.

The company uses special lenses that filter out blue light. Its regular pairs look like normal glasses without any visible yellow tint, but the special sleep glasses have a yellow cast to their lenses. However, they block even more blue light, making them ideal for nighttime reading. We've tried Felix Gray's glasses and we love them— we think Mom will, too.



A mobile printer for her phone

HP Sprocket, available at Amazon, $89.85

Most moms today are shutterbugs who love to take photos, and most shutterbugs also want to print their photos. In the age of smartphone photography, a mobile printer that prints photos directly from a phone is a great gift. HP's Sprocket is the best one you can buy, because it's easy to use, not too expensive, and produces nice prints.



A cool device to turn old photo negatives and slides into digital photos

Kodak Mobile Film Scanner, available at Amazon, $39.99

If your mom is anything like mine, she's got tons of old photos, negatives, and slides lying around from the days of physical photography. You can help her digitize her old negatives and slides with this nifty device from Kodak. Using her phone's camera and an app, she can capture the images stored on negatives and slides and get them onto her phone as normal digital pictures.



A customizable phone case

Casetify Custom Case, available at Casetify, $65.00

Casetify's easy to use tool lets you turn your mom's favorite photos into a custom iPhone case. Talk about a customizable gift with practical use.



A smart picture frame

Aura Smart Picture Frame, available at Amazon, $299.00

Moms love nothing more than looking at pictures of their children. The Aura smart picture frame lets you send Mom new photos to look at all the time.



An Amazon Echo Show for video calls

Amazon Echo Show 5, available on Amazon, $59.99

If your mom or mother-in-law doesn't own a smartphone, that makes getting "face time" with her grandkids rather difficult. Luckily, Amazon's smart displays offer a video calling function, bringing that functon into their home cheaply and easily.



One of the best smartwatches to date

Apple Watch Series 5, available at Apple, $399.00

Kate Spade Scallop 2, available at Kate Spade, $295.00

Some moms are total tech geeks, and there's nothing more appealing to a geek than a nice looking smartwatch. If Mom is an iPhone user, get her an Apple Watch. If she's on Android, you have a lot more choices. We really like the Kate Spade Scallop 2 watch, but you can check out all our favorites here. Both will buzz with notifications, track activity, and more.



A watch that looks like a traditional timepiece, but has a lot of smarts

Withings Steel HR, available at Amazon and Withings for $179.95

If your mom isn't crazy about smartwatches with screens, but she still wants a watch that has some smart features, she'll love the Withings Steel HR. It looks like a normal watch, but it has a heart rate monitor and other sensors to track activity and sleep. The Steel HR also buzzes with notifications from select apps. The watch has a tiny screen at 12 o'clock, so when she presses the button on the side, she can see the date, time, her metrics, and incoming notifications.



A smart mug that keeps her drink the perfect temperature

Ember Mug, available at Amazon, $99.95

Not all tech has to be super techy. Ember's smart mug is a great gift for moms who love to drink piping hot tea, coffee, or other hot drinks. The ceramic mug syncs with an app on her phone to show how much she has drunk from the mug and also the preferred temperature of her drinks. The mug comes with a coaster that can reheat her drink and keep it at the optimal temperature. We tired this mug and we loved it.



A smart speaker with a screen that will show her favorite photos

Google Nest Hub, available at Walmart, $79.00

Although a smart speaker may sound like a super techy gift, it's actually a very intuitive and easy-to-use product. The Google Nest Hub doubles as a smart speaker and a smart display to show Mom the weather, her calendar, her commute, her favorite photos, or any number of videos on YouTube with a simple voice command. She can also ask the Google assistant any questions that pop into her head. It's one of our favorite smart displays.



A long charging cable for her phone

Lightning Native Union Night Cable, available at Amazon, $39.99

USB-C Native Union Night Cable, available at Amazon, $17.49 (originally $39.99)

One of the most frustrating things is losing your only charging cable for your phone. Everyone can use an extra charging cable, and having a long one like Native Union's Night Cable is a great idea. The cable is 10-feet long, so Mom won't have to struggle with a short cable anymore. It also has a weighted knot that can be moved up and down the cable to provide enough ballast to keep the cable and the phone it's charging in place.



A simple security camera

Logitech Circle 2 (wired version), available at Amazon, $151.88

Logitech Circle 2 (wireless version), available at Amazon, $100.09

Although we may joke that Mom's got eyes in the back of her head, she can't very well see her home if she's not inside it. That's where a security camera comes into play. Logitech's Circle 2 is easy to use and it monitors all activity that happens in Mom's house when she's out and about. She'll get alerts when motion is detected, she can check in on things to see a live feed in the app on her phone, and she can even talk to whoever is in the house be it the family dog, cat, a known person, or an intruder. You can get it in either a wired or wireless version.



An excellent ebook reader

Kindle Paperwhite, available at Amazon, $129.99

Although some people swear they'll never love an ebook reader because they're die-hard print fans, no one should knock the ebook until they've tried it. If Mom loves reading, but hates holding heavy hardcovers or travels a lot, an ebook reader is a great gift for her. The Kindle Paperwhite is the best ebook reader for most people's needs and budgets. It can hold thousands of ebooks, it's waterproof, and it's fairly affordable.



A robot vacuum cleaner

iRobot Roomba 690, available at Amazon, $349.99

Shop all robot vacuums from iRobot

Although everyone will tell you not to buy your mom an appliance for any holiday, a robot vacuum cleaner is one she'll love because it'll do the cleaning for her. We've tested a lot of robot vacuums, and although the iRobot Roomba 690 is a few years old and not the most high-end model, it works extremely well. It can clean rooms on its own, it avoids obstacles, and it goes back to its charging base when it's done. You can also check out more options in our buying guide to robot vacuums. Cleaning without any effort on Mom's part is priceless.



A smart baby monitor

Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor, available at Amazon, $295.00

If you're shopping for a new mom, there is an endless selection of baby products you can get her and her baby. One of the most high-tech and pricey purchases for new parents is a nice video baby monitor.

The Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor is one of our favorites because it's a system that learns a baby's movement patterns and sleep trends and lets the parents know when things seem off. It gives Mom and Dad a nice birds-eye view of the baby in its crib, so both parents can see the baby clearly in the app.



A smart herb garden

AeroGarden Harvest, available at Amazon, $160.05

If Mom loves herbs, she'll love having the low-tech AeroGarden Harvest herb garden. It uses hydroponics to grow delicious herbs and more in a matter of weeks without much effort on her part. All she has to do is pop the seed pods in the planter, give the garden water regularly, and add the included plant food. The planter does the rest, providing light on a schedule, moving the water, and alerting her when it needs more. In our tests, we had great success with this garden, and we're sure she will, too.



A hybrid smartwatch

Fossil Carlie with Interchangeable Bezels, available at Fossil, $215.00

If Mom doesn't like smartwatches, but she still wants to feel connected to her phone, a smart hybrid watch is a great gift to give.

The Fossil Carlie looks like a normal analog watch, but it can buzz with notifications, adjust to different time zones, track fitness, and wake her up with a vibrating alarm. This gift set also comes with interchangeable bezels, so she can decide which one suits her look best each day.



A slim fitness tracker

Fitbit Inspire HR, available at Amazon, $69.00

If she wants to stay fit or get fit, the Fitbit Inspire HR tracker is a great option. It's a simple fitness-focused tracker with an easy-to-use app that makes it fun for Mom to see her activity goals and workout metrics.



A pair of wireless earbuds that just work

Apple Airpods, available at Amazon, $144.00

The problem with most wireless headphones is that they're hard to use: Bluetooth pairing is a pain, they disconnect from the phone, or they have too many controls. Apple's AirPods are the easiest wireless earbuds to use, making them perfect for moms (and their tech support staff — i.e. their kids) everywhere.



Looking for more gift ideas? We've got you covered.



Ask yourself these 2 questions to decide between a job that's more prestigious and a job that's more fulfilling

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job offer

Choosing between two job offers can be difficult, especially if one company is more prestigious than the other.

Working for an established company may seem exciting, but the job itself may not always be fulfilling. Ideally, we'd all find jobs that are both lucrative and fulfilling — but in reality, that's not always the case. 

How you ultimately decide depends on your personal and professional goals and professional prestige often becomes less of a draw in the later stages of a career. But looking to people who have done it before can help you make the right decision for you. 

Deciding between two job offers

Ruby Chandy, president of Lumina Advisory Services, who consults and advises private equity and venture firms, dealt with this dilemma when deciding between two different board positions. Chandy spoke on a panel at MIT Sloan's Global Women's Conference in October and said that two companies offered her board positions within several months.

She said one company was more established and well known, but the other had a younger CEO who was energetic and needed her specific skills on his board. "He was looking for a commercial, go-to-market experience and I felt that I could bring value in a way," she said. As a former president of the industrial division and a corporate officer of Pall Corporation, Chandy was responsible for a $1.3 billion division and 5,000 employees. 

Ultimately, Chandy chose the latter opportunity for the experience it would give her. 

During the panel, Chandy said it's important for both a company and an individual to come up with a skills analysis before deciding on an opportunity. From the organization's perspective, "It forces a company to understand what they don't have and need," she said.

Her experience resonates at many career stages, whether you're deciding to become an executive or manager, considering a mid-career change, or starting your own business. Oftentimes, you're faced with a trade-off no matter what job you choose. You may have to sacrifice the ideal salary for more creative freedom. Or you may have to put off major life events like buying a home or starting a family to focus on a demanding job.

Two key questions can help you make a choice.

What's the trade-off in each opportunity?

Journalists Hana Schank and Elizabeth Wallace interviewed 43 women for their book, "The Ambition Decisions," to learn how money impacted their careers, families, and overall happiness.

When it came to the decisions these women made, they found it difficult not to compromise in one area of their lives, like chasing their passion or being financially independent.

Early in their own careers, Schank and Wallace chose writing opportunities that weren't their dream jobs, but paid the bills. In their book, they wrote, "We prioritized money and stability and figured the passion part would work itself out. And, as we write these words, it has."

Are you willing to take risks?

For others, pursuing a job that fulfills their passion may be worth the risk of financial instability. Consider Elaine Welteroth, who is a journalist and judge on Bravo's "Project Runway." She climbed her way to the top of the magazine publishing industry, and at 29 became the youngest editor-in-chief in Condé Nast history at the time. 

While she led Teen Vogue, it was a print magazine with a digital site. But in 2017, Condé Nast closed the print version and made the publication digital-only — leaving Welteroth the decision to stay on in a new role or leave the company entirely. 

In her memoir, "More Than Enough," she writes that she was proud of her moment at Condé Nast, but "felt called to do more — outside of those walls, beyond just this one media brand." She ended up leaving the company to pursue her own path, which included writing her book and working on the Freeform series "Grown-ish." 

Welteroth notes in her book that it takes courage to step away from a dream job and into the unknown. She writes: "Only you can choose to walk away from what no longer serves you, to leave what you've already conquered, and to step boldly into what's next." 

SEE ALSO: A North Carolina woman left a corporate job in healthcare to open her own craft brewery. Here's what she did to become CEO of 3 beer businesses with $12 million in revenue.

MUST READ: A former Netflix exec shares 3 simple questions to ask yourself if you're thinking about leaving your job

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A man who left work 10 years ago says a single meeting with a financial planner made retirement 'so much better'

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financial advisor retirement

It's been 10 years since Dennis Friedman retired. Like many retirees, he became obsessive about his money when he stopped working — namely, how his investments were performing and whether he was spending too much.

"After I retired, I found it was more difficult to manage my money because you need to come up with a draw-down strategy that'll provide you with lifetime income, while minimizing taxes," Friedman, who retired at 58 after a three-decade career in manufacturing, told Business Insider.

Friedman is far from the only retiree to harbor these concerns. Financial optimism tends to decline as people age, according to a 2017 report from United Income from Capital One. Often, they become less confident in the stock market and their own investment portfolio. As a precaution, many downshift their spending when they really don't need to.

According to Richard Thaler, the 2017 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, devising a smart decumulation strategy is a roadblock most retirees encounter, Business Insider's Akin Oyedele reported.

"That's a problem that gives the best mathematicians headaches because you don't know how long you're going to live, you don't know how long your spouse is going to live, you don't know what the markets are going to do," Thaler said in an interview with Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman.

For Friedman, now 68, the solution was ultimately quite simple: Hire a professional. Though he'd never consulted with anyone about his money before, Friedman decided to hire a financial adviser named Carl about a year ago.

"It seems many retirees are thinking and worrying too much about their money, even when they don't have to," he wrote in an article published by Humble Dollar. "My advice: Hire a fee-only financial adviser, so you feel more confident about your spending. It helped me — and I'm now enjoying retirement far more."

Friedman said he used to check up on his investment portfolio up to five times a week. After his first meeting with Carl, he shifted his perspective — and behaviors — completely.

"Ever since he started showing me charts about my money, it's dawned on me what great shape I'm in financially," Friedman wrote. "There's no need to think about my money because, according to Carl, I'm not going to run out. I have enough to live a comfortable life based on my spending goals. You know what? I believe Carl. For the first time in my life, I realize I'm financially secure."

Friedman now meets with his adviser four times a year and spends far less time poring over markets and financial news. "With this new mindset, everything in life seems so much better," he wrote. "The food at restaurants tastes better, the hotel beds are more comfortable and my vacations are more enjoyable."

SmartAsset's free tool can help you find a professional to create your own plan for retirement »

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NOW WATCH: A 45-year-long study discovered trends in successful hyper-intelligent children

A 'reckoning' is coming for self driving car startups says an early backer of Lyft. Here's how the founder of Autotech Ventures is betting on the transportation shakeup.

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Autotech Ventures Managing Director Quin Garcia

  • Autotech Ventures cofounder Quin Garcia is a big believer in next-generation car technologies, such as electric and autonomous vehicles.
  • But his venture fund has intentionally avoided backing startups that are developing electric or self-driving cars for the masses.
  • Such companies require massive investment and are many years away from delivering returns, he said.
  • But Autotech is finding ways to place bets in those areas and in other areas where the transportation sector is being transformed by technology, such as in a startup working on self-driving mining vehicles and another that's built an online marketplace for auto repairs.
  • Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Quin Garcia is a self-described "car guy."

He also really believes autonomous and electric vehicles will revolutionize the transportation industry and the broader society.

But if you scrutinize the portfolio of Autotech Ventures, the transportation-focused venture-capital firm that Garcia cofounded, you won't find any investments in companies developing or building cars for the masses — autonomous, electric, or otherwise. That's intentional, Garcia told Business Insider in a recent interview.

"Our job is to make money, and if we don't, we're out of business. So that's the ultimate lens through which we look when making investment decisions," Garcia said. "And when you are a financially motivated investor, you also have to think about time horizon" for a payoff, he added.

As transformational as electric and self-driving cars will eventually be, companies building them require huge investments, Garcia said. Tesla aside, it could be many years — maybe even decades — before investors in those kinds of companies see much of a return.

"As much as I want EVs here yesterday and for everyone to have one ... it's going to take time," he said.

Autonomous-vehicle startups face 'a day of reckoning'

Likewise, he said, fully autonomous vehicles that can drive anywhere and everywhere are likely more than 10 years out.

"We're just too early to be investing in something that's more than 10 years away, so we stayed away," Garcia said.

Indeed, in the autonomous area, he thinks a shakeout is coming among the numerous startups that are working on self-driving cars. The technological and regulatory obstacles to the rollout of such vehicles remain huge, even after years of investment, he said. And he said some companies were likely going to run low on cash in the next year or so — long before there's a widespread market for autonomous vehicles.

"We think that there's a day of reckoning coming for a lot of these ... autonomous startups," he said.

But Garcia thinks there are still ways to benefit in the much nearer term, from both the development of autonomous-vehicle technology and the still nascent, but growing, market for electric cars. Autotech has placed bets in both areas, even if it's not investing in mainstream car companies, per se.

In the electric-car area, the firm has backed Volta, a startup that has rolled out a network of more than 1,000 charging stations around the country. Unlike other such companies, Volta doesn't charge customers to juice up their cars. Instead, it makes its money on advertising. Its charging stations are designed to look like kiosks or digital billboards that carry ads, and it tries to place them in prominent areas, such as near the front of retail stores. As such, the company isn't dependent on the number of people who have electric cars, but on the much larger number of people who can see its ads.

"In Volta's case, they're selling eyeballs instead of electrons," he said.

Mines will adopt self-driving vehicles much faster than consumers 

Similarly, in the autonomous area, the company is backing SafeAI, which is developing self-driving technologies for mining and construction vehicles, and Verdant Robotics, which is working on similar technologies for farm vehicles. Such vehicles generally won't be operated on public roads and instead will typically be operated on privately owned land, Garcia said. So they won't have to worry about the complexities of navigating city streets or highways and the challenges of contending with human drivers, complicated street signs, and sometimes unpredictable pedestrians or bicyclists.

uranium mine

Because of that, such vehicles will likely face much less government regulation — and a significant market for them could develop much sooner than for fully self-driving cars for consumers.

"The time to market and the time to revenue is much shorter," Garcia said.

And Garcia sees plenty of opportunities in the transportation sector outside electric vehicles and self-driving-car technologies. Three other big trends are shaping the transportation-industry writ large, he said — the connecting of vehicles to the internet, vehicle sharing, and the adoption of enterprise software by transportation-related companies. Autotech was a backer of Lyft— Garcia and John Zimmer, the app-based taxi company's cofounder, were fraternity brothers in college. But many of its investments have been less high profile.

The firm focuses on finding and betting on early-stage companies in the transportation sector, often investing in the seed or Series A round. Autotech's limited partners include some of the major auto-industry suppliers, including Murata Manufacturing and Denso. Garcia and his team also have other, long-standing connections in the transportation industry. Autotech's forte is helping connect those contacts to the transportation-related startups it backs, he said.

Among the other firms in which it has invested outside the autonomous- and electric-vehicle areas is Fixico, a European startup that's created a marketplace for car-repair and body-shop services. Instead of having to go from body shop to body shop to get quotes for a minor repair, customers can submit a picture and description through Fixico's website and request quotes for fixing it.

"Is that going to have as an enormous an impact on our society as autonomous? Nope," Garcia said. "But there's still a huge pain there, and the opportunity is more near term to solve that pain.

"It's not going take 10 years to solve the challenge of getting gouged by a mechanic."

Got a tip about venture capital or startups? Contact this reporter via email at twolverton@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter @troywolv, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

SEE ALSO: This VC helped make VMware the giant it is today as its CTO. Here's why he thinks his background helps him score deals and sift through the hype.

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NOW WATCH: Inside the US government's top-secret bioweapons lab

A viral video of social media star Brother Nature allegedly being assaulted by a Miami drug dealer uncovers the darker aspects of internet fame

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  • Social media star Kelvin Peña, known online as Brother Nature, confirmed Saturday on Twitter that videos were circulating online of him being assaulted at a restaurant in Miami, Florida.
  • Peña wrote "I know there's a video out of me getting jumped, everyone in the pizza shop literally just watched, with their phones out, and did nothing. Oh well 🤷🏽‍♂️"
  • Another Twitter user claimed in a since-deleted tweet that he was the one who "beat" Brother Nature. He has also retweeted other tweets identifying him as the person who "beat up" Peña.
  • That user also claims to be a drug dealer in his tweets. Between users tagging the Miami Police Department and trending viral jokes about Peña, the incident demonstrates a dark side of viral fame.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

An alleged Miami drug dealer was caught on camera assualting the internet's favorite deer whisperer, and the incident quickly blew up online – demonstrating the dark side of viral fame in the process.

Kelvin Peña went viral as Brother Nature for befriending, naming, and feeding the "deer squad" in his backyard, then used his online fame to start a nonprofit called Everybody Eats, which spearheads beach clean-ups, delivers food to families in need during the holidays, and raised money for people affected by Hurricane Maria.

Late Friday night, Peña appears to have been arguing with a worker at a Miami sandwich shop when he was assaulted by a Twitter user who claimed responsibility for the alterction in a since-deleted tweet. The same Twitter user also retweeted other people naming him as the person who "beat up" Brother Nature.

Peña confirmed that he was "jumped" on Twitter, and later posted an Instagram story of himself. He doesn't appear to be badly injured.

In his tweet, Peña noted that "everyone in the pizza shop literally just watched, with their phones out, and did nothing." Several of the videos filmed inside the restaurant and outside in the parking lot show the alleged Twitter user assaulting Peña multiple times.

The same Twitter user has now become the target of a widespread Twitter mob, after "Brother Nature" started trending. Lots of tweets poked fun at Peña's relationship to the animal kingdom, and especially his viral deer friend Canela, and suggested that whoever the suspect was committed the assault for "clout."

Celebrities including "Desus & Mero" host The Kid Mero weighed in, and controversial activist Shaun King wrote that he would "find these men who did this to you."

That was part of a vigilante dogpiling effort against the Twitter user who claimed responsibility for the assault – with hundreds of users tagging the Miami Police Department in tweets of the same user claiming to deal drugs. Some users even tagged Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It's unclear whether the fight was influenced by Peña's viral fame, but the online reception paints a bleak portrait of how the incident was received in the world of internet notoriety.

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Shoppers are lighting up social media over Bath & Body Works 'Candle Day,' which posters say crashed the chain's website

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bath and body works candle shopper

Bath & Body Works shoppers took to the web to shine a light on the chain's annual Candle Day sale.

The bath and beauty chain's website said that the sale featured $9.50 three-wick candles. That deal has since run out online. Many stores around the country opened as early as 6 or 7 a.m. for the sale, causing some fans to burn the candle at both ends in order to get first dibs on the merchandise.

So far, posts about Bath & Body Works' candle sale have run the gamut, featuring everything from glowing excitement over new purchases to fiery criticism of issues with the chain's website. Bath & Body Works' parent company L Brands didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Some posters took the time to show off their new candles.

Others expressed disappointment that the price of the candles has ticked up this year.

Others went after Bath & Body Works' website bell, book, and candle, citing crashes and issues with overcharging.

Online observers also debated the validity of making the choice to travel to a Bath & Body Works before dawn to buy candles.

And some commenters took the time to remind shoppers to be kind to Bath & Body Works employees amidst the holiday rush.

SEE ALSO: You can now buy candles that smell like your favorite cities, from Tokyo to NYC

DON'T MISS: There is a witchcraft store in New York City that makes spell candles

SEE ALSO: This is why we put candles on birthday cakes

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NOW WATCH: Here's what it takes to make an intricately carved candle

Top US Marine says young troops should not be blamed for using TikTok, responsibility is with senior leaders

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Marine Corps commandant David Berger

  • Gen. David Berger, the US Marine Corps commandant, said concerns over a service members' use of Chinese-owned apps like TikTok should be directed against the military's leadership, rather than the individual troops.
  • Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California on Saturday morning, Berger said the younger generation of troops had a "clearer view" of the technology "than most people give them credit for."
  • Foreign-owned apps like TikTok have prompted concern from lawmakers and the military in recent months.
  • "That's not their fault. That's on us," Berger said. "Once they begin to understand the risks, what the impact to them is tactically … then it becomes clear. I don't blame them for that. This is a training and education that we have to do."
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Gen. David Berger, the US Marine Corps commandant, suggested the concerns surrounding a service members' use of questionable Chinese-owned apps like TikTok should be directed against the military's leadership, rather than the individual troops.

Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday morning, Berger said the younger generation of troops had a "clearer view" of the technology "than most people give them credit for."

"That said, I'd give us a 'C-minus' or a 'D' in educating the force on the threat of even technology," Berger said. "Because they view it as two pieces of gear, 'I don't see what the big deal is.'"

"That's not their fault. That's on us," Berger added. "Once they begin to understand the risks, what the impact to them is tactically … then it becomes clear. I don't blame them for that. This is a training and education that we have to do."

Foreign-owned apps like TikTok have prompted concern from lawmakers and the military in recent months. TikTok, the viral video-sharing app from China, was investigated by intelligence agencies and the military for concerns on the "operational security risks posed ... and other China-owned social media platforms that can access massive amounts of US users' personal data,"according to a letter by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in November.

"National security experts have raised concerns about TikTok's collection and handling of user data, including user content and communications, IP addresses, location-related data, metadata, and other sensitive personal information," Schumer added in the letter.

To "err on the side of caution," US Army cadets throughout high school and university were banned from using TikTok while in uniform to represent the military, a spokeswoman said in November. The act does not ban them from using it for personal use.

The app, which was formerly Musical.ly, exploded in popularity and boasted 1 billion monthly active users earlier this year. TikTok and its owner, Beijing ByteDance Technology, claims that American user data is not stored in China, nor is it politically influenced by the country.

"Let us be very clear: TikTok does not remove content based on sensitivities related to China,"the company said in a statement in October. "We have never been asked by the Chinese government to remove any content and we would not do so if asked. Period."

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Over 500 law professors say Trump engaged in 'impeachable conduct' in his dealings with Ukraine

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  • Over 500 legal scholars signed an open letter stating President Donald Trump engaged in "impeachable conduct" in his dealings with Ukraine. 
  • The letter said there's "overwhelming evidence that President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to use presidential power to pressure a foreign government to help him distort an American election."
  • The scholars said both chambers of Congress "would be acting well within their constitutional powers" if they ultimately vote to impeach and remove Trump. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

More than 500 legal scholars from many of the top universities in the country lent their signatures to an open letter saying there's "overwhelming evidence" President Donald Trump engaged in "impeachable conduct" in his dealings with Ukraine. 

The letter, which was published Friday by the nonprofit advocacy group Protect Democracy, said: "There is overwhelming evidence that President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to use presidential power to pressure a foreign government to help him distort an American election, for his personal and political benefit, at the direct expense of national security interests as determined by Congress.

"His conduct is precisely the type of threat to our democracy that the Founders feared when they included the remedy of impeachment in the Constitution," the letter added.

The scholars said they did not reach the conclusion lightly and that they take no position on whether Trump "committed a crime." But they added that "conduct need not be criminal to be impeachable" and that the "standard here is constitutional; it does not depend on what Congress has chosen to criminalize."

They emphasized that elections are the primary way to check a president, in the sense that if they behave poorly then voters can punish them or their party at the ballot box. But went on to say that "a president who corrupts the system of elections seeks to place himself beyond the reach of this political check."

"Put simply, if a President cheats in his effort at re-election, trusting the democratic process to serve as a check through that election is no remedy at all. That is what impeachment is for," the letter said. 

The scholars also underscored that the Founders were deeply concerned over corruption in terms of a president's relationship with foreign governments, which is why the commander-in-chief is barred from receiving "anything of value from foreign governments without Congress's consent."

The letter concludes by citing much of the damning evidence against Trump gathered via the impeachment inquiry, before ending by stating that the House of Representatives votes to impeach and the Senate subsequently votes to remove Trump then both chambers "would be acting well within their constitutional powers."

Trump has called the impeachment inquiry a "hoax," and Republicans in Congress have overwhelmingly stood by him throughout the process. Though it seems that it may be only a matter of time before Trump is impeached in the House, it's widely considered highly unlikely he will be removed from office by the Republican-controlled Senate. 

The president has forcefully defended his conduct with Ukraine, offering an inconsistent series of justifications as to why he withheld about $400 million in congressionally approved military aid from Kiev as he simultaneously urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into his political rivals. 

SEE ALSO: The LA Times joined the growing group of major papers calling for Trump's impeachment

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A New Testament-themed video game will put players in the shoes of Jesus Christ himself, and it just released a trailer

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i am jesus christ video game

  • There's a new video game coming soon on Steam that puts the player in the shoes (or sandals) of Jesus Christ himself.
  • "I Am Jesus Christ," as it is so aptly titled, is a forthcoming godly simulation set in the New Testament.
  • As shown in the game's trailer, players are given many of the same abilities bestowed upon Jesus in the Bible, including the ability to heal others, multiply fish, and calm stormy seas.
  • There's also a tantalizing peek at the level where Jesus is nailed to the cross, and the game's description on Steam promises a resurrection plotline, too.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Why can't the Bible be the inspiration for a video game? That's the question answered by "I Am Jesus Christ," a simulation that literally makes the player God. 

Coming soon on Steam, the game's trailer has already piqued interest online, thanks to its surreal subject matter and enticingly bizarre cutscenes. In one, the player conjures some fish, depleting a bar that apparently correlates to Jesus' holy abilities. In another, the player, still as Jesus, is nailed to a cross. 

The game's description on Steam raises more questions than it provides answers. 

"Have you ever wondered to be like Him - one of the most privileged and powerful people in the world?" Well, we have now. IGN tweeted out the game's trailer, leading to some delightful reactions.

Some responders wondered if the game would come out on Christmas.

Others suggested that Jesus should play a role in the next iteration of "Super Smash Bros."

And some ruminated over the choice to make Jesus a white person.

There are no other credits listed on Steam for the game's developer, but the publisher has made plenty of simulation games – its apparent specialty. This one just happens to spark a little more interest, thanks to its holy subject matter.

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