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A couple bought one of the most exclusive streets in San Francisco for $90,000 — now the rich homeowners are fighting back

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presidio terrace street san francisco 6932Earlier this year, a Bay Area couple shook up a private cul-de-sac when it was revealed that the immigrant real-estate speculators bought the street for $90,000 without the knowledge of its wealthy residents.

Now, the residents of Presidio Terrace are assembling a legal A-team to win their street back, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Presidio Terrace is a block-long street and private development that has been run by the homeowners who live there since at least 1905, according to the Chronicle. It has attracted some of the wealthiest and most powerful politicians in California over the years, including Sen. Diane Feinstein and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

It's located in a less-trafficked area at the top of the San Francisco Peninsula and has around-the-clock private security at the entrance. There are 35 mega-mansions on Presidio Terrace.

In 2015, an unpaid tax bill caused the City of San Francisco to put Presidio Terrace up for sale in a private auction. Tina Lam, an engineer in Silicon Valley, and Michael Cheng, a realtor, scooped up the street, its sidewalks, and other "common ground" for $90,000. They told the Chronicle they want to charge residents rent for parking on the street.

Residents are up in arms. The homeowners association has sued the couple and the city. It wants the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to rescind the sale — an unprecedented move.

presidio terrace street san francisco 6979

On September 11, the Chronicle reported that the Presidio Terrace Homeowners Association has hired a team of legal bigwigs to lead the pursuit, including a former assistant city attorney, Scott Emblidge; a former spokesperson for the city attorney's office, Matt Dorsey; and a onetime chief of staff for former Supervisor Bevan Dufty, Boe Hayward.

The group has a hearing on the legality of the sale scheduled for November 28.

Cheng, one of the buyers, told the Chronicle he wasn't worried.

"I feel sure that we are on sound legal footing," Cheng said.

SEE ALSO: This little-known San Francisco neighborhood is suddenly one of the hottest housing markets in America — take a look

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Inside the exclusive multimillion-dollar San Francisco street that a couple bought for $90,000


WeWork raised $4.4 billion in 3 months — here's how the co-working giant became the most valuable startup in New York City

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wework culver city los angeles la

WeWork, a startup that leases trendy, millennial-friendly office space to startups and Fortune 500 companies, just became the sixth most valuable startup in the world.

It's been raining money all year long at WeWork. The company has raised over $8 billion in funding to date — with $4.4 billion flowing in since July — at a $20 billion valuation. It's the third biggest startup by valuation in the US after Uber and Airbnb, and the largest in New York City.

And still, no onecan seemto agree if the co-working giant can justify its sky-high valuation.

Take a look at how an architect and a serial entrepreneur set out on a mission to reinvent the office and, in the process, built a global brand that's worth $20 billion.

SEE ALSO: 27 photos show the extreme lengths millennials will go to live in cities instead of suburbs

WeWork founders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey met — where else? — at the office.

Neumann came to New York City in 2001, fresh off his service in the Israeli military. He started a company called Krawlers, which sold clothes with padded knees for crawling babies.

"We were working in the same building as my co-founder Miguel McKelvey, a lead architect at a small firm," Neumann told Business Insider's Maya Kosoff in 2015.

"At the time, I was misguided and putting my energy into all the wrong places," he added.

 



Neumann also had an interest in real-estate. While working in the gentrifying neighborhood of Dumbo, he fell in love with a vacant warehouse on Water Street.

In an interview with Fast Company, Neumann recalled approaching the landlord and asking for the building. The landlord said, "You're in baby clothes. What do you know about real estate?"

Neumann shot right back: "Your building is empty. What do you know about real estate?"

He and his new friend McKelvey struck a deal to start a real-estate business there: Green Desk.



In 2008, Green Desk became an early incarnation of WeWork. The company offered sustainable co-working spaces featuring recycled furniture, free-trade coffee, and green office supplies.

Source: Forbes

Customers, called "members," could rent a desk or a private office month to month. Neumann and McKelvey made money by charging more for those spaces than their lease payments.

Green Desk offered most things individuals and small companies needed: fully furnished offices, conference rooms, high-speed internet access, utilities, printing, and a stocked kitchen.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I took the 30-day minimalism challenge, got rid of 338 possessions, and still failed — here's what I learned

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a few hours later however our stuff spilled into disarray were over packers and the tiny houses sense of minimalism didnt necessarily accommodate our lifestyle it made me uneasy to see our floor space disappear so quickly

My name is Madeleine, and I failed the minimalism challenge.

Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who call themselves The Minimalists, designed the minimalism challenge as a fun game to help people declutter their houses.

The rules are simple, but the math adds up quickly over the month-long endeavor. On day one, you get rid of one thing, day two, two things, and so on and so forth until you get rid of 30 things on day 30. In total, if you complete the challenge, you'll have gotten rid of 465 things.

I was drawn to the challenge because I'm moving soon and wanted to downsize. I'd watched their documentary where they talk about how minimalism made them happy, and thought they made excellent points about how consumerism isn't making Americans happy.

Consuming isn't bad; we all need a new coat or new pants sometimes. But the consumerism that drives people to continuously shop is dangerous, the two argue in their documentary.

So, I got rid of 338 things, before hitting a wall.

Here's the emotional roller coaster I embarked on attempting the minimalist challenge.

SEE ALSO: I took the first step to living like a minimalist and it felt surprisingly unsatisfying

DON'T MISS: The biggest reason people fail at diets, according to a dietitian

Joshua and Ryan don't have very strict rules, so I had to make up some of my own. I decided if something could be used again, or had great sentimental value, it counted.

Source: The Minimalists



So, a candy wrapper didn't count. But a card given to me by a close friend did count. They were both getting tossed out, but one took effort to part with, while the other didn't.



And so the challenge begins. I hoped my bedroom would look fresh and minimalist like this afterwords.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Nobody wants to buy Tommy Hilfiger's $50 million penthouse in the Plaza Hotel

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Tommy Hilfiger Plaza penthouse

Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger has dropped the price of his Plaza Hotel penthouse yet again, this time to $50 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 5,600-square-foot duplex has been on and off the market since 2013, when Hilfiger and his wife, Dee Ocleppo, first listed it for $80 million. At the time, that price made it one of the most expensive homes on the market in America.

It was later dropped to $75 million, then to $68.95 million, and then to $58.9 million before it fell off the market in April. It's now back, having switched realtors again.

The condo is located on the 18th and 19th floors of the Plaza and has four bedrooms with views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue.

Hilfiger and his wife bought two separate units in the hotel for $25.5 million in 2008, combining them in an extensive renovation. At one point that year, Hilfiger seemed to have second thoughts and tried to unload the apartment mid-renovation, marketing it as a "fixer-upper" for $50 million, the same price it's currently listed for.

"I had a couple of offers on it which didn't come through. One I didn't accept and the other the guy didn't come up with the money," Hilfiger told the WSJ. "I'm of the belief that if it sells, it sells. If it doesn't sell, I'll just keep it."

Nikki Field of Sotheby's International Realty now has the listing.

Alyson Penn and Megan Willett contributed reporting to earlier versions of this article.

SEE ALSO: The CEO of Restoration Hardware has finally sold his catalog-like home for $7.5 million

Welcome to Tommy Hilfiger's duplex at the top of New York's Plaza Hotel.



As you can see, the decor is quite grand. Hilfiger has decorated it with priceless art like Andy Warhol paintings and other pieces, but they are not included as part of the sale.



His All-American style is pervasive.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Bacon isn't the most important ingredient in a BLT — according to 'Top Chef' judge Tom Colicchio

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Award-winning chef, restaurateur, and "Top Chef" judge Tom Colicchio owns a gourmet sandwich shop called 'Wichcraft with locations in New York City. He explains why tomatoes are the most important ingredients in a BLT sandwich.

Colicchio is also a spokesperson for Arnold Bread and America's Better Sandwich.

Following is a transcript of the video.

TOM COLICCHIO: Our BLT at 'Wichcraft — right now it's our most popular selling sandwich as you would imagine. But we only serve it from mid-July until probably mid-September.

It's only when we can get local tomatoes and particularly, tomatoes from one farm. Eckerton's Farm — Tim Stark at Eckerton's Farm has, by far, the best tomatoes I've ever had. And so, when he has tomatoes, that's what we buy.

And so, our BLT really should be a TBL 'cause it's really about the tomato.

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Photos show Hurricane Irma's aftermath in the Caribbean, where some islands were more than 90% destroyed

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hurricane irma sept 8

Before slamming Florida on Sunday, Hurricane Irma ravaged the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Places like Barbuda, Anguilla, the Virgin Islands, and Cuba got hit by the worst of the storm, with some islands reporting that upwards of 90% of structures were damaged or destroyed. Days after the storm passed, people in some places say there is still no power, fresh supplies, or signs of relief.

Laura Dixon Strickling, an opera singer, lives with her husband and 1-year-old daughter on St. Thomas, one of the US Virgin Islands.

"We're only five days into this and it feels like it's been a lifetime," Strickling told Business Insider on Monday. "We don't have information, we have not seen one first responder, we have not seen one police officer. "Everyone in our neighborhood is walking around with sharpened machetes and guns for protection."

Here's what the aftermath of the storm looks like as residents assess damage and seek out support.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Irma is almost the size of Texas — here's how it got so massive and powerful

Irma first engulfed tiny Barbuda, part of the dual island nation Antigua and Barbuda, on September 6. The storm "totally demolished" the island, damaging upward of 90% of structures, according to the nation's Prime Minister, Gaston Browne.



Browne told Anderson Cooper that he estimated it would take $100 million to rebuild.



The monster storm next slammed into the resort islands of St. Martin and St. Barts.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Carnival’s president spent a year traveling the world to meet some of her 43,000 employees — here are the 3 questions she asked them

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Christine Duffy Carnival Cruise

For many leaders, face-to-face interaction with your workforce is instrumental in keeping the company ship-shape.

Of course, this is no easy feat when many of your 43,000 employees work on the high seas, which is the case for Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy.

That's why she embarked on a mission to visit all of the ships in Carnival's fleet when she took the helm in 2015.

During that time, she made it her goal to meet with as many Carnival employees as possible.

"Nothing replaces face-to-face interaction," Duffy told Business Insider. "So as much as we all love our technology and we're always pushing out emails, I think we still need to be establishing connections at a human level and building trust that way. That really allowed me to make that human connection with people at all levels of the organization."

Duffy still travels constantly and only hangs back at the company's Miami headquarters for about a week every month.

When she visits one of the line's cruise ships, she's not just convening with direct reports, officers, and other company leaders. Duffy said she makes it a point to also talk with housekeepers, dining room wait staff, and performers — anyone who is "very close to the action." The goal is to check in and get a broader range of ideas on how to improve Carnival.

Duffy said she usually poses the same three questions to her employees:

1. What's working?

2. What's not working?

3. If you were me, what is it that you would want to know?

In an article for the Harvard Business Review, MIT Leadership Center Executive Director Hal Gregersen said that good leaders must avoid becoming caught up in a loop of puffed up, sugarcoated feedback.

That means asking employees "challenging new questions that fuel important insights" to get a better sense of how things are looking on the ground and whether or not a major change is needed.

"I think that's really part of my job as president of the brand and the company to make the time to hear directly from the people on the front line," Duffy said.

SEE ALSO: What it's really like to live and work on a cruise ship for 7 months

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: For $159,000 you can fly around the world on this 27-day luxury air cruise

10 countries where you can earn more as an expat than you would at home

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Zurich Switzerland riding bikes

Taking home a bigger paycheck sounds nice to just about anyone.

It sounds so nice to some people that they will move to a different country to earn more money.

Globally, 41% of expats relocated because of their career or their partner's career, whether by choice or out of necessity, according to the Expat Insider 2017 report from expatriate network and global guide InterNations.

To compile the data, InterNations surveyed 12,519 expats, representing 166 nationalities and living in 188 countries around the world.

In the survey, expats were asked to compare their current income to the income they would earn at home for the same or a similar job.

The top 10 countries where at least 60% of expats said they earn more than at home are concentrated in the Middle East and Northern Europe. But it's all relative — the report found expats' satisfaction with their personal finances varied greatly depending on cost of living and the state of the country's economy, even if workers were earning a higher dollar amount than in their home country.

For instance, 76% of expats in Luxembourg report earning a higher income — a greater share than any other country surveyed — but 23% said their disposable household income is still not enough to cover everything they need in daily life.

Below, learn more about the 10 countries where expats are earning more money than they would at home, and how it affects their personal finances.

SEE ALSO: The 30 countries that are best for your money, according to expats

DON'T MISS: The top 3 destinations for American expats reveal why they aren't moving abroad for the money

10. Singapore

• 62% of expats in Singapore think they make more than they would in a similar position back home — one-third believe their income is a lot higher.

• 43% have a gross annual household income of more than $100,000. On average, 21% of global expats have household earnings above six-figures. 

• Still, cost of living is particularly high in Singapore, securing it a spot in the bottom 10 on the cost of living index.



9. Norway

• 72% of expats in Norway believe they make more than they would in a similar position back home — 33% say it's a lot more. 

• Yet, 71% judge the cost of living less than favorably.

• On the bright side: Norway ranks among the top 10 destinations for work-life balance worldwide.

 

 



8. United Arab Emirates

• 71% of expats believe they make more in the UAE than they would in a similar position back home — about half think that they make a lot more.

• 16% have an annual household income of more than $150,000, compared to only one in ten expats worldwide. 

• However, 67% rate the affordability of housing in UAE negatively, and 27% say their disposable household income is not enough to cover everything they need for daily life.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Dramatic photos show the trail of destruction Hurricane Irma carved through Florida

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RTX3FRQE irma

Hurricane Irma smacked the coast of Florida on Sunday as a Category 4 storm and made its way up the northwestern coast, weakening slightly to tropical storm status on Monday. The National Hurricane Center forecast suggested the storm could further soften to a tropical depression by Tuesday afternoon.

In its wake, Irma left a trail of destruction. 

Some 6.3 million people in Florida were ordered to evacuate before Irma made landfall, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. With winds of up to 70 mph, the storm overturned boats, like this one seen in Biscayne, Florida on Monday.



Streets flooded all along the coast and in North Miami, forcing people to flee their homes with garbage bags.



Homes were destroyed, power lines were toppled, and cars were sunk by Irma's raging winds and torrential rains. A mobile housing park in Naples, Florida, was nearly razed to the ground.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The country mansion of late billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller is up for grabs for $22 million — take a look inside

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rockefeller Hudson Pines  Front Exterior.JPG

A home built by the Rockefeller family in 1938 has gone up for sale for the first time in more than 70 years, asking $22 million.

The 75-acre estate, known as Hudson Pines, was the longtime country home of the late billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller, who died in March at the age of 101. 

Rockefeller was the former CEO and chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, and he was the last surviving grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the famous oil tycoon. He was a noted philanthropist and a signer of the Giving Pledge, an agreement to give away the majority of one's wealth.

Rockefeller and his wife, Peggy, who died in 1996, split their time with their family between a Manhattan townhouse and this estate in Pocantico Hills, New York.

David Turner and Anthony Cutugno of Houlihan Lawrence are listing the home, which has 11 bedrooms and more than 11,000 square feet of space.

Let's take a look around. 

SEE ALSO: Steve Cohen's giant penthouse is now on sale for $57.5 million, half of its original price

The estate comprises 75 acres of land near the Hudson River.



Architect Mott Schmidt — known for his work with other affluent families, like the Astors and the Vanderbilts — built the main house in 1938. According to the listing, David Rockefeller bought the house, which was originally built for his sister, Abby Rockefeller Milton, in 1946.

Source: The New York Times, Houlihan Lawrence



Many of the architect's signature design details, like this floating staircase, remain around the home.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Chipotle is now serving queso at every restaurant in the US — here's what it's like (CMG)

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Chipotle Test Kitchen 6

Chipotle has finally added queso to the menu nationwide. 

Earlier this month, Chipotle announced that queso would be available at all locations across the US on September 12. It will cost customers $1.25 to add the cheesy dip to an entrée, and up to $5.25 for a large side order of queso and chips. 

The chain debuted queso in its New York City test kitchen in July. Chipotle began serving queso at roughly 350 restaurants in California and Colorado in August.

Chipotle said in a statement that it has tweaked its queso recipe based on customer feed back and crafted a final recipe that "has proved very popular with customers." 

Business Insider tried the chain's original queso at Chipotle's test kitchen, which also serves other test items, including new salads and margaritas. Here's what the chain's first all-natural take on the cheesy dip was like. 

SEE ALSO: We visited the new pizzeria that people are saying could be the next Shake Shack — here's why it won't follow in the burger chain's footsteps

DON'T MISS: We tried fried chicken sandwiches from every major fast-food chain — and the winner surprised us

The test kitchen, called Chipotle Next Kitchen, is on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan.



Wandering in, you'd think it's just a run-of-the-mill Chipotle, complete with the standard fast-casual decor and the lunchtime rush.



But, this location was the first in the world to add queso to the menu.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I visited an offbeat coffee-making hotspot that could save the industry — here's what it was like

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felix and life monteverde packages

On a recent tour of the Costa Rican coffee farm where he volunteers as a tour guide, Felix Salazar poured out a cup of the inky, aromatic brew and asked me to wait for what he called "the bite."

Within seconds after I took a sip, the coffee's initial sweet flavor gave way to a deeper, tangy taste that left me wanting more.

I'm not alone. Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, and its active ingredient — caffeine — is currently the most popular psychoactive drug on the planet.

But coffee is in trouble.

According to a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the world's largest coffee-producing regions could shrink by as much as 88% by 2050 as a result of climate change. The study is the first of its kind to look at how bees — key coffee crop pollinators — will be impacted by a warmer planet.

While the vast majority of coffee-making hotspots in South America will be decimated by climate change, some countries may be spared, according to the new analysis. One of those countries is Costa Rica. Here's what it's like to make coffee in the country.

UP NEXT: What caffeine does to your body and brain

SEE ALSO: A coffee shortage is looming — and scientists have figured out how soon it could be extinct

The region of Monteverde, where a lot of Costa Rica's coffee is grown, is a misty, cloud-enshrined area about three hours from San Jose, the capital. The humid, shady climate is ideal for growing coffee plants, but the drive to reach it can be a challenge if you're not familiar with the roads.



Here's a snapshot from my recent drive to Cafe Monteverde, a coffee farm in Costa Rica.



I was introduced to the coffee farm by Felix Salazar (left), a nature photographer born and raised in Monteverde who also works on the farm and gives tours in his free time. Felix walked me through the rolling green fields where the coffee for Cafe Monteverde is grown.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We tried the country's first 100% vegetarian drive-thru to see if it's better than the Chick-fil-A across the street — here's the verdict

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chick-fil-a versus amy's drive thru

There's no rule that says fast food has to make you feel terrible.

In recent years, American consumers have shown a craving for healthier fast food. Restaurant chains that offer low-calorie meals — that remain convenient and affordable — have sprouted across the US, forcing legacy brands like Taco Bell and McDonald's to rethink their menus.

The fast-food revolution is no more apparent than in Rohnert Park, California, where a Chick-fil-A sits across the street from up-and-coming vegetarian fast-food chainAmy's Drive Thru. On a visit to both restaurants, we found Amy's buzzing with diners long after the lunch hour.

We tried sandwiches from both Amy's and Chick-fil-A. Here's what we liked better.

SEE ALSO: We tried the high-fat, buttered coffee drink that's taken Silicon Valley by storm — here's the verdict

On a recent visit to California's wine country, I stopped in Rohnert Park for a bite to eat.

There was no shortage of options. A highway exit off Redwood Drive offers access to Arby's, Taco Bell, Burger King, Amy's Drive Thru, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, and El Pollo Loco.



I decided to eat at Chick-fil-A before visiting Amy's. They're located across the street from each other, and they both make sandwiches the star of the menu.

Plus, Chick-fil-A generates more revenue per restaurant than any other fast-food chain in the US — a testament to the fried-chicken chain's loyal fan base — according to QSR magazine.



Within the last few years, Chick-fil-A has remodeled hundreds of stores to give them a modern farmhouse feel. The Rohnert Park location showcased that new image.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 best colleges in America

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Princeton University Tigers Football Students

Princeton University is the best college in America, according to the latest ranking from US News & World Report.

The Princeton, New Jersey-based Ivy League school ranked first due to a combination of factors such as its selective admissions rate, high peer assessment scores, and strong graduation rate.

The US News ranks schools using quantitative factors — like graduation and retention rates — and qualitative factors — like peer assessment surveys from college presidents and deans of admissions. The list includes schools which offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus masters and Ph.D. programs.

Read on below to see which schools round out the top 10.

SEE ALSO: 11 super successful people who went to state schools

10. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

Peer Assessment Score: 4.6

2016 Graduation Rate: 94%

 



9. Duke University

Durham, North Carolina

Peer Assessment Score: 4.4

2016 Graduation Rate: 95%



8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Peer Assessment Score: 4.5

2016 Graduation Rate: 95%



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Olive Garden is offering a 'crazy' new bonus with this year's never-ending pasta passes — here's how to get one (DRI)

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Olive Garden

Olive Garden's never-ending pasta pass is back. And this year, 50 pasta lovers will have the chance to buy an eight-day trip to Italy in addition to eight weeks of unlimited pasta. 

For $100, the pasta passes provide eight weeks of unlimited pasta, soup or salad, and breadsticks. That's one week longer than last year's seven-week endless pasta extravaganza. 

Plus, this year, 50 customers will also have the chance to buy a "Pasta Passport to Italy." For $200, the recipients of the pasta passport will receive an eight-day, seven-night, all-inclusive trip to Italy for two — plus their eight-week pasta pass.

"We wanted to do something crazy this year to capitalize on our guests' love for the Never Ending Pasta Bowl and pasta pass," Mary Kate Rosack, Olive Garden's director of marketing, told Business Insider. 

Olive Garden

The Italian vacation will feature stops in cities including Siena, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. Airfare, ground transportation, hotels, meals, and excursions will all be included in the $200 cost. 

The 22,000 pasta passes and 50 pasta passports both go on sale at PastaPass.com on Thursday, September 14, at 2 p.m. ET.

Passes will only be available for 30 minutes, and they will likely sell out even more quickly. Last year, all 21,000 pasta passes sold out in one second, according to Olive Garden. So, the chance to purchase the 50 pasta passports will be won by whoever is lucky enough to hit refresh on PastaPass.com at exactly the right moment. 

The pasta passes will give recipients access to the "Never Ending Pasta Bowl" from September 25 to November 19. 

SEE ALSO: Chipotle is now serving queso at every restaurant in the US — here's what it's like

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Cheetos opened a 'fine-dining' restaurant in NYC — here's what it was like


A French airline is offering unlimited flights between Paris and New York for $40,000

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La Compagnie Unlimited

La Compagnie has an interesting story that's ultra-niche.

The startup airline, based in Paris, operates only two Boeing 757-200s, each with just over 70 seats, and flies strictly between Charles de Gaulle and Newark Liberty airports (a US-UK route was dropped). 

The seats are all business class, and round-trip tickets can be had for as little as $1,500 (versus $4,000-5,000 a pop for other international carriers).

However, from September 19-22 consumers can pay $40,000 on one of ten "L’Unlimited" annual passes and hop on one of those 757s whenever they want.

The airline typically charges about $1,700 for the route, so you have to be shuttling between the New York area and Paris more than once a month to make the deal worth it.

At Newark and Charles de Gaulle, passengers have access to contract lounges and on the plane, entertainment is provided by personal tablets.

La Compagnie has sweetened the offer by building in its concierge service to assist with bookings and making a "don't think about it" argument — there's just one price, and it's a nice price.

I flew La Compagnie last year and would without hesitation fly it again (other Business Insider staffers have also sampled the service). 

The combination of low cost, lounge access, the airline's relatively capacious and comfy seats, good in-flight food and drink, and a boarding and deplaning process that consumes about ten minutes won me over. I fly to Paris about once every five years, so the deal doesn't appeal. But for anybody who does, it's worth a look.

SEE ALSO: I flew on Honda's new $4.9 million private jet, and it's an absolute game-changer

FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: GENE MUNSTER: Tesla is the 'most exciting story to watch'

8 of the best up-and-coming travel destinations for fall

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mazatlan mexico

Summer may (unofficially) be over, but that doesn't mean you've missed your chance to explore a new destination.

Fall is a great time to travel — there are often fewer crowds, lower prices, and milder weather in some of the most popular tourist destinations around the world. 

If you're looking to take a vacation this fall but aren't quite sure where, take these suggestions from Jamee Lubkemann, vice president of American Express Travel

The rewards-focused travel portal provided us with a list of some of the most popular destinations for fall travel this year, using internal booking data to compile it. The platform focused on destinations that saw a large increase in customer interest over the last year, comparing bookings for September through December 2016 to the same months this year. 

Here are some of the most popular places to travel this season: 

SEE ALSO: 18 of the best under-the-radar travel destinations in America

Beirut, Lebanon

Increase in bookings: 150% 

"Cognizant of today's geopolitical climate, Americans are shifting the conversation from apprehension to understanding and are openly exploring destinations in the Middle East – tourism is booming, [and] airlines are creating more routes," Lubkemann said. 

Beirut was once known as the "Paris of the Middle East," in a nod to its French-inspired architecture and vibrant dining scene. As one of the oldest settlements in the world, it's an especially popular destination with history buffs. 

 

 



Tel Aviv, Israel

Increase in bookings: 148%

A trip to Tel Aviv could include everything from beach lounging and museum hopping to falafel and hummus sampling.

"Tel Aviv is modern, vibrant, and cosmopolitan," Lubkemann said.



Casablanca, Morocco

Increase in bookings: 86%

Morocco as a whole is trending with modern travelers, but with the promise of new construction projects like Parc de la Ligue Arabe and Grande Theatre de Casablanca, the port city of Casablanca is the place to be right now. 

Explore the spice markets and admire the Moorish architecture while you're there.

 



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The many sunglasses of the Trump administration

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scaramucci sunglasses

Aside from sporting a pair of eclipse glasses (and taking them off to stare directly at the sun), President Donald Trump doesn't wear sunglasses.

He's ferried between the White House, his various private resorts, official duties, Air Force One, and the presidential limousine sans eyewear.

Yet many of his staff members and family frequently wear sunglasses of varying fashion levels and designs.

Here's a roundup of the many sunglasses of the Trump administration:

SEE ALSO: Here's how a 28-year-old with no political experience got into his inner circle — meet Hope Hicks

DON'T MISS: Here are all the casualties of the Trump administration so far

The only instance we could find of Trump wearing sunglasses was in this "Saturday Night Live" promo from November 2015.

Source: SNL



Here he is reflected in first lady Melania Trump's sunglasses, not wearing sunglasses on a sunny day crossing the South Lawn at the White House.



The first lady sticks to square-framed styles that cover much of her face.



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Hope Hicks is Trump's next communications director: Here's how a 28-year-old with no political experience got into his inner circle

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hope hicks

Hope Hicks, 28, is officially President Donald Trump's full-time White House communications director. But before joining Trump's 2016 campaign, she had no political experience.

Hicks was born in Greenwich, a town of 60,000 on the southwest tip of Connecticut that's a favorite spot for hedge-fund headquarters.

She was a model, actress, and lacrosse player as a child, before getting her English degree at Southern Methodist University.

Hicks didn't intend on playing such a large role in a presidential campaign, instead falling into the gig through a job at the Trump Organization.

She now finds herself as one of Trump's youngest advisers, serving as his new communications director after being named "interim" in August.

And Hicks has been with Trump — to use his words — "from the beginning." She stuck on his campaign through several staff revamps, including two high-profile changes at the campaign-chair position.

Here's what we know about Hicks.

SEE ALSO: Kellyanne Conway and other women reveal what it's like to work in Trump's White House

DON'T MISS: MEET THE NEW EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Here's who Trump has appointed to senior leadership positions

Hicks and her sister, Mary Grace, were successful teen models. Hicks posed for Ralph Lauren and appeared on the cover of "It Girl," a spin-off of the best-selling "Gossip Girl" book and TV series.


Source: New York Times



Hicks' first brush with the Trumps came in 2012 when she was at the public-relations firm Hiltzik Strategies working on Ivanka Trump's fashion line. Trump's eldest daughter hired Hicks away in 2014 and she became an employee of the Trump Organization.


Sources: New York Times, GQ, NYMag



Hicks met patriarch Trump and quickly "earned his trust," Ivanka Trump told The New York Times for a June 2016 profile on the spokeswoman.


Source: New York Times



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Check out the $2,900 coat Apple's retail boss just wore on stage at the company's annual hardware event (AAPL)

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Angela Ahrendts

Apple's retail boss Angela Ahrendts just showed everyone how it's done at the company's annual hardware event. 

Ahrendts, who serves as Apple's senior vice president of retail, took the stage in one of the most eye-catching and fashion-forward ensembles ever worn at an Apple event. 

Ahrendts wore a knee-length pale pink macramé lace trench coat which costs $2,895 and is made by British fashion house Burberry (Ahrendts previously served as Burberry's CEO before departing for Apple in May 2014). 

Ahrendts paired the coat with black skinny pants, a white t-shirt, and black stiletto ankle booties. She was the only woman who appeared on stage at the event, and one of the only presenters not wearing a navy blue button-down shirt. The other presenters typically paired a shirt — which for most of them was wrinkled — with a pair of ill-fitting jeans and unfashionable shoes. 

Angela AhrendtsWhile the coat may not be to everyone's taste, it seems to be a nod to her past role at Burberry and her current role as a tastemaker within Apple. Her fashion choice at the event proves that Ahrendts has a unique sense of style and one that's fitting for Apple's head of retail. 

Ahrendts is Apple's only female executive and the only executive that comes from a fashion background. For a design-focused company that makes consumer products, Apple's other executives are often woefully under-dressed and completely lacking in the style department.

Ahrendts is in charge of Apple's retail stores worldwide. With a total compensation estimated at about $82.6 million, Ahrendts was the highest-paid female executive in the U.S. last year. She's currently working to turn Apple Stores into "town squares," or gathering places for people to spend time as a community. Ahrendts recently announced a program called "Today at Apple" that will schedule programming and classes at Apple Stores around the US.

SEE ALSO: ANGELA AHRENDTS: How last year's highest-paid female exec spends her millions

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