• A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 47% of adult Americans surveyed hold President Donald Trump responsible for the partial government shutdown, which officially began at midnight on December 22.
• The poll, which was conducted between December 21 and December 25, also found that 33% of those surveyed blame congressional Democrats for the shutdown, while 7% hold congressional Republicans responsible for the shutdown.
• The partial government shutdown was triggered because of a budget impasse prompted by Trump's demand for $5 billion in border-wall funding.
• The partial government shutdown has impacted nine federal agencies and roughly 800,000 government employees — 420,000 of whom are deemed "essential" and must continue to work without pay.
• The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 35% of respondents support funding for a border wall and only 25% support a shutdown over wall funding.

A new poll from Reuters/Ipsos shows that 47% of adult Americans surveyed hold President Donald Trump responsible for the partial government shutdown, which officially began at midnight on December 22.

The poll, which was conducted between December 21 and December 25, also found that 33% blame congressional Democrats, while 7% hold congressional Republicans responsible for the shutdown.

The partial government shutdown was triggered because of a budget impasse prompted by Trump's demand for $5 billion in border-wall funding.

Congress passed funding for 80% of the government, but after initially signaling that he would sign a stopgap measure to fund the remaining 20% of the federal government, Trump changed course and said he would not sign a bill that didn't include $5 billion for a border wall.

The House passed a bill with the wall funding; however, it did not have the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate before lawmakers adjourned for the Christmas holiday.

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

The partial government shutdown has impacted nine federal agencies and roughly 800,000 government employees — 420,000 of whom are deemed "essential" and must continue to work without pay.

Who is to blame for the shutdown, which looks likely to continue into the new year, has been a game of political football. During a televised meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and House Minority Leader — and presumptive Majority Leader come January — Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, Trump said he was "proud" to shut down the government in the name of border security. Soon after, however, he blamed Democrats.

On Tuesday, Trump said, "Many of those [federal] workers have said to me, communicated, 'stay out until you get the funding for the wall.'" But on Thursday, he tweeted, "Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?" The comment immediately drew backlash from congressional Democrats.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 35% of respondents support funding for a border wall and only 25% support a shutdown over wall funding. Of the 2,440 adults who responded to the poll, 946 people identified as Democrats and 846 identified as Republicans. 

SEE ALSO: Here's everything you need to know about the current government shutdown

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NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

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.

Not that long ago, many home-appliance and consumer-electronics makers were gearing up for what they thought would soon be a rapidly growing market for smart home devices.

The instant popularity of the Nest thermostat, introduced in 2011, seemed to confirm their hopes. But those expectations were dashed in the coming years as the market for connected home devices later stagnated. 

Even with these challenges, many of the biggest consumer technology companies are now moving into the smart home market. For example, Apple, which recently released its self-installed smart home ecosystem, called the Apple Home, traditionally doesn't move into a market until it's very mature and only when it can release a perfected product. Further, Google this fall launched the Google Home and its companion ecosystem, hoping to jump into the voice-activated smart home speaker market, which Amazon currently dominates with its Echo product line. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the demographics of the average smart home device owner and discuss why current smart home device owners are appealing to tech companies. The report also examines the plans of various tech giants in the smart home market and discuss their monetization strategies, and makes suggestions for how these companies can position themselves to make their products and devices more appealing to the mass market.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Tech companies primarily enter the market to enhance a core revenue stream or service, while device makers desire to collect data to improve their products and prevent costly recalls.
• We forecast there will be $4.8 trillion in aggregate IoT investment between 2016 and 2021.
• These companies are also seeking to create an early-mover advantage for themselves, where they gain an advantage by this head start on adoption.
• Major barriers to mass market adoption that still must overcome include technological fragmentation and persistently high device prices.

In full, the report:

• Details the market strategy of prominent tech companies and device makers, and analyzes why which ones are best poised to succeed once adoption ticks up.
• Offers insight into current ownership through an exclusive survey from Business Insider Intelligence and analyzes what demographics will drive adoption moving forward.
• Explains in detail which companies are poised to succeed in the market in the coming years as adoption increases and mass market consumers begin to purchase smart home devices.

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NOW WATCH: These are the top 7 smartphones of 2018

• President Donald Trump pushed back against claims that the White House or his campaign brought and distributed his signature "Make America Great Again" hats to US troops when he visited Iraq on Christmas.
• Some of the troops were seen with the hats and at least one Trump flag as they waited for the president.
• In a statement to Business Insider, the Air Force denied that the hats had been distributed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and said they were "personal items."
• Although service members are encouraged to "to carry out the obligations of citizenship," regulations "prohibits the wearing of a military uniform during or in connection with the furtherance of any political or commercial interests."
• While some veterans on social media accused the service members of engaging in partisan political activities while in uniform, the event may have blurred what is normally a clear distinction between a partisan activity and a purported candid visit from their commander-in-chief.

President Donald Trump pushed back against claims that the White House brought and distributed his signature "Make America Great Again" campaign hats to US troops when he visited Iraq and Germany on Christmas Day.

Trump accused some news outlets, namely CNN, of making that assertion.

"If these brave young people ask me to sign their hat, I will sign. Can you imagine my saying no?" the president asked, saying that his team did not distribute any hats.

It was unclear whether CNN reported the hats were distributed by Trump's team on the ground; however, a CNN article updated several hours before Trump's tweet included several denials from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and military officials.

The controversy stems from the numerous photos and reports of Trump signing campaign memorabilia for troops in Iraq and Germany. Trump, who was widely criticized for not visiting US troops on or before Christmas, dispelled the notion with his surprise trip with the first lady and senior staffers.

Trump received some criticism after he was pictured signing the campaign memorabilia, leading some to believe he or his campaign handed out the items for a photo-op. Some of the troops, both officers and non-commissioned officers alike, were seen with hats and at least one Trump flag as they waited for the president to arrive at a aircraft hangar.

One Air Force captain who held a Trump flag was reportedly ordered to put it aside by an official, but took it back out after the president arrived, according to Stars and Stripes.

In a statement to Business Insider, the Air Force denied that the items were pre-distributed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where Trump stopped on his way back to the US: "Photos of the event show personal items; materials were not given to Airmen by the White House."

US Air Forces Europe said the personal items did not violate the military's rules: "There is no rule against Airmen bringing personal items to be signed by the president," a statement from USAFE said, according to the Military Times.

Press secretary Sanders also confirmed to CNN that the hats pictured in Iraq were personal goods brought by the service members.

Service members are encouraged to "to carry out the obligations of citizenship," which could include joining a partisan political club or making monetary contributions to political groups, but military regulations"prohibits the wearing of a military uniform during or in connection with the furtherance of any political or commercial interests."

The latest incident stands in contrast to that of Spc. Jesse Thorsen, a US Army Reservist who wore his combat uniform and endorsed then-Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul at a campaign rally in 2012.

Thorsen, who was later reprimanded by the Army, defended his actions and said if "the Army works for Congress ... if a Congressman invites you up on stage, doesn't he have the right to do that?"

But Trump's other actions during his visit attracted criticism and resurfaced the allegation that he seeks to politicize what is supposed to be an apolitical military.

During his Christmas Day visits with the troops, Trump revisited his typical rhetoric.

"The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world," Trump said to a crowd of troops in al-Asad Air Base, Iraq. "It's not fair when the burden is all on us, the United States."

Trump also peddled his repeated claim that US service members received a pay raise for the first time "in more than 10 years"— despite the fact that troops have been receiving a pay raise every year for over 30 years.

SEE ALSO: One striking image shows the Marine Corps generals who will have left the Trump administration, after the president praised their service

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

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.

Between housing costs, utilities, taxes, insurance, loans, and more, US adults paid an estimated $3.9 trillion in bills last year.

That market is growing slowly, but it’s changing fast — more than ever before, customers are moving away from paying bills via check or cash and toward paying online, either through their banks, the billers themselves, or using a third-party app.

Thanks to rising customer familiarity with digital payments, an increase in purchasing power among younger consumers more interested in digital bill pay, and a rise in digital payment options, nearly three-quarters of bills will be paid digitally by 2022, representing a big opportunity for players across the space.

In theory, banks should be in a great position to capitalize on this shift. Nearly all banks offer bill payment functionality, and it’s a popular feature. Issuers also boast an existing engaged digital user base, and make these payments secure. But that isn’t what’s happening — even as digital bill pay becomes more commonplace, banks are losing ground to billers and third-party players. And that’s not poised to change unless banks do, since issuer bill pay is least popular among the youngest customers, who will be the most important in the coming year.

For banks, then, that makes innovation important. Taking steps to grow bill pay’s share can be a tough sell for digital strategists and executives leading money movement at banks, and done wrong, it can be costly, since it often requires robust technological investments. But, if banks do it right, bill pay marks a strong opportunity to add and engage customers, and in turn, grow overall lifetime value while shrinking attrition.

Business Insider Intelligence has put together a detailed report that explains the US bill pay market, identifies the major inflection points for change and what’s driving it, and provides concrete strategies and recommendations for banks looking to improve their digital bill pay offerings.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• The bill pay market in the US, worth $3.9 trillion, is growing slowly. But digital bill payment volume is rising at a rapid clip — half of all bills are now digital, and that share will likely expand to over 75% by 2022. 
• Customers find it easiest to pay their bills at their billers directly, either through one-off or recurring payments. Bank-based offerings are commonplace, but barebones, which means they fail to appeal to key demographics.
• Issuers should work to reclaim bill payment share, since bill pay is an effective engagement tool that can increase customer stickiness, grow lifetime status, and boost primary bank status.  
• Banks need to make their offerings as secure and convenient as biller direct, market bill pay across channels, and build bill pay into digital money management functionality.

In full, the report:

• Sizes the US bill pay market, and estimates where it’s poised to go next.
• Evaluates the impact that digital will have on bill pay in the US and who is poised to capitalize on that shift.
• Identifies three key areas in which issuers can improve their bill pay offerings to gain share and explains why issuers are losing ground in these categories.
• Issues recommendations and defines concrete steps that banks can take as a means of gaining share back and reaping the benefits of digital bill pay engagement.

Join the conversation about this story »

• The sky in New York City glowed an eerie bright blue on Thursday night, after an apparent transformer explosion at a Con Edison facility in Queens.
• The New York Police Department's 114th precinct said in a tweet that they are "Investigating a transformer explosion at Astoria East & North Queens Con Ed power plant."
• Twitter users captured the blue glow from the explosion.

The sky in New York City glowed an eerie blue on Thursday night, after an apparent transformer explosion at a Con Edison facility in Queens.

The New York Police Department's 114th precinct said in a tweet that they are "Investigating a transformer explosion at Astoria East & North Queens Con Ed power plant."

It's unclear if anyone lost power due to the explosion or if there were any injuries.

Meanwhile, travelers tweeted about an apparent power outage was reported at LaGuardia Airport; it is unclear if the two incidents are related. INSIDER reached out to the Port Authority and Con Edison for more information.

Twitter users captured the blue glow in eerie photos and videos:

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Harvard scientists think this interstellar object might be an alien spacecraft

• Tesla announced Friday that it has named Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, human recourses global chief of Walgreens Boots Alliance, as independent directors.
• The announcement fulfills a requirement from Tesla's settlement with the SEC.
• CEO Elon Musk recently stepped down as chairman as part of the settlement.
• Watch Tesla trade live.

Tesla was surging early Friday, up as much as 4.28% to $329.67 a share, after the company named two independent directors to its board.

The electric-car maker announced that Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, human resources global chief of Walgreens Boots Alliance just joined its board independent directors.

Ellison has been a passionate defender of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and purchased 3 million shares of Tesla earlier this year, his second-largest personal investment, according to a previous disclosure.

Tesla said it conducted a "thorough, expansive" search for candidates with various skills sets and who had a strong personal belief in Tesla's mission of accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy.

“In conducting a widespread search over the last few months, we sought to add independent directors with skills that would complement the current board ’s experience," Tesla said in a press release.

"In Larry and Kathleen, we have added a preeminent entrepreneur and a human resources leader, both of whom have a passion for sustainable energy."

The innovative auto company has weathered a rocky few months in the wake of Musk's tweets in August that he had "funding secured" for a deal to take Tesla private at $420 a share.

Musk and Tesla settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in September after the regulator sued Tesla for fraud. Tesla and Musk agreed to pay a fine of $20 million each and for Musk stepped down as company's chairman for at least the next three years. He was replaced by Robyn Denholm, previous CFO at Australian telecoms operator Telstra.

Tesla was up 3% this year through Thursday.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape

• Chick-fil-A is Business Insider's chain of the year. 
• The chicken chain is predicted to become the third-largest restaurant by sales by the end of this year, with sales growing an estimated 12-15%. 
• Some concerns are lurking on the horizon — but in 2018, Chick-fil-A was riding high. 

It is a little bit scary how well Chick-fil-A did in 2018. 

The chicken chain is set to become the third-largest restaurant by sales by the end of this year, according to Kalinowski Equity Research. Doing so would mean catapulting up from No. 7, past competitors like Taco Bell, Subway, and Wendy's. 

To do so, Chick-fil-A's system sales would need to grow the 12-15% that analyst Mark Kalinowski has predicted. That's a massive figure, as most fast-food competitors would be thrilled to hit 8% growth in a year. Domino's is the only chain that is even close, estimated to grow sales roughly 12% in 2018.

The past few years have seen Chick-fil-A go from a Southern cult favorite to one of the most dominant chains in America.

The chain is entering new markets at an unprecedented clip, including opening its first store outside the US. It is doing a delivery push. It rolled out a new app. New items are popping up on the menu. Chick-fil-A even tested a meal kit this year. 

Chick-fil-A is a private company, but according to industry estimates, things have never been better at the chain. Chick-fil-A is still the most profitable fast-food chain in the country on a per-unit basis, with a single Chick-fil-A making an average of $4.1 million in annual sales, according to QSR Magazine. For comparison, the average unit volume at a KFC location is $1.2 million. 

Yet, some high-profile cases throughout 2018 hinted at the fact that, while Chick-fil-A is dominant, it could face some demons in 2019 that it has been able to dodge so far. 

The chain has continued to experience backlash due to its perceived stance on LGBTQ rights. 

A college in New Jersey banned Chick-fil-A as a dining-hall option. The chain's expansion in Toronto sparked boycotts. And, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was slammed in June for eating Chick-fil-A during Pride Month. 

"Chick-fil-A is a restaurant company focused on food, service and hospitality, and our restaurants and licensed locations on college campuses welcome everyone," Chick-fil-A said in a statement in November, after Rider University excluded the chain as a dining-hall option. "We have no policy of discrimination against any group, and we do not have a political or social agenda."

Then, there are questions as to whether Chick-fil-A can continue to maintain quality as the chain grows. Much of Chick-fil-A's power is tied to its impeccable customer service and unique franchise model, which limits how many locations each franchisee can run. Often, as chains expand, they lose the control over the quality that made them beloved — something Chick-fil-A needs to avoid. 

However, these potential issues haven't hurt Chick-fil-A's sales yet.

Maybe in 2019 Chick-fil-A will need to confront backlash and over-expansion fears head on. But, in 2018, the chicken chain was dominating the industry. 

Have you worked at Chick-fil-A or another fast-food chain and have a story to share? Email ktaylor@businessinsider.com. 

• Read more from our Retailer of the Year series:
• Applebee's went from being killed by millennial diners to making the biggest comeback in the restaurant business
• Overtly sexualized ads, controversial comments from executives, and sliding sales: Here's why Victoria's Secret had a huge fall from grace in 2018
• Taco Bell's nacho fries were the best new fast-food menu item to debut this year
• Amazon's likely multimillion-dollar disaster on Prime Day proved it's not immune from embarrassment
• These are the brands that blew up in 2018

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 7 things you shouldn't buy on Black Friday

• Tesla said in a filing on Friday that it had added two new board members: Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson.
• The appointments are part of Tesla's $20 million settlement with US regulators in September.
• Last month, Robyn Denholm replaced CEO Elon Musk as chair of the board.
• Shares of Tesla spiked after the announcement. Follow the company's stock price in real time here.

Tesla said in a filing on Friday that it had named two new directors to its board, the Oracle founder Larry Ellison and the Walgreens executive Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, fulfilling the another of its promises from a $20 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September.

In early November, Tesla announced that Robyn Denholm would take over as chair from CEO Elon Musk. The company said the two new appointments were effective as of Thursday.

"In conducting a widespread search over the last few months, we sought to add independent directors with skills that would complement the current board's experience,"the board said in a press release. "In Larry and Kathleen, we have added a preeminent entrepreneur and a human resources leader, both of whom have a passion for sustainable energy."

Wilson-Thompson, who spent 17 years at Kellogg, is an executive vice president and global human-resources officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. She also serves on the boards of Ashland, a chemicals company, and Vulcan Materials Company, a construction firm.

Tesla's board described Ellison as a "big believer" in its mission, as he bought 3 million shares of the company earlier this year. The philanthropist has been outspoken in his support of Musk and the proliferation of clean-energy innovations across the world, including on his island in Hawaii.

Wall Street was optimistic about the appointments, with shares of Tesla spiking as much as 3.9% in early trading on Friday following the announcement. Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the news was another "key step forward" for Tesla and Musk.

"Mr. Ellison is a founder of one of the most successful technology stalwarts in the world in Oracle and helped build the company from the ground up," Ives said in a note to clients Friday.

"Having him on the Board will be an asset for Tesla and Musk in our opinion and also could help channel Musk's energy and passion into positives going forward thus moving further away from the 'going private tweetstorm' from a few months ago, which continues to be a lingering overhang on the name."

View the full list of Tesla's directors »

Have a Tesla news tip? Contact this reporter at grapier@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: Tesla has named Elon Musk's replacement as chair of its board — here's the full list of the company's directors

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This Rolls-Royce feature might be the world's fanciest way to tailgate

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

• ClassPass is offering a free month-long trial— double their standard trial period offer.
• With the trial, you can go to up to six boutique fitness classes in January for $0. 
• It's the perfect way to jump-start that New Year's resolution.
• Find out how ClassPass works below.

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

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

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

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

Here’s how ClassPass typically works:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: 90+ of the best end-of-year sales on the internet — from big-box retailers to your favorite small startups

Join the conversation about this story »

• Cheryl Eisen is the CEO of Interior Marketing Group, a New York City-based company that does interior design, staging, and marketing for luxury homes.
• Her past clients include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West,  Bethenny Frankel, and Swedish real estate broker Fredrik Eklund.
• She typically starts her day at 9:00 a.m. with a "caffeine cocktail," spends her mornings traveling to sites of design projects across the city, meets with members of her nearly 80-person staff in the afternoon, and goes to a SoulCycle class every evening. 

Cheryl Eisen is unapologetically not a morning person.

In sharp contrast to the many executives who wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m, Eisen starts her day slowly, waking up at 9 a.m. and enjoying a "caffeine cocktail" of Poland Spring water, espresso, Truvia, and Lactaid milk.

"In all honesty, it takes until noon for my brain to fully wake up," she told Business Insider.

Eisen, 50, is the CEO of Interior Marketing Group, or IMG, a New York City-based company of nearly 80 employees that does interior design, staging, and marketing for luxury homes that start at $5 million. Eisen has done the interior design for apartments in buildings belonging to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, an Airbnb rented by Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West, and homes for Bethenny Frankel, Swedish real estate broker Fredrik Eklund, and Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. IMG also does projects in Miami, Los Angeles, Connecticut, and the Hamptons.

Eisen said IMG's designs tend to be neutral and classic. They layer with textures rather than color, sticking with neutral tones that let the focus stay on the selling pieces of the home, whether that's high ceilings or jaw-dropping views. One of her favorite parts of the job is the big reveal when the client finally gets to see the finished space.

"People cry," she said. "And I get it, because once you see something that you've been working on for months, you see it come to life and it can be overwhelming because a home is a very personal thing."

Here's a peek into a typical day in her life, from her morning "caffeine cocktail" to rearranging furniture and choosing drapes for multimillion-dollar New York City penthouses.

SEE ALSO: A day in the life of a Deutsche Bank managing director, who wakes up at 5:00 a.m., spends 10 days of the month traveling, and works out twice a day even while on business trips

DON'T MISS: Luxury apartment buildings are offering more outrageous amenities than ever to attract tenants, from rooftop gyms and dog spas to outdoor movie theaters

Cheryl Eisen is the CEO of Interior Marketing Group, which does interior design, staging, and marketing for luxury homes primarily in New York City, but also in Miami, Los Angeles, Connecticut, and the Hamptons.

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Eisen says she is "unapologetically" not a morning person. She starts her day at 9:00 a.m. with a "caffeine cocktail," which she describes as "a carefully crafted combination of espresso, Poland Spring and Truvia: 3 parts Poland Spring, 2 parts espresso, a ton of Truvia, and Lactaid milk."

By 10:00 a.m., she's out the door, drinking her coffee and answering emails in the car, which she calls her "mobile office." Eisen employs a full-time driver.

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.

• Beauty Water Concentrate is a daily skincare supplement from vegan and plant-based health brand Sakara, and contains rose, silica, electrolytes, and 72 trace minerals to give you a beauty boost.
• Rosewater is a useful beauty ingredient, which has a soothing, anti-inflammatory effect that can depuff under-eye bags and calm inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea and eczema. Silica's anti-aging properties help the body produce collagen. The ingredients are dermatologist-approved.
• A daily intake of Beauty Water, priced at $39 for a 20-day supply, helps hydrate and remineralize the body, and gives skin a lit-from-within-glow.

Add the words "healthy,""beauty," or "glowing," to a product name and I'll try it. What can I say? I'm a gullible consumer, in hot pursuit of pretty much anything that will make me feel, look, or be better — and Sakara's $39 Beauty Water Concentratewas an obvious stop on my journey.

I discovered Sakara, a vegan, plant-based meal delivery service based in New York City, while working as an assistant beauty editor a few years ago. My boss asked me to do some research on the up-and-coming brand, and even though I'm not vegan or plant-based, I was fascinated by their message: "Food should make you feel sexy," the website shouted at me in large, compelling, sans-serif font. I was hooked.

As a lowly assistant, I couldn't exactly afford a weekly Sakara meal plan — but I could afford a few goodies from their Clean Boutique. Merchandised among Detox Barsand Chocolate Probiotics, the Beauty Water Concentrates caught my eye. For $39, a 20-day supply of the supercharged supplement would be mine; filled with rose, silica, electrolytes, and 72 trace minerals. The concentrates are designed to be mixed in with an 8-ounce glass of water every morning. The intended result? Hydrated, glowing skin.

This isn't just marketing jargon, either. "Other than keeping your skin hydrated, rose contains antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; so drinking rosewater has an anti-aging effect,"Dr. Aanand Geria of Geria Dermatology in New Jersey tells INSIDER. "In addition, it has soothing properties that might be beneficial for inflammatory skin conditions, like eczema or rosacea."

The clean, slightly sweet, floral taste of rose is what keeps me coming back again and again — but the collagen-boosting benefits of silica don't hurt, either. "Silica is a trace mineral that plays an important role in the health of our skin," Dr. Geria says. "It is thought to be beneficial for skin cell renewal and building collagen, resulting in plump and perfectly elastic skin." Silica is also proven to be an excellent oxygen carrier, which, according to Dr. Geria, gives the skin a lit-from-within glow.

The most mysterious ingredients in Beauty Water, though, are the 72 trace minerals — and I couldn't help but wonder what, exactly, they were all about. "Once we started diving deeper into the science of nutrition, we discovered how truly important proper mineralization is for the body and for beauty," Danielle DuBoise, the cofounder of Sakara, explains to me. "Minerals have been dubbed the 'spark plugs of life' and are in charge of thousands of processes in the body."

Our bodies need trace minerals — like iron, chromium, copper, zinc, iodine, manganese, and selenium — in order to function properly, and historically, we used to receive these necessary minerals from the soil of the plants we consumed, or from our tap water. "Unfortunately, soil quality has deteriorated over the last century and most water has been stripped of its nutritional quality," DuBoise explains. "We created the Beauty Water Concentrates to remineralize the body — with silica and rose for added beautifying benefits."

With a daily hit of Beauty Water's three key ingredients, you can nourish your body with intense hydration, health-boosting minerals, and a skin-plumping supplement, all in one. It's easy, it's effective — it's skincare from the inside out.

That's partly why I'm so obsessed with getting my daily dose. My skin is extremely sensitive — as in, breaks out at the slightest suggestion of a cheap drugstore face wash sensitive — so I have to keep topical products to a minimum. After years of hunting for serums and toners that would work for me, I found I could actually tweak the way my skin looked by tweaking the foods and supplements I consumed; and now, Sakara's Beauty Water Concentrates are a staple in my sensitive-skin-approved lineup.

DuBoise takes a similar approach to her beauty routine. "Topical skincare products can only go so far when it comes to hydration or supporting collagen and youthful skin," she says. "Our drops go deeper, and work on the cellular level." Anyone, no matter their skin type or skin tone, can benefit from that inner beauty boost.

"We both drink Beauty Water daily," Whitney Tingle, the cofounder of Sakara, tells INSIDER. "It has become a ritual just as much as our morning cup of coffee or taking five minutes to meditate." To use, Tingle suggests putting five full droppers of the concentrate into a tall glass of water at least once a day, but notes that she personally uses the Concentrate up to three times daily.

The benefits of Beauty Water are many — through hydration and remineralization, this product just makes you feel great — but Tingle, who struggled with cystic acne for over a decade before founding Sakara, says, "I am most in love with the results I see in my skin."

All I can say is, same.

Buy a 20-day supply of Sakara Beauty Water Concentrates for $39 on Sakara's website. 

Buy a 20-day supply of Sakara Beauty Water Concentrates for $39 on Amazon

Join the conversation about this story »

• One of the most decorated luxury hotels in the world, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai has frequently been called "the world's first seven-star hotel" and "the most luxurious hotel in the world" by travel writers and critics.
• I recently visited the hotel on a trip to Dubai to try out the Burj Al Arab's flagship restaurant, Al Mahara, a seafood restaurant helmed by Michelin-starred British chef Nathan Outlaw.
• Like the gold-and-marble covered hotel it is housed in, Al Mahara can be an over-the-top experience with extravagances like caviar and truffles finding their way into numerous dishes and checks that can easily top $400 or more for two people.
• While the restaurant is no doubt delicious with fresh ingredients and a few inspired dishes, truthfully, I've had much better meals, with tasting menus, for less. At times, it feels like you are paying for the gold-covered locale. 

SEE ALSO: I didn't think the $1 billion hotel considered 'the most luxurious in the world' could possibly live up to the hype. I was very wrong.

DON'T MISS: I stayed at Robert De Niro's ridiculously swanky new hotel in Ibiza — and it makes you feel like a celebrity, if you can afford it

Shaped like the sail of an Arabian dhow ship and built for $1 billion, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai has frequently been called "the world's first seven-star hotel" and "the most luxurious hotel in the world" by travel writers and critics.

In November, I visited the hotel for a night and decided to try out all that the luxurious place had to offer. And there's nothing rich people like to spend money more than food. This is what the atrium of the Burj looks like. Yes, it's all real gold.

I had a dinner reservation at the Burj's flagship restaurant, Al Mahara. To get to the restaurant, you take this turquoise-and-gold elevator that looks like an Hermès enameled bangle. Every room in the hotel looks like a finely crafted piece of jewelry.

It was quite a rebound year for the movie business in 2018.

After a year of big-budget duds and attendance hitting a 25-year low in 2017, seeing theaters full this entire year was a big morale boost for the industry.

In fact, the domestic box office set a box office record with a $11.38 billion take (and still climbing). 

But there were also big changes to the industry that will be felt in 2019 and beyond. The popularity of MoviePass has given a boost to movie ticket subscription plans (whether or not that company stays in business), and Disney buying 20th Century Fox proves that the movie studio system as we've known it for decades is disappearing.

Here we look at 5 things to keep an eye out for in 2019:

SEE ALSO: MoviePass got rid of a consultant accused on inappropriate behavior towards women after executives threatened to quit. His quiet return has shaken the company.

1. Expect more movie ticket subscription options

One of the big stories at the movies in 2018 was the rise (and colossal fall) of MoviePass. But what the company showed the industry is that theatergoers love a subscription model as much as they love one for their favorite streaming service. This opened the door for AMC Theaters to launch its A-List plan, which has also become extremely popular, with subscriptions exceeding the chain's projections. And there are other options like Sinemia and Cinemark's Movie Club. 

More options are likely coming. Regal has been quiet when it comes to a movie subscription plan, but industry sources tell Business Insider they would be shocked if the company didn't unveil one in 2019. And Alamo Drafthouse could launch its subscription plan as well. Its Alamo Season Pass is currently in a beta version. 

2. Another Disney/Fox-like studio merger isn't out of the question

This year's news that Disney would acquire assets from 21st Century Fox, including its movie studio, likely caused other entertainment CEOs with existing studios salivating at the idea of nabbing a second. The question on everyone's mind is: Which studios will be next to team up? 

As far as we hear, there are no serious talks yet. But the studios that always come up in conversation are Sony and Paramount. Both have been on the low side of studio earners in the last handful of years. However, with Sony finding a box office resurgence in its Spider-Man properties and Paramount signing a multi-picture deal with Netflix, you could see both companies as being on the rebound and attractive as acquisition targets.

3. Will the new owner of the country's largest independent theater chain force a rethink on the theatrical window?

In December, Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's Landmark Theatres, the largest independent theater chain in US with 252 screens in 27 markets, was sold to Charles S. Cohen's Cohen Media Group for an undisclosed amount. News of a sale was expected, as the chain had been rumored to be sold to everyone from Amazon to Netflix to Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios. Less discussed is how the Cohen Media Group could shift the theatrical window all on its own.

Landmark is an outlier as a big chain in that it's willing to show Netflix movies theatrically, even though the streaming giant continues to show most of its titles in theaters and online at the same time. Cohen has already indicated that won't change on his watch. If the company wanted to, it could push for a shorter theatrical window (typically the 90-day period a movie shows in theaters before going to streaming or another ancillary market). Cohen Media Group is also an independent distribution and production company (it released past Oscar nominees "Faces Places" and "Frozen River"), which gives it control of both the making and release of movies. Another reason why a shorter window for a company that releases indies and foreign titles (which typically do better on streaming) may be more appealing.

This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence "Fintech Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

Earlier this week, Business Insider Intelligence revisited the fintech predictions we got right for 2018. Now it’s time to take a look at the ones that didn’t quite turn out the way we expected them to:

• We’ll start seeing quantifiable results of fintech partnerships. Throughout 2017, we saw a plethora of fintech agreements being signed between countries, and this trend continued in 2018. However, even though countries remained interested in collaborating — the US and Singapore inked a fintech agreement in September, for example — these partnerships haven't yet produced tangible results. This year, we expected to see fintechs receiving funding and deals in their partner countries and agreement participants aligning their fintech regulatory regimes to make compliance easier for each other’s startups. At the moment, though, it seems regulators are still very much in the information-sharing phase.
• Latin America will see a boom in fintech activity. We had high hopes for the fintech scene in Latin America for 2018, but it seems that it will still be a couple of years before it truly takes off. Fintechs in the region secured $271 million in funding in Q1 2018, which dropped 89% to only $30 million in Q2, and another 47% to just $16 million in Q3. The region’s fintech scene is still largely carried by a few players, including Brazil-based neobank Nubank, which secured $150 million in Q1. Before a boom reaches this space, more players will have to establish themselves and pull in big funding rounds.

Check out our predictions for 2019 here.

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SEE ALSO: These were the biggest developments in the global fintech ecosystem over the last 12 months

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• Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel is in love with fast food chain Nando's.
• The billionaire tech executive seeks it out on his travels after first encountering the chain on a trip to South Africa while he was studying at Stanford University.
• He visited a Nando's on a recent visit to London that lasted just a few hours, according to the Financial Times.
• Nando's is yet to reach New York City or Santa Monica, where Snap is based.

Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel is in love with a fast food chain most Americans are unlikely to have ever come across.

The restaurant is called Nando's, and the billionaire tech executive adores it so much, he visited for a burger during a recent trip to London that lasted just a few hours.

That's according to an interview he did with the Financial Times, in which he sat down for lunch at the Clink Street Nando's with tech reporter Tim Bradshaw.

Read more: The life and career rise of Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, one of the youngest billionaires in the world

The FT said Spiegel looks for a Nando's whenever he travels and on his most recent visit to the British capital, he ordered a "simple" chicken burger with peri-peri fries.

"It’s amazing," he said. "Delicious."

Nando's was founded in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1987. It has since become a phenomenon in the UK, where there are around 340 diners.

Spiegel first encountered the brand while he was studying at Stanford University, the FT said. He twice visited Nyanga, a township outside Cape Town, to help young people find work. "It's where the addiction began," Spiegel said.

Nando's is available in the US, but its 36 chains are concentrated in Maryland and Virginia. It is yet to reach New York City or Santa Monica, where Snap is based.

SEE ALSO: Snap employees reportedly feel CEO Evan Spiegel is aloof thanks to private jet flights and his requests for armed security

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Harvard scientists think this interstellar object might be an alien spacecraft

• Fourteen hotels were named the best boutique hotels in the world for 2018.
• Boutique Hotel Awards chose a series of standout boutique hotels from more than 300 nominees in 80 countries.
• The hotels were judged on dining and entertainment, design, facilities, location, service, and "overall emotional impact."
• A hotel in Bali was named the best overall boutique hotel, while hotels in Portugal, South Africa, Greece, New Zealand, and other countries also won top honors.

A hotel has the possibility to make or break your vacation — but, if it's one of the best boutique hotels in the world, chances are you'll be in very, very good hands.

In 2018's Boutique Hotel Awards, fourteen hotels around the world took home top honors in a range of categories.

The hotels were judged on "all aspects of the guest experience covering six categories: dining and entertainment, design, facilities, location and, most importantly, staff service and overall emotional impact," according to the news release.

A hotel in Bali was named the best overall boutique hotel, while hotels in Portugal, South Africa, Greece, New Zealand, and other countries also won top spots. Categories include World's Best Beach or Coastal Hotel, Best Honeymoon Hideaway, Most Stunning Views, and more.

Here are the top boutique hotels in the world, from a beachside retreat in the Maldives to a wellness resort in Austria.

SEE ALSO: Disappointing photos show what 9 top luxury destinations look like in real life

DON'T MISS: Inside the world's largest underwater restaurant, which has a 36-foot window that looks right out into the seabed so guests can watch marine life swim by as they eat

World's Best Beach or Coastal Hotel: Reethi Faru Resort

Location: Filaidhoo, Maldives
Rates starting at: $171

World's Best City Explorer: Corpo Santo Lisbon Historical Hotel

Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Rates starting at: $133

World's Best Classic Elegance Hotel: Relais & Chateaux Hotel Heritage

Location: Bruges, Belgium
Rates starting at: $222

• 2018 was a year of upheaval for the media and advertising world as Facebook and Snap faced turmoil, digital media hit a wall, and direct-to-consumer companies gained attention.  
• 2019 will see media companies continue to try to combat the tech giants with new streaming video service options.
• Digital media companies will get profitable or fade away.
• Snap will figure out how to win back users and advertisers or be acquired.
• Facebook will make up for slowing growth with Instagram.
• The line between DTC and legacy companies will increasingly blur.

2018 was a tumultuous year for media and advertising. It might look tame compared to 2019.

A lot's happened in the past 12 month. Digital media companies started to hit a wall, and Facebook battled one public relations crisis after another. TV viewers cut the cable cord. New kinds of consumer companies challenged conventional marketers.

Those changes will spill over into next year, as media companies and brands fight for their place in a future where strong brands and relationships with consumers matter more than ever.

Here are five storylines to watch in 2019:

Streaming wars will heat up

Trying to catch up to Netflix with its 56 million US subscribers and record-setting content budget of $12 billion-plus in 2018, media and entertainment conglomerates AT&T, Disney and maybe Comcast are planning to launch their own streaming services to capture cord cutters who prefer watching shows on internet-connected services over linear TV.

But it won’t be easy. People are already drowning in entertainment choices. A PWC study found Americans have access to about four pay-TV services but regularly watch only two. The legacy companies also will have to dig deep into their pockets to build these new services and the customer service infrastructure that go with them.

"As consumers we’re developing expectations for functionality. The platforms need to address those. It’s not only the content. They don’t have the advantage of being in conversation with the consumer,” said Analisa Goodin, founder & CEO of Catch&Release, which helps brands find user-generated content.

Moreover, the legacy companies are going up against not just Netflix but the tech giants Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, which also are building massive content offerings. And by encouraging viewers to watch their content online, the TV companies may fuel the cord-cutting trend.

Bottom line: The odds seem stacked against the legacy players. 

Facebook will hold on to its edge through Instagram

The social network has had one bad headline after another in 2018 as it suffered a string of scandals and public-relations nightmares. Facebook acknowledged that a security breach was worse than it had disclosed before, at least in terms of the data that was compromised. A group of advertisers sued Facebook, alleging it knowingly defrauded them about the amount of time users were spending watching videos on its site. By the end of the year, leading industry ad executives were starting to go public with their concerns about the platform.

It’ll cost Facebook a lot to fix its internal problems, and on top of that, the digital ad market itself might slow, predicts Pivotal Research’s Brian Wieser.

But don’t count Facebook out just yet. It still has a powerful asset in Instagram, which is ramping up with 2018’s rollout of IGTV. “We’re seeing lot of publishers increasing investment in Instagram and IGTV and monetizing it through branded content. It gives them a way to find new budgets,” said Nick Cicero, VP of strategy for Conviva, an online video analytics company.

Of course, this week's Instagram feed snafu was a reminder of how even a loyal fan base like Instagram's can't be taken for granted.

More digital media companies will slim down or go away

If 2018 was a brutal year for publishers, many observers believe it’s just a warmup for 2019. The reckoning hit everyone from legacy magazine publishers like Time Inc. and Conde Nast that couldn’t make up for lost print dollars with digital revenue as well as digital publishers whose business models over-relied on Facebook.

Facebook turned out to be a fickle distribution partner, and it, along with Google, consumes most of the digital advertising growth. New media companies like BuzzFeed and Vox Media have tried to branch out into new areas like subscriptions, e-commerce, and events, but rarely have those become as meaningful sources of revenue as advertising.

Investors have cooled on putting new money into media, so companies that aren’t making money will eventually be forced to drastically cut costs or change strategy to survive or will get sold. A lucky few (Time, Los Angeles Times) got snapped up by benevolent billionaires. But the appetite for digital media companies that are losing money and ad-driven is low (which could get worse if a recession hits). Case in point: Univision has been selling the Gizmodo Media Group properties for six months and no deal has been done.

2019 will be a year that reveals who has the strongest brands and most diversified business models, or at least patient owners.

Snap will face a make or break year

EMarketer made headlines when it predicted in March that Google and Facebook would lose share of the digital ad pie for the first time this year as Amazon and Snap were growing faster than expected, fueling hopes that Snap would be instrumental to breaking the Google-Facebook chokehold on advertising.

But the disappearing-message app has been wracked by a redesign that users hated; high executive turnover; and competition from copycat Instagram. By the end of the year, its stock was down to a paltry $5, employees were going without bonuses and the company was talked about as an acquisition target.

Daily active usership has declined, and advertisers are cooling on the app, too. They want an alternative to Facebook and Google, but continue to doubt Snap’s uniqueness and value on campaign plans versus bigger social rivals.

Despite its challenges, Snap still has big opportunity with advertisers, said Nick Cicero, VP of strategy for Conviva, an online video analytics company. But it needs to get marketers excited again. 

“People want options to place media and you can’t spend all your money with just two companies. You want to experiment. And your customer is using multiple platforms,” he said. “So it’s still really important as part of the mix. It’s important for Snap to come in and have a friendly voice and overcommunicate like they did in their early days. You haven’t heard a ton about new and exciting things at Snap in a while.”

DTC companies will shape-shift

DTC companies are on the rise and they’re taking a nontraditional approach to advertising, focusing on strong customer service and performance-driven marketing and often eschewing agencies and doing a lot of the work themselves. In so doing, they’re changing how agencies, publishers, and other consumer products makers work.

DTC companies need their ad dollars to lead to sales and don’t have big ad budgets. So to win their business, media sellers like NBCU and Simulmedia are catering to them. CPG giants like Unilever and Nike are applying DTC lessons to their own businesses. As media companies get deeper into the subscription business, they, too, are obsessing over the customer experience.

Meanwhile, some see a shakeout coming as Facebook advertising, which is the core of most DTC companies’ marketing, gets unaffordable. Some will grow by getting distribution in major retail chains like Walmart or opening their own brick-and-mortar stores. The term “DTC” will lose meaning as the line between it and legacy brands blurs — but the bar for customer experience will have been raised.

“Digitally native brands are gradually chipping away at the CPG market share. To ensure they remain competitive, we’re likely to see more CPG brands adopt a DTC model in 2019,” said Alex Hamilton, head of innovation at Isobar.

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Kick off 2019 the right way by making your life, work, and money more productive.
• We rounded up some of the best business and money books from 2018 to make 2019 your most productive year yet.
• They're filled with insights on how to make the most of your time, build habits, and find success at work, from creating a culture to leading the right way.

Make 2019 the year of productivity when it comes to life, work, and money. 

There's no shortage of books to help guide you through your most productive year yet. To help you get started, we rounded up some of the most popular books on Amazon in business and money published in 2018.

They're brimming with advice on how to utilize your time, focus on the things that matter, and build new habits. They're also full of secrets to success in business, from leading organizations and making the most of meetings to building a culture and overcoming obstacles — and how to scale up your business to be the next big thing.

Read more:The best business books of 2018

Because if you succeed in work and use your time effectively, your chances at building wealth will be more successful, too.

Kick off the year on the right note with these books.

SEE ALSO: 11 books to read in 2019 if you want to get rich

DON'T MISS: 13 unforgettable insights from a year reading about relationships, time management, and getting ahead at work

'Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones' by James Clear

From Amazon:"If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights."

Find it here »

'The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success' by Albert-László Barabási

From Amazon:"Too often, accomplishment does not equal success. We did the work but didn't get the promotion; we played hard but weren't recognized; we had the idea but didn't get the credit. We convince ourselves that talent combined with a strong work ethic is the key to getting ahead, but also realize that combination often fails to yield results, without any deeper understanding as to why.

"Recognizing this striking disconnect, the author, along with a team of renowned researchers and some of the most advanced data-crunching systems on the planet, dedicated themselves to one goal: Uncovering that ever-elusive link between performance and success."

Find it here »

'Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.' by Brené Brown

From Amazon:"Four-time #1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying the emotions and experiences that give meaning to our lives, and the past seven years working with transformative leaders and teams spanning the globe.

"She found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial startups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies all ask the same question: How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?"

Find it here »

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Content moderation on social platforms is expected to get tougher and more problematic due to the growing popularity of ephemeral formats like Stories, according to CNET.

The transition to Stories — as opposed to Feed-based sharing — is likely to be plagued by more of the same content moderation challenges that have stricken open platforms. Stories allow users to capture and share everyday moments that they might not choose to permanently chronicle, but the disappearing nature of the format could also easily enable the spread of misinformation (fake news), hate speech, or other extreme content.

While there isn’t a lot of available data as to how misinformation spreads via ephemeral content, it’s clear that this is a real vulnerability for platforms.

Content moderation of Stories is set to be a bigger challenge for social platforms because:

• Content disappears. The temporary nature of Stories — video or image-based posts that disappear in 24 hours — means that fact-checkers have less time to detect, flag, and either remove or downrank nefarious content. Fact-checkers contracted by social networks already complain about the seemingly Sisyphean task of flagging fake news content, and this is likely to make their efforts even harder. 
• Much ephemeral content is video, not text-based. Machine learning remains the primary method of detecting the vast majority of nefarious content on open social platforms, but automated analysis and detection of video and images is a slippery science and possible to thwart because of the sheer spectrum of content.
• Some ephemeral content is encrypted. Messaging on WhatsApp is encrypted, so WhatsApp can’t access or see the content being shared by its users.

As the largest purveyor of the Stories format worldwide, content moderation of ephemeral content will be the biggest challenge for Facebook. Though the format was pioneered by Snapchat, Facebook has driven the most Stories adoption at scale across its family of apps: Worldwide, Facebook now has some 1.15 billion Stories users — 450 million on WhatsApp, 400 million on Instagram, and 300 million on Facebook and Messenger Stories. Further, 1 billion of those users are sharing content on Stories every day, per CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

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• America's cities tend to be more expensive than other parts of the country.
• Using recently released data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, we looked at the most and least expensive places to live in the US. 

America's big coastal cities are really expensive.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released data on personal income and the cost of living in 2016 for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan parts of states, including the relative cost of living in different parts of the country.

Regional price parity is an index that sets the national average cost of goods and services at 100, with a particular region's RPP showing how the cost of living in that region compares with that average.

For example, the New York metropolitan area had an RPP of 122 in 2016, meaning the city and its suburbs are about 22% more expensive than the national average.

Meanwhile, Beckley, West Virginia, had an RPP of 78.8, meaning goods and services cost about four-fifths as much as the national average.

Here's a map illustrating the RPP of the country's metropolitan areas and of the parts of states that fall outside of them. Regions in blue are less expensive than the national average, with darker areas indicating the lowest relative cost of living. Those in red are more expensive than average, with darker red showing a higher cost of living.

And here are the 10 most expensive (in red) and least expensive (in blue) metro areas in the US:

Here are the 40 largest metro areas by 2016 population, ranked from most to least expensive, along with their overall regional price parities and RPPs for goods, rent, and non-rent services. Much, but not all, of the disparity in prices among cities comes from rent, rather than other goods and services:

SEE ALSO: The 3 most commonly spoken languages in every New York City neighborhood

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Overall regional price parity: 127.1

Goods RPP: 110.4

Rent RPP: 213.3

Non-rent services RPP: 110.7

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Overall regional price parity: 124.7

Goods RPP: 110.7

Rent RPP: 190.9

Non-rent services RPP: 111.0

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Overall regional price parity: 122.0

Goods RPP: 109.9

Rent RPP: 154.9

Non-rent services RPP: 115.9