• FBI Director Christopher Wray shot down "false flag" conspiracy theories about a series of attempted mail bombings of high-profile Democrats and other public figures this week.
• "These are not hoax devices," Wray said.
• Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, of Aventura, Florida, was arrested on Friday in connection with the attempted attacks.

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday shot down conspiracy theories about a series of attempted mail bombings of high-profile Democrats and other public figures this week.

"Though we're still analyzing the devices in our laboratory, these are not hoax devices," Wray said.

His comment came as law-enforcement officials released details about Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, who was arrested earlier in the day in Florida and faces charges in connection with the slew of suspicious packages intercepted in several US cities.

Several prominent conservatives, including Lou Dobbs of Fox Business, have suggested that the reports about the attempted attacks were planted by Democrats to make Republicans look bad. Dobbs even referred to the explosives as "Fake Bombs" in a tweet he later deleted.

President Donald Trump was criticized on Friday morning after tweeting that "this 'Bomb' stuff" was distracting the media from political news ahead of the midterm elections next month. After Sayoc was apprehended, Trump applauded law enforcement.

At least 14 suspicious packages have been found since Monday. All were addressed to people who've been verbally attacked by Trump and have been vocally critical of the president.

Sayoc, who registered as a Republican before Florida's primary elections in 2016, has been arrested several times in the past, public records show.

Wray said that DNA evidence, including a fingerprint on one of the envelopes in the investigation, helped law enforcement track down Sayoc.

SEE ALSO: Here's what we know about the suspicious packages sent to top Democratic figures and CNN

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NOW WATCH: This company spent 10 years developing a product that allows humans to scale walls like a gecko

• Walmart is looking to convert parking lot space into town centers in a number of states.

• Tenants like Shake Shack, Chipotle, and Orangetheory Fitness might be moving into these new centers.

• Walmart's experiment may signal a major change to the concept of the one-stop shop.

Shoppers could be facing a brave new Walmart in the near future.

The retail giant is transforming extra parking lot space into "town centers" at Walmarts in several states. These new hubs would feature a "carefully curated mix" of "local, regional, and national" retail tenants, according to a website for the project, not to mention green spaces and, in certain cases, parking systems overhauled to better facilitate the store's grab-and-go services.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that Walmart is looking to fill these town centers with restaurants, day care establishments, health clinics, bowling alleys, food trucks, bike rental stations, driving ranges, fuel stations, and more.

"The Walmart Town Center concept is an exciting approach to how we serve our customers by moving beyond the store's four walls and reimagining how we use our unique assets — our existing stores and the surrounding land — to transform how customers experience Walmart," a Walmart spokesperson told Business Insider. 

Walmart listed a few such projects underway at select Walmart stores in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

"We want to provide community space, areas for the community to dwell — a farmer's market, an Easter egg hunt, trick or treating," LB Johnson, Walmart's vice president of US realty operations, told the audience at the 2018 International Council of Shopping Centers conference, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. "We want to provide pedestrian connectivity from our box to the experiential zones that are planned on our footprint. We want to augment these experiences and activities with more food and beverage, with health and fitness, essential services and entertainment."

In other words, certain Walmarts might start to resemble open-air malls more than standalone big-box stores, surrounded by chains like Shake Shack, Chipotle, and Orangetheory Fitness.

"We envision a more robust and dynamic shopping experience that combines entertainment venues, curated local food vendors, health and fitness services as well as recreational opportunities in a way that connects and engages with the community," a Walmart spokesperson told Business Insider.

Walmart's move toward transforming the shopping experience at certain locations may be evidence that the concept of the one-stop shop is on the way out — or at least fundamentally changing.

Walmart has long established itself as a one-stop shop, Business Insider previously reported. But according to Morgan Stanley's 2018 AlphaWise food retail survey, consumers buy groceries at an average of three retailers. Walmart leads the field of grocers, attracting one in four shoppers and locking down a 23% share of the market.

By enticing a slew of new potential partners into its planned town centers, Walmart may redefine what it means to be a one-stop shop. Rather than simply offering a wide variety of goods and services within its stores, the big-box giant instead would be establishing itself as a retail hub with an orbit of complementary tenants.

Do you work at Walmart? Email acain@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: Walmart is bucking a major holiday hiring trend, and it could be a brilliant move

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SEE ALSO: Walmart says it will save more than $200 million by making 2 minor changes

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NOW WATCH: Walmart undercut Amazon's most valuable perk

• Charles Koch, a billionaire mega-donor known for helping conservative policymakers, has been lobbying against a Tesla-friendly tax-cut extension, according to Bloomberg.
• Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada proposed earlier this month to lift the current cap on electric vehicles eligible for tax credits but to phase out the credit for the entire industry in 2022.
• Tesla, whose Gigafactory is located in Nevada, has lobbied Congress to lift a cap on electric vehicles, according to Reuters.
• Watch Tesla trade live here.

The billionaire mega-donor Charles Koch, one of the two Koch brothers who are famous for helping conservative policymakers, has been lobbying against legislation that would benefit electric-car makers such as Tesla. 

"Subsidizing the wealthy with tax dollars is not only bad policy, it also increases our national deficit," Koch lobbyist Philip Ellender wrote in a letter sent to senators dated on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.

"I urge you to oppose the expansion of credits on plug-in electric vehicles (EV) through 2022."

The credit-expansion bill was sponsored by Republican Sen. Dean Heller earlier this month. Under current law, once a manufacturer hits 200,000 EVs sold, the tax credit phases out starting in the following quarter. Heller proposed to lift the current capital restriction on electric vehicles eligible for tax credits, but to phase out the credit for the entire industry in 2022, according to Reuters.

Heller's bill would boost demand for electric vehicle batteries made in his state, where Tesla's Gigafactory is located. Tesla said in July it had delivered 200,000 electric cars to US customers, which under the current law will reduce the tax credits by 50% for half a year and then cut those credits to $1,875 for another six months until it ends. Heller's legislation would extend Tesla's tax credits until 2022. Tesla has lobbied Congress to lift the cap on electric vehicles eligible for a $7,500 tax credit, according to Reuters.

The electric-car maker on Wednesday posted a surprise third-quarter profit — thanks to strong revenue generated by its Model 3 sedan. Tesla announced last week a lower-priced version of its Model 3 sedan starting at $45,000. The sedan would only cost about $35,000 in California after federal and state tax rebates, according to CEO Elon Musk.

Tesla was up 2% this year.

Check out the full Bloomberg report here.

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NOW WATCH: 4 lottery winners who lost it all

Sir Richard Branson's newest space company, Virgin Orbit, just debuted its full rocket-and-airplane launch system for the first time.

The airplane is a commercial 747-400 jet called "Cosmic Girl," and the orbital-class rocket is named "LauncherOne."

Virgin Orbit aims to use the retrofitted jet to tow LauncherOne as high above Earth as possible, release the rocket, and then blast a small-satellite payload into orbit around Earth.

"Air launch frees missions from traffic jams at the existing launch sites; eliminates the need for costly, fixed ground infrastructure; and makes the system more resilient to unfavorable weather conditions," the company said in an emailed press release.

Here's what the new system looks like.

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Sending a rocket into space is astronomically expensive. Even the most affordable launch vehicles today, such as the Falcon 9 rocket built by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, can cost more than $62 million per flight.

Source: Business Insider

But the demand to launch smaller, less expensive satellites more frequently is booming, thanks to advances in materials, sensors, and software.

Source: Allied Market Research

Branson hopes to help meet that demand by exclusively launching smaller payloads more often and more affordably with Virgin Orbit.

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a press conference on Friday that the man arrested by federal authorities in connection with a string of attempted mail bombings targeting prominent Democrats and public figures this week "appears to be a partisan."
• Earlier Friday, federal authorities arrested Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, in connection with the suspicious packages, whose intended recipients included former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
• Sessions said Sayoc faces up to 58 years in prison if found guilty.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a press conference Friday that the man arrested by federal authorities in connection with a string of attempted mail bombings "appears to be a partisan."

Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, of Florida, was arrested Friday morning. Authorities have found more than a dozen suspicious packages targeting public figures and prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

When asked by a reporter about why Democrats were targeted, Sessions said, "I don't know, other than what you might normally expect," adding that the suspect "appears to be a partisan."

"But that would be determined by the facts as the case goes forward, and I'm not able to comment on that," Sessions added.

Sayoc, who was reportedly questioned by FBI agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force after his arrest, faces up to 58 years in prison if found guilty, Sessions said.

SEE ALSO: Here's how law enforcement tracked down the serial mail bombing suspect

DON'T MISS: Here's what we know about the suspicious packages sent to top Democratic figures and CNN

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NOW WATCH: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales: There's going to be an 'enormous backlash' against Donald Trump's lies

• Stocks fell Friday as a technology sell-off rattled global markets.
• Wall Street wiped out its 2018 gains for a second time this week.
• Follow the US indices in real time here.

US stocks tumbled in a volatile day of trading Friday as a technology rout rattled global markets, with concerns about rising rates and the prospect of slowing economic growth around the world wiping out Wall Street's 2018 gains for the second time this week.

TheDow Jones Industrial Average pared losses to close down about 300 points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq Composite shed more than 2%, and the S&P 500 ended down 1.7% after briefly dipping into correction territory. The sell-off turned both the Dow and the S&P 500 negative for the year, with stocks on track for their worst October since the financial crisis.

High-flying technology companies took the biggest hits after posting disappointing earnings. Amazon's revenue fell short of expectations and its fourth-quarter guidance disappointed, sending shares into a bear market, down more than 20% from their peak. Google parent companyAlphabet beat on the bottom line, but missed on revenue.Snap hit an all-time low after the company said it lost 2 million daily users.

"While a lot of the recent sell-off (and headlines) have been dominated by tech, the sell-off has been very broad-based in nature," Scott Buchta, head of fixed income strategy at Brean Capital, wrote in an email.

"Although this morning’s GDP report may help bring some near-term calm to the markets, we expect to see intraday volatility remain elevated due to the technical nature of the markets (driven largely by algos)."

Before the open, the Commerce Department saidthe US economy grew in July through September at a slightly slower pace than a blockbuster expansion earlier in the year, marking the best back-to-back quarters since 2014. With strong consumer spending offsetting weaker investment and exports, gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted 3.5% in the third-quarter.

"In one line: Strong GDP growth hides soft capex and massive trade deterioration," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Investors moved to the relative safety of US government bonds, which move inversely to yields, withthe 10-year falling 3.9 basis points to 3.077%, its lowest level in three weeks. Gold, another safehaven, jumped to its highest level since July — at around $1,234 per ounce.

Meanwhile, thedollar climbed to its highest levels since 2017 against a basket of peers. TheChinese yuan fell past 6.9700 against the greenback, a two-year low.

SEE ALSO: US economy grows at fastest back-to-back pace in 4 years, boosted by solid consumer spending

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NOW WATCH: 4 lottery winners who lost it all

A couple from the UK is traveling around Europe in a former bread delivery truck turned tiny home. 

Iona Stewart and Martin Hill met while working in the French Alps during the winter ski season, and eventually decided to buy a home together.

That home turned out to be a bright yellow truck. But in a few short months, the couple redesigned it into a cozy sanctuary that they now live and travel in full-time. 

INSIDER talked with Stewart about her home on wheels and what it's like to join the tiny home movement. 

Stewart and Hill were originally living in an RV when they decided to design a tiny home.

Already living a pretty nomadic lifestyle, the pair was staying in an RV when they first met, but wanted to find something more permanent that they could take on the road. 

"The RV we were staying in needed a lot of work, so it was either gut that out and completely rebuild that or start fresh," Stewart told INSIDER. "We came up with a silly plan to build a new camper out of a lorry."

After struggling to find a truck that was spacious enough for their needs, they finally found a "lorry" on eBay.

They discovered the perfect space in a former bread delivery truck on eBay, and bought it for $4,600. 

The truck is 28 feet long and just seven feet wide, but Stewart and Hill worked together to make it as functional as possible.

"I'm handy in design," Stewart said. "Martin knows electrics, plumbing, and generally likes building stuff for fun, so we work well together."

• The Boba Fett standalone "Star Wars" movie is dead, according to Deadline and reporter Erick Weber.
• Disney is instead focusing on the live-action "Star Wars" TV series, "The Mandalorian," for its upcoming streaming service.
• The last "Star Wars" standalone, "Solo," disappointed at the box office this summer.
• Disney CEO Bob Iger has expressed regret about the fast pace at which "Star Wars" movies were being released.

The "Star Wars" spin-off movie for Boba Fett, the fan-favorite bounty hunter, is not happening, as Disney instead focuses on its upcoming streaming service and its first "Star Wars" live-action TV series, "The Mandalorian." 

Deadline confirmed that the movie is dead after reporter Erick Weber first tweeted on Thursday, "Kathleen Kennedy just confirmed to me Boba Fett movie is 100% dead, 100% focusing on THE MANDALORIAN."

Disney did not immediately return a request for comment.

"The Mandalorian" is currently in production with "Iron Man" and "The Jungle Book" director Jon Favreau producing. The series takes place after "Return of the Jedi" but before "The Force Awakens."

Favreau posted a description on Instagram earlier this month:

"After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic..."

The Hollywood Reporter reported in May that "Logan" director James Mangold would bring a Boba Fett standalone to the big screen, but Disney has reevaluated its "Star Wars" strategy since then. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," was a box-office disappointment. It made under $400 million worldwide, while every other "Star Wars" movie in the Disney era has made over $1 billion ("The Force Awakens" made over $2 billion).

In an interview with THR last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger expressed regret over the initial strategy to release a "Star Wars" movie every year, and said to expect a "slow down" on "Star Wars" movies.

"I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast," Iger said. "You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films."

The next "Star Wars" movie, "Episode IX," comes to theaters December 20, 2019, and Disney's streaming service is expected in late 2019. "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson and "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are attached to "Star Wars" film projects, but the future is unclear while Disney shifts its efforts to TV.

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• The US Postal Service has proposed price hikes that could be a major blow to Amazon. 
• Credit Suisse estimates the price hikes could cost Amazon up to $1.1 billion. 
• The price hikes come after months of criticism from President Donald Trump, who argued that the Postal Service gives Amazon an unreasonably good deal. 

The US Postal Service's proposed price hikes could be a major blow to Amazon. 

Earlier in October, the USPS proposed a price increase of 12.3% for its lightweight parcel select service. Non-lightweight parcel select prices would increase by an average of 9.3%. The proposed price hikes would go into effect in January 2019 if they are approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Credit Suisse estimates the price hikes could cost Amazon somewhere in the range of $400 million to $1.1 billion, CNBC reports.

Parcel select is used by Amazon, as well as companies such as FedEx and UPS, for "last-mile" package delivery. The USPS' low fixed costs and mandate to deliver mail to Americans make it an ideal option to get a package from a fulfillment depot to its final destination.

Amazon doesn't seem too worried about the proposed rate hikes, however.

"We're not expecting a material impact from these rate changes in 2019," CFO Brian Olsavsky said during the company's third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. 

Trump has criticized Amazon's deal with the USPS for months.

"The Amazon Washington Post has gone crazy against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago," Trump tweeted in July. "Next up is the U.S. Post Office which they use, at a fraction of real cost, as their 'delivery boy' for a BIG percentage of their packages."

SEE ALSO: 'If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard': REI's CEO reveals why closing on Black Friday may be a smart business move

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• There's a viral Facebook and Twitter page that posts pictures of scary toilets.
• Phil Wilson, the filmmaker who runs the account, told INSIDER he seeks out pictures of intimidating toilets to post.
• The toilets are funny and scary, but in a sinister way.

For the past few months, there's been a specter haunting Facebook.

That spectre has been the page "Toilets With Threatening Auras," which is exactly what it sounds like. Phil Wilson, a freelance filmmaker, spends his free time finding pictures of scary toilets (and the bathrooms they're in) on the internet and posting them to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Wilson told INSIDER that there are a few criteria he looks at for deciding whether a toilet has a "threatening aura."

"I look for one of two things; actual intimidation, like something derelict or unsettling you wouldn’t usually see associated with toilets," he wrote in an email. "Or something funny, which most of the content has become."

Since founding the Facebook page in May, it's grown quickly. It currently has nearly 240,000 followers and posts pictures of toilets nearly every say. A Twitter page has gone viral and has more than 70,000 followers. (The Instagram lags behind with just around 2,000.) At first, he spent time going down Google rabbit holes and finding strange pictures to post. But as his following grew, people started submitting them.

Most of the toilets are creepy

Others are funny

I think I saw this in an episode of "Game of Thrones"

The thing they all have in common is a sinister sense of foreboding

Wilson said he has a few ideas for growing the page with other content. But for now, he's fine with just sticking to the bathroom.

"At the moment I’m content with just providing a daily dose of toilet," he said.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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NOW WATCH: This company spent 10 years developing a product that allows humans to scale walls like a gecko

Plenty of holidays are fully covered on the playlist front: Valentine's Day just needs love songs and Christmas will always have Michael Bublé. But it can be difficult to organize music for a Halloween event.

Luckily, Spotify has released the top-streamed songs on Halloween — and it's the perfect mix of classic novelties and evergreen rock hits.

The full playlist includes everyone from Beyoncé and Kesha to David Bowie, but we've rounded up the top 20 most popular songs to stream on the spooky holiday.

20. "Freaks Come Out at Night" by Whodini (1984)

The song explored New York's nightlife and party culture.

Listen to "The Freaks Come Out at Night" here.

19. "Time Warp" by Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, and Richard O'Brien (1973)

"Time Warp" is a song featured in the 1973 rock musical "The Rocky Horror Show" and in the soundtrack of its 1975 film adaptation.

Listen to "Time Warp" here.

18. "Zombie" by The Cranberries (1994)

"Zombie" is a protest song by the Irish rock band, written in response to two bomb attacks in Warrington, England.

Listen to "Zombie" here.

• The federal deficit hit $779 billion in fiscal year 2018, the highest since 2012.
• Republicans have suggested that the US needs to cut entitlements — Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security — to get the deficit under control.
• But most Americans would rather reverse the GOP tax law and raise revenue to deal with the deficit rather than make cuts, according to a new poll.
• More Republicans, even, would rather reverse the tax cuts than make entitlement cuts.

Americans would much rather deal with the ballooning federal deficit by reversing the GOP's biggest accomplishment of President Donald Trump's term, rather than go along with the Republican plan to address the debt, a new poll shows.

According to the Marist/NPR/PBS poll, 60% of Americans would rather reverse the GOP tax law to deal with the growing deficit. Just 21% of Americans would rather make cuts to entitlement programs of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

That does not align with recent rhetoric from Republican leaders on how to deal with the federal deficit — which, according to a recent Treasury Department report, hit $779 billion in fiscal year 2018.

GOP leaders, most recently Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have said that cuts to entitlement programs are necessary to deal with the long-term debt problem that was exacerbated by the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the GOP's tax reform law.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the TCJA will add $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade.

Even a plurality of GOP voters don't even agree with the party's plan to deal with the deficit. According to the poll, 43% of Republicans said they would prefer to reverse the TCJA to address the growing debt, while 32% said cutting entitlements was their preferred method.

The results may be unsurprising given the relative unpopularity of the GOP tax law. Most Americans believe that the law primarily benefits wealthier Americans and corporations, and even Republican polling shows the law is not a political winner.

While many GOP lawmakers and Trump administration officials have long advocated for cuts to entitlement programs, the president has so far rejected the idea and has promised not to touch Medicare and Medicaid. Trump's distaste for the cuts, along with the fact that Democrats would likely be able to block any such cuts in the near future, make them unlikely.

SEE ALSO: Trump's trade war took a stunning bite out of the US economy, and it's the strongest evidence yet that he's shooting himself in the foot

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• Law enforcement on Friday confiscated a van that reportedly belongs to Cesar Sayoc Jr.
• Sayoc, 56, was arrested on Friday in connection with the investigation into a series of attempted bombings against top Democrats and other public figures. 
• Based on images that are purportedly of the van shared on social media, it's covered in politically charged bumper stickers.

A van plastered with pro-President Donald Trump imagery that was confiscated by law enforcement in connection with the investigation into a series of attempted bombings via mail has become a subject of great interest.

The van reportedly belongs to Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, of Aventura, Florida.

Federal authorities on Friday announced Sayoc was arrested in connection with the slew of mail bombs sent to top Democrats and other public figures. 

In news footage on Friday afternoon, law enforcement could be seen throwing a blue tarp over the van before towing it. 

The van is covered in politically charged bumper stickers, many of which express support for Trump and the Republican Party. 

In an image of the vehicle, a sticker with a target on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's face can be seen. One of the suspicious packages intercepted this week was addressed to Clinton. 

The FBI has taken the van to its field office in Miramar, Florida, CBS News reported. 

Sayoc, who registered as a Republican before Florida's 2016 primary, has a long criminal history.

When questioned about potential motives for the attempted attacks, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday said the suspect "appears to be a partisan."

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday said he believed law enforcement had apprehended the "right guy," but also noted that the investigation is ongoing. 

At least 14 suspicious packages have been found or intercepted across the country this week. All of the packages were addressed to people who have been verbally attacked by Trump, and who have been vocally critical of him as well. 

SEE ALSO: FBI director shoots down mail bomber conspiracy theories: 'These are not hoax devices'

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NOW WATCH: 4 lottery winners who lost it all

• Meghan Markle wore a pair of Outland Denim jeans twice during her visit to Australia. 
• The brand tweeted that the recent spike in sales has allowed them to hire 15 to 30 new seamstresses in its Cambodian production house. 
• The brand aims to provide living wages and fair working conditions to women affected by human trafficking and those at risk of falling into poverty.

It's no secret that whatever Meghan Markle wears almost instantly sells out. The exposure she gives brands has become known as the "Markle Effect," and now one brand says it's helping exapand its humanitarian mission. 

Markle has worn a pair of Outland Denim jeans twice during her recent visit to Australia, and the company just tweeted that the recent spike in sales has allowed them to hire more seamstresses in their Cambodian production house. 

"Thanks to the Duchess' choice in denim, we're pleased to announce that it will be possible to employ a further 15 to 30 seamstresses in our Cambodian production house in the coming weeks, and the recruitment process has already begun," the brand announced on Twitter.

According to their website, Outland Denim strives to "set a standard for the treatment and remuneration of young female workers in the garment manufacturing industry" by providing a living wage and fair working conditions for the women working it its production house. It specifically aims to help women affected by human trafficking, and those most at risk of falling into poverty.

The brand also focuses on ethical sourcing and using environmentally sound raw materials. Markle has worn quite a few eco-friendly pieces during the royal tour, such as flats made of recycled water bottles by Rothy's and a casual summer dress made by Reformation.

It looks like the "Markle Effect" is certainly real, and it may just be helping a few good causes as well.

Representatives for Outland Denim did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We tried Meghan Markle's favorite facial that massages the inside of your mouth

• REI says it will close all of its stores on Black Friday, a definitive departure from retailers like Walmart and Target that kick off Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day.
• CEO Jerry Stritzke told Business Insider that closing on Black Friday was the right ethical decision and a smart business move, even as competitors open earlier.
• "If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard," Stritzke said.

As REI plans to shut its doors for another Black Friday, its CEO says the movement to close on Thanksgiving Day and the following day is gaining steam.

"It's the right ethical move. It's the right business move," CEO Jerry Stritzke told Business Insider. "I think retail for brands is about community."

He added: "The ability for a brand to meet these primal, important needs that serve as a basis of community is phenomenally powerful and a unique competitive position."

Stritzke says that when REI first closed down all of its stores on Black Friday in 2015, it was seen as a risky decision. At the time, major retailers like Walmart and Target were increasingly moving to open stores earlier on Thanksgiving Day, not close them down for 48 hours.

But the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction, Stritzke says, as more than 700 organizations have joined REI's #OptOutside campaign.

Hundreds of stores have permanently shuttered across the country as companies have struggled to win over shoppers. And many of those same retailers have faced backlash for choosing to begin Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day, forcing staff memebrs to work on the holiday.

"It's a completely different landscape today," Stritzke said.

"If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard," he added.

Many retailers, Stritzke argues, have put themselves in an uncomfortable position by competing purely on value. Winning customers based solely on lower prices or opening earlier, he says, builds a transactional relationship that can easily be undercut and leave retailers scrambling or bankrupt.

So, REI is leaning harder than ever in the opposite direction, as far away from the "greedy bastard" reputation as possible.

All 153 of its stores will close on Black Friday. REI's store will not process online payments. Employees will receive a paid day off. And, this year, REI is pledging $1 million to help launch a center of academic excellence at the University of Washington, aiming to study the link between health and time spent outdoors.

Even with the donation and lost sales, Stritzke says the #OptOutside campaign is a smart business decision. REI uses a cooperative model, meaning customers can pay $20 to become lifetime members and part owners of the company. In 2015, the first year the company closed for Black Friday, REI posted its largest-ever membership growth, and it increased revenue by 9.3% to $2.4 billion.

SEE ALSO: Panera CEO reveals how the chain refused to be a follower and convinced customers that bread is healthy

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NOW WATCH: Why this Bovet watch costs over $450,000

Up until this fall, I had a plan: I would use my iPhone 6S until it died. 

That phone and I have been through a lot together. I cracked the screen on it while falling up a set of stairs, I got it repaired by Apple — an effort that ultimately broke it more — and in the end, I was given a refurbished version with a screen that wasn't quite attached properly. Most days I have to wipe away a bit of black adhesive that leaks around the edges. 

All of this is to say, it's not a great phone, but it's my phone — and it has a headphone jack, something you can't say for the current batch of iPhone models. 

I value a headphone jack more than most features that have come to smartphones in the last few years, like wireless charging or an OLED display. Plus, Apple's new phones over the last two years haven't really thrilled me. Sure, they've been gorgeous, but they haven't been that big of an upgrade over previous versions. Even the camera hasn't been enticing enough to spend the money on a new phone.

But when Apple unveiled the iPhone XR at its annual hardware event last month, everything changed — all of a sudden, I couldn't wait to own one. It starts at $750; lower than the $999 price of the higher-end iPhone XS. 

Now that the iPhone XR is officially available to preorder, here are 4 reasons why I'm ready to give up my trusty iPhone 6S for the iPhone XR.

SEE ALSO: Here's how the new $400 Apple Watch Series 4 compares to last year's model, the Apple Watch Series 3

1. The new colors are finally fun — and way different from anything else you can buy.

One of the main reasons I wasn't able to get excited about the iPhone 7, iPhone 8, or iPhone X was the design. 

They were beautiful, premium-looking phones, but they just didn't thrill me. I've never needed my phone to be luxurious; I've just needed it to be functional. 

But the iPhone XR recaptures some of the sense of fun Apple hasn't exhibited since the iPhone 5C. It comes in six new colors — black, white, red, yellow, blue, and coral — but it still looks high-end, thanks to its glass back and metallic aluminum edges. 

No one else order the coral one, though — I've got my eye on it. 

2. Apple gave the iPhone XR an incredible camera.

With the iPhone XR, Apple copied one of the best features of the Google Pixel: building an incredible rear camera that only requires one lens. 

Google's smartphone camera is one of the best in the business, yet it doesn't rely on two lenses, which I've never thought looked very good. Instead, Pixel phones use software to take beautiful photos, and even give it a portrait mode.

Apple did the same thing with the iPhone XR. It only has one lens, but it's just as capable — and maybe even more so — as the higher-end, $999 iPhone XS. I won't know for sure until I get a chance to test it, but at least on paper, the iPhone XR camera will be a major upgrade from my iPhone 6S.

3. The iPhone XR has many of the same features as a higher-end smartphone.

The iPhone XR isn't Apple's top-tier iPhone, but it still has a lot of the most-wanted features most people are looking for these days, including:

• Wireless charging
• A large, beautiful display (although it's not OLED like the iPhone XS)
• Water resistance
• Face ID (for unlocking the phone with your face) and Animoji
• The same A12 chip as Apple's more expensive phones
• Better battery life than the iPhone 8 Plus
• Dual SIM
• The latest version of Apple's smartphone operating system, iOS 12

The Apple Watch packs a surprising amount of tools into a tiny package.

From messaging to productivity to advanced fitness tracking, the Apple Watch has something for everyone.

But not every Apple Watch feature is obvious from the get-go. Apple has filled the watch — which is now on its fifth iteration, the Apple Watch Series 4— with neat tricks and helpful tools to make using the watch a lot easier. And now that the latest version of Apple's smartwatch operating system, WatchOS 5, has arrived, there are even more cool tricks (as long as you have an Apple Watch Series 1 or newer). 

So whether you're new to Apple Watch or a longtime user, here are 23 tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Apple Watch. 

SEE ALSO: 11 reasons you should buy an Apple Watch instead of Fitbit's new $200 smartwatch

1. You can use your Apple Watch to find your iPhone if it gets lost.

The Apple Watch can send out a pinging noise to help you find your iPhone if you misplace it. To access that feature, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and tap the button that looks like a ringing phone. 

If you need a little extra help finding your device, press and hold the button to make your phone's flash go off. 

2. You can customize your Apple Watch's face.

Apple makes it easy to customize your watch face. Once you find a face you like, press and hold in the center of it — Apple calls this Force Touch. You should then see a button that says "Customize."

You'll then be able to change the color of the face, or add different widgets like weather, your calendar, music, or workouts. 

3. You can set your watch to turn off Do Not Disturb when you leave a specific location.

If you have to head to an important meeting and don't want to be annoyed by your wrist constantly buzzing, Apple's "Do Not Disturb" feature is incredibly handy.

In WatchOS 5, Apple did you one better: You can now set your watch to turn off "Do Not Disturb" as soon as it sense you've left a specific location. 

To do this, swipe up from the bottom to access the Control Center. Then, scroll down until you see the crescent moon that signifies the "Do Not Disturb" feature. Tap on that, and scroll down until you see the option for "On until I leave." 

Apple will release a new MacBook design later this year, according to a Bloomberg report. And Apple may make the announcement at its big event scheduled for October 30.

What Apple will call this new laptop is still a mystery. Bloomberg says it could be called the MacBook Air or simply the new MacBook, but considering how this notebook will reportedly replace the MacBook Air in Apple's lineup, we'll refer to this new computer as the new MacBook Air for now.

The current MacBook Air has gotten plenty of internal upgrades over the years, but consumers have been looking at the same form factor since 2011. Still, at $999, it's currently the most affordable Mac laptop you can buy.

But all of that could change very soon.

Here's what we're expecting from the new MacBook Air that will reportedly be announced this month:

SEE ALSO: Apple will reportedly release a new Mac Mini and a redesigned MacBook Air later this year

Expect a 13-inch display, like the current MacBook Air.

Apple retired the 11-inch MacBook Air in 2016.

The new MacBook Air will reportedly include a higher-resolution Retina display. The MacBook Air is currently the only Apple-made laptop without a Retina display.

The Bloomberg report says the new MacBook Air will have thinner bezels, or borders around the display. You could probably expect something similar to the Huawei MateBook X Pro, another laptop with razor-thin bezels.

Most people know three things about Bill Gates:

1. He is one of the richest men in the world.
2. He cofounded one of the most successful tech companies of all time in Microsoft.
3. He's an extremely generous philanthropist through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

But despite his philanthropic efforts and online presence, there are a lot of things about Gates that many are unaware of.

Here are 17 facts you probably didn't know about Bill Gates:

1. As a teen at Lakeside Prep School, Gates wrote his first computer program on a General Electric computer. It was a version of tic-tac-toe where you could play against the machine.

Source: Science Museum

2. Once his school discovered Gates' coding abilities, they let him write the school's computer program for scheduling students in classes. Gates slyly altered the code so he was placed in classes with a "disproportionate number of interesting girls."

Source: Science Museum

3. Gates also read the entire "World Book Encyclopedia" series during his teenage years.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

• The US's war on terror launched on October 7, 2001 with the invasion of Afghanistan, a campaign known as Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Throughout the 17-year war, 21 service members have received the nation's highest award for combat valor.
• The Medal of Honor is reserved for service members who display extraordinary bravery or selflessness in conflict, often at the expense of their own lives. 

On April 4, 2005, President George W. Bush spoke to a somber crowd gathered to honor Army Sergeant First Class Paul Smith, who had died two years earlier during the Battle of Baghdad. During the ceremony to follow, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Smith's parents, inducting their son into a venerated fraction of military service members and veterans.

"Since World War II more than half of those who have been awarded this medal gave their lives in the action that earned it," President Bush said. "Sergeant Paul Smith belongs to this select group."

Smith was the first service member awarded with the nation's highest military honor for his actions during the global war on terror. In the time since, 20 more have been awarded for conspicuous gallantry — an obvious display of bravery in battle that often shows disregard for one's own life.

Here are their incredible stories.

Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer Britt Slabinski

On March 4, 2002, Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer Britt Slabinski’s helicopter was shot down over Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan. Through deep snow, Slabinski protected his teammates by fighting off insurgent forces, exposing himself to direct enemy fire throughout. At one point, Slabinski carried a wounded teammate to safety while calling in airstrikes for protection. Originally awarded the Navy Cross, in May 2018 President Donald Trump upgraded the award to the Medal of Honor.

Air Force Technical Sergeant John Chapman

Air Force Technical Sergeant John Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor over 16 years following his actions during the Battle of Robert’s Ridge on March 4, 2002. After a rocket-launched grenade toppled his team’s helicopter, Chapman led the effort to rescue one of his teammates who was thrown from the aircraft. He fought for over an hour through enemy gunfire, ignoring numerous injuries in the attempt to save Navy SEAL Neil Roberts.

Tech. Sgt. Chapman was originally awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions during the battle, becoming the first Air Combat Controller in history to earn that medal. The Battle of Robert’s Ridge resulted in numerous decorations, including 12 Silver Stars and three Air Force Crosses. President Donald Trump upgraded his award in August 2018, making Chapman the first member of the Air Force to earn the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.

“He gave his all for his men”: Sergeant First Class Paul Smith

On April 4, 2003, Sergeant First Class Paul Smith coordinated the defense of over 100 US soldiers who came under attack near Baghdad, Iraq. Surrounded by enemy forces, Smith fought them off with hand grenades, anti-tank weapons, and a truck-mounted machine gun, exposing himself to direct enemy fire. He suffered mortal wounds while saving the lives of wounded soldiers, who were rescued while he provided protective fire.

Sgt. First Class Smith was awarded the first Medal of Honor of the Global War on Terror by then-President George W. Bush on April 4, 2005.