• The Pennsylvania General Assembly is considering a bill that would place a 10% tax on video games with a Mature or Adults Only rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).
• Rep. Christopher Quinn first proposed the bill in October 2018, and it has been re-introduced for the 2019 legislative session with bi-partisan support.
• Revenue generated by the tax would be used to fund school safety measures.
• The Entertainment Software Association, which is responsible for the ESRB ratings, claims that the bill violates the first amendment by targeting video games based on their content.

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a bill that would slap a 10% tax on video games that are rated Mature or Adults Only by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Rep. Christopher Quinn submitted House Bill 109 to the state's General Assembly on January 28th with bi-partisan support from Rep. Ed Neilson and and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans.

Revenue generated from the video game tax would be used to fund new safety measures in Pennsylvania's public schools. Speaking to NBC10 in Philadelphia, Quinn said violent video games are a factor in real world violence, and the video game tax would help counteract their impact on society. 

"This bill does not prohibit violent video games, instead it simply provides a revenue stream — it tries to recoup some of the societal costs — to help make our schools safer by taxing an industry that has been shown to lead to violence," Quinn said.

As you might expect, the $43 billion video game industry has a different perspective on the bill's premise that video games lead to real world violence. And the game industry's main lobbying group is also arguing that video games are a form of protected speech under the US Constitution. 

Here are the key issues that could determine whether Pennsylvania becomes the first state in the nation to tax violent video games:

SEE ALSO: Trump vs violent video games

SEE ALSO: ESRB cracks down on microtransactions

Many of the best-selling games of 2018 were rated mature.

Eight of the 20 best-selling video games of 2018 were rated M by the ESRB. Mature games are rated for players 17-years-old and up. The two best-selling games of 2018, "Red Dead Redemption 2" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (pictured above) were both rated M.

By contrast, only a handful of games receive the Adult Only rating, which is usually reserved for sexually explicit content. Many retailers refuse to carry AO titles in stores, so game developers typically try to avoid the rating at all costs.

The Entertainment Software Association claims the video game tax would violate the constitution.

The Entertainment Software Association, the lobbying group that also oversees the ESRB ratings, stated that Pennsylvania's proposed video game tax is an unconstitutional violation of the first amendment. The group argues that the tax singles out video games based on their content, violating the constitutional free speech rights of the game's publishers. 

While the ability to tax violent games is not a matter of settled law, the game industry has one important U.S. Supreme Court decision in its favor. In 2011, a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children under age 18 was struck down in a decision by the Supreme Court. In its decision on Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, the court found that video game content was protected as free speech.

The video game industry is also pushing back against the bill's claim that video games lead to real-world violence.

"Numerous authorities – including scientists, medical professionals, government agencies, and the US Supreme Court – found that video games do not cause violence," The ESA wrote in a statement.

"We encourage Pennsylvania legislators to work with us to raise awareness about parental controls and the ESRB video game rating system, which are effective tools to ensure parents maintain control over the video games played in their home.”

• There are many lessons to be learned from the failed Fyre Festival.
• Eoin O’Shea, the former global chief compliance officer at Credit Suisse, says there are big similarities between the doomed luxury musical festival and money-laundering schemes.

The Fyre Festival debacle is well documented. A horrendous trail of trust destruction that poisoned the lives it touched. Investors who lost millions. Dozens of social media, project management and event support professionals who acted in good faith only to have their reputations trampled on. Local labor and suppliers who had to swallow enormous losses, causing life-changing financial damage in some cases. And of course, the scammed ticket holders.

There are many broader lessons to be learned from this startling case study in gullibility, greed and manipulation. There also several key lessons as well for financial world – by casting a criminal lens over some of the reported activities and behaviours, we see some cautionary compliance themes.

Let’s look at some of the hallmark red flags.

1. Suspicious or incomplete information

This is financial crime 101. Full transparency kills most scams, as they thrive on the oxygen of deceit. From the delusional investment prospectus, to the Ponzi scheme that fueled the day-to-day payroll of the structure, non-disclosure was key. While it is always good to take assurance from what we know, it is equally important to be honest about what we don’t know. 

2. Vague or opaque statements 

Even when information was provided to prospective Fyre Festival investors – for example in the investor prospectus – we see hyperbole, nonsensical verbiage, and meandering non-sequiturs. The warning here is simple. When it sounds like nonsense, it probably is.

3. Offshore location (business venture and/or money flows)

While not all scams involve off-shore conduits, many do. And here we have two red flags intricately furled together, the event destination and the money flows surrounding the scheme.  

4. Magical thinking – lack of track record for the current activity

There is an expression about faith that goes something like this: for those who believe, no proof is necessary, for those who don’t, no proof is enough. The promoter was clearly grossly unqualified for the venture being undertaken, and utterly lost in his own world of magical thinking. But he was never alone. Too many people that were dragged into the scheme were also prepared to suspend disbelief. Why?

There is of course investor FOMO — who wants to miss out on the next big thing? We are reminded that it is still cool to be skeptical, especially when the herd is stampeding.

There was the promoter’s powerful charisma. Charisma is a very powerful real-world force, however you don’t see much about it in compliance manuals. But the fact is, most financial crime schemes of any magnitude will have a charismatic figure at their core.

And charisma always needs to be questioned. There is an old Russian proverb, “Doveryai, no proveryai” that Ronald Reagan co-opted it in the 1980s: “Trust, but verify.”

5. Unregulated business activity – aggressive use of unregulated promotion channels (social media)

It is hard for financial crime to flourish using regulated channels. A large scale but still exclusive offshore high-end event satisfied the need to create something big enough to allow serious amounts of money to be moved around, while staying under the regulated radar that governs most legitimate investment schemes. It's all easy to say in hindsight, but the fact that the scheme was not regulated was easy to see.

This is a lesson in and of itself. If an investment scheme is not regulated, the caveat emptor fog horns should sound loudly, no matter how much opaque mist the investment promoter creates.

Eoin O’Shea is the Chief Executive Officer of Temple Grange Partners, a global compliance, risk and regulatory consultancy firm. He's the former global chief compliance officer at Credit Suisse. 

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• Sen. Kamala Harris, a Democratic presidential candidate, admitted she smoked marijuana in college and that the drug "gives a lot of people joy" during a Monday radio interview.
• When Harris ran for reelection as California's attorney general in 2014, she laughed off a reporter's question about whether she supported the legalization of marijuana, even though her Republican opponent supported legalization. 
• California officially legalized recreational marijuana use last year and Harris co-sponsored a Senate bill to end the federal prohibition on the drug. 

Sen. Kamala Harris admitted she smoked marijuana in college and said the drug "gives a lot of people joy," despite remaining mum on legalizing weed until last year.

When was asked on The Breakfast Club radio show Monday morning whether she had ever smoked weed, Harris joked, "Half my family's from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?" 

She added that she smoked a joint in college, "And I did inhale," she said, laughing. "I just broke news."

Harris added that the drug, which the majority of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates support legalizing, "gives a lot of people joy."

"And we need more joy in the world," she added. 

But Harris, California's former attorney general, didn't support legalizing marijuana until last year — after her home state legalized its recreational use. (Medical marijuana has been legal in California for over two decades and 57% of the state's voters approved recreational legalization in a November 2016 ballot initiative.) 

During Harris' 2014 attorney general reelection race, she laughed off a reporter's question about whether she supported the legalization of marijuana (Harris' Republican opponent supported legalization). 

Last May, Harris reversed course, co-sponsoring the Marijuana Justice Act, which would end the federal prohibition on marijuana.

"Making marijuana legal at the federal level is the smart thing to do and it's the right thing to do," she tweeted then. 

"The fact is that marijuana laws are not applied and enforced in the same way for all people," Harris said in a NowThis video, adding that white black and white Americans use marijuana at roughly the same rates, black people are four times more likely to be arrested for possessing the drug.  

She went on. "The War on Drugs was a war on communities." 

SEE ALSO: Kamala Harris kicks off her 2020 campaign with a massive rally in Oakland

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NOW WATCH: ROGER STONE: Trump is 'never going to change'

• Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Monday has been widely criticized for tweets about Israel and the pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC. 
• Omar was accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic tropes, including by top Democrats in Congress. 
• Omar, who's among the first Muslim women members of Congress in US history, has maintained that she's not anti-Semitic amid ongoing criticism of her stance toward Israel. 

A number of congressional Democrats on Monday joined a growing chorus of criticism against freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota over tweets related to Israel, which have led to widespread allegations of anti-Semitism. 

Omar ignited a social media firestorm on Sunday after she suggested that support for Israel among Republican members of Congress is motivated by money. 

"It's all about the Benjamins baby," Omar tweeted in response to a tweet from journalist Glenn Greenwald on GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy threatening to take "action" against the freshman congresswoman over her criticism of Israel. 

Subsequently, when asked to clarify what she meant, Omar in a separate tweet seemed to suggest a pro-Israel lobbying group – the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) – is paying US politicians to support Israel. 

Omar was swiftly condemned on social media, and the backlash was hardly limited to Republicans. A number of her fellow Democrats expressed concern over Omar's tweets, which many felt played into anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money. 

Jewish Democrats in Congress are lining up against Omar

Democratic Rep. Max Rose of New York, also a freshman in Congress, tweeted,"Congresswoman Omar's statements are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself."

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Elaine Luria of Virginia, who are also Jewish, have sent a letter to Democratic leaders urging them to take "swift action" against Omar and freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan over their recent remarks on Israel.

Omar and Tlaib are the first two Muslim women congresswoman in US history. 

Read more:Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib wrote a column for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's blog in 2006

"We cannot remain silent in the face of hateful speech or actions. We know what happens in our communities when leaders ignore or embrace unacceptable rhetoric," the letter states. "That is why we have an obligation to speak out against anti-Semitism and to vigorously confront, challenge, and defeat those who traffic in these harmful tropes and smears."

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who's also Jewish, in a statement said Omar's "choice of words" were "deeply disappointing and disturbing."

Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress, went on to say, "In this fragile moment in our nation’s history, we must all redouble our efforts to engage in policy debates in ways that respect the dignity and humanity of all people."

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot L. Engel, a Democrat from New York who's also Jewish, in a statement on Monday called Omar's tweets "unacceptable."

"It's shocking to hear a Member of Congress invoke the anti-Semitic trope of 'Jewish money,'" Engel added. "Criticism of American policy toward any country is fair game, but this must be done on policy grounds."

Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida, who's also Jewish, in a statement also said he found Omar's remarks "unacceptable" and "deeply worrisome to the Jewish community."

Read more: Anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 37% in 2017, according to a new FBI report

Democratic leaders call Omar's remarks 'deeply offensive'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was joined by other Democratic leaders on Monday in condemning Omar's remarks. 

In a sternly worded statement, they called on Omar to apologize. 

“Anti-Semitism must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered, without exception," the statement said.

"Congresswoman Omar's use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive," the statement added. "We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments." 

Omar has expressed concern over the treatment of Palestinians by Israel

Omar is a proponent of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) – a nonviolent, global campaign that seeks to isolate Israel economically and politically regarding its treatment of Palestinians and the occupation of the West Bank.

The Minnesota congresswoman has been unabashedly critical of the Israeli government, and in a recent CNN interview said it's "exciting" to see a broader debate happening on the US government's relationship with Israel. 

"It's not surprising. I think it is actually exciting because we are finally able to have conversations that we weren't really willing to," Omar said. "It is really important for us to get a different lens about what peace in that region could look like and the kind of difficult conversations we need to have about allies."

"Israel is an ally of the United States and I think as much as you would look to your neighbor, to your friends, to live out the same values as you are, we want to make sure that our allies are living out the same values that we push for here," she added.

Omar is hardly the first person in Washington to express concern about organizations like AIPAC or criticize the Israeli government's treatment of Palestine. She's also not the first politician to be accused of anti-Semitism for doing so, as it's long been taboo for generally any US politician to go after Israel. 

Read more:Ilhan Omar, the Muslim congresswoman Saudi Arabia tried to smear, secures place on powerful House committee that could stop the US from selling arms to the kingdom

But there seems to be rising concern, including from Democrats, that Omar is not approaching what is among the most incendiary political topics with enough care and nuance.

Omar sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has been accused of trafficking in anti-Semitism several times in recent weeks, including over statements she made on Israel years ago. A refugee originally from Somalia, Omar has responded to some of the criticism launched at her with allegations of Islamophobia.

Some Dems say it's 'perfectly legitimate to criticize Israel' but are warning Omar to 'be careful'

Speaking on the controversy over Omar's tweets, Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut on Monday told CNN, "It's perfectly legitimate to criticize Israel or the pro-Israeli lobby. Just please be careful to do it in a way that can't be interpreted as being anti-Semitic."

Himes added, "I think this is really a good example of the need for all of us to be very, very specific about what it is we are saying so that we don't come off as being anti-Semitic, racist, bigoted."

Amid the ongoing criticism, Omar has maintained that she supports the Jewish community and her comments are directed at the Israeli government in the context of its policy toward Palestine. She's also expressed regret over how she's framed her criticism of Israel in the past. 

Meanwhile, Omar's spokesman on Sunday told Politico that her "tweets speak for themselves."

SEE ALSO: Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib wrote a column for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's blog in 2006

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• Mac's Fresh Market, a Christian grocery chain with locations in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi, sparked controversy with an ad that touched on the immigration debate. 
• "Heaven has a wall, a gate and a strict immigration policy. Hell has open borders. Let that sink in," reads a quote included in the regional grocery chain's weekly ad. 
• Mac's Fresh Market owner Reggy McDaniel told Business Insider that he has been "shocked" by the massive reaction to the ad, which he said was intended to tell people that the only way into heaven is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. 
• McDaniels said he is not ending the weekly messages and plans to run an anti-abortion quote from Ronald Reagan in the coming week's ad. 

A regional Christian grocery chain has sparked controversy with its weekly ad. 

Mac's Fresh Market, which has locations in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi, often includes a religious message in its circular highlighting the latest deals. In early February, this message linked religion to the current immigration debate. 

"Heaven has a wall, a gate and a strict immigration policy. Hell has open borders. Let that sink in," Mac's Weekly Quote for February 6 reads, according to a Facebook post from the chain. 

Responses have been split, as some people say that the message is discriminatory or hurtful toward immigrants. 

One person commented: "Ad is very disrespectful and pure hateful will no longer spend my money on any of your products!"

"My wife and I have been loyal customers of Mac's in Tioga for years," wrote another. "I will never enter that store again."

One person quoted Leviticus 19:33 to 34, writing: "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt." 

The controversy is impacting people offline as well. Employees at a Camden, Arkansas, Mac's Fresh Market told local news station KARK that they had been approached by dozens of customers and received even more phone calls about the ads, which were distributed in the area. 

In an interview with Business Insider, Mac's Fresh Market owner Reggy McDaniel said that he was "shocked" by the extent of the reaction. McDaniel said that people from Ukraine to Minnesota have reached out to him about the ad over the past week, but that 80-85% of the responses have been positive. 

This support is clear on Mac's Fresh Market's Facebook page. 

"Absolutely agree and support you 100%. How can folks be mad at this? The Bible does say there is a gate and wall," one fan commented.

"Looks like I need to start shopping at Mac's," wrote another. "He has my support. Freedom of speech people." 

"You just got some new customers," commented a third. "Stand strong Patriot!"

McDaniel said he has been running religious quotes in the weekly circular for two decades. The primary purpose of the "wall" message was not political, he said, but instead an attempt to point people towards Christianity. 

"In front of the gates of Heaven — you're only going to get through the gates through the blood of Jesus Christ," he said.  

While McDaniel said he did not expect the controversy, he is also not going to shy away from engaging in politically charged topics that he thinks are spiritually relevant.

Next week, McDaniel told Business Insider, Mac's Fresh Market's weekly ad will include an anti-abortion quote from Ronald Reagan: "I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born." 

SEE ALSO: Costco is selling a 24-pound cheese 'wedding cake' that can feed more than 100 people for $440

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NOW WATCH: Sneaky ways stores like H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo get you to spend more money on clothes

• Once you sign in to your Amazon account, you will remain signed in unless you specifically sign out even if you close an app or turn off a device.
• If you use a computer or other device that may be shared with other people, it can be critical that you properly sign out of Amazon after each use to protect your information and your finances.
• The process of signing out from Amazon differs based on which device you are using as well as which Amazon service or app you're on.

You would think signing out of Amazon would be easy, right? Just a simple click and you're done? If you're using a computer and are on the classic Amazon.com retail site, you'd be right. It is.

Why, then, does the Google search "how do I sign out of Amazon" get more than 1,990,000 hits? Because when using an Amazon app, watching Prime TV, or you're on the main site via mobile device, signing out of Amazon actually isn't that easy.

Why is it hard to sign out of Amazon? Well, first of all, Amazon is trying to make things easy for you. What a pain to have to sign in every time you want to buy some socks or watch a show or listen to music! If you stay logged in, all that stuff is just a tap or click away.

Second, it's in Amazon's interest to have you stay logged in — after all, a lot of that stuff that's a tap or click away makes them money. The added step of the login might give pause, preventing the impulse buy.

The good news is that the power is in your hands: once you know where to find the sign out spot on an Amazon page or app, the whole process takes mere seconds.

How to sign out of Amazon's website

Assuming you're using a computer — meaning a desktop or laptop, and not a tablet or app, e.g. — then signing out of Amazon is blissfully simple.

1. Move your cursor to hover over the words "Accounts & Lists" near the top right of the page.
2. At the bottom of the drop down menu labeled "Your Account," click on "Sign Out."

That's it, you're out.

How to sign out of Amazon on a mobile browser

The sign-out process on a mobile web browser is similarly straightforward, but differs slightly from a desktop sign-out. 

1. Click the three horizontal bars at the top left corner of the browser page.
2. Scroll down to the "Help & Settings" section.
3. Click "Sign Out."

How to sign out of the Amazon app on Android or iPhone

Signing out of Amazon's app on a mobile device is a bit trickier, but only because the button with which to sign out takes a few taps to find.

1. Open the app, and tap the "Menu" at the top left corner of the screen.
2. On the menu that appears, tap "Settings."
3. On the next menu, tap "Not NAME? Sign out."

And... you're out.

How to sign out of the Amazon app on iPad

Getting signed out of Amazon on an iPad is similar to Android and iPhone, but it starts slightly differently.

1. From the app's main screen, tap "Hello NAME."
2. Then, tap "Sign out."

Now you know — protect your account by taking the few seconds to sign out of Amazon.

• Read more:

• How to start selling items on Amazon — a step-by-step guide

• How you can use PayPal on Amazon, despite it not being directly accepted

• The best ways to contact Amazon for help when you have a problem with your account

SEE ALSO: 25 last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts that are Amazon Prime-eligible

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Apple forever changed the biggest tech event of the year by not showing up

• After a big weekend of marquee college basketball matchups, the AP Top 25 Poll had quite a shakeup in Week 15.
• The ACC and Big Ten lead all conferences with six teams in the rankings apiece, followed by the Big 12 with four and the SEC with three. The Pac-12, meanwhile, has no representation in the AP Top 25 Poll for the seventh consecutive week.
• Here are the five biggest winners and losers for Week 15 of the college basketball season.

Winners

▲ No. 2 Duke Blue Devils — Same spot in AP Top 25 Poll as last week

Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils are sitting pretty this week. After romping the Boston College Eagles by 25 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night, No. 2 Duke traveled to Charlottesville to take on the then-No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. The Blue Devils racked up 81 points against the notoriously stalwart Virginia defense to deal the Cavaliers a 10-point loss and sweep them on the season. Duke will take on the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals and unranked N.C. State Wolfpack this week before gearing up for a monster rivalry matchup against the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels Wednesday, Feb. 20.

▲ No. 17 Florida State Seminoles — Up 5 spots in AP Top 25 Poll

The No. 17 Florida State Seminoles has themselves a week. First, they traveled to Syracuse and delivered an 18-point loss to the Orange at the Carrier Dome. Then, four days later, Florida State welcomed the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals to Tallahassee and dealt them a five-point overtime loss. The Seminoles have a light week coming up as they'll face ACC bottom dwellers Wake Forest and Georgia Tech Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

• There's a viral Facebook post making the rounds that claims the News Feed is restricting what you see to just 26 friends.
• Spoiler alert: It's just not true.

No, Facebook is not restricting the content you see on your News Feed to just 25 or 26 friends.

Over the last year, a hoax has been making the rounds on the social network. It claims, in essence, that Facebook has implemented an algorithm change that means you will only see posts from a select few of your friends. Anyone else is flat out of luck.

The hoax encourages users to combat this by copying and pasting a faux-informative message about the "change"— and then asking users' friends to reply to the post.

Here's one example Business Insider has seen (the wording often varies slightly):

Hello Friends - I’m jumping on the bandwagon too....Fighting this Facebook algorithm change, because I’m noticing I am not seeing so many of my friends posts. Here is how to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else. This post explains why we don’t see all posts from our friends. Funny, I thought if I followed you on Facebook I would see what you post. Not anymore.....

Your newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm....

Their system chooses the people who will read your posts. However I would like to choose for myself, therefore, I ask you all a favor- if you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a “hey” or sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my newsfeed please!

Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don’t need Facebook to choose my friends. Please copy and paste on your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts and bypass the system. That’s why we don’t see all posts from our friends.

Hold your finger down anywhere on this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. “Paste” will pop up and click on it to paste. Thank you all!

Variations of this hoax have been circulating since at least February 2018, and Facebook comprehensively debunked it at the time. But that didn't halt its spread. On February 6, 2019, the social network even published a blog post about the copy-and-paste meme, hinting at its continued circulation a year later. 

"The idea that News Feed only shows you posts from a set number of friends is a myth," product manager Ramya Sethuraman said in a statement. "The goal of News Feed is to show you the posts that matter to you so that you have an enjoyable experience. If we somehow blocked you from seeing content from everyone but a small set of your friends, odds are you wouldn’t return."

The problem is that by the time a fooled user realizes it's total hookum, it's too late — they've already copy-pasted it, sharing it with their friends, allowing it to keep going viral across the social network.

That said, there is an extremely convoluted and twisted kernel of truth in here — Facebook's algorithm does make judgements about which of your friends it thinks you want to see content from, and then prioritizes them in your News Feed. And engaging with these friends' posts (and them engaging with your posts) will make them appear more frequently.

But the "facts" this hoax claims, and its purported fix? Dead wrong.

If you feel you are seeing only a limited number of posts from a limited number of people, there is a tried-and-true trick that will give you a different view of your News Feed: have it show you the "Most Recent" posts rather than its default, "Top Stories." To do this on the desktop click on "News Feed" in the left-hand column and then on "Most Recent."

This view of the News Feed is harder to find on the mobile app. First click on the "three lines" symbol (next to the notifications bell symbol). Then click on "See More" then on "Most Recent."

This story was originally published on August 8, 2018, and has been updated to include Facebook's blog post from February 6, 2019. 

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NOW WATCH: Netflix copycats are changing the streaming game and making viewers pay the price

• In an attempt to eat healthier and save money, I decided to make all my food at home. 
• I found that planning ahead was crucial when it came to no longer eating out. 
• Using Pinterest as a source for recipes kept me inspired as did keeping track of how much money I was saving. 

I used to be the queen of fast food and takeout. Whether it was a quick double cheeseburger and fries on my way home from work or ordering in some Chinese food several nights a week, I was spending a lot of money on food that wasn't all that good for me. Not only that, I was gaining a ton of weight in the process.

When I embarked on a journey to lose over 120 pounds last year, I decided that a big change needed to take place in my kitchen, too. Mainly, I needed to be making all the food I ate instead of getting it from fast-food joints and greasy take-out spots. Not only is being the master of my culinary destiny helping me drop the weight I want, but I've also saved a ton of cash.

Here are some of my biggest tips if you'd like to do the same.

Plan ahead

You've probably heard the saying before that failing to plan is planning to fail and it's so true.

Before I started thoroughly planning and shopping for my week's meals ahead of time, I often found myself at my wit's end, nearly falling over with hunger after a tough workout or a long day at work with nothing prepared and a few random ingredients that in no way came together to make an actual recipe. Inevitably, I'd end up grabbing a ready-meal from a local supermarket or even ordering food to go, which always made me feel bad and interfered with my weight-loss goals.

Ultimately, it took dedicating time every weekend to sit down, bookmark specific recipes, make a grocery list, and ensure I had a meal plan together for the coming week. Once I did that, it was much easier to ensure that everything I eat is homemade.

Fall in love with leftovers

Most people don't have time to cook fresh meals seven days a week. I work full-time and between going to the gym, running errands, and spending time with family and friends, getting into the kitchen every day would be near on impossible. Since I plan my meals, however, I often have leftovers and one dish will last me two or three days.

I don't mind eating the same thing more than once, and being able to throw some curry in a pan to reheat or saute some vegetables I'd steamed the day before to eat with grilled chicken makes my life a whole lot easier.

Read more: 9 ways to make leftover food taste brand new

Make Pinterest your best friend

I own plenty of cookbooks, but it's often hard to remember what's in them when you're not looking at them. If you're someone who gets bored with your regular menu a lot, you need a Pinterest account. I use the site to bookmark recipes I come across online that look good and that I'd like to make one day, and this has provided endless menu inspiration.

The best part is that you can create as many different Pinterest "boards" as you'd like with particular themes, so you can arrange your pinned recipes in ways that will be easy to find again in future. Whether you do it by type of cuisine, type of food, or whatever else works for you, you'll always have inspiration for delicious things to make.

Read more: 11 things you didn't know you could use Pinterest for

Find homemade versions of your favorite restaurant foods

Is there anything worse than knowing you have a fridge full of groceries but all you want is your favorite General Tso's chicken or that amazing burger your local restaurant makes? Whatever fast-food or restaurant item you can think of, I guarantee you there's an amazing copycat version out there that you can make yourself. Not only will it taste just as delicious (or pretty close), it'll also save you money and likely some calories by making it yourself.

Do a cost comparison

If there's one thing that will inspire you to continue to make all — or at least the bulk of — your food at home, it'll be seeing how much money you save by not eating out. While it's great to hit up your favorite restaurant for a special occasion, on a daily basis, you should feel comfortable with making your meals at home.

Every time you have the overwhelming urge to order a pizza or Chinese food or to go out to a restaurant, take the money you would have spent on your usual order and put it in a separate savings account. You'll be amazed by how much ends up in there over the course of a month, or even better, over a year. Compare that to how much you spend on groceries and I think you'll see a pretty stark difference.

Read more: 10 foods you should be buying if you want to save money

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NOW WATCH: How Apple went from a $1 trillion company to losing over 20% of its share price

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• Apple's MacBook Air is on sale at Best Buy for up to $150 off its original price as part of the "Apple Shopping Event." 
• Apple rarely puts its latest tech on sale, and the MacBook Air is a great choice for students, professionals, and average users alike — especially at this price.
• The Air has enough processing power, memory, and storage to tackle just about any task from photo and video editing to web browsing and more. It can even get up to 12 hours of battery life.
• You can get the laptop with 128GB of storage inside for $1,099.99 (originally $1,199.99) or the 256GB model for $1,249.99 (originally $1,399.99).

The new MacBook Air is $100 to $150 off at Best Buy as part of the store's "Apple Shopping Event." Best Buy doesn't say exactly how long this sale is going to last, but most deals last about a week at the big-box retailer. 

Apple's laptop line is a little crowded, but the new MacBook Air stands out in a few key ways, making it a great buy — especially at this lower price.

As its name suggests, the Air is thin and light, but still powerful enough to handle most tasks you throw at it. It has all the processor power, memory, and storage to handle Microsoft Office or the Google Suite, web browsing, and HD video streaming without breaking a sweat. Its high-resolution, "retina" screen also makes it a good choice for light photo and video editing, although you might notice some strain if you're working with 4K footage.

Apple says that the MacBook Air can get up to 12 hours of battery life, which should be more than enough to get you through an average day on a single charge. If you're a student or an average computer user who occasionally works with photos, videos, and audio, the MacBook Air is a good choice. 

You'll notice that two models of the MacBook Air are on sale, the only difference between the two of them is the amount of storage inside. If you mostly stream your media and work with documents and presentations in the cloud, the base model is a good choice for $1,099.99. If you work with high-resolution photos and videos more often, you should consider the the higher-storage model for $1,249.99.

Apple rarely discounts its tech, and it's unusual to see its gadgets go on sale so soon after release, so if you're in the market for a new laptop, don't wait too long.

MacBook Air (13.3-inch display, 1.6GHz i5 processor, 8GB memory, 128GB storage), $1,099.99 (originally $1,199.99) [You save $100]

MacBook Air (13.3-inch display, 1.6GHz i5 processor, 8GB memory, 256GB storage), $1,249.99 (originally $1,399.99) [You save $150]

SEE ALSO: The best MacBooks you can buy

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• A Credit Suisse analyst is warning investors that a rally in stocks linked to China's economy might be premature.
• China's government is taking steps to reverse last year's economic slowdown, but Andrew Garthwaite says far more stimulus is needed, and credit growth needs to speed up before the economy heals.
• Garthwaite says emerging markets stocks, mining companies, and other sectors have surged recently amid investor speculation that China's economy is already on the road to recovery.
• However, he says the improvement hasn't kicked in yet.

Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Garthwaite says signs of Chinese economic growth could be a fake-out.

While he's seen big rallies in areas like emerging-market indexes and mining companies, he argues that the Chinese government hasn't yet added enough stimulus to the economy to loosen credit conditions. And without lax lending standards, he says industrial production and economic growth won't improve.

"We need to see credit growth increase and much more fiscal stimulus (which is a quarter of 2015 levels and tenth of 2008/09 levels)," Garthwaite wrote in a recent client note.

Garthwaite isn't going so far as to bet against a recovery, but he says stocks that are tightly linked to China's economy have climbed too quickly, which means the rally might be premature. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, for example, is up 8.9% this year. 

Upon close examination, Garthwaite says the rally doesn't match the current pace of growth. After all, China's government said the economy cooled off in 2018 and grew at its slowest pace since 1990.

That slowdown is partly the result of the trade dispute with the US. At the same time, China was forced to tighten credit conditions as the government made big changes to the financial system and tried to handle its debts.

Then, as last year's slowdown got more severe, the government in Beijing relaxed lending standards to boost growth again. Yet while there have been some positive economic signs — like data from Chinese property developers showing strong demand for homes — Garthwaite says it's still not enough to sound the all-clear.

Meanwhile, as investors try to wrap their heads around the China situation, they're also having a difficult time reaching a consensus in the US. While a recent survey showed US CEO confidence dropped to its lowest level in six years, a separate one from the Philadelphia Fed showed resilient expectations for capital spending.

In the end, no matter where you look, it's become a tall order to get a solid reading on the economy. And it all circles back to Credit Suisse's main point: don't buy into any risk trades — including China — until a clearer picture has emerged.

SEE ALSO: A $280 billion investment chief says the market's biggest fear is overblown, and explains why that will clear the path for a stock spike

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NOW WATCH: Sea cucumbers are so valuable that people are risking their lives diving for them

• A boss should warn employees that, at some point, they'll mess something up — and it's the employees' job to call them out on it.
• That's according to Gusto COO Lexi Reese.
• Reese also encourages managers to cut themselves some slack, letting their team know when they're under a lot of pressure and may not be the best version of themselves.

We hear a lot about "authentic" leadership and about the importance of establishing trust in the workplace.

Yet these concepts can easily seem vague, and fluffy, and somewhat irrelevant to the day-to-day responsibilities of a manager.

Lexi Reese has found a way to make them more actionable. Reese is the COO of Gusto, which makes human-resources software for small businesses; she previously held management roles at Google and American Express.

The best thing a boss can do, according to Reese, is communicate to their reports the type of leader they aspire to be and then say, "But I also am human and I'll probably f—k it up." Most importantly, the boss should encourage their reports to let them know when they're falling short.

That's instead of being the kind of boss who pretends they're superhuman and never, ever slips up or needs guidance.

Some other execs agree. As Jim Whitehurst, president and CEO of Red Hat, wrote in the Harvard Business Review, "I've found that leaders who show their vulnerability, and admit that they are human, foster greater engagement among their associates."

Whitehurst offered a personal example: the time when he acquired a company and marketed their product before it was ready, which resulted in missing a deadline by more than a year. Whitehurst admitted to the company and its board of directors that he had been wrong. He wrote, "Many Red Hatters told me how much they appreciated that I admitted my mistake. They also appreciated that I explained how I came to make the decision in the first place. That earned me their trust."

Read more: A former Facebook HR exec says many bosses are too uncomfortable to ask people a hugely important question

As for Reese, she also encourages bosses to cut themselves some slack, by telling their team when they're going to be under (temporary) pressure and may fall short of the lofty managerial goals they've set for themselves: "I'm not going to be the best person I can be right now, but could you just go with it?"

Reese said, "If you've established enough trust with people, I think generally speaking, they can handle that. If you haven't, then you're not going to have a great team for very long."

She added, "As long as you're consistently trying to do the right thing and you don't cover up when you've not done it as well, then people want to help you fix it."

SEE ALSO: An expert says there's only one good time to give your employees feedback, and it's not during a performance review

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NOW WATCH: Understanding this one cognitive bias may help you better negotiate a pay raise

• As global temperatures and sea levels rise, some of the world's major cities could experience unbearable living conditions. 
• Cities like Chicago and Delhi have already endured fatal heat waves, which could get worse in the future.
• While climate scientists don't anticipate any location to become fully uninhabitable, they worry that some areas will struggle to support human life. 

As scientific projections of the impacts of climate change become more robust, the threats of extreme storms, catastrophic flooding, heatwaves, and droughts have gotten clearer and more frightening.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that global temperatures could rise 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the threshold for severe effects of climate change — by 2040. By the turn of the century, temperatures could climb even higher, spelling disaster in some areas.

Read more:We asked 11 climate scientists where they'd live in the US to avoid future natural disasters — here’s what they said

In the future, cities that are prone to flooding or heat waves could see more severe, and potentially fatal, weather conditions. With this in mind, scientists have begun to pinpoint locations that could become unbearable for humans by the turn of the century.

The following 10 cities might soon struggle to support human life. And for the most part, these areas are already witnessing the devastating effects of climate change.

SEE ALSO: Millennials are preparing for the worst in case of a climate-change disaster, and it's prompting them to buy rural land in places like Oregon and Vermont

More than than 3.3 million Miami residents could face catastrophic flooding by 2100.

In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientist Mathew Hauer looked at the risk of sea-level rise in the continental US.

From 2010 to 2100, he found, more than 13 million people could be exposed to 6 feet worth of sea-level rise. Of those residents, about a quarter are in Miami-DadeandBrowardcountiesinFlorida. 

In the face of this catastrophic scenario, Hauer told Business Insider, Miami might not be able to adequately prepare.

"I'm 6 feet tall," he said. "It's water level as high as I am."

New Orleans could be underwater as well.

Hauer's study also cited New Orleans as one of the US cities most vulnerable to flooding.

If sea levels were to rise by just 3 feet, more than 100,000 New Orleans residents — about a third of the city's population — could be inundated. 

"When you start tacking on storm surges, tidal flooding, all those other associated events, the [affected populations] get much larger," Hauer said.

Chicago could see another fatal heat wave at any moment.

Chicago is located in one of America's most severe heat zones, according to Richard Rood, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan.

In 1995, the city witnessed a dangerous heat wave that killed more than 700 people. At that time, outside temperatures reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit, while wet-bulb temperatures — which account for both heat and humidity — reached 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Studies have shown that exposure to a wet-bulb temperature of more than 95 degrees Fahrenheit can be fatal, since the human body can no longer cool itself.

Rood said a heat wave of this magnitude could happen again at any time in Chicago, which sees high humidity in the summer and regular continental heat.

• Amid an ongoing national debate about America's southern border, the last two years have seen a growing controversy at the US-Canada border, as well.
• Migrants from around the world have been coming to a rural village in upstate New York for a chance to illegally cross the border into Canada, surrender themselves to arrest, and request asylum.
• Though most of them know what to do when they reach their destination, some are fearful of the Canadian authorities who arrest them, and hesitate in a powerful moment at the border.

CHAMPLAIN, NY — The migrants who manage to reach the very end of Roxham Road have often made grueling journeys from countries thousands of miles away, fleeing poverty, violence, or danger back home, all to seek a new life in Canada.

But sometimes, just feet from their destination, they pause. Sometimes it's for minutes or hours — and sometimes they turn back altogether.

On one cold, October evening, INSIDER observed a Nigerian asylum-seeker approach the border hesitantly, dragging his heavy, black luggage toward the ditch he wanted to cross.

Floodlights from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's compound on the Canadian side of the border lit up the road, casting a long shadow behind him.

The migrant froze, his shoulders quaking.

"Gaba! Gaba! Gaba!" shouted the taxi driver who had driven him up the road. The words meant, "Go! Go! Go!" in the Nigerian language of Igbo.

After several minutes passed, the migrant took a deep breath, and crossed into Canada.

'They're shocked'

In the last two years, nearly 40,000 migrants have entered Canada illegally at locations like Roxham Road, many of them seeking safety they believe is out of reach in the US.

Read more: THE OTHER BORDER 'CRISIS': While America is fixated on Mexico and the wall, thousands of migrants are fleeing for Canada in a dramatically different scene

Due to a legal pact known as the Safe Third Country Agreement, migrants aren't officially supposed to request asylum in Canada if they've already traveled through the US — they're told to claim asylum from the first "safe country" they arrive in.

The US is considered a safe country, at least by Canada's definition, so migrants who come to Canada via the US are turned away at the ports of entry and told to seek asylum in America.

But a well-known loophole allows migrants to request asylum if they reach Canadian soil without passing through a port of entry from the US. So the migrants have been crossing illegally, surrendering to arrest, and requesting asylum.

Janet McFetridge, the deputy mayor of the town of Champlain, has made a habit of visiting Roxham Road each day, handing out hats, scarves, and other winter wear to the migrants she sees trying to cross.

McFetridge says it's common for migrants like the Nigerian asylum-seeker to pause before they cross. They're not necessarily expecting to be arrested, she said, though it's standard procedure for the Canadians.

"Some people who arrive do seem very stunned when they see that they're going to be arrested," she said. "There are some people who arrive, and when they're told they're going to be arrested, they stand, they're shocked and they can't decide what to do."

McFetridge said she's seen some people turn around entirely, and walk back down Roxham Road.

"It does happen, but it's happening less," she said. "They're much more informed now."

• Read more about Roxham Road:
• 6 immigrants share why they fled to Canada at a rural New York border crossing in the middle of the woods
• One woman spends hours at the US border in rural New York every day, outfitting immigrants with knitted hats and gloves before they flee to Canada
• One taxi driver who ferries immigrants fleeing the US for Canada has learned how to urge them to 'Go, go, go!' in as many languages as he can
• Asylum-seekers fleeing the US for Canada are figuring out how to do it by watching YouTube videos and scanning social media
• Canada has a reputation for welcoming refugees — but with hundreds entering from the US each month, some fear that could change

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Bud Light's 'Dilly Dilly' just made a comeback at the Super Bowl with a weird crossover ad with Game of Thrones — here's what the phrase means

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.

The mobile augmented reality (AR) market is quickly becoming primed for the retail space. By blending the online and in-store shopping journeys, mobile AR promises to provide an immersive digital shopping experience unlike anything shoppers have seen before.

Mobile AR is one of the most coveted technologies for improving the digital shopping experience among consumers. That’s because mobile AR can be used to bring the in-store experience to consumers’ homes by recreating the try-on experience. It allows online shoppers to test out multiple sizes and variations of products, or just see what a product looks like overlaid into their home — without making a true commitment to the purchase or a trip to the store. It can also be used in-store to quickly provide product information or guide users to the right item using location-based services.

Retailers that meet this need for mobile AR stand to pull ahead of the competition. Mobile AR can help build brand loyalty, heighten engagement, increase geographical customer reach, shorten conversion times, boost purchases of larger items, and cut down on returns.

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the importance of mobile AR to businesses in the retail space, explores the various ways brands are utilizing mobile AR to enhance the customer experience as well as their own, and determines the factors retailers should consider when devising a mobile AR strategy.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Nearly 75% of consumers already expect retailers to offer an AR experience. Mobile AR retail experiences are more likely to come to fruition as Apple and Google continue to build out their AR developer platforms, ARKit and ARCore, respectively, which will expand the addressable market exponentially.
• Retailers in certain segments, including furniture and home improvement, as well as beauty and fashion, have been the first to jump on the mobile AR bandwagon through their own apps. These sectors appear to have the most immediate need for mobile AR strategies, as trying out furniture and clothes are two of the most coveted AR use cases by consumers.
• Social media is emerging as a prominent channel for retailers to reach consumers through mobile AR experiences. Platforms like Facebook and Snapchat continue to build out tools that businesses and developers can utilize to enhance their advertising strategies with immersive experiences.
• But retailers will have to consider several factors before implementing their mobile AR strategies. These include the cost of building AR experiences, the availability of AR-compatible smartphones, consumer awareness of mobile AR apps, and the quality of mobile AR content.

In full, the report:

• Explores the ways mobile AR brings value to the customer shopping experience. 
• Highlights how the consumer benefits of mobile AR can be transformed into valuable outcomes for retailers.
• Discusses how major retail brands are leveraging mobile AR to enhance the customer journey, and what goals they are striving to achieve.
• Outlines the several factors retailers and brands will have to consider before implementing their mobile AR strategies.

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• I first took Ancestry's DNA test three years ago, and found out that my family history was more complex than I initially thought. 
• In September 2018, Ancestry updated its ethnicity estimates. As part of the update, my results got a lot more specific. 
• In the updated results, I found out that I'm much more Norwegian than I initially thought. 

Ever since 2015, I've been sending my spit in to companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA to find out what I can learn from my genes. 

But the journey didn't end when I got my initial reports back. Since then, the tests have been updating, adding new reports in 23andMe's case and new features in Ancestry's case.

Most recently in September 2018, Ancestry did a major update to its ethnicity estimates for its $99 test. Curious to find out how my new results would compare to the ones I got before, I logged back onto the site.

Here's what I found. 

It's been about three years since I first sent my spit over to Ancestry to see what the company could tell me about my heritage. My AncestryDNA kit arrived in the mail in a small box the size of a hardcover book.

Opening it up, I found a collection tube (and a bag to seal it in once I was done), a set of instructions, and a smaller box to send it all back in.

After a few minutes of dutifully spitting into the collection tube, I was ready to get my sample ready to ship. Following the kit's directions, I placed a special cap on my tube designed to release a chemical solution (the blue stuff on the top) to get — and keep — my spit in tip-top shape for sequencing.

• Barneys New York is entering the cannabis industry with the opening of a head shop called The High End in its Beverly Hills store, according to The New York Times.
• The High End will offer luxe cannabis products, marijuana-inspired jewelry, CBD infused beauty products, and paraphernalia, including a $1,475 pot grinder.
• The move caters to Barneys' customers who have made cannabis part of their lifestyle, a Barneys executive said in a press release.

Barneys New York is taking its product offerings one step higher. 

The luxury department store is making headway in the cannabis world with the upcoming March debut of its head shop, The High End, in its Beverly Hills location, reported Alex Williams of The New York Times.

"Barneys New York has always been at the forefront of shifts in culture and lifestyle, and cannabis is no exception," said Daniella Vitale, Chief Executive Officer & President of Barneys New York, said in a press release. "Many of our customers have made cannabis a part of their lifestyle, and The High End caters to their needs with extraordinary products and service they experience in every facet of Barneys New York."

That includes a sterling silver $1,475 pot grinder, both organic and gold rolling papers, leather ashtrays and lighters by high-end Italian designer GioBagnara, and a $950 bong, according to Williams and the press release. The Head Shop will also sell jewelry, like grinder necklaces, and CBD-infused beauty and wellness products.

It will also offer luxe cannabis products such as silver vape pens as part of an exclusive collaboration with Beboe, an upscale cannabis company dubbed the "Hermés of marijuana," according to Williams.

Barneys plans to roll out head shops in its other California locations and possibly in New York if recreational cannabis is legalized there, Williams reported. But if you don't live in either state, you can also buy The Head Shop's offerings at Barneys.com, according to the press release.

The Head Shop's aesthetics are supposed to be as elevated as its offerings, more "Malibu home than gritty Venice Beach dispensary, with plenty of glass, patinated brass, and raw marble," as part of its "move to court chillaxed influencers," Williams wrote.

Read more: These execs are leaving behind careers at companies like Coke and Victoria's Secret to tap into the $194 billion marijuana industry

The move comes at a time when the cannabis industry is growing — legal marijuana is set to hit $75 billion in sales by 2030, according to a note from analysts at investment bank Cowen, and could eventually become a bigger market than soda, Business Insider's Jeremey Berke previously reported. 

And it's not just retailers like Barney's getting involved — executives are stepping down from big retail brands and consumer-packaged-goods companies to tap into the industry, which could become worth $194 billion globally if more countries legalize the drug, Berke reported.

According to Chris Burggraeve, a former executive who founded upscale marijuana brand Toast, strategically crafting a weed store can be a multi-billion dollar opportunity. 

Read the full New York Times article here »

SEE ALSO: California's recreational cannabis industry is booming — but regulations are posing a unique threat

DON'T MISS: Coca-Cola is reportedly eyeing the legal marijuana industry, and it could soon be a bigger market than soda

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

• Roughly 40% of the world's insect species are in decline, a new study said.
• The die-offs are happening primarily because insects are losing their habitats to farming and urbanization. The use of pesticides and fertilizers is also to blame, as is climate change.
• The study's authors said the repercussions of this loss of Earth's insects could be catastrophic.
• The rapid shrinking of insect populations is also a sign that the planet is in the midst of a sixth mass extinction.

Farming practices are behind the insect die-off

This isn't the first time scientists have called attention to plummeting insect populations.

In 2017, a study indicated that 75% of Germany's flying insects had disappeared since the 1990s. Another recent study showed that the total biomass of arthropods — creatures such as insects, spiders, and lobsters that have jointed legs but no backbone — in Puerto Rico has taken a nose dive since the 1970s.

Pesticides, fertilizers, and heavy land use for farming are primary drivers of this decline.

"Overall, the systematic, widespread and often superfluous use of pesticides in agricultural and pasture land over the past 60 years has negatively impacted most organisms, from insects to birds and bats," the authors of the new study wrote.

They added: "The conclusion is clear: unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades."

Sanchez-Bayo told The Guardian he thinks insecticides such as neonicotinoids and fipronil are especially damaging.

“They sterilize the soil, killing all the grubs,” he said. 

Climate-change-driven temperature shifts are playing a role in insect deaths, too, though it's not the main factor.

"So far, declines have been related more to land-use changes, especially agricultural intensification, forest fragmentation and urban development, than to temperature change," Schowalter said. 

SEE ALSO: A 27-year study found the amount of insects flying in the air has declined 75% — but no one knows why

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NOW WATCH: London’s first insect farm owners are trying get people to eat worms and crickets to save the world

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 »

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Your outlet is too far away to charge your phone and text while you're laying in bed. Your headphones are always tangled when you need them most. And, perhaps worst of all, you know there's nothing more irritating than walking around all day with your socks slipping off your heels.

These aren't really problems — you can still go about your day just fine — but they definitely add a layer of frustration to your daily routine. 

There are plenty of annoyances you probably deal with everyday, but the good news is that there are plenty of products made to lessen these frustrations. These cheap, easy solutions can make a world of a difference in solving the little annoyances you have to face on the daily. 

Keep reading for nine products that solve common, everyday annoyances:

A makeup spatula

Every Last Drop Makeup Spatula, available at The Container Store, $4.99

The annoyance: You can't reach the last few drops of your makeup, ultimately leading to waste of perfectly good product.

The solution: A makeup spatula that helps you get every last drop of valuable product. This little tool combines an extra-long plastic handle and a thin, silicone spatula to help you get to those hard-to-reach parts of any makeup bottle and scrape out all of the product you can, leaving nothing to waste. At just $5 a pop, this will probably save you a good deal of money by making your expensive makeup or skin-care products last a lot longer. 

An extra-long charging cable

AmazonBasics 10-foot Charging Cable, available at Amazon, $10.79

The annoyance: Your outlets are inconveniently located, so you can't use your phone while it's charging unless you want to sit on the floor in the corner of the room.

The solution: A phone charger that's long enough to cover the distance between your outlet and bed (or couch, chair, etc.). This charging cable can be wrapped up if you're using it in a nearby outlet, but it can be easily extended if you need to plug your phone in to an outlet that happens to be far away — so you can continue scrolling through Instagram from the comfort of your own bed. 

An avocado slicer

OXO 3-in-1 Avocado Slicer, available at Amazon, $9.99

The annoyance: Cutting and preparing your favorite fruit always turns into a hassle and a safety risk. 

The solution: A handy tool that can split, pit, and slice avocados. It has a soft, non-slip grip and a serrated blade that can slice your avocado, but is soft to the touch — so you don't have to worry about any knife mishaps. A fan blade makes thin slices in a snap and a stainless steel pitter seamlessly pops out the pit with a simple twist. It's a simple, safe, mess-free way to prep your next avocado toast.