• Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's top attorney, said Monday that Trump did not talk to Michael Cohen before the former lawyer's testimony to Congress.
• Speaking to the New York Daily News, Giuliani said Trump "never" spoke with Cohen, a day after he said he "didn't know" if Trump had spoken to him about the testimony.
• Cohen has admitted to lying to Congress in his 2017 testimony about discussions for developing a Trump Tower deal in Moscow.
• Trump and Cohen's potential contact is under renewed scrutiny after a bombshell BuzzFeed News report said Trump had directed his former "fixer" to lie in testimony.

Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's top attorney, said Monday that Trump did not talk to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen about Cohen's testimony to Congress.

Speaking to the New York Daily News, Giuliani said Trump "never" spoke with Cohen, and he had confirmed that point with ex-lead counsel John Dowd, among otherformer members of the president’s legal team.

“The president never spoke with Cohen about the congressional testimony," Giuliani told the Daily News in a report published a day after he said he "didn't know" about the matter.

Giuliani added that the president’s legal team had contact with conversed with Cohen’s lawyers, and possibly Cohen himself, head of his September 2017 testimony to the House and Senate intelligence committees.

The day before, Giuliani told CNN host Jake Tapper that he wasn't sure about the matter, and cast doubt on the significance of potential contact, saying "so what?"

"I don’t know if it happened or didn’t happen," Giuliani said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union.""So what if he talked to him about it?"

Trump's contact with Cohen re-entered the spotlight after a bombshell BuzzFeed News report published Friday said Trump had directed Cohen to lie in his testimony, which Democratic lawmakers pointed to as ground for impeachment, if the report's claims were true.

Giuliani, along with Vice President Mike Pence, waved off the report over the weekend, saying he was "100 percent" sure Trump hadn't directed Cohen to lie.

Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about multiple aspects of the Moscow Trump Tower deal, including the timeline of discussions inside the Trump Organization and the extent of his relationships and communication with Russian government officials, and the involvement of multiple Trump family members in pushing the deal through.

Cohen's plea indicated that Trump was not being truthful when he denied any financial interests in Russia during his 2016 campaign,according to reporting from Business Insider's Sonam Sheth. Additional concerns were raised when it was reported the Trump Organization wanted to give Russian President Vladimir Putin the penthouse in the building.

SEE ALSO: Giuliani and Pence go on the defensive after explosive BuzzFeed News report, blame media 'hysteria'

SEE ALSO: Lawmakers respond to BuzzFeed News disputed report as the media company's editor-in-chief doubles down

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

This 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. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Trucking is set to transform radically in the coming years, with innovative technologies enabling trucks to take over more and more driving responsibilities, saving time and money for operators and businesses that rely on shipping.

Autonomous trucks are being tested on roads around the world, and systems from startups like Peloton and Embark could make their way into commercial trucks as soon as next year. Fleets will be able to leverage autonomous technologies to cut costs and gain a critical edge over competitors.

But to start planning for, and to eventually implement, those technologies, companies need to know what sorts of systems will be ready and when, and what regulatory hurdles will need to be overcome to get autonomous trucks on the road. 

In The Autonomous Trucking Report, Business Insider Intelligence provides an early glimpse into the emerging autonomous trucking market. First, we look at the trucking market as it stands today, offering a basic profile of the industry and highlighting a number of the challenges and issues it faces. Then, we go through the three waves of autonomous technology that are set to upend the industry — platooning, semi-autonomous systems, and fully autonomous trucks — looking at who is making strides in each of these areas, when the technology can be expected to start making an impact, and what companies can do to get ahead of the curve.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Advanced and autonomous technology will enable operators and shipping firms to eradicate some of the challenges that have long plagued them. Trucks will take over more and more driving responsibilities, saving time and money for operators and businesses that rely on shipping.
• The impact of autonomous technologies on the trucking industry will come in three major waves: platooning or fuel-saving vehicle convoys, semi-autonomous highway control systems, and fully autonomous trucks.
• Change to the trucking industry will be gradual but inexorable. Companies with foresight can start to make long-term plans to account for the ways that autonomous technologies will change how goods and products move from place to place.

In full, the report:

• Analyzes the development of autonomous trucking technology.
• Explains the waves in which advanced and autonomous technologies will start to impact the trucking industry, providing detailed explanations of how a company can take advantage of the disruptive technology transforming logistics at each stage.
• Profiles the efforts of the companies that are at the forefront of new technology in trucking, looking at what they're working on and when their efforts could start to impact the market.

To get this report, subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

	This report and more than 275 other expertly researched reports
	Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
	Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
	And more!

Learn More

Or, purchase & download The Autonomous Trucking Report directly from our research store

Join the conversation about this story »

• Businessman Rodger Dudding owns one of Europe's largest car collections, with over 450 cars — and he's still adding more.
• Dudding has been collecting cars for 50 years and has an array of rare rides spanning from 1918 to present day.
• Business Insider got an exclusive look at some of his favorite cars.

Harry Kersh: I'm Harry, and today we're gonna take you for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of Europe's biggest car collections. The 450-plus car collection is owned by businessman Rodger Dudding. He's been collecting cars for 50 years and has quite the collection of rare rides spanning from 1918 all the way to the present day. Rodger estimates his collection is valued at over $45 million. With so many vehicles, he hired a team to handle the upkeep and eventually turned his collection into a business renting out cars for TV, films, photo shoots, and events. 

Inside Rodger Dudding's $45 million car collection.

Rodger Dudding: This is the oldest car in our collection. 

1918 Hispano Suiza Type 24.

Rodger: And allegedly it's the only one or maybe one of two left in the world. This is more comfortable than your favorite armchair at home. 

Harry: Okay. That's a bold claim.

Rodger: If you want to get in it, jump in.

Harry: Jump in a piece of history.

Rodger: Only one door opens. You slide down behind the controls. 

Harry: Here we are. Wow, I'm sitting in a piece of history.

Rodger: Part of our purpose in collecting these cars is to maintain history. 

Harry: Do you have a particular favorite era of cars? Is there a decade where you think they produced some really great pieces? 

Rodger: Yeah, I think the decade to me is very much the era of the Lagonda wedge which is the late '70s running into the early '80s, as it were. Here we have some of the wedge collection, Lagonda. 

1976-1989 Aston Martin Lagonda.

Rodger: And they say — they, whoever they are — say you're mad if you own one. You're totally bonkers if you own two. I happen to have 24. 

Harry: So what does that make you? 

Rodger: If you look at the design of this car, it is off the wall. So, therefore you love it, or you don't like it. 

Harry: So we've got another Lagonda here, can you tell us what's special about this one, Rodger?

Rodger: This one is a one-off entirely, built for a Saudi Arabian prince and all brightwork inside and out the car is 18-karat gold plate.

Harry: So in many ways, you're an art collector, not a car collector.

Rodger: I think there's a very fine line between what people consider conventional art as a painting, which is beautiful, or Lalique glass or something like that, which is beautiful. But these things are literally three-dimensional. If you look at this Jaguar here, look at the different angles, just walk around it. It is a passion, and motor cars, particularly classic cars, it is an emotional thing. I think once anyone starts to spend more than, should we say, $20, $25, $30,000 you are starting to buy with your heart, not with your head. We have such a wide variety of cars and various people came here to see the collection. Then one day, someone said to us, "What about the cars being used in film shoots?" So we thought if we could become the one-stop shop for a prop company they could call us, and we got our cars up and running. So, that then has gathered momentum, which does help produce revenue to maintain this collection.

Harry: Rodger Dudding is a true car aficionado. And with such a deep passion for the beauty he finds in cars, it's hard to believe his collection will ever stop growing.

Join the conversation about this story »

This 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. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Esports, which is short for electronic sports, refers to competitive video gaming watched by spectators. Esports are not as mainstream as traditional sports in the US, but the number of esports fans globally is still sizable. The worldwide esports audience reached 335 million in 2017, according to Newzoo. 

And there’s still significant room for growth beyond that — we predict that 600 million consumers globally will watch esports in 2023, up 79% from 2017. 

A growing number of brands are acting to capitalize on the growth of esports as the majority of professional gaming fans are millennials and open to brand sponsors. Sixty-two percent of US esports viewers are aged 18-34, according to Activate, while 58% have a positive attitude towards brand involvement in esports, per Nielsen.

Meanwhile, Newzoo anticipates global esports sponsorship revenue to reach $359 million in 2018, up 53% year-over-year. The growing esports audience and brand activity helps explains why high-profile public figures are jumping in to capitalize on the action: In late October, basketball legend Michael Jordan and platinum-selling artist Drake both made investments into separate esports ventures, for example. 

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence will explain the growth of the esports audience and why it presents an attractive advertising opportunity for brands. We'll begin by exploring the key drivers and barriers affecting esports audience growth. Finally, we'll detail the benefits of advertising to esports fans and outline the best practices for implementing a successful esports ad campaign.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Arby's, Audi, Bud Light, Hyundai, Intel, Mastercard, McDonald's, Red Bull, Skillz, and Turner.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• The number of esports fans globally is anticipated to climb 59% over the next five years, but there’s still significant room for growth.
• This expansion will be driven by many factors, including investment from traditional sports leagues, a higher number of broadcast deals, and the expansion of the mobile-based esports scene.
• The majority of esports fans are millennials, while data suggests that Gen Zers are more receptive to nontraditional sports, like esports, than traditional sports.
• Brands can sponsor esports leagues, competitions, and players as well as advertise on digital platforms like Twitch to reach the eyeballs of esports fans.
• Whatever shape a brand's esports ad campaign eventually takes, displaying an authentic commitment to the gaming world is paramount.

 In full, the report:

• Outlines the drivers and potential barriers to esports audience growth.
• Details the various reasons esports fans are a compelling advertising opportunity for brands.
• Discusses the different ways brands can invest spend to reach the eyeballs of esports fans.
• Explains best practices brands advertising to esports fans should adopt in order to make inroads with the gaming community. 

SEE ALSO: The eSports competitive video gaming market continues to grow revenues & attract investors

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• ClassPass is offering a free month-long trial right now, which is double the length of their standard trial period offer.
• With the trial, you can go to up to six boutique fitness classes during a one-month time frame for $0. 
• It's the perfect way to jump-start that New Year's resolution.
• Find out how ClassPass works below.

ClassPass is a relatively inexpensive way to drop into boutique fitness classes in your area without any commitment or membership. You pay a monthly ClassPass fee and get credits, and you use those credits to sign up online for classes that pique your interest: boxing, yoga, cycling, weight training, martial arts, pilates, and a seemingly never-ending list of others.

And, since budget-friendly options can often mean second-rate options, it’s nice to know ClassPass typically features top-tier studios, including a majority of the fitness classes you’ve likely heard of or have actually been meaning to try.

Right now, ClassPass is offering a free month-long trial for the new year.

Their standard offer is typically two weeks. You can take up to six classes during your free month, and you can cancel your membership whenever. If you don’t cancel, though, you’ll be auto-enrolled in a monthly membership.

Here’s how ClassPass typically works:

1. After your free trial, you pay a monthly membership fee that’s based on your city and how many classes you want to take each month. For reference, the lowest tier membership starts at $15, though you should expect to pay something closer to $59 (the rate in cities like Minneapolis) to $79 (the rate in New York City) per month for five to eight classes. That works out to be about $7-$12 per class in Minneapolis or $10-$16 in New York.
2. Use the app or online site to book yourself in one of the thousands of participating fitness classes in your area. Every class has a different credit value, and you can book in advance or last-minute—even up to five minutes before it starts when you use the mobile app.
3. Add more credits anytime if you use yours up.

The perks are plentiful. You pay as much as 50% less per month for multiple specialized fitness classes (for comparison, a single class can normally run for $30), you can get class recommendations and read reviews so you know what’s good before you try it, and you can stream workouts from home if you’re not up to leaving the house. You don’t have to buy class packs or commit to a membership that penalizes you if you decide in February that you’re really not interested in getting into fitness in 2019.

Plus, the versatility means working out can actually be fun and engaging — and you can rope friends into trying out new classes with you, in the hopes that you’ll discover you actually love something like martial arts but just never knew it. And if you’re traveling, you can switch your account location and use ClassPass wherever you are (given you're in one of the 80 participating cities). 

The risks you run, depending on the city, are popular classes booking up quickly, falling in love with a high-credit class, needing to buy more credits because you exercised too much that month (is this really a bad thing, though?), or paying for a month and never using the credits. If you end the month with a bunch of unused credits, you can use them on the considerably higher credit spa treatments ClassPass also offers. Otherwise, up to 10 credits roll over each month. And if you love a workout spot that isn’t listed, submit it as a recommendation to ClassPass.

You can go to most studios an unlimited times per month (or per “cycle”), though it’s possible more credits will be charged if you go often, in which case you’ll see a message explaining the change.

Overall, ClassPass is ideal for relatively inexpensive access to variety and top fitness classes. But, with a month to try it, you don’t have much to lose. If you’re thinking about trying it, now is a good time. 

Sign up for your free month-long trial of ClassPass here

Join the conversation about this story »

• Morning routines can be hard to develop, but having one can set you up for a productive day and successful life.
• Neurosurgeon Mark McLaughlin shares the three-step morning routine he follows to set up the rest of his day for success.
• He calls it his "triple threat": meditation, filing, and planning.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when juggling career and work demands, family time, relationships, and other obligations.

If you feel like you're constantly playing catch-up with no time to achieve personal or professional fulfillment, it's possible to turn it all around by changing one thing about your day: your morning routine.

There's a reason successful people tend to be early risers. Think Tim Cook or Oprah. The quiet early-morning hours are a key time for focusing on a set of routines that start your day off right, before the rest of the world wakes up and has the potential to throw you off course.

If your morning routine isn't designed to maximize productivity, then you're missing an opportunity to boost your performance in both life and business.

As a busy neurosurgeon, wrestling coach, author, speaker, and dad, my morning routine is the secret to my success. It consists of only three simple steps that set the rest of my day up for productivity. I call it my triple threat.

1. Meditating

I awake each day at 5:00 a.m. and meditate for 10 minutes without fail. This is a nonnegotiable self-care aspect of my day, which is why it comes before everything else.

I was fortunate to learn transcendental meditation — which involves silently reciting a mantra over and over — from instructors John Hanlon and Dean Sluyter, the author of several outstanding books and audio meditations, at the Pingry School back in 1980. However, over the years, my technique has changed to natural meditation— which does not require the use of a mantra. It is more centered on quiet inactivity.

Meditation — or mindfulness practices — can help reduce your stress levels and avoid burnout, improve your mental health and well-being, boost your creativity levels, enhance your capacity for empathy, improve sleep, and so much more.

Try at least 10 minutes of meditation to start your day and discover what it enhances in your life.

2. Filing

This sounds like a real 180-degree turn, right? Going from relaxing and focus-enhancing meditation to … filing? Hear me out.

I've created a personal file system labeled for each day of the month, and every day has one task in that file. When something pops up during my day that's not urgent, I file it away in this system and don't think about it again until its designated day. For example, I might wake up one morning, check my file, and see that today's task is to write a thank-you note to a friend. I can check this off my list and move on with my day.

Create a similar daily filing system for yourself to remove the stress of all of the little to-dos that can easily pile up and overwhelm you.

3. Planning

Starting your day without a set plan is like running a race with no idea of the route or destination: You might get there eventually, but you're going to be stressed, exhausted, and certainly lagging behind everyone else.

That's why the third element to my "triple threat" morning routine is consulting my day planner and making a list of everything I need to get done that day before it all has a chance of going sideways. Though most things have gone digital these days, I personally use a classic paper Franklin planner. There are benefits to keeping a paper day planner, including increased mindfulness and memory retention.

Mapping out your day before it begins each morning doesn't mean it won't go off course, but it will help keep you focused on your goals and give you a better shot of actually achieving them.

Lastly, try different morning routines until you land on one that works for you. While it doesn't have to be complicated, it does need to be intentional and tailored to your needs to help you have a more productive, successful day.

Mark McLaughlin, MD, practices neurological surgery at Princeton Brain and Spine Care and believes that we can all use the core principles behind brain surgery and apply them to our daily lives. His mission is to use the lessons he has learned from his career to help others manage stressful situations and engage with problem-solving.

SEE ALSO: I got up an hour earlier for 2 weeks — and it completely changed the course of my days

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: I woke up at 4:30 a.m. for a week like a Navy SEAL

This 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. 

Telehealth — the use of mobile technology to deliver health-related services, such as remote doctor consultations and patient monitoring — is enabling healthcare providers and payers to address the US healthcare industry’s growing list of problems.

The proliferation and rapid advancement of mobile technology are spurring telehealth adoption, and many believe that 2018 could be the tipping point for the telehealth market.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence defines the opaque US telehealth market, forecasts the market growth potential and value, outlines the key drivers behind usage and adoption, and evaluates the opportunity telehealth solutions will afford all stakeholders. We also identify key barriers to continued telehealth adoption, and discuss how providers, payers, and telehealth companies are working to overcome these hurdles.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Telehealth is enabling healthcare providers and payers to address the US healthcare industry’s growing list of problems, including rising healthcare costs, an aging population, and the transformation of healthcare from service-centric to consumer-centric, which is straining healthcare system resources and threatening to drive up payer costs.
• Although telehealth solutions aren't suitable for all patients, right now, about 45% of the US population, or 147 million consumers, falls within the addressable market.
• Despite low usage rates, most consumers are open to using telehealth solutions, according to the 2018 Business Insider Intelligence Insurance Technology Study. 
• A range of companies are well-positioned to generate savings in terms of revenue and avoid potential pitfalls by deploying telehealth solutions.

 In full, the report:

• Offers an overview of different types of telehealth services and their applications in the US healthcare ecosystem. 
• Highlights the growth drivers and opportunities of these applications.
• Includes exclusive data and insights from the 2018 Business Insider Intelligence Insurance Technology Study. 
• Provides examples of key players in the telehealth market, including insurers, medical device makers, and health networks. 
• Gives recommendations on how health networks and payers should approach using and deploying telehealth solutions.

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

	This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
	Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
	Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
	And more!

Learn More

Purchase & download the full report from our research store

Join the conversation about this story »

This 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. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Outside of the US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS have dominated the domestic logistics industry — and in particular, the last-mile of the delivery — for decades. On a quarterly earnings call in 2016, FedEx estimated that itself, UPS, and USPS executed a whopping 95% of all e-commerce orders.

But rapidly rising volumes have put the pair of legacy shippers in a bind. E-commerce sales have risen over 50% and are projected to continue their ascent into the next decade. High volumes are already straining shippers' networks — UPS struggled to bring consumers their parcels on time due to higher-than-anticipated package volume, which upset some big-name retail partners, including Macy's, Walmart, and Amazon. As online sales surge further, package volumes will outstrip legacy shippers' capacities, creating space for new entrants. 

Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to dethrone UPS and FedEx's duopoly. It's built up a strong logistics infrastructure, counting hundreds of warehouses and thousands of delivery trucks.

Further, as the leading online retailer in the US, it has a wealth of data on consumers that it can use to craft a personalized delivery experience that's superior to UPS and FedEx's offerings. Amazon must act soon, however, as UPS and FedEx are hard at work fortifying their own networks to handle the expected surge in parcel volume.

The longer the Seattle-based e-tailer delays the launch of a delivery service, the more it runs the risk that these legacy players will be able to defend their territory. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explains how the age of e-commerce is opening up cracks in UPS and FedEx's duopoly. We then outline how Amazon's logistics ambitions began as an effort to more quickly get parcels out the door and fulfill its famous 2-day shipping process and how it'll be a key building block for the company if it builds out a last-mile service. Lastly, we offer concrete steps that the firm must take to maximize the dent it makes in UPS and FedEx's duopoly.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While UPS and FedEx have dominated the US last-mile delivery market for the last few decades, the surge in e-commerce is creating more volume than shipping companies can handle.
• Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to put a dent in UPS and FedEx's duopoly due to its strategic position as the leading online retailer in the US.
• Amazon can carry its trust amongst the public, a wealth of consumer data, and its ability to craft a more personalized delivery experience to the last-mile delivery space to ultimately dethrone UPS and FedEx.
• The top priority for Amazon in taking on UPS and FedEx needs to be offering substantially lower shipping rates — one-third of US retailers say they'll switch to an Amazon shipping service if it's at least 20% cheaper than UPS and FedEx. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines Amazon's current shipping and logistics footprint and strengths that it would bring to the last-mile delivery space in the US.
• Lays out concrete steps that Amazon must take if it wants to launch a standalone last-mile delivery service, including how it can offer a more memorable, higher-quality delivery experience than UPS and FedEx.
• Illustrates how Amazon can minimize operating costs for a delivery service to ultimately undercut UPS and FedEx's shipping rates in the last-mile space.

SEE ALSO: Amazon and Walmart are building out delivery capabilities

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• SmartNews is a free news app that delivers stories from hundreds of trusted publishers, makes it easy to discover new topics and media sites, and lets you access content with or without an Internet connection. 
• The app features a simple, intuitive design. Swipe through different channels that host different topics (Top News, Politics, Sports, Tech, Entertainment, etc.) or publishers (Business Insider, Bleacher Report, National Geographic), click on stories to read them, and set news report notifications. 
• Each story is available in the original Web version or a pared-down Smart version that's accessible offline. The Smart option ensures you'll always be up-to-date on the latest news, wherever you are. 

Most of us receive our news and learn about what we need to know every day through a variety of mediums, including print, TV, radio, and the internet. Online, we regularly encounter a variety of sources, but juggling the content of all the sites you read can be disorganized and overwhelming to navigate. 

That's why free news apps like SmartNews are popular. They find and organize the stories for you, so you can easily read about the topics you care about without manually visiting each of your favorite publishers' sites. SmartNews is a top-rated app that was founded in Japan in 2012 and expanded to the US in 2014. It now keeps 10 million monthly active users in Japan and the US up-to-date on important stories. 

SmartNews offers dedicated channels for more than 300 US publishers, including news sites like Business Insider, CBS News, and MSNBC; entertainment sites like Entertainment Weekly, Variety and Pitchfork; and sports sites like SB Nation and Golf.com. 

Available for iOS and Android devices, the app has a friendly and intuitive interface. At the top are various channels you can swipe through and browse. The channels are content categories like Top News, Politics, Sports, and Tech, or publisher hubs like Vox and National Geographic. There's also a Social channel that lets you connect your Twitter account to see popular stories in your timeline. You can add, remove, and rearrange these channels into an order that makes the most sense for you. 

SmartNews aggregates stories from its publishers in each of its category channels, presenting a diverse array of sources and voices. When you click on a story, two versions are available, 'Web' and 'Smart.' In Smart mode, articles load instantly and are presented in a simple, readable format. The advantage of this mode is that you can read any article offline — no need to frantically save links before you board a flight or lose service. 

Through the app, you can receive scheduled news report notifications during the day so you never miss out on an important story. The default settings are Morning (7 a.m.), Midday (12 p.m.), Evening (6 p.m.), and Night (10 p.m.) but you can change them to times you're comfortable with, or turn them off. 

SmartNews won Apple's Best of 2013 award and Google's Best App of the Year 2013 award, and it's easy to see why. It allows enough customizability to make it feel like a personal news assistant, while delivering and exposing you to a variety of top online publishers. If you've tried other news apps but have yet to find one that suits your needs, SmartNews is one to try. 

Download the free SmartNews app for iOS and Android here.

Join the conversation about this story »

Many companies use the term artificial intelligence, or AI, as a way to generate excitement for their products and to present themselves as on the cutting edge of tech development.

But what exactly is artificial intelligence? What does it involve? And how will it help the development of future generations?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in AI 101, a brand new FREE report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, that describes how AI works and looks at its present and potential future applications.

To get your copy of the FREE slide deck, simply click here.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Life insurance is fundamentally hard to sell; it’s morbid to think about, promises no immediate rewards, and often requires a lengthy paper application with minimal guidance.
• Despite the popularity of personalized products in other areas of finance and fintech, life insurance largely remains unchanged.
• A small, but growing pocket of insurtech startups are shaking up the status quo by finding ways to digitize life insurance and increase its appeal.

Life insurance is a fundamentally difficult product to sell; it requires people to think about their deaths without promising any immediate returns.

And, despite tech innovations and the development of personalized services in other areas of finance, life insurance remains largely unchanged.

Luckily, there is a small but growing pocket of insurtech startups looking to modernize it. These companies are finding ways to digitize life insurance to  appeal to consumers — and they’re giving incumbents the opportunity to revamp traditional offerings, either by partnering with them or using their technology.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has forecasted the shifting landscape of life insurance in the The Future of Life Insurance report. Here are the key problems insurtechs are tackling:

• Lack of education: Forty percent of US consumers told the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) that they feel intimidated by the life insurance application process, often drastically overestimating its cost and facing uncertainty about how much or which type of coverage to buy.
• Inconvenient application process: It can take weeks or months for coverage to take effect because of the sheer number of meetings and parties combing through paperwork in each round of the application process. The risk for the insurer often warrants reviews from the carrier, a team of underwriters, a broker, and even a medical examiner.
• Low customer loyalty: Life insurance tends to be a “set it and forget it” type of purchase, with very few people revisiting it after buying. Insurers and consumers therefore have limited contact for most of the relationship — with the exception of an annual bill, of course.
• Inefficient data management and processing: The aggregate data life insurers rely on is typically fed into algorithms that make broad assumptions about particular populations, and often incorporate outdated medical documentation — all of which can delay applications and result in unnecessary rejections.

Want to learn more?

The need for modernization in life insurance is clear: Overall sales are slowing and policy ownership is hitting record lows. And because it’s such a tightly-regulated space, innovation from incumbents has stagnated — but they’re not helpless. Consumer-focused and insurer-focused startups have emerged to offer new technologies and process improvements.

The Future of Life Insurance report from Business Insider Intelligence looks at the two main strategies life insurtechs are adopting to drive change in this market, for the benefit of both buyers and sellers. In full, the report discusses best practices incumbents and startups should adopt to steer clear of the risks attached to applying emerging technologies to such a tightly regulated product.

Insurtech startups will soon set new industry standards and consumer expectations around this complex product. That, in turn will serve as a catalyst for innovation among legacy players.

Companies included in this report: Ladder, Haven Life, Getsurance, Tomorrow, Fabric, Atidot, AllLife, Royal London, Polly, Life.io, Legal & General, Vitality, Discovery, John Hancock, Dai-ichi Life.

Join the conversation about this story »

• The partial shutdown of the federal government entered its fifth week. 
• Though much of America took a break to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, several stories from the weekend continued to develop. 

As the partial shutdown of the federal government reached its 31st day, President Donald Trump's "major announcement" for negotiations fell flat, social media erupted over an apparent confrontation in Washington DC, and Cardi B entered the arena of political commentary. 

Get caught up on this weekend's biggest stories:

SEE ALSO: Most Americans would rather spend the $5 billion Trump is demanding for the border wall on infrastructure, education, or healthcare

SEE ALSO: 12 inspiring quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.

Even after a much-teased "major announcement" Saturday, Trump couldn't entice Democrats back to the negotiating table.

• In Trump's  "major announcement," he offered Democrats a deal combining temporary protection for so-called "Dreamers" and other immigration proposals in exchange for funding for his border wall.
• However, top Democrats had dismissed the proposal before he even announced it. 
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointed out the idea "is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people's lives."
• In a series of tweets posted the next day, Trump took aim at Democrats' rejection of the "compromise," a label critics say isn't justified by its proposed policies. 

Videos of a group of high schoolers and a Native American protestor in Washington, DC, Friday sparked a weekend of confusion among reports and social media outrage.

• The story first caught fire as videos were shared on social media, with many users leveling accusations and insults at the high-school aged group, which was shown smiling and chanting while a Native American man beat his drum.
• Despite initial condemnations, extended video footage released days after the incident cast a new light on the apparent standoff. 
• Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann, the student filmed standing directly in front of Phillips, said in a statement that while the group was waiting for buses to leave the March for Life, he heard a group of black Hebrew Israelites "direct derogatory insults at our school group." 
• Sandmann said he felt the need to speak out and correct "outright lies" he had seen based on the video. He also said he had received multiple death threats. 
• Sandmann's account has been contradicted by other other eyewitness accounts.

Rudy Giuliani lead the White House's defense after a bombshell BuzzFeed News report.

• A BuzzFeed News report published Friday was said to based on information from federal law enforcement officials and claimed that Trump had directed his former personal lawyer and "fixer" Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the timing of negotiations over a potential Trump Tower in Moscow.
• The report prompted unprecedented responses from the administration in addition to special counsel Robert Mueller, who issued a public rebuke of the report, though his office didn't specify which points he was questioning.
• Trump's top attorney Rudy Giuliani waved off the widespread response to what he called a "phony" report, which he described as "hysteria" among the media covering the investigations into the Trump administration.
• Vice President Mike Pence echoed Giuliani's dismissal, saying Democratic lawmakers who saw the report as grounds for impeachment if true were affected by "hyper-partisanship."
• In his Sunday appearance and in comments to outlets the next day, Giuliani wove a confusing web about Cohen and Trump's contact. 

This 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.

Regtech solutions seemed to offer the solution to financial institutions' (FIs) compliance woes when they first came to prominence around 24 months ago, gaining support from regulators and investors alike. 

However, many of the companies offering these solutions haven't scaled as might have been expected from the initial hype, and have failed to follow the trajectory of firms in other segments of fintech.

This unexpected inertia in the regtech industry is likely to resolve over the next 12-18 months as other factors come into play that shift FIs' approach to regtech solutions, and as the companies offering them evolve. External factors driving this change include regulatory support of regtech solutions, and consultancies offering more help to FIs wanting to sift through solutions. Startups offering regtech solutions will also play a part by partnering with each other, forming industry organizations, and taking advantage of new opportunities.

This report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, provides a brief overview of the current global financial regulatory compliance landscape, and the regtech industry's position within it. It then details the major drivers that will shift the dial on FIs' adoption of regtech over the next 12-18 months, as well as those that will propel startups offering regtech solutions to new heights. Finally, it outlines what impact these drivers will have, and gives insight into what the global regtech industry will look like by 2020.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Regulatory compliance is still a significant issue faced by global FIs. In 2018 alone, EU regulations MiFID II and PSD2 have come into effect, bringing with them huge handbooks and gigantic reporting requirements. 
• Regtech startups boast solutions that can ease FIs' compliance burden — but they are struggling to scale. 
• Some changes expected to drive greater adoption of these solutions in the next 12 to 18 months are: the ongoing evolution of startups' business models, increasing numbers of partnerships, regulators' promotion of regtech, changing attitudes to the segment among FIs, and consultancies helping to facilitate adoption.
• FIs will actively be using solutions from regtech startups by 2020, and startups will be collaborating in an organized fashion with each other and with FIs. Global regulators will have adopted regtech themselves, while continuing to act as advocates for the industry.

In full, the report:

• Reviews the major changes expected to hit the regtech segment in the next 12 to 18 months.
• Examines the drivers behind these changes, and how the proliferation of regtech will improve compliance for FIs.
• Provides our view on what the future of the regtech industry looks like through 2020.
  Get The Regtech Revisited Report
  

   

Join the conversation about this story »

• Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and self-driving technology are helping the transportation and logistics industry finally transform by cutting costs, optimizing delivery routes, and automating mundane tasks.
• Startups will be the lynchpin of this transformation because they specifically target areas of need  with cutting-edge solutions.
• Business Insider Intelligence examined the top 5 startups within five key areas: digital freight services, warehouse robotics, AI for supply chain management, last-mile delivery robotics, and self-driving car software.

Transportation and logistics industries have operated largely the same way for decades. But the surge in e-commerce in the last several years, combined with consumers’ appetite for same-day delivery, has brought us to a tipping point.

Delivery companies are doing all they can to get orders to customers’ doors as quickly as possible, which has facilitated wholesale changes in how they operate.

Cutting-edge digital solutions (including digital freight services, warehouse robotics, AI for supply chain management, delivery robotics, and autonomous driving software) are forcing traditional delivery companies to either evolve or see their core businesses erode.

Transportation & Logistics Startups to Watch, a new report from Business Insider Intelligence, monitors the biggest change agents in the industry to offer unique insight into the development of the transportation and logistics space at large, and shows how traditional companies are adapting to their new environment.

Want to Learn More?

Business Insider Intelligence's Startups to Watch reports give a high-level overview of the funding trends for startups in a particular coverage area, as well as a list of key startups (by function, what they do, key news, and statistics). Businesses need to understand new competitive threats, technologies, and acquisition opportunities in order to thrive. These reports provide that contextual information in an easy-to-digest manner.

In full, the Transportation & Logistics Startups to Watch report dives into the top 25 companies - five startups across five key disruption areas - that are easing shipping burdens, improving order fulfillment efficiency, optimizing delivery, and automating processes.

Join the conversation about this story »

This is a preview of a detailed slide deck from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service.Click here to learn more. Current subscribers can view the deck here.

Rising smartphone penetration, regulations pushing users away from cash, and globalization demanding faster and new ways to transact are leading to a swell in noncash payments, which Business Insider Intelligence expects to grow to 841 billion transactions by 2023.

This shift has created a greenfield opportunity in the space. Legacy providers are working to leverage their scale as they update their infrastructure and adapt their business models. But at the same time, upstarts are using their strengths in user experience to try to disintermediate or beat out those at the forefront of the space — a dichotomy that’s creating crowding and competition.

Digitization and crowding in the payments space will force companies that want to emerge atop the ecosystem to undergo four critical digital transformations: diversification, consolidation and collaboration, data protection, and automation. Those that do this effectively, and use these shifts as a means of achieving scale without eroding the user experience, will be in the best position to use ongoing digitization in their payments space to their advantage.

In The Future Of Payments 2018, Business Insider Intelligence takes a look at some of the biggest problems digitization and crowding are causing for payments firms, outlines the key transformations players can make going forward to resolve them, and explores areas where firms have already begun to use these transformations to their advantage.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Google's chief financial officer Ruth Porat said data is more like sunlight than oil.
• It's an upbeat twist on the phrase 'data is the new oil', which implies information is finite.
• Porat said Google was using data for positive developments, like diagnosing breast cancer.
• Her comments at the World Economic Forum come a day after Google was hit with a $57 million fine by French authorities over its data collection practices.

Google wants to popularise a more upbeat way of describing data: it's more like sunlight than oil.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday morning, Google chief financial officer Ruth Porat said: "Data is more like sunlight than oil ... It is like sunshine, we keep using it and it keeps regenerating."

Most people know the phrase "data is the new oil," a theory about how the world's most valuable resource is information rather than petroleum.

Like the oil barons that preceded them, Silicon Valley titans such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon have risen quickly to profit from this new resource, and even control its flow. In another echo of history, regulators are eyeing the industry.

Read more:France fines Google $57 million for breaking Europe's strict new privacy rules

Porat isn't the first to try and reframe the economics of data. Like others, she argued that the oil analogy implies that data is a finite resource.

And doubtless Google would prefer to avoid any direct comparison with oil barons.

Porat pointed to the way Google uses data for good, such its researchers developing an algorithm to detect the spread of breast cancer.

Her comments come just a day after Google faced its first major test under Europe's new privacy rules, the GDPR.

France's data regulator fined the firm $57 million on Monday, saying that the company didn't properly explain what it does with people's data, and that it didn't obtain proper consent for targeting ads.

It's the first signal that the new rules could prove a major financial headache for Silicon Valley's tech giants.

Porat didn't address the fine directly, but did praise the GDPR. US regulators are considering implementing similar federal privacy rules.

"We support privacy laws in the US. Trust is paramount," she said.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: China made an artificial star that's 6 times as hot as the sun, and it could be the future of energy

• Theresa May has set out her Brexit plan B to parliament after suffering a historic House of Commons defeat on her deal.
• MPs from across the Commons have brought forward a series of amendments to May's plan which seek to seize control of the Brexit process. 
• Among the amendments which could be selected for a vote by the Commons speaker John Bercow are plans to delay Brexit, hold a second referendum, or give MPs control of the entire process.
• The amendments will be put to a vote on January 29.

LONDON — After her Brexit deal was defeated by a crushing 230-vote margin last week, Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her Brexit "plan B" on Monday, which turns out to be rather similar to her "plan A."

She plans to return to Brussels where she will once again ask for concessions from the European Union before putting her plans back before the House of Commons next week.

But parliament has different ideas. Numerous MPs from across the House have brought forward a series of amendments to May's plan which, if passed, could fundamentally reshape the course of Brexit, wrestling much of the prime minister's control away from her and blocking a no-deal Brexit.

So what are the amendments, what do they mean, and how likely are they to pass? Here are the most important ones explained.

Stop no-deal by delaying Brexit

The UK is currently set to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, whether it has secured an exit deal or not. May has also insisted that the UK will leave by that date with or without a deal. However, an amendment brought by Labour MP Yvette Cooper is designed to prevent this.

Cooper's amendment would allow parliamentary time for a bill — also tabled by Cooper — which would allow MPs to vote on delaying Brexit if parliament has not approved a deal by the last week of February.

The bill would not automatically require the government to seek an Article 50 extension. Instead, it would give the government until February 26 to secure a deal which is accepted by parliament.

Here's the key section of the bill:

If, before 26 February 2019, the House of Commons has not passed a resolution approving the negotiated withdrawal agreement and the framework for the future relationship for the purposes of section 13(1)(b) of the European Union 5 (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("the 2018 Act"), the Prime Minister must, not later than
26 February, move a motion in the House of Commons in the form set out in subsection (2).

That means that MPs could vote on an extension of the two-year Article 50 process should the bill pass. But the bill would itself be difficult to bring into law because legislation has to pass between the House of Lords and House of Commons several times before it enters statute books and there is not much time for this to happen.

However, the proposed bill has the backing of high-profile Conservative and Labour Remainers. Nick Boles, Nicky Morgan, Stephen Kinnock, and Hillary Benn have all put their name to the Cooper amendment which will be voted on on Tuesday January 29.

Whether the amendment passes is likely to depend on whether the Labour frontbench supports it. Cooper appears confident that they will, and shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman said this week it is "absolutely something we'll seriously consider." Her Labour front bench colleague, Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, described Cooper's plan as "fantastic" on Tuesday morning.

A parliamentary coup

Another amendment is one tabled by Conservative Remainer Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general.

The government usually controls the agenda in the Commons, which prevents backbenchers from tabling bills and dictating parliamentary business. Grieve's amendment would allow MPs to table different Brexit motions for six full days of debate before the UK's EU exit date.

Grieve said it would give MPs time to debate various Brexit options such as a customs union, a second referendum, or the Norway model. Following a backlash, he removed a controversial provision in his original amendment — which was leaked — that would have allowed a motion put forward by a minority of 300 MPs from five parties to debated as the first item on the Commons agenda the nexst day.

Grieve said it would allow MPs to vote on alternatives to May's defeated deal.

Even if House of Commons Speaker John Bercow selects the amendment for a vote, Grieve's amendment would struggle to be accepted because Labour is unlikely to back such a radical plan. The leadership reportedly fears that it could hamstring a future Labour government.

Give MPs a vote on a new deal or a referendum

Jeremy Corbyn's Labour frontbench has brought forward a less radical amendment which states parliament should have a vote on all possible Brexit options, including a second referendum.

At the top of the list of options would be Labour's own Brexit policy — permanent membership of the customs union combined with "strong" ties with the single marekt. The Labour leadership believes the amendment is in line with the party's conference motion, which called for Labour to keep all options, including a second referendum, on the table.

However, the plan is not backed by Tory Remainers, who are unlikely to hand an easy victory to Corbyn in any circumstances. Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, who backs a 'People's Vote', told Business Insider: "The Labour amendment is not a People's Vote amendment. The front bench is continuing to use creative language to duck the decision about backing a people's vote."

Let a 'Citizens' Assembly' decide

An amendment brought forward by Labour MPs Stella Creasy, Lisa Nandy and others would force the government to delay Brexit pending the creation of a new "citizens assembly," who would decide what to do next. The assembly would consist of "250 members comprising a representative sample of the population to consider the process in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, to make recommendations and to report to the House of Commons."

This is an interesting idea. However, if 650 experienced legislators in the House of Commons can't agree a way forward, it's difficult to see why 250 randomly selected members of the public would fare better.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• Bebe Rexha is a Grammy-nominated singer sho wears a US size 6-8 (UK 10-12).
• She says that many designers are refusing to dress her for the awards because she is deemed "too big."
• The artist called it "crazy," and is calling on the fashion industry to do better.
• The average American woman is size 16-18.
• The 61st Annual Grammy Awards take place on Sunday February 10.

Grammy-nominated artist Bebe Rexha has revealed that a number of designers have refused to dress her for the Grammy Awards because she, as a US size 8 (UK 12), is "too big."

Rexha is an American artist known for hits including "I'm a Mess,""Meant to Be," and "Me, Myself & I," and has worked with the likes of Eminem and Rihanna. She's nominated for Best New Artist at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, as well as Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Meant to Be."

After trying to find a dress for the awards, the singer posted a video on Instagram sending a strong message to the fashion industry.

"So I finally get nominated at the Grammys and it's like the coolest thing ever," she said. "And a lot of times artists will go and talk to designers and they'll make them custom dresses to walk the red carpet, you go to any big designer.

"So I had my team hit out a lot of designers and a lot of them do not want to dress me because I'm too big. Literally, I'm too big.

"If a size 6/8 is too big, then I don't know what to tell you," she continued. "Then I don't want to wear your f---ing dresses. 'Cause that's crazy.

"You're saying that all the women in the world that are size 8 and up are not beautiful and they cannot wear your dresses.

"So to all the people who said I'm thick and I can't wear your dresses, f--- you, I don't want to wear your f---ing dresses."

Read more: People are angry about an Avon ad which said 'dimples are cute on your face' but 'not on your thighs'

In the caption of the post, Rexha added: "If you don't like my fashion style or my music that's one thing. But don't say you can't dress someone that isn't a runway size.

"Empower women to love their bodies instead of making girls and women feel less then by their size. We are beautiful any size! Small or large!"

Rexha was inundated with supportive messages in the comments, with fans and fellow celebrities praising her for speaking out — some designers have even commented offering to dress the American artist.

August Getty Atelier, for example, said: "You are beautiful! Every woman of every size is beautiful! Just let me know when I should start sketching."

At a US size 6/8, Rexha is not large enough to be considered plus-size, which technically begins at size 14. However, runway models are typically between sizes 0 and 4.

This is despite the fact that the average dress size for American women is 16-18, and research estimates that 68% of women in the US wear a size 14 or above. 

The 61st Annual Grammy Awards take place on Sunday February 10.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Japanese lifestyle guru Marie Kondo explains how to organize your home once and never again

• The partial government shutdown, now in its second month, could cost the economy in excess of $6 billion by the end of this week.
• The figure, projected by a chief economist at S&P Global, would be more than the $5.7 billion in border wall funding which prompted the shutdown in the first place.
• The shutdown began on December 22 after Democrats rejected Trump’s demand that any legislation for funding the federal government must include money for the wall.
• As the record-breaking shutdown drags on, projections about the damage it is causing are becoming more and more alarming.

The record partial government shutdown could cost the US economy more than the $5.7 billion which President Donald Trump has demanded to fund his proposed border wall.

Beth Ann Bovino, the chief US economist for S&P Global, estimated in a research note on January 11 that every week of the shutdown would shave around $1.2 billion off the US's GDP.

The US is now in an unprecedented fifth week of the shutdown. According to this projection, by some time around Friday January 25, the total damage will have surpassed the $5.7 billion which prompted the shutdown in the first place.

Bovino also estimated that the amount of damage done per week will increase as the shutdown continues. "The longer this shutdown drags on, the more collateral damage the economy will suffer," she wrote.

Given this effect — which Bovino did not quantify — the psychologically significant $5.7 billion figure may be reached sooner.

The shutdown started December 22 after Democrats refused President Donald Trump's demand that a spending bill to keep the government open include billions of dollars in funding for a wall along the southern US border.

Democrats rejected Trump's offer of a compromise deal on Friday. It offered protection for so-called Dreamers — undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children—  as well as other groups of immigrants, in exchange for wall funding.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the deal "unacceptable" while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described Trump's strategy as "hostage-taking."

As the shutdown continues, more economists are warning of a doomsday scenario.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon described the shutdown as a serious problem for the US economy, citing research that found US GDP growth could plummet to zero if the shutdown continues.

Read more:The warnings are getting starker: Trump's government shutdown is becoming catastrophic for the economy

A White House official told Business Insider that the Trump administration's own model estimates the shutdown would eat 0.13 percentage points of GDP growth for every week of the shutdown — higher than the 0.05 percentage points originally assumed.

TSA chaos, schools lunches under threat, national parks overflowing with trash: Other effects of the shutdown

• More than 3,000 TSA screeners — one in 10 — missed work over the holiday weekend. TSA officials said that the rate is almost triple what it was on the same day last year.
• Schools are worried about being able to feed children their lunches if the shutdown continues. At least one school district is already cutting back on children’s meals, no longer offing bottles of water and juice and reducing the amount of fruit and vegetables given to children.
• Critics say that’s Trump’s “compromise” proposal to re-open the government isn’t a compromise at all, and point out that Trump himself is the one that rescinded protections for Dreamers.
• National parks struggle, facing piles of trash and damaged trees.
• Secret Service agents are working with no pay, and some say they are finding it hard to make ends meet and that financial worries could affect performance on the job.
• Cybersecurity experts say the shutdown is putting the US is at greater risk of attack. 

Read Business Insider's full coverage of the shutdown here.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• A Taiwanese mountaineer known as the "bikini hiker" has died from suspected hypothermia, rescuers told local media on Monday.
• Gigi Wu was reportedly hiking by herself in Taiwan's Yushan National Park when she fell into a ravine and was left unable to move.
• She managed to call for help on her satellite phone, but bad weather conditions meant rescuers were not able to reach her in time.
• Wu had gained a Facebook following of around 18,000 fans who knew her for posting bikini-clad photos atop mountains.
• Wu was an experienced climber, though, and photos appear to show her using proper equipment and precautions during her expeditions.

A Taiwanese mountaineer known as the "bikini hiker" has died from suspected hypothermia after a fall in central Taiwan, Nantou County Fire Department told local media on Monday.

36-year-old Gigi Wu was reportedly hiking by herself in Yushan National Park when she fell some 20-30 metres and was left unable to move.

Wu was able to use her satellite phone to call for help. However, bad weather conditions hampered helicopter rescue efforts. After three rescue helicopters were unable to reach her, Nantou County Fire Department sent rescuers on foot, Taiwan News reported.

They were too late, though, and the hiker was found dead the following day after temperatures dropped below freezing during the night.

"The weather conditions in the mountains are not good, we have asked our rescuers to move the body to a more open space and after the weather clears we will make a request for a helicopter to bring the body down," Lin Cheng-yi, from the Nantou County Fire and Rescue Services, told reporters.

Wu, whose Instagram account appears to have since been closed down, had also gained a Facebook following of around 18,000 fans who knew her for posting bikini-clad photos atop mountains.

Despite being known for bikini photos, Wu was an experienced climber and her photos appear to show her using proper equipment and precautions during her expeditions, BBC reports.

In an interview with local channel FTV last year, Wu said she had scaled more than 100 peaks in four years.

"I put on a bikini in each one of the 100 mountains. I only have around 97 bikinis so I accidentally repeated some," she said.

When asked why she did it, she replied: "It just looks so beautiful, what's not to like?"

Wu's last Facebook post, dated January 18, shows a view of the clouds over the mountains. The post has received over 1,000 comments, with many taking the time to pay tribute to the mountaineer.

"Ms Gigi Wu, May angels bring you up higher than being before. Rest In Peace," wrote one fan.

"RIP in your favourite mountains," wrote another.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un is 35 — here's how he became one of the world's scariest dictators