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This machine lets you charge your device wherever you are in the room

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Wi-Charge is a long-range wireless charging system that lets you charge your device wherever you are in the room. With absolutely no cord necessary, the range can be up to 10 meters indoors. Wi-Charge uses infrared beams to deliver power. Devices just have to in Wi-Charge's line of sight for it to charge. Although charging is slower than normal cable charging, it happens 24/7 without you even knowing that it is. 

The system has been approved by the FDA and is expected to arrive to commercial public spaces in early 2018.

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WeWork threw yet another epic summer camp for its employees and members — here's what happened

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For the sixth year in a row, WeWork, the $20 billion company that rents out shared office spaces, has hosted an epic weekend-long summer camp for both its employees and the members who rent its spaces.

Hosted this year for the first time in the United Kingdom, about 2,000 employees and 3,000 guests flew from all over the world to attend the festivities.

From sleeping in gorgeous teepees, to canoeing, to archery, and live shows that included Florence + the Machine — everyone had access to a slew of activities. Ahead, a look what must have been a fantastic weekend.  

SEE ALSO: 48 years ago today, 400,000 people showed up to a New York farm for the greatest music festival of all time

Guests were greeted with bright, colorful welcome flags.

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The weekend took place in Eridge Park, a 3,000 acre private park complete with woods, rolling hills, and lakes.

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Ticket prices for the weekend depended on lodging — from around $448 for those who wanted to pitch their own tents, up to $1,280 for those who stayed in a "Pop Up Suite."

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We tried the $10-a-month movie theater service MoviePass — and it's more trouble than we expected

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MoviePass recently announced it would slash the price of its all-you-can-watch movie buffet to a mere $9.95 a month. The service allows users to see up to one movie per day, excluding premium formats like IMAX and 3D. 

We decided to sign up and find out if the service is too good to be true. We experienced some difficulties right out of the gate. MoviePass released a statement saying that the overwhelming amount of new subscribers has caused myriad technical issues. 

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We tried fried chicken sandwiches from every major fast-food chain — and the winner surprised us

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Fried Chicken Sandwiches 9

We're living in the great golden age of the chicken sandwich.

Fried chicken sandwiches are popping up on more menus across the country, according to data from the menu research firm Datassential. 

Chick-fil-A has transformed from a regional chain to a national chicken powerhousegenerating nearly $8 billion in revenue in 2016. 

Restaurant chains that aren't even known for chicken are looking to poultry to appeal to more consumers, and in turn, boost sales, Nation's Restaurant News reported.  

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McDonald's completely overhauled its chicken sandwich, and Shake Shack unveiled its own, well-reviewed version in 2016. David Chang fanned the flames with the chicken-sandwich-focused Fuku, the most hyped addition to the trendy Momofuku empire.

In light of this crispy, golden renaissance, we decided to gather the chicken sandwiches from major fast-food chains and see which ones are worth it — and which ones are better left untouched.

SEE ALSO: We tried Cracker Barrel to see if it's better than Waffle House — and the winner is clear

ALSO READ: Here's what it's like to eat at the Southern fried-chicken chain whose diehard fans say is better than KFC and Popeyes

For this taste-test showdown, we got sandwiches from 11 major fast-food chains: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, Dairy Queen, Bojangles', Raising Cane's, Zaxby's, Church's, KFC, and Chick-fil-A.



First up: McDonald's. The recent revamp of its chicken sandwich brought some much-needed change to the chain. The buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich is indeed crispy — in fact, perhaps a little heavy on the breading.



The chicken is slightly on the dry side, but there is a definite hint of tangy buttermilk seasoning. Unfortunately, it often gets masked by a glob of mayonnaise — the usual for this sandwich, which we've mentioned in previous reviews. The "artisan" bun does the job well, holding up to the heaping helping of mayo without getting too soggy.



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13 US states where a $1 million cash nest egg won't last you more than 20 years in retirement

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wealthy people tailgating picnicking

Depending on how much money you plan to spend each year in retirement, a seven-figure net worth may be all you need to retire comfortably.

But unfortunately for those living in high-price states, like California and New York, it may not be wise to depend on a million-dollar nest egg. Especially if you keep your money out of the stock market completely.

In a new report, GOBankingRates calculated how long $1 million in cash would last the average retiree in each US state, assuming a retirement age of 65.

To determine the length of time, GOBankingRates found the national average for annual expenditures— groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and healthcare — for a person 65 and older, then multiplied that amount by the cost of living index for each state. The report did not account for inflation, which averages 3% a year, and would eat even further into your savings if it wasn't invested.

In 13 states, retiring at 65 with $1 million in cash will last the average person fewer than 20 years. In Hawaii, the state with the highest cost of living index, the average retiree could support themselves for only 12 years before running out of money.

Cash is the key word here, however. These estimates assume you keep your million dollars in a checking account that pays nothing in interest. If you invest your nest egg instead, and manage your withdrawals strategically, a million dollars will last much longer than the estimates below.

That's important, considering that the full retirement age today is 67, and the average 30-year-old is expected to live to age 82 for a man and 86 for a woman. That's 15 to 19 years of retirement — or more if longevity runs in your family — so stretching your savings by investing and spending wisely is a necessity.

Still, considering the increasing interest in early retirement, the data underscores that those planning to retire before their 60s should be armed with far more than a million-dollar nest egg.

Read on for the full list of 13 states where $1 million will last the average retiree fewer than 20 years:

SEE ALSO: Experts' favorite retirement savings account comes with a huge catch

DON'T MISS: How much money you need to be happy varies wildly depending on where in America you live

13. Maine

Average annual spending: $51,364

How long $1 million will last: 19 years, 6 months

 



12. New Hampshire

Average annual spending: $52,704

How long $1 million will last: 19 years



11. Vermont

Average annual spending: $53,909

How long $1 million will last: 18 years, 7 months



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15 best college campuses in America

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washington university in st louis

As the summer comes to an end, a new crop of college freshman are starting to move onto a campus that will become their home away from home for the next four years. 

For those wondering how their new college residence stacks up against the competition, Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, publishes a ranking of the best college campuses in America.

Niche compiled its list using a mix of quantitative and qualitative factors includingstudent campus surveys, meal plan costs, on-campus housing and availability, and access to amenities.

Scroll through to find out the 15 best college campuses in America.

SEE ALSO: Here's what it's like to attend school on the edge of North Korea — the world's most militarized border

15. Rice University

Houston, Texas

Survey on campus housing: 4.4 out of 5 

Average meal plan cost: $4,310

Student retention rate: 96%



14. Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio

Survey on campus housing: 3.8 out of 5 

Average meal plan cost: N/A

Student retention rate: 94%



13. University of Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Survey on campus housing: 3.7 out of 5 

Average meal plan cost: $3,032

Student retention rate: 95%



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This Walmart shunned McDonald's for a new organic fast-food chain with salmon and falafel — see what it's like

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Grown walmart

While many Walmart stores have some type of food component, it's usually a McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts, a location in Orlando, Florida just went in a different direction.

Instead of the usual fare, it instead has a new location of the fast food chain Grown. 

Grown focuses on organic and healthy food, with average meals costing in the mid teens. Its counter-serve fast-casual style, and you choose a protein, grains, greens, and other ingredients that can be served in a bowl, wrap, salad, or sandwich.

There's a large variety of mains to choose from, including salmon, falafel, shrimp, brisket, and more. Grown also serves breakfast in the morning, and smoothies and juices all day.

The restaurant has one other location in Florida, down in Miami, and one other location in the bookstore of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. It was started by Shannon Allen, the wife of ex-pro basketball player Ray Allen.

Walmart has recently been making big strides to court the health conscious consumer and the company has majorly revamped its organic food offerings. It's now become the biggest organic food slinger in the US.

This new restaurant is just another sign that the US' largest retailer is serious about serving these customers, and paying attention to customer's needs and demands.

 

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SEE ALSO: Google and Walmart are joining forces to take on Amazon

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NOW WATCH: We tested Walmart's ice cream sandwiches, which supposedly don't melt, and were mystified by the results

A California millionaire built a massive '13th-century Italian castle' in the middle of wine country — take a look inside

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castello di amorosa napa valley castle

Napa Valley has been called the Disneyland of wine country, and with good reason. It's essentially a boozy amusement park for adults, with elite wineries and resorts packed along a highway.

Another reason for the comparison: The region has a medieval castle.

Nestled in the rolling hills of Calistoga, California, Castello di Amorosa is a world-class winery based in a replica of a 13th-century Tuscan castle. The owner, Dario Sattui, is a fourth-generation winemaker and ardent Italophile who spent $40 million to bring a slice of the old country to Napa Valley. At 142,000 square feet, the castle took more than a decade to build.

We recently took a guided tour of Castello di Amorosa. Here's what it was like.

SEE ALSO: We went to Napa and the hot destination people are ditching it for — and the winner is clear

Castello di Amorosa looks like a 13th-century castle in the Italian countryside.



And it is — sort of. Its owner, Dario Sattui, once wrote: "Castello di Amorosa appears to be an authentic castle for one reason only. It is an authentic castle, though fancified."

Source: Castello di Amorosa



In the early 1990s, Sattui — already an established winemaker — bought the land with plans to replant a vineyard on the property and build an 8,500-square-foot winery.

His fascination with old-world Italian architecture took over, and Sattui began to draw up plans for a more grandiose winery. He spent years visiting and studying medieval castles and wineries throughout Italy and Europe as part of an exhaustive quest for authenticity. Sattui wanted every detail — from the drawbridge to the dungeon — to mimic 13th-century structures.

He hired master builders from five countries to bring his vision to life.



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An inside look at Burning Man's 31-year evolution from beach bonfire to international mega-event

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Burning Man

In late June, 1986, Larry Harvey and Jerry James joined a handful of friends on San Francisco's Baker Beach in search of radical self-expression. They didn't come empty-handed.

Earlier that day, Harvey and James had collected scrap wood and built an eight-foot statue of a man. Later that night, the two hoisted it up and set it on fire. A crowd of 20 formed to watch it burn. Little did they know that a 31-year tradition had just been born.

Today, Burning Man draws more than 60,000 people to Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Over the course of a dusty, freewheeling week in late August, the festival celebrates notions of self-expression, civic responsibility, and art.

This year's Burning Man will be held from August 28 to September 5. Here's a look back at how one of the world's most surreal, iconic festivals came to be.

SEE ALSO: 20 insane structures built at Burning Man

For the first three years of Burning Man, the festival was held on San Francisco's Baker Beach. By 1989, however, Golden Gate Park Police had learned of the event and prohibited any actual burning. The event was a fire hazard, they said.



In 1990, Harvey and James decided to relocate to the second-largest and flattest piece of land in the US: Nevada's Black Rock Desert. At first, people didn't really know what to do once they got there. Some found hot springs. Others played music. But by the end, the 40-foot statue still burned.



By 1997, the secret of Burning Man was out. Wired called it the "New American Holiday" and CNN dubbed it "the world's most dangerous art festival."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

United Airlines employees are getting new Brooks Brothers uniforms and Tumi bags (UAL)

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United Brooks Brothers reps

On Thursday, United Airlines announced that it will partner with Brooks Brothers, Tracy Reese, and Carhartt to create new uniforms for its 70,000 front line employees.

In addition, the airline announced that Tumi has been selected as the official luggage provider for its flight attendants.

"The partners we’ve selected uniquely match what our employees asked for in a uniforms program – style, comfort, and durability," Kate Gebo, the airline's chief customer officer and SVP of global service delivery, said in a statement.

"We recognized early on that this would not be a ‘one size fits all’ solution – front-line employees perform vastly different roles and deserve a uniform that meets their specific needs, created by leaders in the apparel business."

United's decision to revamp its uniforms was met with strong support from its unions.

Brooks Brothers will be responsible for the design and production of uniforms for all United pilots, male flight attendants, and male customer services representatives. The airline's female flight attendants and customer service reps will get uniforms designed by Tracy Reese, but manufactured by Brooks Brothers.

United's ramp service, technical operations, and catering operations employees will get new uniforms by Carhartt.

Finally, all 24,000 of the airline's flight attendants will receive their choice of two- or four-wheel Tumi roll-aboard bags.

The new uniforms are still in the design phase and won't be debut until 2020.

SEE ALSO: Delta has fancy new amenity kits for its premium cabin — here's what's inside

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NOW WATCH: How much legroom you get on major US airlines

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio changes the name of a New York restaurant after learning about its racially charged connotations

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Tom Colicchio, the chef, restaurateur, and "Top Chef" judge, announced Wednesday that he had changed the name of his newest restaurant in New York City.

Colicchio opened what was then called Fowler & Wells in the newly renovated Beekman hotel and condo building last October. According to The New York Times, it was named for a publishing company and scientific institute that once operated on the site.

Lorenzo and Orson Fowler and Samuel Wells, who started the institute, were practitioners of phrenology, a school of thought that said you could understand aspects of people's personality and mental strength by examining the shape of their skull. Phrenology was often used to justify slavery and racial discrimination in the 19th century.

Those implications seemed lost on Colicchio, as a section of Fowler & Wells' cocktail menu even bore a diagram of the brain and was dubbed the Phrenological Cabinet.

A few months after the restaurant opened, a review by Pete Wells, the Times restaurant critic, pointed out the name's racial implications.

"This is obviously not a side of phrenology that Mr. Colicchio, who is outspoken about his progressive politics, embraces," Wells wrote.

The review, plus other suggestions from staff, caused Colicchio to rethink the name, The Times said. "I don't think it was a bad idea to start with because we didn't have any of the information we have now," Colicchio told The Times. "I have a fairly liberal persona and never in a million years would consider myself a racist, so it never crossed my mind."

Colicchio and his restaurant group, Crafted Hospitality, on Wednesday announced they had changed the restaurant's name to Temple Court, a reference to The Beekman's original name. New logos, menus, and signs have been put in place.

temple court

Colicchio commented on the change in a press release:

"In the mid-1800s, the building where The Beekman in New York City now stands housed the offices of Fowler & Wells, a pair of publishers and phrenologists. Using their names for my newest restaurant was a way to link us to the location's past. After we opened, we dove more deeply into the works of Fowler & Wells and realized our research had been incomplete. We discovered facts about their beliefs that go against everything we stand for, both personally and as a company. With this information in hand, we decided to change the name of our restaurant to Temple Court, the original name of The Beekman's historic building. Other than the name, the restaurant remains as it was originally conceived."

Temple Court serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At dinner, guests can order à la carte or choose a five-course, $99-a-person tasting menu, which includes dishes like a lobster thermidor with chanterelle mushrooms and tarragon.

SEE ALSO: New York City's famed Plaza Hotel is once again looking for a buyer — here's why it's so legendary

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The best restaurant in America serves helium balloons you can actually eat — here’s what they're like

Silicon Valley is obsessed with meditation, and there’s new evidence it changes the brain for the better

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  • man breathing yogaMeditation has become popular in Silicon Valley — CEOs have adopted the practice, and apps devoted to it have proliferated.
  • A growing body of evidence suggests regular meditation is linked with benefits including lower stress and better focus.
  • A new paper suggests people who participated in a meditation retreat reported decreases in anxiety and depression.

The idea of sitting in a quiet room doing nothing for a few minutes each day might sound absurd — unless you understand how meditation works.

By giving our bustling mind a dedicated break from its day-to-day worries, meditation appears to empower it to run more efficiently. A growing body of research suggests that even a few minutes of a daily mindfulness practice is linked to lower stress levels, more positivity, better focus, and creativity.

These merits haven't gone unnoticed amongst engineers and CEOs in Silicon Valley. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin all meditate, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and their companies provide opportunities for employees to do so as well. Meditation apps and gadgets have also proliferated. Muse, a $249-dollar "brain-sensing headband" is marketed as a personal meditation assistant, and the company behind mindfulness app Simple Habit has raised $2.5 million

Several studies, including a paper published this month in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, have found that meditation's merits can be measured both indirectly — via answers to questions like "How stressed do you feel right now?" — and directly, using biological and neurological tests like blood tests and MRI scans.

In a recent article for Scientific American, neuroscientists Richard Davidson and Antoine Lutz, along with Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, wrote that "the discovery of meditation’s benefits coincides with recent neuroscientific findings showing that the adult brain can still be deeply transformed through experience." 

For the most recent paper, researchers looked at how participating in a three-month yoga and meditation retreat affects three factors: cortisol awakening response (a measure of how we respond to a stressful event), inflammatory stress markers, and brain derived neurotrophic factor, which plays a role in learning, memory, and stress. The researchers found that retreat participants showed "decreases in self-reported anxiety and depression as well as increases in mindfulness" — effects that were mirrored by many physical indicators measured. 

The retreat involved a special diet and exercise in addition meditation, so more research is needed to clarify its effects. But so far, the results are promising.

"It is likely that at least some of the significant improvements ... were due to the intensive meditation practice involved in this retreat," Baruch Rael Cahn, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Southern California, said in a statement.

Why meditation is good for the brain

man meditating grassMany of us go through the day with worrisome thoughts or concerns whispering at the back of our minds. We often push these thoughts aside rather than dealing with the feelings they bring up.

Something about meditating — whether it's the physical space we set up for ourselves each day or the mental space we make by regularly clearing the mind — seems to help us deal with these negative thoughts.

A large review of studies involving close to 3,000 people found that mindfulness meditation was linked with a reduction in feelings of depression, anxiety, and even physical pain.

Experienced meditators' brains appear to have well-developed regions that may be connected to things like awareness and emotional control. Some studies even suggest that in people new to meditation, the practice is linked with significant changes in parts of the brain associated with memory, perspective, and self-awareness.

Regular meditation also appears to make it easier for us to focus. Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist who has studied meditation and the brain for decades, looked into this idea for a long-term study. He compared people who had been meditating for years with complete newbies, and tried to startle two groups of people — one that was meditating and one that was not — with a sudden interruption like a loud noise. Those meditating were far less perturbed than the people who weren't, regardless of whether they were new or experienced.

For another part of his research, Davidson had experienced meditators and newbies listen to the sounds of stressed-out voices. He observed increased activity in two brain areas known to be involved in empathy in both groups. But that increase was significantly more pronounced experienced meditators. Davidson concluded that people who meditate regularly might have an enhanced ability to respond to others' feelings and empathize with them without feeling overwhelmed.

Overall, meditation appears to be effective because it provides us with a sense of perspective. 

"Meditation explores the nature of the mind," Davidson wrote. Perhaps that exploration helps people improve their health in addition to finding calm.

SEE ALSO: 9 surprising ways meditation changes your brain

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NOW WATCH: Deepak Chopra's go-to 3-minute meditation to stay focused

What those mysterious white stripes on chicken are — and what it means for cooking

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Ever wonder what those mysterious white stripes on your chicken were? They're turning up now more than ever before. While they don't harm human healthy, scientific studies indicate they can affect the quality of your meat.

The real mysterious is that no one knows what's causing it. The National Chicken Council has funded over $250,000 in research to find the cause of white stripes and another recent abnormality called woody breast. Following is a transcript of the video.

What are those mysterious white stripes on chicken? Some chicken looks and tastes different than it used to.

The proof? White stripes of fat and hardened muscle in breast meat.

The consequence? Reduced quality of raw, cooked, and marinated meat.

The culprit? Unclear. But some experts think our insatiable appetite for chicken may be a factor.

In 2016, each American consumed, on average, 91 pounds of chicken. That's over 3 times more than in 1960.

To meet growing demand, the food industry now raises bigger chickens, faster. In 1960, it took 63 days to grow a 3.35-pound bird. Now, it takes about 47 days to grow a 6.1-pound bird.

White stripes and hardened muscles aren't harmful to human health. Researchers estimate they only turn up in 5-10% of breast meat.

But, researchers also found that these two abnormalities affect meat quality. In severe cases, they reduce the amount of marinade the meat absorbs.

Also, hardened muscle in cooked meat is tougher to chew. The issue has not gone unnoticed by the food industry. The National Chicken Council has funded over $250,000 in research to find the cause.

Whatever the reason, a bigger question is on the horizon, what could chicken look like in the near future?

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The winner of the largest lottery prize in US history was just revealed

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A woman holds Powerball lottery tickets outside Bluebird Liquor in Hawthorne, Los Angeles, California, United States, January 12, 2016. The Powerball Jackpot has reached a record $1.5 billion. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

A single lottery ticket worth $758.7 million has won the largest lottery prize in US history.

On Thursday, Mavis L. Wanczyk revealed in a press conference that she was the winner of the jackpot. 

"The first thing I want to do is sit back and relax," Wanczyk, who is 52 years old, said during the press conference. 

Wanczyk also said she had already called her employer to let them know she would not be returning. 

Wednesday's Powerball jackpot— the second largest in US history — had a single winner, according to the Powerball website. The total haul is the largest lottery win ever, since the record largest jackpot of $1.6 billion Powerball was split between three winners.

Mavis L Wanczyk

The winning ticket was sold at the Pride Station and Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

The winning numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23, 26 and the Powerball number was 4.

According to the AP, six tickets sold are worth $2 million each, 34 tickets won $1 million prizes.

The winner has a choice to claim the winnings as a lump sum or an annuity. The annuity is a series of 30 annual payments, which increase by 5% each year. The lump sum is worth less than the face value of the prize.

Cadie Thompson contributed to this post.

SEE ALSO: Here are the winning numbers for Wednesday's record $700 million Powerball

DON'T MISS: 20 lottery winners who lost every penny

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NOW WATCH: We tested an economic theory by trying to buy people's Powerball tickets for much more than they paid

Starbucks is closing its online store as a 'seismic shift' hits the retail industry (SBUX)

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Starbucks

Starbucks' online store is discounting items up to 50% as the coffee giant prepares to shutter the store for good. 

The company will close its online store on October 1, a Starbucks representative confirmed to Business Insider.

Starbucks' online store sells items such as glasses, mugs, coffee brewers, and espresso makers, in addition to coffee, tea, and beverage syrups. People will still be able to buy items currently sold online at third-party sellers like Amazon and Starbucks' grocery partners. 

"We're continuing to invest in amplifying Starbucks as a must-visit destination and are looking across our portfolio to make disciplined, thoughtful decisions," Starbucks spokesperson Maggie Jantzen said. 

She added: "Continued integration of these digital and mobile customer connections into our store experience is among the highest priorities for us, and to enhance that focus we've looked for ways to simplify our current efforts."

Starbucks

Jantzen said that Starbucks will keep frequent visitors of the online store up to date on product availability, especially as certain items sell out. 

As Starbucks shutters its online store, the coffee giant is looking to build "commercial partnerships" with digital companies.

"These partnerships, we believe, will enable us to leverage our brand, our global retail footprint, and the customer base in order to extend our reach," CEO Kevin Johnson said in a call with investors in late July.  

Starbucks is also growing its consumer packaged goods (CPG) business, selling items such as K-cup pods and bottled Frappuccinos in grocery stores. Earlier in August, Starbucks announced that it would begin selling its new bottled Pumpkin Spice Latte in grocery stores later in the month. 

Starbucks has made serious investments in digital over the last few years, as executives have witnessed retailers struggle to cope with the rise of ecommerce. Currently, mobile payments make up 30% of Starbucks orders in the US. 

"Retailers who are agile and reimagine the art of the possible will be big industry winners," Johnson told investors on the industry's "seismic shift" towards digital and mobile. "Those who do not will struggle mightily." 

SEE ALSO: Starbucks chairman: American values are 'hanging in the abyss' after Charlottesville violence

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NOW WATCH: Coca-Cola is killing Coke Zero for Coke Zero Sugar — we did a blind taste test to see if we could tell the difference


How to cook the perfect steak for every temperature — according to the executive chef of a world renowned steakhouse

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Just a few short blocks from the New York Stock Exchange, another Wall Street institution sits at its centuries-long perch at the triangular intersection of William and Beaver streets.

Delmonico's is widely considered to be one of the very first sit down restaurants in America, born at a time when New York offered little more than taverns and oyster cellars. Culinary mainstays like eggs benedict and baked Alaska were invented in their kitchen.

Executive Chef Billy Oliva invited Business Insider into the Delmonico's kitchen to give a master class on cooking steaks to temperature. 

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Here's what happened when 700 Goldman Sachs bankers duked it out in a wiffle ball tournament for charity

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A player from Wiffle Blowers from Internal Audit

On Tuesday, over 700 Goldman Sachs employees left their desks to enjoy the sunshine, play some ball, and raise $150,000 for the New York City-based non-profit and charter school Dream.

Dream hosts kids at after-school and summer programs that focus on physical wellness. Kids connected to Dream served as referees during the Goldman Sachs games, which took place at the Battery Park City Ballfields in Manhattan.

Ahead, take a look at the competitive day.

SEE ALSO: 2,000 WeWork employees and their guests flew to the UK for an epic summer camp with outdoor activities, parties, and concerts

The games took place at the ballfields in Battery Park City, near Goldman Sachs' headquarters.



Brian Levine, managing director in the securities division at Goldman Sachs, organized both this year's and last year's events.



"This is a great event all around, both for the kids from Dream, and for the people at [Goldman Sachs] to get exposure to Dream while having a blast," Levine said. "To have 700 employees take time out of their work days and raise $150,000 for this organization is something we're very proud of."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Photos of tech workers having the time of their lives at Burning Man

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2011 burning man Reuters

Elon Musk, who famously came up with the idea for SolarCity while at Burning Man a few years back, once said "Burning Man is Silicon Valley."

Judging from the photos of tech moguls, startup founders, and venture capitalists that have surfaced since the annual counterculture festival began, we're guessing Musk is right.

We rounded up the best photos of tech workers sweating it out on the playa.

SEE ALSO: Here's why Google went to Burning Man to find its next CEO

User experience designer Olia Birulia made the well-traveled trek from San Francisco to Burning Man in 2016, and made some friends along the way.

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Emily Hsiung, a product designer at Uber, left for 2017 Burning Man with the 7 Sirens Cove theme camp. She helped make this sign with a computer-controlled cutting machine.

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Will O'Brien, an angel investor and chief operating officer of cloud-analytics platform Keen IO, couldn't resist the chance to fly direct to Burning Man's pop-up airport in 2016.

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Sears is closing even more Kmart stores — see if yours is on the list

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Sears on Thursday said it was closing another 28 Kmart stores in addition about 300 previously announced closings this year.

The retailer announced this with its earnings statement that showed a quarterly loss, as the number of people visiting its stores continued to fall. Sales at stores open for at least a year fell 11.5% in the second quarter ended July 29.

Sears shares plunged 8% this year through Wednesday's close. 

See if your local Kmart is closing:

Here's the list of Kmart stores that are closing: 

  • 1445 S Power Road, Mesa, AZ
  • 23222 W Valencia Blvs, Valencia, CA
  • 10500 Wichlow Way, Jackson/Martell, CA
  • 10400 Rosecrans, Bellflower, CA
  • 12928 Main Street, Hesperia, CA
  • 15200 E Colfax Avenue, Aurora, CO
  • 200 W Belleview, Englewood, CO
  • 100 Main Street North, Southbury, CT
  • 900 N Miami Beach Blvd, North Miami Beach, FL
  • 5590 Mableton Pkwy, Mableton, GA
  • 4101 W 95th St., Oaklawn, IL
  • 7230 Westfield Plaza Dr, Belleville, IL
  • 265 S Illinois Rte 83, Elmhurst, IL
  • 1740 Sw Wanamaker Road, Topeka, KS
  • 7601 23 Mile Road, Utica/Shelby Township, MI
  • 4001 N Euclid Avenue, Bay City, MI
  • 545 West Sanilac, Sandusky, MI
  • 401 Route 38, Moorestown, NJ
  • 808 Route 46, Parsippany, NJ
  • 810 Paul Road, Rochester (Chili), NY
  • 10 Cobblestone Court Drive, Victor, NY
  • 374 Windsor Hwy, Rte 32, Vails Gate (New Windsor), NY
  • 2600 Lincoln Way E, Massillon, OH
  • 2470 Mission SE, Salem, OR
  • 2620 Moreland Road, Willow Grove, PA
  • 4701 Tilghman Street, Allentown, PA
  • 296 Garfield Ave, Cranston, RI
  • 1610 Church St, Conway, SC

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We went to Starbucks every day for a week to see if the coffee giant has fixed an annoying problem (SBUX)

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  • starbucks baristaI visited a busy Starbucks for a week to see if the chain's attempts to fix its mobile ordering process actually worked.
  • Speed and service have significantly improved — though there is still room to grow. 
  • Starbucks is rolling out waves of new tech this fall to further grow mobile sales, which the chain sees as crucial to survival.

Over the past year, one of Starbucks' biggest strength morphed into a huge problem.

In early 2017, Starbucks admitted that mobile ordering was creating bottlenecks during busy hours at some of Starbucks' most popular locations. The company reported in January that crowds of customers waiting for their lattes and Frappuccinos had even started to discourage walk-in customers from entering stores, contributing to a drop in sales.

Starbucks promised it would find a solution. The chain has made changes including debuting tablets to track digital orders at the 1,000 busiest stores, tweaking pick-up layout, and testing new tech, including a notification to alert customers when orders are ready.

When I visited Starbucks every day for a week in March, I was disappointed by how much time I had wasted at the coffee chain. Every day, the chain promised my order would be ready in two to five minutes — and every day but one, Starbucks failed me. Instead, most orders took around 10 minutes. 

To see if Starbucks had fixed its problem, I recently decided to return to the chain for another week of mobile orders. 

Hits and misses

Starbucks pickup

Starbucks' "strong digital and loyalty programs are a significant advantage," Morgan Stanley analyst John Glass wrote in a recent note to investors. "Traction is building on redeployed, spend-based loyalty and mobile ordering and delivery continue to gain order share."

However, from a bearish perspective, Glass says that the chain's digital sales could be "limited by competition and execution issues."

In March, evidence of "execution issues" was everywhere. Starbucks' social media accounts were flooded with complaints about slow mobile service.

However, recent social media response to Starbucks' mobile has been more mixed. 

Some people seem enthused about their speedy service:

 But others still have complaints: 

In an effort to see if social media complaints had any foundation, I visited a popular, high-traffic in Manhattan every morning at roughly 8 a.m. — prime time for commuters heading to work.

Four out of the six times I visited, my order was ready in under five minutes — within the apps promised two to five minute preparation window. My speediest order was ready just two and a half minutes after I paid on the app. 

However, the two times that it took more than five minutes for me to receive my order, it wasn't even close. One day, I waited for 8 minutes and 31 seconds. Another day I waited more than nine minutes. 

Unlike March, when there was no discernible relationship between the crowd and the wait time, I knew how long I would be waiting for my mobile order as soon as I walked into Starbucks. If there was a huge group of people waiting for in-store and mobile orders congregated in the back of the store, I knew I wouldn't make it out in under five minutes. 

Have fixes fixed anything? 

Starbucks pick up

Even though things can still be hit-or-miss, Starbucks has gotten a lot speedier over the last five months. 

One thing I immediately noticed was that Starbucks has doubled the size of its pick up area.

In March, the chain had just started rolling out pick-up shelves. Now, instead of forcing baristas to call out names again and again and crowding drinks on the edge of the counter, baristas call out mobile orderers' names once, then place the drinks down. 

order ready starbucks

Another change: getting a notification when my order is ready. Since I was already waiting in Starbucks when I got this notification, it wasn't that useful for me. But, it's a nice add for customers who don't want to show up at Starbucks until their drink is actually ready for pickup. Plus, I'm betting it encourages customers to pick up their orders more quickly and saves baristas from dealing with confused customers wondering if their order is ready yet. 

Behind the scenes, Starbucks now has some baristas focused solely on mobile orders. The tablet and new tech seem to be helping make food and beverage preparation more seamless. And, the chain has begun to address employees' concerns regarding understaffing, adding workers to a significant portion of stores over the last nine months.

In my experience, Starbucks' biggest mobile struggle is still bottlenecks when orders pile up at busy times. Walking into a crowded store, I could pretty accurately predict the obvious: I'd be waiting for a while. And, I can understand why some customers would see that crowd, turn around, and leave the store. 

What's next

Starbucks

While Starbucks has improved its mobile ordering process, it is still hit or miss. With the coffee giant betting big on mobile, a patchy record isn't good enough.  

Customers using their phones to purchase food and drinks ahead of time now represents 9% of Starbucks US orders. Nearly one in three transactions are paid for using mobile devices. So, ensuring that mobile ordering boosts sales instead of driving customers away is crucial to Starbucks' success.

In July, Starbucks announced that it would roll out a "new generation of digital innovation" in waves starting this fall, beginning with adding new features in its "modernized" rewards program. There's also an upcoming rollout of "new foundational technology" to make mobile ordering more convenient and better integrate digital with in-store operations. 

girl starbucks coffee walking park

"We're not complacent and recognize that digital relationships will increasingly be the key drivers of demand generation, even in physical stores," Starbucks' global chief strategy officer Matt Ryan said in July, arguing that adjusting to the growth of digital is essential to any retailers' survival. 

"By leading in the combination of physical and digital, we not only drive superior business results in the short term ... but we also make it very challenging for digital companies to outmaneuver us in the physical world," he continued. "While digital companies may win in other sectors, we will be the digital company that wins in ours."

 Starbucks has already made significant improvements to its mobile ordering program. New tech could help address the bottlenecks that — while less frequent — are still happening during busy hours. 

As Starbucks tries to convince more people to order via mobile, it needs to make sure that it has the manpower and tech support necessary. If not, one of the chain's biggest strengths could yet again become a major weakness.  

SEE ALSO: We went to Starbucks every day for a week to see how the coffee giant is dealing with its biggest problem

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