Glamorous former high school teacher Brigitte Trogneux is France's first first lady in five years, and it's caused some adjustments.

She and her husband French President Emmanuel Macron — whose popularity has experienced ups and downs in his first year in office — are visiting the US for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump's first state visit.

When Macron cinched the French presidency in May, Brigitte was right by his side — and regularly featured in the media for being 24 years older than her husband.

Scroll on to learn more about Brigitte Macron:

SEE ALSO: Inside the presidential guest house — the 'world's most exclusive hotel' that's bigger than the White House where Macron is staying during his official state visit

SEE ALSO: Here are photos of the Trumps having dinner in the Eiffel Tower with the French president and his wife

Meet Brigitte Macron, high-school teacher who is the wife of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron.

Source: CNN

She is the youngest of six Trogneux children and her family are famous chocolatiers in the region of Amiens. Les Trogneux is lauded for its macaroons.

Source: L'Express

There is a 24-year age gap between 64-year-old Brigitte and 39-year-old Macron.

• The Woolworth Building was once the world's tallest, and is a historic landmark in downtown Manhattan.
• Today, 33 condominium residences developed by Alchemy Properties that start on the 29th floor are on the market.
• We went inside the 40th floor residence, currently on the market for $21 million; it was the floor F.W. Woolworth himself once occupied.

The Woolworth Building in downtown Manhattan is a historic landmark. Once the tallest building in the world, it was completed in 1913 and has housed famous residents such as Nikola Tesla and the Manhattan Project (the team that helped develop the atomic bombs during World War II).

The builder F.W. Woolworth earned millions from his chain of five-and-dime stores between 1879 and 1913 and used his wealth to pay for the building and all of its flourishes. Woolworth aimed to create the best building ever constructed at that time, and to do so he hired the famous architect Cass Gilbert. 

Today, the building has 33 new residential apartments on the 29th through 58th floors. The 40th floor is currently listed at $21.325 million and measure 6,095 square feet. It happens to house the corner of the office that Woolworth himself would sit in, admiring a view of the Statue of Liberty. 

Ahead, see inside the historic building's $21 million listing featuring interior décor and custom art designed by Cheryl Eisen of the design firm, Interior Marketing Group.

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The apartment takes up the entire 40th floor, with a private elevator landing entrance. It covers 6,095 square feet.

The 14.5-foot ceilings evoke a loft-like space with an uninterrupted view of uptown Manhattan from the living room area.

Solid oak herringbone floors, which are heated, are found throughout the home.

• Sean Hannity is one of the biggest stars on Fox News.
• The Fox New host is also the previously unnamed third client of US President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
• After getting his start in radio, he was brought on to co-host a program on Fox News.
• A report from the Guardian also found that Hannity has acquired a previously undisclosed "property empire" over the years.
• He's now one of the most prominent and polarizing conservative voices out there.
•  

Sean Hannity isn't just commenting on the news at the moment — he is the news.

The Fox News star was the mysterious third client of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, several news outlets reported Monday.

It's not the first time the close relationship between the political pundit and the president sparked controversy. In 2016, Hannity told the New York Times, "I never claimed to be a journalist" in response to questions about his role advising Trump.

Hannity may argue that he's not a journalist, but his media career has been something to behold.

The former college radio host is one of the last remaining members of the original 1996 Fox News lineup, the New York Times reports. And Hannity is now considered one of the president's closest unofficial media advisers.

Here's a look back at Hannity's career:

SEE ALSO: A look inside the daily life of Kellyanne Conway, the loyal Trump adviser favored to become the White House's next communications director

DON'T MISS: Hope Hicks is leaving the White House — here's a look back at the incredible career of the 29-year-old former model

DON'T FORGET: Fox News star Sean Hannity revealed to be Michael Cohen's mysterious third client — along with Trump and a man who paid off a Playboy playmate

Born to a family-court officer and a corrections officer, Sean Hannity grew up in Nassau County and was the youngest of four siblings. Growing up, Hannity told The New York Times, "I just wasn't that interested in school. It bored me to tears."

Source: The New York Times

After high school, Hannity attended New York University, Adelphi University, and UC Santa Barbara for a time. He dropped out of all three.

Source: The Washington Post, Liberty University

In 2005, Liberty University chancellor Jerry Falwell awarded the Fox News host an honorary degree.

Source: The Washington Post, Liberty University

• Gap Inc.'s CEO Art Peck told CNBC on Monday that the retailer will be opening 60 new Old Navy stores in the US. 
• Old Navy has become the parent company's saving grace. While Gap has struggled in recent years, Old Navy has seen positive same-store sales growth for the past five years.
• The store has a cult following of price-conscious customers who choose it over Gap because of its lower prices.

Old Navy is Gap's saving grace, and its CEO wants to see more of it.

On Monday, Gap CEO Art Peck told CNBC that the retailer will be opening 60 new Old Navy locations in 2018. It currently has over 1,000 locations.

Old Navy has become Gap's sweet spot. While its parent company has struggled in recent years and announced 200 store closings at its namesake brand and sister store Banana Republic, Old Navy has seen positive same-store sales growth for the past five years.

In Gap Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings, reported in February, same-store sales were up 5% overall at Gap Inc. This growth was driven by Old Navy, which was up 9% in the quarter. The Gap brand, on the other hand, showed flat growth compared to the year before.

The growth at Old Navy is not specific to any one section of the store. "Old Navy had a super strong fourth quarter," Gap Inc CEO Art Peck said on the earnings call. "It was very diversified and was not relying on any one horse to pull the cart."

We visited a Gap and an Old Navy store in one of New York's busiest shopping areas — Herald Square — on a rainy Thursday afternoon last May, and we saw firsthand why Old Navy is resonating well with customers:

SEE ALSO: These are the biggest sibling rivalries in the clothing business

We timed our visit to Old Navy with the start of Memorial Day weekend sales. The first thing that struck us was the amount of clothing and accessories that were on sale.

The store was awash with signs offering discounts ranging from 20% to 60% off.  

There were also several clearance sections around the store.

Even before discounts, however, Old Navy was still much cheaper than Gap.

A basic women's cardigan cost $24.94 at Old Navy. At Gap, it was $49.95 (on sale for $25 with the Memorial Day weekend discount).

• Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is hosting French president Emmanuel Macron for a state dinner.
• It's Trump's first ever state dinner.
• From Harry Truman to Barack Obama, nine past presidents hosted state dinners for French leaders.

US president Donald Trump is hosting his first ever state dinner for the leader of America's first ally.

The guest of honor is French President — and reported "Trump whisperer" — Emmanuel Macron. Macron and his wife Brigitte will accompany her husband on the visit.

State dinners are a big deal in the US. The president usually hosts the black-tie event in the State Dining Room at the White House. They date back to December 12, 1874, when President Ulysses S. Grant held a dinner in honor of King David Kalakaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Spring lamb, jambalaya, and "wines made from French plants harvested in Oregon" are on the menu this year, The Hill reported. And the presidents and their wives will be serenaded by the Washington National Opera as part of the event.

Here's a look at some notable state dinners that past presidents hosted for French leaders:

SEE ALSO: In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech at a tiny Missouri college that changed the way everyone thought about Russia

DON'T MISS: Trump's being slammed for this photo of his desk — here are past presidents' desks for comparison

US President Harry Truman hosted French President Vincent Auriol

On March 28, 1951, Truman hosted French President Vincent Auriol. Truman awarded Auriol with a Legion of Merit, and said that the president had "... displayed unswerving friendship to the United States and to the ideals held by all democratic nations, and has done much to assure the success of these ideals."

Auriol had fought with the French resistance during WWII.

US President Dwight Eisenhower hosted French President Charles de Gaulle

French President Charles de Gaulle arrived in Washington DC to much fanfare in 1960.

The French leader was in town for an April 22 state visit with US president Dwight Eisenhower. 

According to the Library of Congress, 200,000 Washingtonians turned out to greet de Gauelle, who later wrote about driving through a "deafening accompaniment of
cheers, sirens and brass bands, amid a forest of banners and flags."

The French politician's trip consisted of a visit to Eisenhower's farm in Gettysburg and then a trip to Camp David.

US President Richard Nixon hosted French President Georges Pompidou

French President Georges Pompidou's 1970 visit to the US didn't go off without a hitch.

The French leader was confronted by thousands of protestors during his nine day trip. The demonstrations centered on a perceived anti-Israel bias to France's Middle East foreign policy, according to the JTA.

On February 24, Pompidou met with Nixon, who said in a speech on the South Lawn that the two leaders would "... find means to work together toward our common goal, the goal we had 900 years ago, the goal of liberty and independence for all people. That is the same goal we have today."

• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' floor plans for the Washington D.C. estate he purchased in 2016 show the intricacies of the 27,000-square-foot property, as originally published by The Washingtonian.
• A ballroom, five staircases, two elevators, a walk-in wine room and a whiskey cellar are just some of the mansion's amenities.
• The estate is comprised of two historic structures built in the 1900s, one of which will serve as the Bezos' living quarters and the other as an entertainment space.

  ---

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has some pretty grand ideas in store for his Washington D.C. mansion, if these floor plans are any indication.

The floor plans, requested from the Washington, DC zoning office and published by The Washingtonian, show that the mansion will consist of two historic homes in the capitol's high-end Kalorama neighborhood.

First, the Pope house, so named because it was built by John Russell Pope, the architect of the Jefferson Memorial, and second, the Wood house. The estate sits in close proximity to the Obama family's $5.3 million home, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner live down the street.

According to The Washingtonian, the four-story Pope house will be the Bezos family's living quarters, with the Wood house reserved as the CEO's socializing and entertainment hub in the capitol city. The two structures are connected by a walkway.

A ballroom, a whiskey cellar, a walk-in wine room, five staircases, two elevators, multiple bathrooms (there are 10 in the Pope house alone) and a solarium (also known as a sun room), are just some of the extravagant features of this Bezos estate. 

Bezos paid $23 million for the premises in 2016, and reportedly spent $12 million into renovation on the 27,000-square-foot property last year, for a grand total of $35 million on the project thus far. One of the two buildings is the former home of Kalorama's Textile Museum.

This is the fifth home estate Bezos has purchased. The Amazon CEO also owns property in Washington state, Texas, California and Manhattan.

As of January of this year, Amazon had its search for the site of its HQ2, or its next headquarters, narrowed down to 20 cities, one of which is Washington, DC. With this much investment, and this much thought, put into his new estate there, the city is a promising candidate.

Read the full Washingtonian report. 

SEE ALSO: Jeff Bezos admits Amazon has 'the weirdest meeting culture you will ever encounter'

DON'T MISS: Jeff Bezos' $23 million mansion is a big reason he may pick Washington, DC, for HQ2

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why the Saudi crown prince met with Trump, Oprah, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos

• FOMO is the (sometimes all-consuming) feeling you're missing out on something.
• It can be perpetuated by looking at other people's social media posts.
• But according to some research, you may be more susceptible to FOMO if you are insecure.
• Instead, you should focus less on potential losses of missing out and more on the gains of what you're actually doing.

Nobody can attend everything. Still, sometimes there's an event you really wanted to go to, but responsibilities got in the way. Maybe you had to work late, or you promised you'd go to your great aunt's 90th the same day your friend decided to throw the house party of the year.

Either way, fear of missing out — known as "FOMO" — affects us all sometimes. It's characterised as feeling anxious that something exciting or interesting is happening elsewhere. Social media can often perpetuate this anxiety, when you see posts and pictures about the wonderful time your friends are having without you, and the feeling can be all-consuming.

A post in Psychology Today discusses the scientific basis of FOMO, and the explanations for what's going on psychologically when we experience it.

In a new study, published in the journal Motivation and Emotion, researchers from Carleton and McGill Universities in Canada asked first year students to keep a diary for seven days.

In particular, the researchers wanted to know if FOMO was associated with certain personality traits — openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — and whether social media played a significant role.

The students received five alerts to complete a survey throughout the day, where they had to answer questions about their experiences. At the end of the semester, they filled out an online questionnaire about their well-being and satisfaction.

Results showed how FOMO was highest later on in the day and near the end of the week. Also, the students who studied and worked more and performed more "obligatory" tasks reported having greater FOMO.

Surprisingly, personality traits like neuroticism or extraversion had no impact on the amount of FOMO people felt. Still, FOMO was associated with fatigue, stress, and trouble sleeping.

In a follow-up experiment, the researchers looked at how social media affected FOMO, and found that overall, it didn't really matter how people heard of the activity they had missed out on. Hearing it from a friend compared to seeing it on social media produced the same amount of FOMO. However, it is important to consider the fact that someone is much more likely to see many other people's plans on social media than hear about them all in person.

The researchers were also interested in whether we feel FOMO regardless of how much fun we had at our alternative event. They asked participants to read a person's plans for the evening, and then an alternative activity they could do instead.

Participants always chose to stick to the plan, then were "reminded" of the alternative activity through social media or a friend. No matter how sociable the activity they chose, they experienced high levels of FOMO and felt negative and distracted when they found out about the alternative.

Some people are more susceptible to FOMO than others

Overall, students may be likely to feel FOMO because of the pressure of "making the most" of their university experience. In fact, a study from the University of British Columbia found that 48% of first year students have less of a sense of social belonging, and believe their peers are more socially connected than they actually are.

FOMO could also depend on our own satisfaction. One study by marketing communications company James Walter Thompson found that FOMO contributes to a person's dissatisfaction with their own social lives, and the fact they feel like they have less. It triggers negative feelings like boredom and loneliness, which has an impact on someone's psychological well-being.

According to a post by Eric Barker in TIME, people who are already insecure may be more susceptible to feeling this way. For example, when faced with excessive Instagram and Facebook posts about other people's lives, it can feel like you're always out of the loop with someone.

"But when you're caught in the loop of FOMO you tune out the real world and tune in to the fake one," Baker wrote. "And that's what the research shows: people with FOMO stop paying attention to life and turn to social media for their happiness cure."

In other words, it may be all about obsessively worrying that your experiences aren't objectively better than anyone elses, rather than your life actually lacking in any way.

According to psychologist Nick Hobson, in Psychology Today, a way to combat FOMO could be to focus less on potential losses of missing out and more on the gains of what you're actually doing.

"Sure. Easier said than done," he wrote. "But until the perfect solution arrives, in the meantime take comfort in knowing that FOMO reduces with age. So no need to dread that next birthday."

SEE ALSO: Cherophobia is the fear of being happy — here are the signs you might have it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why we give better advice to our friends than we give to ourselves

Quentin Tarantino announced earlier this year that Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio will be starring in his upcoming ninth film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which partly involves the Manson Family murders.

On Monday, Tarantino and DiCaprio teased a few details about the film at the Las Vegas industry event, CinemaCon.

In March, Margot Robbie entered final negotiations to play the role of actress Sharon Tate in the film, Deadline reported. There has not yet been an official announcement of her role. 

Pitt previously worked with Tarantino on 2009's "Inglorious Basterds," and DiCaprio appeared in 2013's "Django Unchained."

"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is set for release on August 9, 2019. 

Here's everything we know about Tarantino's upcoming ninth film:

SEE ALSO: Quentin Tarantino's next film will be released by Sony following the Harvey Weinstein scandal

DON'T MISS: Charles Manson was sentenced to 9 life sentences for orchestrating 7 gruesome murders with his cult 'family' — here's his life story

The film takes place in "Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood."

Tarantino described "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in a statement last month, calling it, "a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a Western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor ... Sharon Tate."

In July 2017, early reports of the film described its script as focused on the murder of actress Sharon Tate by Charles Manson's followers. 

While Tarantino's most recent statement mentions Sharon Tate as a player in the movie, Tarantino previously said that the film would not center on Charles Manson, but on the year 1969.

At CinemaCon on Monday, Tarantino did not add much to the aforementioned description of the plot, calling the project "very hush-hush and top secret."

It has been five years in the making.

Tarantino said last month that he had been working on the script for the film for half a decade.

"I’ve been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was seven years old," he said. "I’m very excited to tell this story of an L.A. and a Hollywood that don't exist anymore. And I couldn't be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio & Pitt as Rick & Cliff.”

It's a "Pulp Fiction-esque" movie

Deadline reported in January that the Leonardo DiCaprio would play an "aging actor" in a "'Pulp Fiction'-esque movie."

"Pulp Fiction," Tarantino's 1994 classic, told a collection of interconnected stories.

On Monday, Tarantino confirmed this sentiment by saying that "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" is "probably the closest to 'Pulp Fiction' that I have done."

Through success and controversy, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been regarded as one of the most brilliant minds of his generation. 

Now with a net worth of $66 billion, the young CEO is credited with creating a social network that has more monthly active users than any single country in the world has people, and his majority voting rights give him complete control of the company — which also means he's often the focal point of any backlash or scandal.

And for the last year, Facebook has faced scandal after scandal. It's been called out on multiple occasions for the way it handles user data, to the point where it's led many to debate the pros and cons of free networks like Facebook that rely on advertisers for revenue. In April, Zuckerberg was summoned to give 10 hours of testimony to Congress as lawmakers sought answers about Facebook's role in various events like the 2016 election and the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal.

In the midst of the scandals, Zuckerberg has defended Facebook and reiterated the company's stated mission to connect the world with projects like bringing internet access to areas without less connectivity; through his charity work, he's poured millions into education efforts and billions into initiatives for curing the world's diseases. 

But the recent revelations have put a spotlight on Zuckerberg and his company like never before. Here's a look at the timeline of Zuckerberg's career, from his humble beginnings in a New York suburb to his role as one of the wealthiest CEOs in the world.

SEE ALSO: 33 photos of Facebook's rise from a Harvard dorm room to world domination

AND ALSO: Here are all the questions Mark Zuckerberg couldn't answer during this week's congressional hearings

While he's now a titan of Silicon Valley, Mark Zuckerberg was raised in the quaint town of Dobbs Ferry, New York. He was born to Edward and Karen Zuckerberg, a dentist and psychiatrist, respectively. He has three siblings: Randi, Donna, and Arielle.

A precocious child, Mark at age 12 created a messaging program called "Zucknet" using Atari BASIC. He also coded computer games for his friends at a young age.

Source: Bio

While attending high school at the renowned Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, he built an early music streaming platform, which both AOL and Microsoft showed interest in. Still a teen, he rejected offers for an acquisition or a job.

Source: Bio

• Dim lighting may influence consumers to buy "for pleasure" rather than "for utility."
• A study found that ambient lighting plays a considerable role in the appeal of certain products.
• Being reminded of family and friends influences people to purchase based more on function.

If you've ever wondered what exactly compelled you to buy that pair of fancy shoes on a whim you later regretted, science may now have the answer.

It turns out that ambient lighting plays a considerable role in the appeal of certain products and driving consumer choice, a finding shop owners and marketers may be able to use to their advantage.

The finding that dim lighting may influence consumers to buy "for pleasure" rather than "for utility" was shown in a recent study by researchers from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Northwestern University in the United States.

However, the study found that being reminded of family and friends had the opposite effect on a consumer's preference for pleasurable products.

The findings were published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing last month after researchers from both universities conducted three related studies.

One of the studies saw 180 participants, recruited from an online platform, randomly assigned to dark or well-lit conditions.

They were tasked with making the following choices: picking between a competent job candidate and a fun job candidate; a mobile app for work and another for entertainment; a durable laptop for a home office and a stylish one; and between a documentary programme and a love-themed drama.

Afterwards, the participants answered questions that measured the extent to which "they wanted to be authentic", that is, whether they were making choices based on what they truly wanted.

"Analysis showed that when in darkness, the participants were truer to themselves and followed their heart, with a greater preference for the 'pleasurable' option as well," said assistant professor Irene Huang from NTU's Nanyang Business School.

Assistant Professor Huang, who conducts research in sensory marketing and emotions, also noted that the results suggest brighter surroundings may be a better choice if trying to highlight a product for its function.

She said: "The potential implication is that shop owners can adjust the store lighting to suit specific marketing campaigns, for example, to emphasise the functional or 'hedonic' aspects of their products."

Previous research suggested that darker settings might cause people to choose a more pleasure-based option based on the fact that there's no one to see or judge their choices.

However, the findings show that it was the emotional disconnection the dark caused, rather than the lack of scrutiny by others, that resulted in a preference for pleasure-focused decisions.

Assistant Professor Huang also cited other factors that affect consumer choice. For instance, situations over which an individual has little control, such as traffic jams, are more likely to encourage a consumer to purchase a functional product.

According to Huang, consumers tend to just follow their heart when it's difficult to choose a product.

SEE ALSO: 'Crazy Rich Asians' shows off the lives of Singapore's super-rich New 'Crazy Rich Asians' trailer full of Singaporean glitz and glamour

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump tried to cut a secret deal with Planned Parenthood — here's what happened

• Nestlé recently released a new flavour of KitKat in the UK.
• KitKat Ruby is made from ruby cacao beans — the first new type of chocolate to be developed since white chocolate 80 years ago.
• We compared the new bar to a selection of bizarre flavours from Japan, from soy sauce to sweet potato.
• The winner was clear.

You may have heard there's a new kid on the confectionary block — Nestlé recently launched KitKat Ruby in the UK, the latest take on KitKat's classic, four-finger bar with a natural pink hue from ruby cacao beans.

It's the first new type of chocolate to be developed since white chocolate 80 years ago.

"Ruby chocolate is a big innovation in confectionery and we are very proud that KitKat is the first major brand in the UK to feature this exciting new chocolate," said Alex Gonnella, marketing director for Nestlé’s UK confectionery business.

The millennial pink chocolate bar is not unique to the UK, though. Before landing on British shores, KitKat Ruby had overwhelming success in Japan and Korea, where the number of flavours far surpasses our measly selection.

Since 2000, KitKat has launched over 300 different flavours in Japan — including bizarre options like soy sauce and sweet potato.

We compared the UK's new Ruby KitKat with a selection of 8 weird flavours from Japan — and there was a clear winner.

Scroll down to see which flavours you'd really like to take a break with.

SEE ALSO: Nestlé is launching millennial pink KitKats in the UK

Behold the Japanese KitKats in all their glory.

Setting out on my mission as writer at Business Insider, I bought a selection of eight flavours from Japan Centre in Soho, London — a solid basis from which to judge the new Ruby edition. The flavours included: Matcha Green Tea, Kyoto Matcha Green Tea, Azuki Sandwich, Purple Sweet Potato, Shinshu Apple, Strawberry, Amaou Strawberry and, of course, Shizuoka Wasabi.

KitKat's extreme popularity in the Land of the Rising Sun may be down to a coincidental resemblance to the phrase "Kitto Katsu," which translates into "surely win." As such, the bars are often given as good luck gifts in Japan, particularly for students sitting university entrance exams, according to The Telegraph.

The first flavour I tried was Shizuoka Wasabi.

You may associate wasabi more with sushi than a chocolately treat, but the Wasabi KitKat was an unexpected triumph.

At first, it just tastes like chocolate, but as soon as you swallow the mustardy heat hits you in the back of the throat. Fortunately, the spicy kick is more of a tap, and the subtlety of the heat is actually quite pleasant.

Score: 7/10.

Next up was Strawberry.

The Strawberry KitKat smelled hugely artificial, like a McDonald's strawberry milkshake. The taste pretty much exactly aligned with the smell — it was sickly sweet with an artificial, plasticky aftertaste. Not good.

Score: 3/10.

• Director Antoine Fuqua spoke to Business Insider before revealing footage of "The Equalizer 2" at CinemaCon on Monday.
• The movie marks the first time both he and the movie's star, Denzel Washington, have ever made a sequel.
• Fuqua also gave his thoughts about President Trump's remarks after the Parkland school shooting that movie violence is to blame for school shootings.
• And the director addressed the reports that he's in talks to direct a reboot of the Brian De Palma classic, "Scarface."

Antoine Fuqua has pulled off something no other director working with Denzel Washington has done before: getting him to do a sequel.

“The Equalizer 2” (in theaters July 20) marks not just the first-ever sequel done by Fuqua, but also Washington. The two have worked on numerous projects, from “The Magnificent Seven” reboot to Washington’s Oscar-winning performance in “Training Day.” But it’s Sony’s unlikely hit thriller about a man (Washington) with a mysterious past who disrupts his quiet life to rescue a girl that the two felt was fertile ground to continue with a sequel.

Before Fuqua presented footage of the movie at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Monday, Business Insider sat down with him (in a backstage room with the film’s producer Jason Blumenthal), to talk about the movie, Trump, and if he’s going to direct the much-rumored “Scarface” remake.

Jason Guerrasio: This is the first time you and Denzel have ever done a sequel. What did Sony have to do to talk you guys into doing another?

Fuqua: It was a conversation that we had toward the end of making “Equalizer 1.” We had a lot of fun together just making the movie. All of us: me, Denzel, the producers. And we were talking about it and it's hard to talk about that stuff with Denzel because he just wants to make this one good. The one we're doing. But we were all kind of like, "Hey, if this works let's do it again." It came out and did well, the audience enjoyed it, and the guys went off to write another. And it wasn't that long, three months after the release.

Guerrasio: Wow, three months after it opened?

Fuqua: Yeah. They gave me the script and I read it and it was better than the first script and much more emotional and deeper. And it hit all the things that I think a lot of people wanted to see. When I would be in an airport people would ask, "Are we going to find out more about this or that?" And the script did those things. And when I read it, Denzel read it as well, and he called me and he said, "This is good!" And I was like yeah, and he said, "Let's do it again!" So that's how it worked.

Guerrasio: I would imagine this was not the first time a sequel to a movie you've done has been floated by you. What sequel pitches have you gotten in the past?

Fuqua:“Olympus Has Fallen,” they wanted me to do that, there were rumors about “Training Day" —

Guerrasio: How can you do “Training Day” again?

Fuqua: I think like a prequel. Yeah, it's been a few times. It’s just not exciting to me to do that really because you have already been down that road and it's rare to get someone like Denzel so you have got to make it right. The script has to be very different from the first one, and it has to be a character he wants to play again, but have enough differences that he feels like he's doing something else. He's an actor's actor, so for him, he's not doing the exact same thing. I can't even get the exact same take. So you think he's going to do a movie twice? [Laughs.]

Guerrasio: I’m thinking about your filmography now, you could probably do another “Magnificent Seven.”

Fuqua: Yeah. I would love to do another one. That's not up to me but I would love to do one. With the right actors. Because that's tricky. You have to get all those guys’ schedules on the same page at the exact same time.

Guerrasio: And do audiences still want to see Westerns?

Fuqua: It's tricky. You never know. The audience sometimes will surprise you. It's timing. You think you know and then the next Western comes out and makes a billion dollars.

Guerrasio: The only thing that will make me disappointed is Vincent D’Onofrio will not be in it. Because he was so entertaining in that movie.

Fuqua: We do it as a prequel. You see what happens? You got the opportunity to do a movie with a great actors and then you kill them off, how do you do another one? [Laughs.]

Guerrasio: I don't want you to give anything away about “Equalizer 2,” but in the trailer there's a shot of Denzel telling a guy to do the Vulcan salute from “Star Trek” and then breaking his fingers when the guy shows him the salute.

Fuqua: That's all Denzel.

Guerrasio: He came up with that?

Fuqua: He did that. That's the fun of it. He's not going to say the exact same line every time the exact same way. Someone on that level, you have to have some fun with it.

Guerrasio: Almost all of your movies deal with gun violence. It's a topic that's big again in society because of the Parkland school shooting. But when you hear President Trump say that school shootings are due to the violence kids see in movies, how do you react to that?

Fuqua: I’m not into politics, I'm a father. I'll say that first. I grew up watching movies — Westerns, war movies, gangster movies, comedies. But are movies the reason people are shooting and killing each other? I don't think so. I would hate to think that's true in any way. We've been making movies since, what —

Guerrasio: Over 100 years.

Fuqua: It seems it's something that's been happening more and more recently, so it's hard to blame something like that on movies. When the president says something like that it's sad because I don't think you should put the blame on one thing. It's all of our problem, not just movies.

Guerrasio: What you see in society, does that affect what stories you want to tell going forward?

Fuqua: It does. That's why I wanted to do “Equalizer.” Because “Equalizer” is about justice. You talk about gun violence, yeah, of course, I'm tired of seeing young black men get shot down in the street like animals. I'm tired of seeing anybody get shot down in the street. Especially innocent people. So you can make a movie with a positive use as well. If you put it in the hands of the right people: Air Force, military, Navy, Navy Seals, Marines, and I'm friends with a lot of these guys and I'm friends with a lot of cops, too. Thank God they are there when you need them, strapped. What I'll say is when you make a movie you have to have a reason you want to make it. I wanted to make “Equalizer” because it's about justice and I think that's the thing we all want. When you see young people die it's heartbreaking, but as a director you can only do a movie to say something. You could get involved with politics if you want to, but I'm not a politician.

Guerrasio: I want your take on the inclusion rider that's been a buzz term since Frances McDormand brought it up at the Oscars. As one of the few African-American directors working regularly in Hollywood currently, do you use that? Do you want to use it more?

Fuqua: I don't know.

Jason Blumenthal: It hasn't been an issue with Antoine, to be honest. We know he wants a very diverse and eclectic group of people around him as a filmmaker. He thrives on that. So we run these colorblind sets. And just so you know, the inclusion rider wasn't even a thing when we shot this movie. Denzel has also been big on that with us, too. He's always wanted us to give people a shot. He's never said, "Give the black guy a shot."

Fuqua: Denzel says, "Give the woman a shot."

Blumenthal: It comes from the top down, so if we weren't running an inclusive set and Antoine and Denzel said we better do that it's going to happen because it needs to happen. But it's been happening with our movies for the last five to six years.

Fuqua: We just do it. There's not really a conversation. We do what's right and who's the best person for the job. And we help bring people up along the ranks as well.

Guerrasio: So I know you're working on a Muhammad Ali documentary.

Fuqua: Yeah.

Guerrasio: After that, are you taking on the “Scarface” reboot?

Fuqua: I don't know. We are still finishing up “Equalizer 2.” Editing a little bit, shaping here and there. Not a lot. The music and all the final stuff we have to do. We did a test last week and it scored through the roof. Scored a little higher than the first one. So “Scarface, “I don't know, man. When I get the script.

Guerrasio: That's such a classic film that if it's going to be attempted I assume, if you were to take it on, you would do it completely different than Brian De Palma's.

Fuqua: Very different.

Guerrasio: Like how De Palma's is completely different from the 1932 original movie.

Fuqua: Exactly. You have to. And you have to find the reason to make it, any movie. I have to find my reason to make the movie. So “Scarface” is one of those movies that I've been talking to the writer and different people about it and I know a lot about that world, it's just making sure when I get the script it's the right reason to make “Scarface.” In today's society everyone feels injustice like Tony Montana. Everyone feels like they are the small guy.

Guerrasio: And hustling to make a better life.

Fuqua: The hustle. So the feeling of that is in the air and coming back to “Equalizer” that's what's important about doing that. It's about justice. When I did “Training Day” it was about street justice. So it always comes back to justice, so I have to figure out what “Scarface” is about for me.

Guerrasio: You're doing “Scarface.”

Fuqua: [Laughs.] 

SEE ALSO: The 32 movies coming out this summer you can't miss

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NOW WATCH: A neuroscientist explains why reality may just be a hallucination

• A new study has shown how millennials have a higher risk of mental health problems if they are lonely.
• Young adults and teenagers are at the highest risk of loneliness, according to some research.
• Some people blame the rise of social media use, but the reasons are likely to be more nuanced than that.

You might not know why you're lonely. After all, being alone doesn't mean you have to be lonely, and being lonely doesn't necessarily mean you're on your own.

But if you're feeling isolated from other people, it can be completely debilitating to your life. It's bad for stress, can make women feel hungrier, and even increases the risk of early death by 26%.

According to a new study published in the journal Psychological Medicine, lonely millennials have twice the rick of developing mental health problems like depression and anxiety, compared to those who are connected to others.

In the study, researchers from King's College London analysed 2,066 millennial twins in England and Wales. They were asked about their experiences at different stages of life, their relationships, how lonely they were, and how their mental and physical health was.

The most recent data was taken while the twins were 18. Results showed that 7% of participants said they often felt lonely, while 23-31% said they felt left out or lacked companionship.

Overall, being lonely was associated with double the chance of a mental health problem, and a 38% increased risk of being unemployed. Also, lonely individuals were more likely to engage in risky behaviours like smoking and not exercising.

"If somebody discloses to their friends or family, or a GP, that they feel lonely a lot of the time, that could be a warning sign that they are struggling in other areas of life," Timothy Matthews, co-author of the study from King's College London, told the Guardian.

Younger people are the loneliest

Last year, a study found that, contrary to popular belief, older people aren't necessarily at the highest risk of being lonely. In fact, loneliness is greatest among teenagers and young adults.

Some link the loneliness of the millennial generation back to social media. However, while some research does show that using sites like Facebook and Instagram can be isolating, they probably aren't as bad as we think.

It ultimately comes down to how you use them. For example, many people use social media platforms as a way to make friends, especially those who struggle in real-life social situations.

If you're using them to keep in contact, it's less likely to be a problem. But if you spend most of your time scrolling aimlessly and feeling jealous about what everyone else is doing, you're more likely to get FOMO and feel lonely.

In an article for Forbes, Caroline Beaton discussed another possible reason that millennials are so lonely, in addition to spending more time on the internet.

Loneliness, she said, can be contagious. A study from 2009 showed how people are 52% more likely to be lonely if they are connected to someone who is lonely. Also, people who aren't lonely tend to become lonelier around someone who is.

"Lonely people are less able to pick up on positive social stimuli, like others' attention and commitment signals, so they withdraw prematurely — in many cases before they're actually socially isolated," she wrote. "Their inexplicable withdrawal may, in turn, make their close connections feel lonely too."

The lonely can also act a little hostile, possibly as a defence mechanism. This further severs their social ties and perpetuates their loneliness.

The researchers said this new study's findings could help "underscore the importance of early intervention to prevent lonely young adults from being trapped in loneliness as they age."

The participants were only 18, and it's very possible their loneliness levels will change when they grow up. But for those who struggle until later on in life, further research could help them figure out why it is.

"Feeling lonely isn't in itself a mental health problem, but the two are strongly connected," Stephen Buckley from the mental health charity Mind told The Guardian.

"Being sociable and connecting with other people is rewarding in its own right and can help significantly improve your mental well-being, especially if you're not feeling so good."

SEE ALSO: People can be lonely even if they're married or have a ton of friends — and the ones we worry about probably aren't those most at risk

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NOW WATCH: These 3D printed homes can be constructed for $4,000 — and they might change the approach to underdeveloped housing

The trailers for "Avengers: Infinity War" have teased dark times for the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the entire universe. That means the possibility of casualties is high.

While it's difficult to imagine some of our favorite characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reaching the end of the line, the arrival of Thanos to Earth doesn't promise a bright future for many characters — and the prospects of survival are much worse for some than for others.

The MCU doesn't like to kill off major characters, but that doesn't mean characters haven't met their end. And the stakes are much higher than ever before for the heroes in "Avengers: Infinity War."

Whether it's a veteran of the MCU who may be on his way out like Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, or a character whose very existence poses a problem for Thanos, such as Vision, there are plenty of reasons for some characters to die in "Infinity War."

Below are 9 characters who could die in "Avengers: Infinity War," ranked from least to most likely:

SEE ALSO: Hawkeye isn't in the trailers for 'Avengers: Infinity War,' and people's reactions to the snub are hilarious

9. Tony Stark/Iron Man

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced some notable characters recently who could lead the franchise into the future, like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther. That means the past may not be as significant anymore.

"Iron Man" kicked off the MCU in 2008, and Robert Downey Jr. has served the character well. We'd hate to see him go, but that's also 10 years' worth of suiting up and protecting the world from danger. Seven major roles as Iron Man later — three "Avengers" movies, three "Iron Man" movies, and a prominent part in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" — and maybe Downey wants to hang up the armor for good. What better way to go out than during the biggest superhero movie of all time?

8. Bruce Banner/The Hulk

Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo, already exiled himself to another planet at the end of "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Now that he's back on Earth (just in time for the fun!), it wouldn't be a stretch for Banner to want to sacrifice himself not only to save his friends from Thanos but to rid the world of the danger of the Hulk.

Plus, Marvel doesn't seem interested in making a Hulk standalone movie. The most recent one, "The Incredible Hulk" in 2008, is one of the worst-reviewed movies in the MCU, with 67% on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The character was recast from Edward Norton to Ruffalo for "The Avengers," and since then, the Hulk has appeared only in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Thor: Ragnarok." It wouldn't be hard for Marvel to get rid of him. 

7. Wong

Wong already died in "Doctor Strange" and was revived by Strange with the time stone. So it's not a stretch to say he may be expendable in an epic like "Avengers: Infinity War."

• The US Food and Drug Administration is beginning to crack down on a wildly popular vape pen called the Juul, which contains twice the nicotine of comparable devices.
• A growing list of experts worry the Juul targets young people, whose brains are especially vulnerable to nicotine and addiction.
• In a statement on Tuesday, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb called out the Juul and said the agency would "not tolerate the sale of any tobacco products to youth."

It looks like a USB drive, comes in colors like fire-engine red and bright turquoise, and is available in flavors like creme brûlée and cool mint.

The Juul (pronounced "jewel") appears to have a loyal and growing following among young people, who brag on social media about sneaking puffs in classrooms or school bathrooms.

The device is unique among e-cigs in that it contains twice the nicotine of comparable devices. Its makers have acknowledged that factor may have played a role in the Juul's rapid success: it generated $224 million in retail sales from November 2016 to November 2017 and snagged a third of the total e-cig market share.

Teachers, doctors, lawmakers, and regulators are now sounding the alarm about a device that experts experts say poses a risk to teens whose developing brains are especially vulnerable to nicotine's addictive qualities. On Tuesday, the US Food and Drug Administration public released its first concrete plans to crack down on the Juul.

The government effort revealed at least 40 retailers that are allegedly breaking the law with regard to their sale of the Juul to teens. The FDA is sending warning letters to those retailers — which includes convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Circle K — beginning today, the statement said.

"Let me be clear to retailers," FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in the statement, "this blitz, and resulting actions, should serve as notice that we will not tolerate the sale of any tobacco products to youth."

The FDA is starting to crack down on the Juul — beginning with an 'undercover blitz'

Nicholas Chadi, a clinical pediatrics fellow at Boston Children's Hospital, spoke about the Juul at the American Society of Addiction Medicine's annual conference this month.

"Of course they’re not marketed to children, but when they're bright pink and flavored like candy..." he said sarcastically, "What do you expect?"

Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University, has been researching the Juul, and told Business Insider that she considers its high nicotine content "scary."

Last week, Senate democratic whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 10 other Senators sent two letters to Juul Labs, Inc., the makers of the device, saying that their products "are undermining our nation's efforts to reduce tobacco use among youth."

The devices put "an entire new generation of children at risk of nicotine addiction," one of the letters says.

The FDA's new plan appears to respond to concerns like these. In his statement, Gottlieb outlined new strategies the agency is taking to curb youth access to the Juul and other e-cigs, including what the agency calls a "large-scale, undercover nationwide blitz to crack down on the sale of e-cigarettes – specifically Juul products – to minors at both brick-and-mortar and online retailers."

Experts worry that vaping is creating a new generation of smokers

A mushrooming cadre of experts worry that the Juul and other addictive vape pens could be creating a new generation of adults who are dependent on nicotine.

Juul Labs' chief administrative officer, Ashley Gould, recently told Business Insider that the company's mission is actually to help adult smokers quit. But a growing number of studies suggests that while e-cigs may help some adults wean themselves off conventional cigarettes, teens who use them are at a significantly higher risk of taking up smoking.

Young people who vape are between two and seven times more likely to eventually smoke conventional cigarettes compared with teens who never try e-cigs, according to a spate of research published over the last three years.

A March study from Dartmouth University put the trend into stark numerical terms: the results suggested that 2,070 adults across the US used e-cigs to quit smoking in 2015, but another 168,000 young people who used the devices went on to become smokers of conventional cigarettes.

"Based on the existing scientific evidence ... e-cigarette use currently represents more population-level harm than benefit," the Dartmouth researchers wrote.

Concern for developing and vulnerable brains

Chadi, the clinical pediatrics fellow, said he's seen a growing number of teens using the devices. He worries about the long-term effects, since human brains aren't fully developed until age 25.

"We get calls from parents across Boston wondering what to do about this," Chadi said.

The crux of the problem centers on what nicotine does to the teen brain — especially in the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key role in emotional control, decision making, and impulse regulation.

Like other drugs, nicotine has a different impact on a developing brain than on the brain of an adult. Brain imaging studies of adolescents suggest that people who begin smoking regularly at a young age have markedly reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex and perform less well on tasks related to memory and attention compared to people who don't smoke.

Chadi said these brain changes are also linked with increased sensitivity to other drugs as well as greater impulsivity. He described some of the anecdotal effects of nicotine vaping that he's seen among teens in and around his hospital.

"After only a few months of using nicotine [these teens] describe cravings, sometimes intense ones. Sometimes they also lose their hopes of being able to quit. And interestingly they show less severe symptoms of withdrawal than adults, but they start to show them earlier on. After only a few hundred cigarettes — or whatever the equivalent amount of vaping pods — some start showing irritability or shakiness when they stop," he said.

Chadi is also concerned about how to approach the problem, since the standard health questions many doctors ask don't account for e-cigs.

"You might ask a teen, 'Do you smoke?' and you'd probably get a 'No.' But are they vaping? Absolutely," Chadi said.

SEE ALSO: There's a new vape pen taking over America — and it has Wall Street worried about tobacco stocks

DON'T MISS: A vape pen with twice the nicotine of comparable devices is taking over high schools — and adults are frightened

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• A home on Billionaire's Beach in Malibu, California, sold for $110 million — the most expensive home sale in Los Angeles County history.
• The cofounder of the Hard Rock Cafe chain sold the beachfront property to a natural gas billionaire.
• Billionaire's Beach is home to several notable residents, including Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.

Peter Morton, cofounder of the Hard Rock Cafe chain, just set a new, mind-boggling record for Los Angeles real estate.

The restaurateur sold his beachfront Malibu, California, home to natural gas billionaire Michael S. Smith and his wife, for $110 million, or about $15,860 per square foot. It's officially the most expensive home sale in Los Angeles County history according to the Los Angeles Times, which says the deal is expected to close Tuesday.

The 6,934-square foot mansion sits on the shores of Carbon Beach, a 1.5-mile stretch of sand between the iconic Pacific Coast Highway and the glistening Pacific Ocean nicknamed "Billionaire's Beach" as an homage to the ultra-wealthy residents who call it home. 

Up until mid-2015, the beach was largely closed off to the public. But after a decades-long, complicated legal battle between the state and homeowners, its 70-plus residences share their backyard with tourists and beachgoers from sun up to sun down.

Malibu's previous record sale took place in 2017 when David Geffen, the billionaire founder of Asylum Records and Geffen Records and cofounder of DreamWorks, sold his Carbon Beach compound to Los Angeles Dodgers owner and Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter for $85 million.

The $110 million compound comes with a notable neighbor. Oracle founder Larry Ellison owns the homes on either side, just two of the 10 properties he reportedly owns on Carbon Beach.

Take a tour of Billionaire's Beach »

The $110 million sale is only for the structure — none of the high-end furniture or Morton's expensive artwork collection is included. Set on an estimated two-thirds of an acre, the property contains two separate buildings: A main residence with four en suite bedrooms and a two-story guest house with another three en suite bedrooms. There's also a lap pool and courtyard on the property. Operable teak wood shutters surround the exterior, in addition to bronze and concrete finishes. 

Not much else is known about the home's interiors or amenities, as the deal was completed off-market between Branden and Rayni Williams of Williams & Williams Estates at Hilton & Hyland and Barry Peele of Sotheby’s International Realty.

Morton has reportedly owned the land on Carbon Beach since the 1990s. The home was designed by architect Richard Meier and completed in 2006, the same year Morton sold the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for $770 million. A decade earlier he sold his shares in the Hard Rock Cafe for a profit of $300 million, according to the LA Times.

This isn't the first time Moron's real estate dealings have made headlines. In late 2012, he bought Elvis Presley's old Beverly Hills mansion for $9.8 million and renovated it before selling it off-market just one year later for $14.5 million.

SEE ALSO: Nobody wants to buy Warren Buffett's $11 million Southern California vacation home — take a look inside

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NOW WATCH: The 3 key words to use on your résumé to land the interview

With access to apps that instantly connects us to millions of users, much of our day is spent hunched over a screen. Adam Alter, author of ''Irresistible,'' explores the rise of technology addiction - specifically in teenagers. The following is a transcript of the video. 

Adam Alter: Nomophobia is a new word that's being coined to describe no mobile phobia and it's the idea that a lot of us, in thinking about not having our phones, experience something like a phobia and this is supposed to describe hundreds of millions of people today and I'm sure that number is growing at the moment. What that means is that when you think about, for example, your phone falling out of your pocket, tumbling to the ground and shattering into a million pieces, you should experience anxiety symptoms and it's especially true among young people.

Alter: I ran a study at one point where I asked young people, a whole lot of teenagers, a very simple question. I said to them, "Imagine you have this very unpleasant choice. So, you can either watch your phone tumble to the ground and shatter into a million pieces or you can have a small bone in your hand broken." Now, that seems to people of a certain age and older like a fairly straightforward question with a straightforward answer. It seems ridiculous. Of course you choose to save the integrity of your hand and let your phone break. You can always replace a phone, but for young people this is actually a very difficult question. In my experience, about 40% - 50% of them will say, "Ultimately, I think it probably makes more sense to have a bone in my hand broken than it does to have my phone broken."

Alter: And, you can understand why that is, apart from the fact that it is expensive to have a phone repaired and there's some time where you're without your phone, that is their portal to a social world that is very important to them. Being without that social world for a while is probably not as detrimental in some respects as being without a particular bone in your hand. Most of the time, you can get by and you can see this in the way they ask follow-up questions. So, a lot of these teens will say to me things like, "Is it my left hand or my right hand?" and the most important question, "Once I break that bone in my hand, can I still use my phone? Is it a bone that I need to be able to scroll on the phone, because if it is, then that's no deal, but if it's not a bone that I need to use my screen at least I can continue to use my phone during the time I'm healing." If people are willing to endure physical harm to keep their phones that obviously suggests that this is a major issue.

Alter: The definition that I like for behavioral addiction that makes the most sense to me is an experience that we return to compulsively over and over again because it feels good in a short run but in the long run, it ultimately undermines our well-being in some respect. So, it can be someone who notices that over time their social relationships are degrading because they don't have a consistent, face-to-face contact with people and that's especially problematic for kids who need time in that real face-to-face social world because that's where they develop all the competencies of being a social creature. The way to work out what other people are thinking, to share your feelings in a way that you want them to be shared for other people to understand you for you to make just the right facial expressions at just the right times. Those seem like obvious and easy-to-do things for most adults but for kids it's very difficult to do that. They take time to hone those skills and so you need face-to-face time to do that and if you don't have that, if you're spending all your time on screens because it's really fun to crush one more candy on Candy Crush or do whatever it is that you might be doing, you're not developing those long-term competencies and therefore your long-term well-being is degraded.

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• Virgin America has been one of the best airlines in the US since its launch in 2007.
• In 2016, Alaska Airlines acquired Virgin America for $2.6 billion.
• Virgin America will merge into Alaska Airlines on April 25.
• In March, Business Insider took a roundtrip flight between Newark Liberty International and San Francisco to experience Virgin America one final time.

In August 2007, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson launched the US wing of his aviation empire. With Virgin America, the charismatic billionaire wanted to bring the chic style and lighthearted fun of his brand to our nation's flying masses.

In the decade since its inception, Virgin America has become one of the best and most beloved airlines in North America. It took home the Travel & Leisure's award for best domestic airline 10 years in a row.

However, the airline's 10th anniversary passed last year without Sir Richard's traditional pomp and circumstance. That's because everyone knew that Virgin America would probably not be around long enough to celebrate its 11th birthday.

This isn't because Virgin America was going bust. On the contrary, it is one of the most successful airline startups in recent history.

Instead, Virgin America had been acquired by Alaska Airlines in 2016 for $2.6 billion. Even though the airline's fans held out hope that it would be able to fly on using Virgin Group's branding, Alaska Airlines confirmed last October that two carriers would merge operations on April 25th of this year.

In a statement to Business Insider, Alaska Airlines wrote:

"On April 25 we’ll integrate our passenger service systems, which means we will have one inventory of flights, one customer website (alaskaair.com), one mobile app, and only Alaska kiosks. Gates, ticketing, and check-in areas will all be Alaska-branded at the airport. It will take more time for us to update branding on the Airbus fleet, including the livery and the interiors, but in the meantime, we’ve started selling Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select seats as Premium Class for Airbus flights after April 24."

In fact, Virgin America's fleet of Airbus A320-family jets is already being repainted with Alaska Airlines livery. In addition, the ex-Virgin America Airbus jet will also receive new Alaska Airlines interiors. The airline expects to have the complete Airbus fleet re-configured by the end of 2019. 

So before Virgin America disappears into aviation history, we decided to take one final trip with the airline. Here's what we saw.

SEE ALSO: These are the 9 best airlines in America

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I arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport about an hour before my flight to San Francisco was set to depart. But with a powerful Nor'Easter storm bearing down on the Northeastern US, my flight was delayed.

Finally, it was time to board our Airbus A320.

Here's what it looks like during the day.

• The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge in China is the longest and highest glass bridge in the world.
• It gained widespread popularity after opening in 2016 and has been featured in numerous viral videos showing tourists having thrilling and terrifying experiences looking through the glass floor.
• While the scenery was beautiful, the site was overrun with tourists and the glass was so scuffed it was hard to see to the floor below.
• The entire experience was underwhelming given the price point and the numerous difficulties to visiting.

Like many millennial travelers, I sometimes pick my vacation destinations based on something I see on the internet. Such was the case with a recent trip to China.

After seeing viral video after viral video of terrified tourists crawling over a futuristic glass bridge spanning a verdant gorge, I decided I had to visit.

Opened in 2016, the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge in Hunan, China is the tallest and longest glass bridge in the world. The walkway sits 980 feet above the canyon floor and is more than 1,400 feet long. 

It had been billed as both breathtakingly beautiful and thrilling — a place, some might say, to get the ultimate selfie. 

Soon after arriving, I learned a hard lesson in the difference between the glossy photos and videos of travel media and the reality for the average tourist. 

Here's what it was like:

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The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is located in the mountainous province of Hunan in southern China. It's a 45-minute bus ride from Wulingyuan, a scenic town at the base of the stunning Wuling Mountain Range, where most tourists stay.

The Wuling Mountain Range is known for its 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars that look like floating mountains on a misty day. While I was excited to see that, I jumped at the chance to see the bridge. It looked like an architectural marvel on top of China's Grand Canyon.

We arrived at the bridge a little after noon to a very heavy security procedure —x-ray machine, metal detector, and pat-down. It was extremely lucky that I happened to have our passports, which were required for entry, in my backpack. What wasn't lucky was that the security person informed me (in Mandarin, which I don't speak), that I couldn't bring my backpack or my camera.

• Political outsiders Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron share surprisingly similar style as first ladies.
• Seen side-by-side at the state visit at the White House this week, their twin looks are sending a strong style message of unity between the two countries.

The French president and first lady arrived in D.C. on Monday for a state visit, giving Americans a chance to see first lady Melania Trump next to one of her closest style allies.

She and French first lady Brigitte Macron have a lot in common. Both women have husbands who became president by non-traditional paths, with Macron rising to prominence in banking and Trump in real estate.

Glamorous looks for extravagant dinners and galas are expected for former model Melania and former schoolteacher Macron, but everyday appearances count, too.

And the two first ladies have rolled out surprisingly similar style themes for their biggest moments in the spotlight:

SEE ALSO: The fashion differences between Ivanka and Melania Trump reveal the truth about their political missions

SEE ALSO: Melania Trump has finally found her fashion sweet spot — and it's very different from Michelle Obama's

They both approached the inauguration ceremony with tradition

For their official debuts as first ladies, both chose outfits that balanced muted color with striking silhouettes for memorable, but not aggressive looks.

Trump catered to the more conservative American audience and provoked widespread comparison to former first lady and style icon Jackie Kennedy for her husband's swearing in last January.

Brigitte's choice of a powder blue Louis Vuitton jacket is a nod to her French pride and an eye-catching twist on an otherwise classic skirt suit.

Embracing their national colors

For formal official appearances, the first ladies tend to fall back on the colors known nationwide — red, white, and blue.

Trump's ensemble for her visit to France last year and Macron's tailored dress for the 2017 Salzburg Summit are strong nods to the iconic national color French and Americans can immediately recognize.

Knowing when to go casual is key

It's easy to see the two have different national audiences to please and make choices accordingly, but several of their key patterns suggest their style choices are meant to to appeal to the people.

Trump, who has been criticized for looking out of touch in the past, has largely used her style choices to overcome her image as a Washington outsider and invoke iconic images of national pride and past first ladies.

But when the situation calls for it, she will dress down. Business Insider's Kate Taylor has called Trump's fashion sweet spot "aspirational but just barely within reach — and increasingly self-aware."

Being attached to administrations that push for reform and succeeded through people-first campaign messages adds extra pressure to appear as relatable arms of the administration.

Trump and Macron have both made a point to know when to keep their outfits simple and casual to avoid looking tone deaf at public events.