• A basket leaves less room for junk foods.
• You can feel the weight of your purchases in a basket.
• A cart may encourage dawdling.

Although picking a shopping cart may be the obvious choice, unless you need to push a kid around the supermarket or physically can't lift a basket, a basket is almost always the better shopping choice.

Why choose a basket? It's better for your budget and health, plus you may sneak in a little extra exercise lifting that plastic carrier full of fresh produce. INSIDER asked nutrition and shopping experts why a basket stands out as the better shopping choice, to help guide you next time you buy groceries.

A basket can be more budget-friendly.

"Grabbing a basket instead of a cart can be a simple, yet effective way to stick to your grocery list, and just buy what you need," said Emily Cooper, RDN of sinfulnutrition.com. When you fill up your basket with essentials, there's limited room for extra food, which should keep your grocery budget in check and help prevent you from buying in excess and wasting food at home.

A basket limits impulse buys and temptations.

"It's all too easy to grab a giant cart and fill it up with extra items or impulse buys," Cooper says. Limited space means less room to make bad choices. "When you get a shopping cart, there's often a psychological need to fill it," said James Nuttall, marketing specialist for Cuuver.com.

"This need purely comes from the fact that you need to justify opting for such a large carrier for your shopping. As a result, you start filling it with things you wouldn't have picked up otherwise and which you probably don't actually need."

Nuttall compared a cart to online shopping, in which your digital "cart" can't ever truly reach its full capacity and "you are more tempted by deals and offers on things that you'd have otherwise passed by; whether they are on offer or not, you aren't saving money if you're buying something you have no use for or wouldn't normally purchase."

This means spending more money on items you don't really want.

Baskets get heavy quickly.

"Carrying around a heavy basket will encourage you to get to the checkout line even faster," Cooper adds. Don't feel like carrying that liter of soda? A cart may ease your not-so-healthy choices but with a basket, you truly feel the weight of your decisions. Instead of wandering aimlessly up and down each aisle, a full basket will signal that it's time to head for the register and get home.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

• Amazon has released four new items related to toys recently, according to TJI, an Amazon-focused research group.
• They are large items like play sets for toddlers and a bin for toy storage.
• Three of the items were taken down after TJI pointed them out on its blog, but the toy organizer remains on the site.
• The products are likely geared to small businesses like daycare or preschools, much like other products under the AmazonBasics umbrella.

Amazon: retailer, cloud-computing powerhouse, and voice-computing pioneer. And now, toymaker.

Amazon released on its website four new products related to toys: 

• AmazonBasics Soft Play Single Tunnel
• AmazonBasics Soft Play Climber
• AmazonBasics Soft Play Climb and Crawl Play Set, 5-Piece
• AmazonBasics Kids’ Toy Storage Organizer

The new products were first spotted by TJI Research, which keeps tabs on new products Amazon that puts on its website. Since TJI spotted the new products on Monday, Amazon took three of them off the site, and they now return error pages. They were released under Amazon's AmazonBasics line, according to TJI.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the record about why the listings were taken down. 

It marks the first time Amazon has released anything that resembles a toy for children under a private label. The items collectively are probably not what an average consumer thinks of when they hear the term "toy." It's mostly large, plush blocks, like ones you might find in a daycare or preschool.

That would make sense if the new items were similar to AmazonBasics' other items that are intended more for businesses than for personal use. Other AmazonBasics items include office chairs, standing desks, and bedding.

Still, the number of categories and items Amazon is developing and selling has exploded in recent months. Most recently, Amazon decided to make its own mattresses under both the AmazonBasics brand as well as its furniture brand, Rivet.

Read more: Amazon is now selling its own mattresses, and it shows why the industry is worried about the e-commerce giant's growth

Amazon's private brands have come under fire lately, as some critics have pointed to the problems inherent with the company's overall strategy to be both a retailer of goods and a marketplace platform for other sellers.

Critics including the European Union's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, and US Sen. Elizabeth Warren have said that Amazon limits competition, as it can use its sales data to help launch its own brands and products like the new mattress. The EU has opened a preliminary investigation into whether Amazon has violated antitrust rules by using third-party data to launch its own products, and German officials have launched their own investigation.

SEE ALSO: A doll with a bizarre name has become the biggest toy of the holiday season by taking over YouTube with unboxing videos

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A wheel of parmesan can cost over $1,000 — here's why the cheese is so expensive

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a warning against eating raw cookie dough.
• Despite its potential dangers, people still want to eat it. 
• To safely eat cookie dough, consider making it yourself using safe recipes or buying edible cookie dough from brands like DŌ and Edoughble.

Bad news for anyone who likes to make homemade cookies mostly so they have an excuse to eat raw cookie dough right out of the bowl: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning against eating raw cookie dough that they don’t want people to ignore.

As holiday cookie season closes in on us, the CDC wants to remind everyone that raw cookie dough can potentially cause dangerous health issues, no matter how tasty it may be. There are two ingredients in it that could make you sick: raw eggs and raw flour.

Raw eggs can carry the bacteria salmonella, which can cause severe food poisoning that has symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, and makes about 1.2 million people in the United States sick every year. Even though raw flour may seem harmless, it can also carry germs that can make you sick, like E.coli.

Your best bet to avoid these illnesses? Avoid raw cookie dough altogether. If you can’t imagine a life without the delicious taste of the stuff, you’re in luck: There are lots of edible cookie dough options out there that taste just as good as the real stuff, if not better.

Below are a few ways to safely get your raw cookie dough fix.

Edible cookie dough is your best bet at getting that authentic dough taste without risking getting sick.

You don't have to live in New York City to get a taste of the popular cookie doughs from Dō. Buy this sampler pack from Williams-Sonoma to try the sugar cookie batter, cake batter, signature chocolate chip, and brownie batter.

Cookie dough marshmallows are a sweet treat you can snack on whenever you want.

Smashmallow makes edible cookie dough marshmallows, which even feature tiny chocolate chips. Eat them plain, or add them to your hot chocolate for a sweet flavor. 

Snickerdoodle hummus will change the way you think about hummus.

Hummus isn't just ideal for a savory dip — try out dessert hummus, which is the perfect alternative to cookies. Snickerdoodle hummus tastes like the batter of your favorite cinnamon cookies.

• Adrian Aoun, the founder and CEO of healthcare startup Forward, recently spoke at Business Insider's IGNITION 2018 conference in New York.

• Aoun talked about the importance of not only providing reactive care, but prioritizing preventative care. 

• Forward plans to "build the first billion-person healthcare system" on top of its platform by turning healthcare into "a product."

Adrian Aoun, the founder and CEO of healthcare startup Forward, spoke about the importance of preventative care at the annual IGNITION conference, hosted by Business Insider, in New York on Dec. 3. 

Aoun, a former Google executive, started Forward just two years ago, and has since opened futuristic-looking doctors offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. Memberships work like that of a gym: you pay a monthly fee, starting at $150, and doctors work alongside patients to monitor health risks with advanced AI technology. 

If you'd like to watch his presentation, it starts at 2:23:14 here. 

Here are some of the key takeaways: 

“Have you ever lost someone close to you? Did you think ‘I wish I could have done more?’ Turns out you could, if you listened to the clues.”

"Health problems are all around us, happening to everyone. There’s always a surprise. So how are we getting blindsided by these? How could we miss this? The clues on how to solve these problems are everywhere," Aoun said. "I want a healthcare system that is preventative, not reactive. One that listens to the clues instead of waiting for the catastrophes."

At the conference, Aoun used his brother's recent heart attack as an example as to why reactive healthcare can be problematic.

“Our cardiovascular ultrasound, that our doctors can take to your carotid artery and your heart so you can literally see how your valves are opening and closing live right in front of you," he said. "The first time my brother had this done was in the ER when he was literally having a heart attack. If we had just listened to these clues a decade prior, we could have had a real chance to prevent it."

"The sound of your heart is it speaking to us. There is data in your everyday."

Forward begins by "looking for clues in the past" of each patient, Aoun explained. It does that by digitizing old medical records and using advanced AI technology to get a better picture of each patient.  

• A fintech startup will is giving cash rewards for consumers who sign up for its account and then take active steps to improve their financial health. 
• Status Money is pioneering a novel approach to personal financial management, effectively sharing some of the referral money with customers that it collects from suggesting credit cards or personal loans. 
• The startup is one of the first to introduce techniques more akin to video games into the personal finance arena. JPMorgan is among other firms considering similar moves. 

A startup plans to pay you for opening a credit card with a lower rate. Or moving your money into a higher-yielding savings account. Or using a coupon at your favorite retailer. 

The service is the brainchild of Status Money, a relatively new player in an industry led by larger firms like Mint or CreditKarma that recommend credit card offers, high-yield savings accounts or online personal loans within free personal finance software. In return for sharing their data, consumers get access to offers. The tech companies receive what is effectively a referral fee. 

Status' rewards program, months in the making, aims to share some of that fee with users and also persuade them to improve their financial health in other ways that don't necessarily mean revenue for the startup, according to Majd Maksad, one of its founders. 

"This is the first program in this space that gives people cash rewards," Maksad said. "These aren't points or some weird currency, this is real money."

Status and other firms are positioning themselves at the nexus of two prevailing global trends: the growing use of technology that's spitting out vast troves of data to mine for valuable insights and the drive to use behavioral economics findings to create policies to help persuade humans to be more healthy. Those suggestions may include nudging them to walk more, signing up for a retirement program at work or, as of Tuesday, paying them to move money into a higher-yielding savings account.

The aim isn’t entirely altruistic. Status’ rewards are likely to distinguish it from competitors and encourage people to engage more fully with the sales leads on its site. If successful, that would mean more user growth and higher revenue.

Read more: 'If you get to 700, 750, we'll cut your mortgage costs a little bit': JPMorgan is working on ways to reward you for improving your credit score, and it may be the future of consumer finance

The product works like this: an individual receives $5 for opening an account (a badge on the homepage touts the cash value) and another $2 for linking various bank and credit bureau accounts. Users can then earn additional rewards by signing up for other financial products that Status recommends, or engaging in other activity on the site. Like a game, badges identify opportunities and encourage engagement. 

That could mean signing up for things like a high yield savings account or refinancing a loan, and even managing a budget. It could mean using a coupon at your favorite retailer, delivering rewards on top of the savings. And the firm is even in talks with a daily deals site to offer additional rewards to nudge consumers into using that coupon for a restaurant or sightseeing cruise that they bought months ago. 

Once $10 or more has been collected, Status allows user to withdraw the funds and drop them into a linked bank account. Some products may deliver $20 or more in rewards; there's no cap on the amount of rewards that can be earned and they don't expire.

The idea is to turn a traditional technology model on its head. Rather than simply monetizing the data it collects through bank accounts and credit files and offering a free service in exchange Status aims to return some of that value to consumers. And adds transparency around how it's being used. The firm doesn't sell data or share it with third parties. 

"If I’m the consumer giving you data and information, why don’t I get a share of that?" Maksad said in an interview. "What we’re trying to do is create a more of a shared business model."

Read more: People aren't paying their credit cards and more accounts are being shut down, and it could be a sign that 'economic clouds are darkening'

Maksad, the former head of decision management for Citigroup's digital payments group, founded Status with Korash Hernandez, a colleague from Citi who had left to become one of the first employees at Goldman Sachs's online lender, Marcus. They joined up in May 2016, raising $4 million in a seed round from AltPoint Ventures. The website was unveiled in September 2017 and there's now a mobile app for the more than 200,000 users. 

From the beginning, the two data scientists aimed to separate themselves from the larger competitors by using machine learning to make smarter recommendations — delivering better leads to its partners — and to return real value to consumers. 

The initial product was a dashboard comparing an individual's financial situation to peers based on factors such as address, age, or credit score. It delivers information about how they stack up to peers and, hopefully, persuades them to take action to save more or spend less, Maksad said. 

"The equation between consumers and their tech companies is going to have to change," Maksad said. "There is no doubt in our minds that open data and financial transparency is coming. We want to be one of the ones to lead that change."

JPMorgan — the largest bank in the country – is also considering ways it can reward people for improving their financial health, CEO Jamie Dimon said in a July interview with Business Insider. The firm would provide incentives, like reducing loan costs, for lifting a credit score to a certain threshold, Dimon said. The bank is thinking about beta testing several tools around that idea, though it's unclear whether those would be tied to improving credit scores, financial education, or other things. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• The internet was filled with viral stories and funny memes this year.
• Among the biggest stories were YouTube influencers like Jake Paul and Lil Tay, and the Egyptian sarcophagus that wasn't cursed after all.

In some ways, every story is an internet story.

But going viral also has its own nuances. The biggest viral stories and memes of the year are filled with unexpected celebrities like Jake Paul and Mason Ramsey, disastrous wedding stories, and funny memes like "Johny Johny Yes Papa" and "Is this a pigeon?" It also includes object lessons in human folly, like #PlaneBae and TanaCon.

Logan Paul finally went too far with his "suicide forest" video.

A year ago, Logan Paul was one of the biggest – if most controversial— stars on YouTube.

He finally stepped too far (by YouTube's standards, anyway) with a video he uploaded on New Year's Eve, 2017. It featured him exploring Japan with friends, and ultimately visiting Japan's Aokigahara "suicide forest,"where he filmed himself discovering a dead body.

YouTube ultimately removed the video, broke off its production deals with Paul, and stripped him of the ability to earn revenue from their advertising tools reserved for top influencers. Paul himself took a break from YouTube but was scorned when he tried to return to the site less than a month later.

Paul remains popular on YouTube, but he's also moved on to podcasting and other ventures. Since YouTube cut official ties with him, he's still been somewhat ostracized within the social network's community.

Teens ate Tide Pods.

In January, the Tide Pod Challenge swept through YouTube and Instagram, with teens trying to top each other by seeing if they could swallow the candy-colored laundry detergent. It became serious enough that the American Association of Poison Control Centers issued an alert warning people not to do it.

Tide then hired Rob Gronkoswki to star in an advertising campaign urging people not to eat Tide Pods, and YouTube took action to delete videos of people eating Tide Pods from its platform. In November, Tide revealed its latest innovation: detergent boxes that more than slightly resemble boxed wine.

Astrology memes took over Instagram

Using astrology to cope with the chaos and anxiety of everyday life is nothing new. But in 2018, the internet combined its love of all things star sign with its other favorite past time — memes.

And so, a marriage was born: Astrology memes exploded in popularity, leading to the rise of pages like jakeastrology and aquariuscomplex that dominated some parts of Instagram.

• Trump's White House has seen a number of high-profile departures since the earliest days of the administration.
• Scott Pruitt, Gary Cohn, Omarosa Manigault Newman, Hope Hicks, and Steve Bannon are only a few of the people who have left.
• Some Trump administration alumni have gone back to their roots, while others have embarked on totally new ventures.

President Donald Trump's White House has a doozy of a turnover rate.

The Brookings Institution reports that 62% of top-level White House positions — excluding the cabinet — have seen turnover under Trump as of December 2018. Nine cabinet members have also left the administration in Trump's first two years of office, the same number of secretaries who left Obama's cabinet throughout his eight year term.

Some of these top advisers were fired. Other officials decided to leave on their own, for various reasons. For example, chief of staff John Kelly recently announced his intent to resign after months of conflict and strife between him and Trump.

Either way, many commentators have pointed out that sieve-like nature of the White House seems to speak to a turbulent environment. That's a characterization which Trump himself has disputed. "There is no Chaos, only great Energy!"he tweeted.

So what happens to the people who leave? What sort of roles have Trump administration alumni been able to pick up once they exit the White House?

It's too early to tell for most recent departures, like Kelly and Jeff Sessions. Former officials like Reince Priebus and Dina Powell have returned to their private sector roots. And still others are embarking on totally new ventures.

Here's a look at where all of the White House's high-profile departures are today, from most to least recent departures:

SEE ALSO: John Kelly is out — here are all the casualties of the Trump administration so far

Jeff Sessions is out as attorney general.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions submitted his resignation on November 7 after nearly two years in the position, with Trump announcing that Matthew Whitaker, Sessions' Chief of Staff, would serve as acting attorney general.

Trump had frequently lambasted Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

"You know, the only reason I gave him the job is because I felt loyalty," Trump told Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt in an August interview. "He was an original supporter." Trump lamented that he "put in an attorney general that never took control of the Justice Department."

While Sessions has not announced his future plans, both Politico and Fox News reported he's eyeing a 2020 run for his old US Senate seat in Alabama, currently held by Democrat Doug Jones, who was elected in a December 2017 special election. 

Don McGahn's next move is unclear

Former White House counsel Don McGahn left the administration in late October following a turbulent 21 months in the White House.

The New York Times reported in August that McGahn voluntarily gave 30 hours of testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump obstructed justice as President. 

It's not clear what McGahn, a former partner at Washington DC corporate law firm Jones Day and Federal Election Commission commissioner, will do next.

Scott Pruitt was in talks to consult to coal mining companies.

Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt resigned in July amid several federal ethics investigations into his lavish spending habits, his suspected conflicts of interests with lobbyists, and for reportedly enlisting his official government staff to carry out his personal errands.

In September, The New York Times reported that Pruitt was in talks to take on a new role independently consulting for Kentucky-based coal mining company Alliance Resource Partners, whose chief executive is a Republican donor. 

While all Trump administration officials are bound to ethics pledges to not lobby for special interests within five years of leaving their government job, Pruitt's proposed consulting firm would reportedly not involve improper lobbying. 

• Myths about the G-spot — the erogenous zone supposedly inside the vagina that can help a person achieve a particular kind of orgasm— are astoundingly common.
• It's a myth that there's no sure way to find the famed G-spot.
• The G-spot is not an actual organ. 
• In-and-out penetrative sex is not the best way to achieve G-spot orgasms for most.
• Men do not have a G-spot.

When it comes to the "Big O," there are many different ideas and myths that surround it. And while it's no secret that there are different options to getting to what's often referred to as "the sexual finish line," there's still much information that we aren't privy to on the subject. Case in point: the G-spot.

Although we hear about the G-spot delivering what could be the best orgasm you've ever felt — if you've never felt it yourself, how do you know if it's true? Likewise, how do you even know if the G-spot exists?

If you've ever felt this way about the seemingly mythological pleasure zone, you're not alone. So, to help you get down to the bottom of it, we've compiled and debunked a list of 12 of the most common G-spot myths that you will hopefully stop believing after today.

Myth: The G-spot doesn't exist.

When something is discussed that you haven't experienced firsthand, there's a tendency to deem it to be untrue. That, however, isn't true in the case of the G-spot, certified sex educator and CEO of Le Wand Alicia Sinclair told INSIDER.

"Named after Dr. Ernst Grafenberg, the urologist who discovered it, the G-Spot is a scientifically researched area that can give women incredible pleasure," she said. "All vulva-owners have one and are capable of ejaculating prostatic fluid."

However, this has been contested. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, in which scientists dissected the front portion of the vaginal wall of 13 female cadavers in search of the G-spot, did not find any evidence whatsoever of the G-spot's existence, though this is most likely because it is not an actual organ.

Myth: G-spot orgasms are just the same as any other orgasms.

Though it's often presumed that if you've had one orgasm, you've had them all, you'll probably want to re-think that. There are different ways to receive your "big O," according to Sinclair, your G-spot will surely give you a different feeling than the others.

"The G-spot is surrounded by the nerve-rich clitoral bulb," she said. "It also has its own nerve supply (pelvic nerve), creating a highly enjoyable place for women to explore. This dual nerve innervation not only makes it possible for women to have two distinct types of orgasms (clitoral and G-spot), but also to experience an amazing combination of these two types simultaneously."

Myth: There's no way to find the G-spot.

Even if you're well-versed in the subject of sex, the G-spot may still be a mystery to locate. And, in some cases, you may not even know you hit it because you aren't familiar with where yours or your partner's spot is.

"Many people have difficulty finding their G-Spots, but with a little instruction, this pleasure- factory can be found," Sinclair said. "It is important to realize that this is an area stimulated through the vaginal wall, and it is easiest to identify once a vulva-owner is aroused. The G-spot can be found anteriorly (the roof of vagina) and depending on one's G-spot anatomy, it will be found in different locations. The majority of vulva-owners will find their G-Spots right beyond their vaginal entrances, but the rest will find it either mid-way or further back by the cervix.

"The area feels like corduroy ridges and is more pronounced (and feels more enjoyable) after stimulation causes its tissues to swell. The rigid tissue can be followed to the tail of the G-spot. When stimulated in a gentle 'come hither' motion, one can experience pleasing sensations while feeling the body of the prostate. Additionally, since the urethral meatus (the hole that urine exits the body) is generally the head of the G-spot, many women like the way it feels when this area is stimulated."

• Jayde Donovan, a TV and radio host, has a viral hack for icing her breasts after breastfeeding. 
• If she doesn't have ice on hand, she will use Uncrustable sandwiches, as she first said on Twitter.
• She told INSIDER the Uncrustables, which are often stored in the freezer, are not only practical ice packs but also can be a pretty good snack when they thaw out.
• People think it's a clever life hack.
• Donovan hopes that other moms see her tip and that it helps people.

One night in mid-November, Jayde Donovan, a New York-based TV and radio host, found herself in a pinch.

After "a particularly painful breastfeeding session," she went to ice her breasts, as she typically does, she told INSIDER. But when she reached for the packs, Donovan realized she had forgotten to refreeze them. 

Suddenly, she was struck: she could use frozen Uncrustable sandwiches, pre-packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that come without crusts, as ice packs instead.

And, because it's 2018, the new mom shared her wisdom on Twitter in a post that seems to have struck a chord.

"I just used frozen Uncrustables as boob ice packs," she wrote. "Which actually makes perfect sense bc after they defrost in your nursing bra — oh look a delicious treat."

Online, people love her tip.

A screenshot of Donovan's tweet also made the rounds on r/BabyBumps. "I actually tried this and I’m not mad about it," user tessa1hope began the thread.

"It dawned on me they were the exact size and shape I needed, so I tossed them in my nursing bra and went on to sweet relief," Donovan told INSIDER of her hack. "After about 10 minutes they defrosted and since I was hungry, because you’re always hungry while breastfeeding, I enjoyed the fruits of my labor."

Read more: 6 breastfeeding hacks to make nursing your baby a whole lot easier

And while she joked that "going viral for chilling my boobs with food has always been a dream" of hers, Donovan does hope that her post will help new moms in her same situation.

"I can only hope that after seeing my tweet moms all over the world are getting sweet boob relief plus a snack when they need it most," she said.

Truly, that is the best of both worlds.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

• Read more:
• Kim Kardashian West is the subject of a master’s thesis, and she wants to see a copy
• People in a small Pennsylvania city are using a Christmas tree to fill a persistent pothole
• A Russian Orthodox priest says he will 'pay penance' after flaunting Gucci shoes and Louis Vuitton handbags on Instagram

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Six products designed to make breastfeeding easier

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.

REI is home to literally everything you need for an enjoyable adventure outdoors. With the holiday season just weeks away, REI is having a huge holiday clearance sale that's worth taking advantage of while completing your gift list — or even shopping for yourself.

Now through December 16, you can get up to 50% off clearance items including outdoor apparel, gear, footwear, and accessories.

The limited-time sale includes discounts on top brands like Patagonia, Columbia, The North Face, PrAna, Smartwool, and more.

Whether you're loading up on gear for an upcoming cold-weather excursion, shopping for a warm jacket, or looking for a very specific item, you're likely to find it here. We rounded up some of the best deals, but since the sale is so massive, these product categories can help you find exactly what you need.

• Men's Clothing and Footwear
• Women's Clothing and Footwear
• Camping and Hiking Gear
• Snowsports Gear

Shop the REI Holiday sale now or keep reading for our picks, below:

Men's Columbia Ramble Interchange 3-in-1 Down Jacket

$109.83 (Originally $220) [You save 50%]

Women's REI Co-op Magma 850 Down Hoodie

$149.93, available in three colors (Originally $219) [You save 31%]

Men's REI Co-op Flowcore Fleece Jacket

$49.83, available in two colors (Originally $99.95) [You save 50%]

• The marijuana industry might be suffering from an M&A bubble — and it's going to burst. 
• "I'm nervous about the valuations out there on the M&A deals," said Mitzi Hollenbeck, a partner at accounting firm Citrin Cooperman. "The numbers don't support it."
• Hollenbeck leads Citrin Cooperman's cannabis advisory practice. She was speaking at the New York State Society of CPAs "Navigating the Cannabis Industry Conference" in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday. 

A top marijuana industry accountant had a stark warning for the emerging industry: There's an M&A bubble.

"I'm nervous about the valuations out there on the M&A deals," said Mitzi Hollenbeck, a Boston-based partner at accounting firm Citrin Cooperman who leads its cannabis advisory practice. "The numbers don't support it."

Speaking at the New York State Society of CPAs "Navigating the Cannabis Industry Conference" in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, Hollenbeck warned that "we're going to see the bubble burst."

She added that as more state markets open — and investor excitement around the emerging industry ramps up — the bubble will be "artificially propped up" as marijuana companies spend hundreds of millions in cash and stock to build out their geographic presence and fend off competitors. 

Read more:'My lips are wet, my mouth is watering to get a piece of that': A war is brewing between US and Canadian marijuana companies to claim a $75 billion market

US marijuana companies, known in industry parlance as multi-state operators (MSOs), have gone on acquisition sprees in recent months in a race to capture a market that some Wall Street analysts say could be worth $75 billion in a decade, provided the federal government legalizes marijuana. 

These companies, like Acreage Holdings, MedMen, and iAnthus, operate marijuana retailers and cultivation facilities in states where the drug is legal.

In October, the Los Angeles-based MedMen acquired the medical marijuana retailer PharmaCann in an all-stock transaction that valued the combined entity at $682 million.

On the heels of that deal, iAnthus, another multi-state operator, acquired the Toronto-based marijuana company MPX Bioceutical in a transaction valued at $640 million, among other smaller deals that pop up in press releases seemingly every day. 

Read more: Marijuana companies are using a 'backdoor' strategy to tap the public markets — and it's fueling an M&A boom

These M&A deals are fed by a boom in reverse mergers, in which US marijuana companies go public on the Canadian Securities Exchange — where marijuana is federally legal — by buying shell companies that are already publicly traded.

According to data from Dealogic, the number of US companies pursuing reverse mergers in Canada has more than doubled in the past five years, to over 16 this year from just 7 in 2013, with cannabis companies leading the charge.

The US federal government classifies marijuana as an illegal, Schedule I drug, though it's legal in some form in 33 states. Major US stock exchanges won't list companies that sell or cultivate marijuana in the US.  

In August, the accounting firm PwC released a report warning that marijuana industry is gripped by a "deal mania," and that the largest marijuana companies are guilty of "moving in too many directions at once."

"Investors will show little patience for companies that cannot differentiate themselves to win in a crowded market," PwC said.

• Read more:
• Sullivan & Cromwell, an elite Wall Street law firm, is working with a Canadian pot company on a $1.8 billion M&A deal. Here's why that's 'momentous' for the marijuana industry.
• An early investor in Juul is raising $75 million to make venture investments in pot companies
• Big law firms are building out specialized pot practices to chase down a red-hot market for weed deals

Join the conversation about this story »

• Firefighters rescued more than 100 snakes from a burning home in Conroe, Texas, a suburb of Houston, on Saturday. 
• While the Caney Creek firefighters didn't ask why there were so many snakes in the home, Fire Chief Raymond Flannelly told INSIDER that they appeared to be the homeowner's pets. 
• As of the end of the day of the fire, not a single snake had died from flames or smoke, Flannelly said.
• The house fire was sparked by lights on a Christmas tree and was preventable, Flannelly said.

More than 100 snakes were rescued from a house fire in a Houston, Texas, suburb over the weekend in what the city's fire chief called one of the weirdest rescues he's ever seen.

Caney Creek Fire and Rescue of Conroe, Texas, responded to a house fire on Saturday that was started by a Christmas tree with its lights left on, Fire Chief Raymond Flannelly told INSIDER.

When firefighters reached the second floor of the house they found glass cases filled with snakes and lizards.

"I don't know how many were up there, but it was obvious those were his pets just like people have dogs and cats," Flannelly said.

With help from the home owners, several firefighters took the reptiles to the home's garage, where several other snakes were living in glass cases.

The reptiles included several five- to six-foot long pythons and boa constrictors, but none were venomous, according to CNN.

Flannelly said he had never seen anything quite like it.

“And I've worked 35 years for the city of Houston so we've seen a lot of weird stuff," he said.

The house's first floor endured severe damage from the blaze, but every single reptile was safe as of Saturday night.

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Flannelly said that the homeowner didn't provide much insight into why he had so many snakes.

"Naturally we didn't ask," he told INSIDER. "Those were his pets, from what I could see."

According to KTRK, the family wasn't home when the fire started, and Flannelly said the tree took off "like a blowtorch" when the blaze was sparked.

Flannelly said fires like this are preventable by being safe with smoke detectors and Christmas trees.

"We want people to make sure their smoke detectors work and just don't leave your Christmas tree with the lights on," he told CNN. "Christmas is not here yet and we are already answering calls related to house fires caused by trees, and these are preventable fires."

He said his county regularly has smoke detector drives in hopes of raising awareness about fire safety and prevention.

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• "Back to the Future" fans will appreciate this "DeLorean" hovercraft. It can cruise on water and reach speeds up to 81 mph.
• The hovercraft took a total of four-and-a-half years to build and runs on a 23-horsepower thrust engine pushed by a 36-inch fan.
• Watch the video above to see the hovercraft in action.

Back to the Future fans will swoon over this "DeLorean" hovercraft.

It's a custom-designed sculpture of a DeLorean.

Have you ever seen a DeLorean do THIS before? 

Matt Riese:"Hi I'm Matt Riese. This is my crazy creation. A hand-made, amphibious, hovering time-traveling Delorean. Come on, I'll show you how it works"

It's made out of styrofoam and wrapped in fiberglass.

It consists of some real DeLorean parts.

It can cruise on the water, reaching speeds up to 81 mph.

Matt Riese:"You can see this is the lift engine. This is how it works. You turn on this motor and the big fan in there will push a bunch of air down. Some of that air gets diverted into this vinyl skirt here. Which forms basically an inner tube around the perimeter of the whole and that traps the pocket of high-pressure air underneath the rest of the whole and that lifts the whole about six to eight inches off the ground, water, snow, dirt, sand... Whatever you are over"

The hovercraft runs on a 23-horsepower thrust engine pushed by a 36-inch fan.

Rudders help the driver steer.

The steering wheel can be moved to different positions.

Matt Riese: Check out this switch panel here. We got headlights. We got navigation lamps for the Coast Guard. We got cockpit lights. Flux capacitor, that's the colored lights around the perimeter. And then anti-gravity, which is the pulse engines embedded in the tires which you can see flashing.

There are some real DeLorean parts. The side marker lights. These grill pieces. The logo here and the grill emblem. And the doors are created with molds of the real Delorean doors. You can see the armrests. I got the leather texture and everything. That's fiberglass but that's from a real DeLorean."

The hovercraft took a total of four-and-a-half years to build.

Matt Riese: So piloting this basically feels like driving a car that's constantly sliding around on ice. You got your foot pedal and you got your steering wheel and it feels like you're in a car, but you're just sliding around every which way with no friction.

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• Zillow is part of a growing group of real-estate companies in the United States that buy homes directly from homeowners.
• Through Zillow's service, which will be available in eight US markets by the end of 2019, homeowners receive a preliminary offer within two days and close the sale in as little as seven days from signing.
• But these companies charge a higher fee than a real estate agent, typically ranging from 6% to 13% of the purchase price.
• One research analyst told the LA Times that by 2021, i-buyers could account for 10% of the existing home sale market.

Everything is easier online — even selling your house.

More Americans are turning to online real-estate companies like San Francisco-based startup Opendoor and Zillow to quickly sell their homes; no open houses, considering multiple bids, or waiting on a buyer to work out financing, the Los Angeles Times' Andrew Khouri reports. 

Zillow Offers is already available in four US markets — Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Denver — and will soon be launching in Riverside, California, Zillow announced on Tuesday.

The service radically simplifies the selling process for homeowners: They enter their address online, answer questions about the home, send in photos, and wait for Zillow to consult a local real estate agent and come up with a home value estimate. It takes only about two business days, Khouri wrote.

Then Zillow sets up an in-person walkthrough before handing over a confirmed offer. If the homeowner accepts the offer, they choose a closing date between seven and 90 days from signing. Real estate agents are still a part of the process, but they're handled and paid by Zillow, not the homeowner.

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• "ERA" is the most common entry in crosswords, as well as "ARE,""AREA," and "ORE."
• If a clue is in plural, the word will probably end in "S."
• "Cheating" by checking a letter or word is encouraged if you're stuck.

Crossword puzzles can be intimidating if you don't do them regularly. With all of those blank squares, it might even feel like you're sitting down to take the SAT or a spelling test.

But Deb Amlen, columnist and editor of Wordplay at The New York Times who wrote the official guide to solving The New York Times crossword puzzle, and Matt Gaffney, a professional crossword puzzle constructor who has written over 4,000 puzzles for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and others, don't want you miss out on the fun.

Here are nine crossword tricks to help you get better at solving the puzzles.

If you're new to the New York Times crossword puzzle, start on Monday

The New York Times crossword puzzles increase in difficulty as the week goes on, with the hardest puzzle appearing on Saturdays. If you're just getting started, begin with the easiest ones.

"If you want to build up your skill set, I would start with the Monday puzzles and get confident with that before you then push to the Tuesdays and Wednesdays," said Amlen.

Fill in what you know first

If you know the answers to any of the clues right away, write those in first. Amlen says fill in the blank clues tend to be the easiest because the brain loves filling in the missing information.

"Grab the low-hanging fruit first. That's what we call 'gimmes,'" said Amlen. "Go fill in your 'gimmes' because there's nothing like writing in the grid to really increase your confidence. And if your confidence increases, your abilities sometimes increase along with it."

Know common crossword puzzle words

"ERA" is the most common word in crossword puzzles, as well as "ARE,""AREA," and "ORE," according to Gaffney.

"Anything that's 3 or 4 letters and vowel-heavy is going to be pretty common, so ERIE is a crossword writer's favorite lake and IOWA and OHIO our favorite states," he said. "Every grid needs some of these words to keep things together, but we also try to work in snazzier entries as well."

"YOKO ONO" and "BRIAN ENO" are also popular names to use for their useful letter patterns, according to Amlen.

Use the crossings

If you're stuck on a word that goes across, Amlen suggests try filling in more words that go down to add more letters to it, Wheel of Fortune-style. The inverse is true with a word that goes across — answering more words that go down will add letters to it.

If the clue is plural, the answer will probably end in "S"

Tenses have to match, so if the clue is in plural, the answer will be in plural, too.

"Even if I don't know the answer to that plural clue, I may just drop in an 'S' at the end because I know it's going to be a plural," said Amlen.

Look out for "veiled capitals"

According to Amlen, a "veiled capital" is when the first word of a clue is a proper noun — it would be capitalized anyway since it's the first word, so it's not always clear that it could be referring to something else. For example, a clue that began with "Outback" could be referencing the Australian outback or the restaurant chain Outback.

Hone your skills with practice

Like any other skill, mastering crossword puzzles takes time.

"Practice, practice, practice, like everything else," Gaffney said. "Something like 12% of crosswords are comprised of the 250 most common grid entries, so if you nail those 250 down you've got about one eighth of most grids figured out."

Take breaks when you're stuck

Crossword puzzles are meant to be fun. If your brain is getting tired, take a break and revisit it later.

"It's not the SAT. You're allowed to put the puzzle down if you get frustrated," said Amlen. "The fascinating thing to me is that your brain continues working on it in the background. When you come back to it, you might be able to fill in more than you thought you could."

"Cheat" if you need to

If you ask Amlen, looking at the answers when you're stuck isn't cheating — it's learning.

"If you have to look something up and you don't know it, but you learn about it so you know it for next time, that's a good thing," she said.

Solving some puzzles digitally allows you to just look at one word or letter and keep working on the rest of the clues.

"If you're solving digitally, you'll have the option of checking just one entry or even a single letter if you're stuck; frequently, that one letter or word can break open the entire grid," said Gaffney. "So don't throw the puzzle aside when you hit a wall — just peek at a letter or word you really want and see if that doesn't do the trick. Next time, maybe you won't need the cheat."

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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• Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both scored and created a goal each in Paris Saint-Germain's dominant victory over Red Star Belgrade.
• The 4-1 win ensured PSG topped Group C in the UEFA Champions League, but will also help bury the wild rumours that they do not get along.
• Mbappe had even said before the game that he and Neymar are getting along "better and better."
• Read all of Business Insider's coverage for the 2018-2019 European soccer season right here.

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar ran rampant over Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday, burying wild rumours that they do not get along.

Mbappe, the 19-year-old wunderkind, and Neymar, the world record transfer fee holder, were at their devastating best as Paris Saint-Germain dominated in the UEFA Champions League, winning 4-1 on the night, and topping Group C in emphatic fashion.

By far the best players on the pitch, they began tormenting Red Star as early as the ninth minute when Mbappe used his extraordinary pace to release Edinson Cavani for the game's first goal.

Five minutes before half-time, Mbappe got his second assist of the night when he he received the ball in the middle of the pitch, took two touches, and sensed Neymar launching a lung-busting run down the left wing so played him in with an accurate ball. Neymar ran direct at the defence, cut across the penalty box and then casually lifted the ball over the goalkeeper to double PSG's lead. 2-0.

Read more: An 18-year-old soccer player's transfer value has risen over 800% in 3 months because he's playing like the 'new Neymar'

Angel di Maria and Marquinhos combined for the third in the 74th minute, before Neymar fed Mbappe with an incredible pass in the final minute, with the Frenchman sending the ball home to make it 4-1. Game over.

Mbappe and Neymar played so well, it will help squash the reports that they are not on the friendliest terms away from the pitch when the cameras are not rolling.

Mbappe had even attempted to bury the rumours before the Red Star game. "It is up to us to step it up and show that we can play better than what we have shown so far," he said earlier this week, according to Goal.com. "I am getting along better and better with Neymar."

Based on performances like Tuesday's, it may not matter what happens behind-closed-doors. Especially when they do their talking on the pitch.

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• YouTuber Felix Kjellberg AKA PewDiePie lashed out at critics who condemned him for recommending a YouTube channel that posts anti-Semitic and misogynistic content.
• Kjellberg said he just liked the channel for its videos about anime.
• Regardless, he removed his recommendation from his previous video and said he'd be more careful in the future.
• Kjellberg himself has a history of anti-Semitic comments.

Felix Kjellberg — the enormously popular YouTuber known as PewDiePie — hit back at his critics on Tuesday after he was widely condemned for posting a video that told viewers to subscribe to an anti-Semitic YouTube channel.

Kjellberg said he wasn't familiar with the channel, which slips anti-Semitic and misogynistic commentary into videos about anime and movies.

"This is all you have?" Kjellberg said. "Anyone with the level-headed brain can tell that I don't know this guy. [It's] a shame campaign to smear my name."

Kjellberg is YouTube's biggest celebrity, known for making videos about gaming. He has 76 million subscribers, more than anyone else on the site, and is one of its top earners. 

In his video published Sunday, Kjellberg said his followers should subscribe to E;R (also known as "EsemicolonR"). E;R posts videos where he discusses anime and "Star Wars" movies alongside mocking political commentary.

Read more:29 moments that went viral and dominated the internet this year

E;R's videos often include anti-Semitic, sexist, and homophobic language, according to The Verge, and has been called"neo-Nazi propaganda" by critics. E;R has used footage of Heather Heyer's death at Charlottesville's "Unite the Right" rally to joke about death in anime shows. The account's subscribers jumped by more than 10,000 after Kjellberg suggested it to his followers. Kjellberg himself has made numerous remarks over his career that have been viewed as racist, anti-Semitic, and nationalist.

But in his new video, PewDiePie said he regretted promoting E;R, and said he wouldn't have done it if he was more familiar with the user's videos. He edited the previous video to remove the recommendation.

"I removed E;R from that video," he said. "If I knew then what I knew now, I wouldn't have put him in there... I'll be more careful in the future."

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• Columbia University student Julian von Abele was filmed going on a racist rant on Sunday.
• He said Europeans "built the modern world" and "invented science and industry."
• Student groups condemned his remarks, and Columbia's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards is reportedly investigating the incident.
• In an interview with The Daily Beast Tuesday, von Abele denied he was racist.

A Columbia University student's white supremacist rant went viral this weekend after it was posted to Twitter Sunday.

The student, identified by the Columbia Spectator as Julian von Abele, was filmed yelling about how Europeans "built the modern world" and "invented science and industry" to an audience of mostly people of color.

"We invented the modern world. We saved billions of people from starvation," he said. "We built modern civilization. The white people are the best thing to ever happen to the world."

Von Abele is a physics major set to graduate in 2021, according to ResearchGate. In 2015, he wrote a 218-page self-published book about "QCI Theory," which he invented and he says explains how parallel dimensions work. He is also a member of Facebook's "Official Flat Earth and Globe Discussion" group, although many members join it as a joke. Von Abele didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment. 

In an interview with The Daily Beast Tuesday, von Abele denounced racism.

"I am not a white supremacist or racist, nor do I subscribe to any views that support that ideology. I unequivocally denounce all groups that support racism," he said. "My reaction that evening grew out of my distaste for the overuse of the term 'white privilege' and similar divisive rhetoric as a means of dismissing views of others."

Von Abele's rant was widely condemned across campus after the video of him went viral on Twitter. He was denounced in a statement signed by three of Columbia University's deans and a number of campus organizations that represent students of color, according to the Columbia Spectator.

Students themselves also criticized von Abele on Twitter. Some students said the university is responsible for creating an environment they view as hostile to students who are minorities.

The incident is also being investigated by Columbia's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, according to the New York Post.

This post has been updated with von Abele's comments to The Daily Beast.

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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.

Everyone has a fitness goal whether it's to gain muscle, tone up their core, or increase their flexibility. No matter what goal they have for 2019, we've got a gift that'll help them get there. 

From ugly Christmas sweater-inspired sneakers to grippy pilates socks and even ready-to-blend smoothies, there are plenty of gift ideas that work within your budget and their fitness level. And if their fitness level is nonexistent, there's a boutique gym membership to get them started too.

Help them carry out their fitness goals for 2019 — or at least until the end of January — with these 22 picks.

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.

SEE ALSO: All of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides, in one place

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Grippy socks perfect for pilates, barre, or just walking around their apartment

Gaiam Grippy Yoga Socks, from $4.95, available at Amazon

These socks have durable grips along the bottom for stability during pilates or lounging around the apartment. No judgments here.

A membership for delicious ready-to-blend smoothies

Daily Harvest Subscription, $6.99-$7.99 per cup, available at Daily Harvest

If they're not switching up their diet along with their workout regimen, all that cardio and weightlifting might just be going to waste. Encourage them to eat healthier with a membership to Daily Harvest for delicious smoothies, harvest bowls, chia bowls, and more.

A cooling towel that'll feel so good after hot yoga

Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad Cooling Towel, $8.04, available at Amazon

This cooling towel will be so appreciated after a serious hot yoga or cardio class. They can just rinse the towel in cold water, wring it out, and it'll stay cool for hours.

• A 33-year-old Florida woman was found dead on I-95 on Friday.
• Police believe Jennifer St. Clair fell off her date's motorcycle during a first date and was struck repeatedly by oncoming traffic.
• According to her family, her date left St. Clair behind and did not attempt to help her or call 911.
• The family has hired an attorney to investigate her death, they said at a recent press conference.

Last week, Jennifer St. Clair went on a first date with a man she met online, ABC-affiliated WC VB reported. 

Around 3 a.m., the  33-year-old Florida woman was found dead on I-95 near Pompano Beach, Florida, per the outlet. Police believe St. Clair fell off her date's motorcycle on their way home from the date and was struck repeatedly by oncoming traffic, according to WCVB.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, members of her family said that the man St. Clair was on a date with did not attempt to help her or call 911. Instead, he left her behind. 

"We don't know how anybody could do something like that," Amy Gamer, St. Clair's aunt said. "It's the hardest part." 

In addition to St. Clair and her date, two other couples using motorcycles got dinner as a group on Thursday night, according to WCVB. Her family believes that the man was taking St. Clair back to her home when she fell off of his bike.

Witnesses who were there at the time say they saw a man on a motorcycle drive away after Sinclair was hit, WCVB reported. 

At this time, information about the driver of the motorcycle has not been released by authorities.

St. Clair's family say they want  closure. Her sister in law, Becky St. Clair, started a Facebook fundraiser to raise money for her memorial service, provide financial support for her dogs, and cover loss of wages, Becky wrote.

"We will treasure the joyful passion for life that she shared with all of us," Becky wrote on Facebook. "Her free spirit and loving nature will help guide us for years to come. We love her forever and we’ll miss her dearly."

At this time, the page has raised $7,923 of its $10,000 goal. 

Read more: From Time's Up to the Tree of Life Synagogue victims, these are the 10 GoFundMe campaigns that raised the most money in 2018

"We're still trying to process this. We are trying to get closure," Gamer said at the press conference, per WCVB. "She was a very sweet girl who would do anything for anybody."

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

• Read more:
• Firefighters rescued more than 100 snakes from a burning house in Texas that the owner had kept as pets
• PewDiePie mocked his critics after praising a 'Nazi' YouTube channel but says he will 'be more careful in the future'
• A white Columbia University student's racist rant is being condemned across campus

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