• You can book a seat on a plane, not a car, with flight-sharing startup Blackbird.
• The California-based company's newest service, Hitch, could be the UberPool for planes, since it pairs passengers on the Blackbird app with pilots that are headed to the same destination for as little as $50 a seat. 
• I gave a Blackbird flight a whirl to experience what could be a travel option of the future.

Imagine logging onto an app and hailing, not a car, but a plane to take you where you need to go.

That's what flight-sharing startup Blackbird lets you do. Its goal? To fill the void in a travel market that leaves passengers limited when it comes to short regional flights.

Its newly-launched service, Hitch, could be the UberPool for planes.

The same way that Uber and Lyft offer lower-cost fares that match you with riders going your same direction, Blackbird matches passengers on the Blackbird app with pilots that are already flying toward their desired destination. 

No long airport lines or crowded terminals included — just show up 15 minutes beforehand and walk across the tarmac onto the plane.

Pilots then file operating costs (fuel, oil, rental, and airport fees) and split them with the passengers that they shuttled.

But, unlike ride-sharing companies that have to incentivize drivers to hop onto the platform, Blackbird is relying on the fact that passionate pilots would probably have their planes in the air anyhow. 

"You have to convince a Lyft driver to use Lyft — you don't have to convince a pilot to fly," said Brian Nichols, head of operations for Blackbird.

I flew on a private plane booked via the Blackbird platform to see what the flight-sharing experience of the future could be like, and it could be a total game changer. 

Check it out:

SEE ALSO: 40 totally amazing technological advancements that we don't even notice anymore

Blackbird pilots fly out of a number of smaller airports on the West Coast. In California, that includes airports in Palo Alto and Burbank. I flew out of San Carlos, California, a small airport about ten miles south of San Francisco International Airport...

...which is where I met the private plane — a single-engine Pilatus PC-12 — that would take me and my fellow passengers to Monterey. Due to its larger size, you could book this particular plane using Blackbird's Reserve and Charter services, which are comparable to Uber's more luxe services, like Uber XL.

Blackbird's Reserve service has been around the longest, offering seats priced around $300 on scheduled flights, from Oakland to Burbank, California, for example. Charter allows you to rent out an entire plane for your party and book a trip entirely on your watch.

The prices are right up front on Reserve flights as well since these routes are on a fixed schedule.

• A narcissist can sometimes be difficult to identify, especially if you're romantically involved with one.
• Someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) may be selfish, put you down often, and fail to express empathy.
• If you're unsure whether or not you're dating a narcissist, there are specific signs you can look out for, according to experts.
• Here, Dr. Candace V. Love, a clinical psychologist who authored a book about how to stop getting into relationships with narcissists, reveals the key signs you may be dating a narcissist.

It can be easy miss the signs that you're dating a narcissist.

Like in many relationships, when you first start dating a narcissist, you may be lured in by their charm, confidence, and other attractive traits.

However, as you get to know your partner, you may pick up on red flags that were not so easily identifiable at first, like "nice" comments that have not-so-nice undertones, or a lack of empathy after you share something deeply personal.

You may justify a narcissist's behavior by telling yourself that they just had a bad day, and that tomorrow they'll be better. However, the behavior doesn't get better, and you may start to feel worse about yourself in the relationship.

"The main point to keep in mind is that you can't always tell you're dating a narcissist — because they're experts at concealing their true colors until they have you," clinicalpsychologistCandace V. Love told Business Insider. "However, all the clients I have worked with have been able to look back and see all the red flags they missed — they are always there."

According to the Mayo Clinic, those with Narcissistic Personality Disorder have an exaggerated sense of self-importance, belittle those around them, take advantage of others to get what they want, have difficulty regulating emotions and mood, and become irrationally angry when they don’t receive special treatment.

Of course, it's not possible to determine for sure whether someone has NPD without an evaluation by a qualified expert, but here are some often subtle signs that you may be dating a narcissist, according to a clinical psychologist.

SEE ALSO: How to know if you or someone you know is a narcissist, according to a clinical psychologist

1. They're charming … for a while, anyway

No one falls for a narcissist because of the negative qualities that make them a narcissist.

"Many narcissists are charmers in the beginning, and it's too easy to succumb to their charms," Love said.

"In time, the narcissist will show their true colors, but by then, you are usually already in love and will tend to overlook, make excuses, or minimize their bad behaviors," she said.

2. They're quick to anger

Althoughnarcissists or people with NPD can woo you and be charming, they can also turn on a dime, Love said.

"Pay attention to if the person is quick to anger if something doesn't go their way, such as traffic, parking, or reservations," she said. "Plus, look at how they treat others, too. How do they act toward service people — waitstaff, parking attendants, etc.?"

3. They make talk more about themselves than you

Being a good listener is important in relationships. If your partner makes everything about them, be cautious.

"Does the person seem genuinely interested in you when you talk about your life — or are they quick to tell you about theirs?" Love said.

"See if they ask you follow-up questions or monopolize the conversation," she said.

• Iconic toy brand FAO Schwarz is opening a store in Rockefeller Plaza in time for holiday shopping this year.
• The brand was known for its famous flagship store on 5th avenue which closed in 2015.
• The new store is being developed by Threesixty Group, a product developer and distributor, which purchased the brand from Toys R Us in 2016.

FAO Schwarz is coming back to Manhattan.

The iconic toy store brand, known for its interactive displays like a giant piano, is opening up a new store in Rockefeller Plaza, according to the Wall Street Journal. The store is opening in November, and will be ready for the holiday rush.

FAO Schwarz was originally known for its iconic store on Fifth Avenue, where kids and adults alike could come and experience the glee of standing on a giant piano. The new store is about five blocks south of the old one.

The store is being developed by Threesixty Group, a product developer and distributor, which purchased the entire brand from Toys R Us in 2016. Threesixty did not disclose the terms of the store's lease of the 20,000 square foot of prime tourist-friendly real estate, but it was previously reported to be long-term.

The store will be experiential, featuring product demonstrations with employees, magicians, and employees dressed up as characters, such as toy soldiers, the Journal says.

The new FAO Schwarz store has a chance to capture some of the sales and glitz of its former parent company, Toys R Us, which closed up shop for good in the US this year, completely liquidating all of its stores.

Toys R Us was also known for its high profile Manhattan stores, like its enormous location in Times Square, which was a destination for holiday shopping and wish list making.

The Rockefeller Plaza FAO location is planned to be just the first in a string of stores to revive the brand. WSJ reports that the brand is also looking to open a smaller location in LaGuardia Airport this year, and in China in the future.

SEE ALSO: If you shopped at these 16 stores in the last year, your data might have been stolen

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We tried Burger King in Japan — where you can order hot dogs and beer

• President Donald Trump reportedly told Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe "I remember Pearl Harbor" during a meeting at the White House in June, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
• The reported comment is part of an increasingly complicated relationship between the two world leaders.
• Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Japan, and Abe hasn't retaliated.

President Donald Trump reportedly caught Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe off guard with a comment about Pearl Harbor during a meeting at the White House in June, according to the Washington Post.

Trump reportedly said "I remember Pearl Harbor" to Abe in what was described as a "tense" meeting, referring to the attack by Japan on the United States that led to the US entering World War II.

Multiple diplomats spoke to the Post anonymously to describe the president's increasingly fraught relationship with Abe, as Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum hit Japan's economy and his policies on North Korea differ from Abe's desired approach.

Trump reportedly ignored advice from Abe on negotiating with North Korea before meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore this past June, according to the report.

A diplomat could not explain the meaning of Trump's comment about Pearl Harbor, but told the Post Trump appreciates historical references and mentions Japan's "samurai past".

Trump and Abe have had a largely positive relationship, often bonding on the golf course. Abe has even stayed at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida during one of their many meetings.

The two have met eight times since Trump took office, which is more than any other world leader. And they've spoken on the phone 26 times, according to the Post.

Calling him his "good friend", Trump sees Abe as a respected counterpart and a good negotiator, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Abe has lauded Trump's leadership as "outstanding" and "remarkable", and has not retaliated against Trump's tariffs. Abe even gave Trump a gold-plated golf club worth $3,800, according to the Post.

Despite the recent strain in the US-Japan relationship, both countries say that the partnership remains strong and that Abe's relationship with Trump is better than it was with President Barack Obama.

Read the full story from the Post »

SEE ALSO: Trump reportedly told Japan's prime minister he'd send him '25 million Mexicans'

DON'T MISS: Trump delivered Japan a huge win on one part of the US's coming talks with North Korea

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NOW WATCH: Meet the woman behind Trump's $20 million merch empire

• President Donald Trump repeatedly portrays himself as a gung-ho supporter of the US military, but a year and a half into his tenure the president has yet to visit American troops in a war-zone.
• The vast majority of Trump's commander-in-chief predecessors dating all the way back to World War II visited troops in war zones, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
• Both Bush and Obama met with US troops in combat zones soon into their first terms. 

President Donald Trump repeatedly portrays himself as a gung-ho supporter of the US military, but over a year and a half into his tenure the president has yet to visit American troops in a war zone.

Since Trump took office, American troops have been killed everywhere from Somalia and Niger to Yemen and Iraq. In 2018 alone, five US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

But Trump has yet to visit Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria, among other places where US troops are putting their lives on the line to execute his orders. 

This is arguably out-of-step for a president who's filled his cabinet with generals, boasted about making the military stronger than ever, called for an expensive (and recently cancelled) military parade in the capital, and lambasted NFL players for allegedly disrespecting the troops by kneeling during the national anthem. 

In short, Trump has often talked the talk when it comes to the military – barring controversial comments about Sen. John McCain's time as a POW in Vietnam as well as widely criticized attacks against Gold Star families– but will he walk the walk? 

Trump's predecessors often visited US troops in war zones overseas

The vast majority of Trump's predecessors dating all the way back to World War II visited troops in war zones, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And both Bush and Obama met with US troops in combat zones soon into their first terms.

Bush, for example, met with ground troops in Baghdad within 10 months of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. By the end of his time in office, Bush made four trips to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. 

Comparatively, Obama visited troops in Iraq in 2008 while he was still a senator and made another visit within his first three months as president. Ultimately, Obama made four trips to Afghanistan as president. 

The war in Afghanistan is nearly 17 years old and there's no end in sight

Trump promised to ramp down America's involvement in the war on terror as a presidential candidate. But the realities of the presidency have thus far made it difficult for him to do so and he's even increased US troop presence in some cases. Last year, Trump sent several thousand more troops to Afghanistan, for example. 

Presidential visits to troops stationed in harm's way boost morale. As the war in Afghanistan nears its 17th anniversary, the roughly 15,000 US troops Afghanistan especially could benefit from seeing the president at a time when many Americans have seemingly forgotten about the conflict. 

Moreover, as commander-in-chief some might say Trump has a duty to visit those he orders into harm's way.

The White House did not immediately respond to a query from Business Insider as to whether the president had any plans to make such a trip sometime in the not-so-distant future. 

SEE ALSO: This graphic shows why the Afghanistan War is getting worse after 17 years

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NOW WATCH: INSIDE WEST POINT: What it’s really like for new Army cadets on their first day

• A study of middle-aged, overweight adults in Ireland suggests that eating cheese isn't bad for your cholesterol. In fact, there's some evidence full-fat cheese may have a protective effect on the heart.
• Scientists think there might be something special about the way calcium and protein is arranged in cheese that creates this effect. 
• They call it the "cheese matrix."

Cheese fans have long felt that enjoying some protein-packed, fatty cheese is the ticket to a better life.

Now science is starting to back them up. 

Cheese is high in saturated fat, which is often considered dangerous for your heart. Most nutritionists say we should only nibble limited doses of the heart-clogging fat. 

But nutrition experts around the world are discovering in study after study that dairy may not be as bad for your heart as once thought. Certain kinds of fatty dairy, including cheese, could even help lower cholesterol, though more robust studies of larger groups of cheese-eaters are needed to know for sure.

In the latest study, researchers found that middle-aged, overweight adults who ate full-fat cheddar cheese reduced their cholesterol more than peers eating reduced fat cheese or butter, suggesting there's something special about the way old-fashioned cheese works inside the body. (The study was funded, in part, by Irish dairy companies, but the researchers reached their conclusions independently.) 

Study participants ate huge amounts of full-fat cheddar cheese for six weeks straight

The food scientists behind the latest cheese investigation think they have zeroed in on something special about the aged, fatty food that makes it better for cholesterol than other dairy products.

This is what they call the cheese matrix: the specific way that nutrients like protein and calcium are arranged inside the yummy blocks. 

"I suppose the 'cheese matrix' does make it sound very mystical," lead study author Emma Feeney, who studies human nutrition and metabolism at University College Dublin, told Business Insider. "It's really not, it's just a fancy word for the overall structure."

Feeney's study of 164 overweight, middle aged Irish adults, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition earlier this month, found that participants who incorporated blocks of full-fat Irish cheddar cheese in their diets, while limiting other dairy intake to just two ounces of milk per day, didn't gain weight.

Instead, participants lowered both their total cholesterol and levels of so-called "bad" LDL cholesterol. They ate a ton of cheese while doing it, too: 120 grams a day, or more than half a standard Irish cheese block. It's the kind of cheese block meant to serve an entire household of cheese lovers. 

The findings go hand in hand with another study published in July, which followed more than 2,900 American adults for more than two decades. That study found people who consumed full-fat dairy had no greater risk of dying from any cause, including heart attacks, than anyone else.

Increasingly, food scientists are discovering that counting calories or focusing on avoiding specific food groups, like carbohydrates or fat, isn't really the secret to a long or healthy life.

"We need to stop thinking about foods in terms of their fat and their saturated fat content, and thinking about them as a whole food," Feeney said.

During the study, Feeney broke participants down into four groups. The first group were the full-fat cheese eaters, ingesting the whopping 120 grams of cheddar a day. A second group of study participants ate reduced-fat cheddar and butter. A third ate butter in addition to protein powder and calcium supplements (mimicking the nutritional value of cheese), and a fourth group had no cheese at all. 

Full-fat cheese eaters reduced their cholesterol most effectively, while the reduced-fat cheese eaters and butter-plus-supplement group lowered their cholesterol a bit, but not as well. 

The study authors think this might be evidence that calcium and protein in cheese, eaten as a whole food and not as a supplement or reduced-fat diet food, may best reduce the artery-clogging effects of butterfat on the body. 

There's a big caveat, however. Since so many people dropped out of the no-cheese-allowed group (who wants to volunteer to not eat cheese for six weeks?) the study numbers in that category aren't robust enough to know for sure that eating cheese can actively help reduce cholesterol, compared to not eating any cheese at all. 

"We wouldn't be able to conclusively say that from these results," Feeney cautioned. "But certainly, it does look that way."

What's so special about cheese?

Nutritionists from around the world are starting to notice that people who eat more fermented dairy products, like cheese and yogurt, are at a lower risk for developing heart disease and Type-2 diabetes. While the reasons why aren't fully understood, there are a couple big clues. 

The first has to do with dairy protein. 

Casein, a complete protein in cheese and milk, digests slower than most other animal proteins. Casein is a big part of the protein component in dairy: in sheep's milk cheese, for example, anywhere between 76-83% of the proteins are casein.

Cheese is also more fat-concentrated than milk, because cheese-making separates liquid whey from curds, adding in bacteria and converting milk sugars into lactic acid, making the product less watery. 

In the case of cheddar, there's a "cheddaring" process in which salt is added and the product is stacked, turned, and aged. During this time, bacteria break down the proteins in cheddar cheese, giving it a characteristically chewy texture and cheesy flavor.  

But not everyone thinks this aged dairy protein is good for us. 

Thomas Colin Campbell, biochemist and author of The China Study, has taken a critical view of casein and spent decades studying how plant-based diets are better for health than animal products.

Campbell does acknowledge, however, that breaking nutrition down into individual components in food doesn't create a clear picture of how our bodies process what we eat.

"Investigating the independent effects of one substance at a time, as with casein, is very incomplete and misleading, even though such information can be very valuable as a stepping stone to a larger truth," he wrote on his blog. 

Don't break the membrane

There is one more potential explanation for why cheese fat may be better for us than butter fat, and it lies in something called the milkfat globule membrane. The "MGM" is a tiny outer shell that surrounds individual fatty acid droplets (lipids) in milk, and it isn't preserved in butter.

"When you make butter, you break that membrane up, and it's actually drained off," Feeney said. 

(Other MGM-rich dairy, like cream, contains twice the milkfat globule membranes of butter per gram of fat, and won't raise LDL cholesterol levels, either.) 

Despite the seemingly good news about cheese and cholesterol, Feeney says moderation is still key: 

"We would not recommend that people go off and eat 120 grams of cheese every day," she said. But "a piece of cheese, the recommended portions of cheese, are not going to do you any harm."

SEE ALSO: Do you really have to wash your hands every time you use the bathroom? The definitive answer, according to science

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cheese scientist tells us the cheese he would never eat

• Voters head to the polls Tuesday for primary elections in Florida, Arizona, and Oklahoma for a potentially historic vote in state legislatures.
• In these primaries, 15 millennials are running for seats in the House of Representatives, continuing the swell of younger candidates aiming to transform Congress in November's midterm elections.
• Four candidates in Florida stand to set demographic records for state offices if they win.
• Interest in key issues, like gun control in Florida, are encouraging for younger candidates looking to challenge long-seated incumbents.

Voters head to the polls Tuesday for primary elections in Florida, Arizona, and Oklahoma in a potentially historic vote.

Tonight's primaries include 15 millennials who are running for seats in the House of Representatives, and Florida's race for governor could yield some demographic firsts for state offices.

Continuing the swell of candidates gunning to shake up Congress in November's midterms, six millennials are running in Arizona, and eight in Florida, according to Axios.

Four of the Sunshine State's races could make history.

Democrat Cedric McMinn could become the state's first openly gay African-American lawmaker if he wins his race for state representative.

Former state Rep. Gwen Graham and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum both stand to make history if successful in the race for Florida governor, as either the first woman or the first African-American in the office, respectively.

If elected, Rep. Sean Shaw would be state's first African-American attorney general.

But they all have to win the primaries on Tuesday, then the general election in November, if they're going to make history.

The Pew Research Center defines millennials as born between 1981 and 1996, making the age ceiling for the term 37. The average age of a member of Congress is almost 58 in the House and almost 62 in the Senate — one of the oldest in recent history, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Votes in Florida and Arizona will serve as particularly strong examples for changing the status quo, as Democratic groups look for wins with gun control on voters' minds two days after a deadly shooting in Jacksonville.

Since the massacre in Parkland, Florida, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students have been leaders on the national stage advocating for stricter gun laws and pushing for more engagement from younger voters.

The parents of two of the students killed in the massacre are running for two Broward County school board seats, on platforms that push improved school safety, which they say was not a priority before the shooting.

Though some younger candidates have grabbed headlines this election season — such as the stunning defeat of a longtime New York representative by 28-year-old Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez— a surge in youth interest and activity in policy stands to transform the House.

Tuesday's elections are the final multistate primaries before the general elections in November.

SEE ALSO: What to watch in Tuesday's primary elections in Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma

DON'T MISS: Meet the millennial candidate for the US Senate who says it’s time for young faces in Washington

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Meet the woman behind Trump's $20 million merch empire

• To find the best places to visit in October 2018, Business Insider looked at climate data, cultural calendars, and peak travel times.
• October is shoulder season for many top tourism destinations, and savvy travelers are already planning their trips.
• The best places to visit in October include the haunted city of Savannah, Georgia, the world's biggest Oktoberfest celebration in Munich, Germany, and the vibrant cultural hub of Marrakesh, Morocco.

In October, when memories of summertime start to fade and temperatures take a dip, travelers are looking for a good place to escape.

Smart travelers know that for many of the world's dop destinations, October is shoulder season, the period of travel right before or after peak tourism season, when the crowds are thinner and the prices are lower.

We looked at airfare trends, climate data, and cultural calendars to select 13 vacation spots that are some of the best places to visit in October. They include one of the most haunted places in America, a serene paradise in Myanmar, and a Moroccan cultural hub once named the best travel destination in the world.

These destinations offer something for every traveler, whether you're a history buff, a nature lover, a beach bum, or a beer-guzzling party animal. Read on for the 13 places you should visit in October, and plan away.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best places to visit in September for every type of traveler

DON'T MISS: The 50 most livable cities in the world in 2018

Savannah, Georgia

There's no better place to spend the month of Halloween than a city that's supposedly one of the most haunted in America.

In Savannah, Georgia, you can explore the city's mysterious history on late-night tours of hotels, houses, restaurants, and cemeteries said to have a paranormal energy. They're the scenes of "dark tales of murder," "acts of jealousy," and "the tragic deaths of loved ones," according to Ghost City Tours.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Every year, thousands of people flock to New Mexico, for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, a nine-day festival celebrating hot-air balloons. 

"For more than four decades, the first week in October brings the smells of roasting chiles and the beautiful, magical moving picture show of hot air balloons sailing silently through the crisp fall air," the festival's website says.

Use the festival as the perfect excuse to visit Albuquerque and soak in its Southwestern charm.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

October falls right in the middle of off-season in Wyoming's scenic Jackson Hole valley. That means you'll have more room to explore the mountains, go elk-watching, and soak in natural hot springs in an area that is rapidly becoming a tourist hotspot.

The town of Jackson is just 45 minutes away from Grand Teton National Park and two hours from Yellowstone National Park. If you don't mind chilly weather (highs are in high 50s Fahrenheit), then October's a great time to check them out.

• Academic review site Niche reported the toughest college to gain acceptance into in every state.
• The list looked at SAT and ACT scores and college acceptance rates.
• The hardest college to get into in America is Harvard University.

With an acceptance rate of just 5% and typical SAT scores between 1430 and 1600, Harvard University is America's hardest college to get into, according to a list from academic review site Niche.com.

The rankings are based on acceptance rates and SAT and ACT scores reported to the US Department of Education. College acceptance rates received a weighted average of 60% in the ranking computation, and SAT/ACT scores received a weighted average of 40%. 

Business Insider used Niche's state filter to find out which college is the hardest to get into in each of America's 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Scroll through to find out the most selective college in each state, along with their acceptance rate and SAT score, listed for the lower end of accepted students (25th percentile) and higher end (75th percentile).

SEE ALSO: The 50 smartest colleges in America

SEE ALSO: The 25 US colleges with the best location

Alabama: Spring Hill College

Acceptance rate: 44%

SAT 25th-75th percentile: 1000-1190

Alaska: University of Alaska Southeast

Acceptance rate: 49%

SAT 25th-75th percentile: N/A

Arizona: Grand Canyon University

Acceptance rate: 57%

SAT 25th-75th percentile: N/A

• President Donald Trump announced a new bilateral trade agreement with Mexico on Monday.
• The deal would rework several trade rules dealing with cars, intellectual property, agriculture, and more.
• But many experts and groups have attacked the new deal, including some long-time Trump allies.

President Donald Trump heralded a trade deal with Mexico as a new day for the North American Free Trade Agreement, but many of his top allies aren't thrilled by the agreement.

The deal announced by Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Monday proposes to revise rules dealing with the treatment of automobiles moving across the border, intellectual property, and labor.

Trump called the deal "incredible" and suggested that the US could pull out of NAFTA completely and simply move ahead with the Mexican bilateral agreement instead of involving Canada in the new deal.

"So it's an incredible deal," Trump said in the Oval Office. "It's an incredible deal for both parties. Most importantly, it's an incredible deal for the workers and for the citizens of both countries."

(Read more: Here's what's in the US-Mexico trade deal »)

But for many of the president's ideological allies — from conservative think tanks to Republican lawmakers to the influential editorial boards — the sentiment appears to be that the deal is better than breaking NAFTA completely, but it's not a good deal.

Most of the critics pointed to the increased regulatory burden of the automobile rules and possible higher costs from the stronger labor protections, saying these provisions would increase government's role in the economy and prevent companies from operating efficiently.

Here's a rundown of some of the criticism:

• Republican Sen. Ben Sasse: "I am working through the details of the possible US-Mexico agreement, but there is reason to worry that this might be a step backward from NAFTA for American families –especially on fundamental issues of presumed expiration of the deal, and empowering government bureaucrats rather than markets to determine the components in cars and other goods."
• Business Roundtable, a lobbying group made of US CEOs: "Business Roundtable has concerns that today’s announcement might signal not an improvement, but rather a step backward by requiring a sunset provision, weakening investment protections and constraining access to dispute settlement procedures. Any final agreement with Mexico and Canada should expand trade, not restrict it."
• Simon Lester and Inu Manak, trade scholars at the free market Cato Institute: "The NAFTA renegotiation has led to great market uncertainty, and it would be nice to get this all resolved. But before we applaud the completion of any deal, what matters most is in the details. From what we know at the moment, those details suggest that NAFTA may have been made worse, not better."
• The right-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board: "The deal announced Monday has moving parts and there is still time to make improvements before it is signed and sent to Congress. We’re glad to see Mr. Trump step back from the suicide of NAFTA withdrawal, but on the public evidence so far his new deal is worse."
• The Bloomberg editorial board: "Rebranding NAFTA is better than pulling it apart — but if this modified accord with Mexico is the best Trump can do, it would have been less disruptive, and better for the US economy, to have left well enough alone."

SEE ALSO: The US and Mexico just announced an agreement to overhaul NAFTA — here's what's in it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A North Korean defector's harrowing story of escape

• President Donald Trump on Monday night reportedly told evangelical Christian leaders there would be "violence" if Republicans lost their majority in Congress as a result of November's midterm elections.
• "You're one election away from losing everything that you've got," Trump said, according to the report.
• If Republicans did lose big to Democrats, Trump said, "They will overturn everything that we've done and they'll do it quickly and violently, and violently."

President Donald Trump on Monday night reportedly told evangelical Christian leaders there would be "violence" if Republicans lost their majority in Congress as a result of November's midterm elections.

Trump suggested Democrats would "quickly" and "violently" overturn gains he's made for conservative Christians, according to excerpts of the closed-door meeting obtained by NBC News.

"You're one election away from losing everything that you've got," Trump said, according to the NBC News report. "The level of hatred, the level of anger is unbelievable." Trump apparently went on to say that the midterm elections were not only a referendum on him.

If Republicans were to lose big to Democrats, Trump reportedly said: "They will overturn everything that we've done and they'll do it quickly and violently, and violently. There's violence. When you look at Antifa and you look at some of these groups — these are violent people."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

During Monday's meeting, Trump also reportedly repeated a previously debunked claim that he'd gotten rid of a law that prohibits churches and charitable organizations from endorsing political candidates. Presidents do not have the constitutional authority to repeal laws.

Trump was apparently referencing what is known as the Johnson Amendment. In May, Trump signed an executive order aimed at undermining the law, but legal experts have said say the executive step was largely symbolic. Efforts to kill the law in Congress have stalled.

SEE ALSO: Giuliani: 'The American people would revolt' if Trump were impeached

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A North Korean defector's harrowing story of escape

The Kremlin released new photos on Monday of Russian president Vladimir Putin taking a break from his official duties to go hiking in Siberia with his top security chiefs, Reuters reports.

In the past, the 65-year-old leader often posed shirtless in his official vacation photos, but he's fully clothed in this year's images and looks somewhat somber at times.

During an interview with an Australian journalist in June, Putin defended past pictures of him on vacation in which he was bare-chested.

"When I am on vacation I see no need to hide behind the bushes, and there is nothing wrong with that," Putin said.

SEE ALSO: 'I see no need to hide behind the bushes': Putin defends shirtless photos of himself

DON'T MISS: Russian president Vladimir Putin returned from his annual shirtless vacation

Putin's mini-vacation occurred as he was on his way to the Siberian city of Kemerovo, a coal mining hub, according to the Kremlin.

"The president, on his way to Kemerovo, decided to fly out earlier and spend Saturday and Sunday in Tuva, on the Yenisei River," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "He walked in the mountains, admired the beautiful views."

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu joined Putin on his trip.

• An attorney for a crack dealer in New York City last week attempted to cite President Donald Trump's suggestion that "flipping" should be illegal during closing arguments before being cut off by the judge.
• "I believe that the president's opinion of cooperators is just as pertinent as anyone else's opinion about cooperators," the attorney was quoted as saying. 
• The crack dealer, Jamal "Mally" Russell, was later convicted on a charge of conspiracy to deal crack.
• The president expressed his opposition to "flipping" after his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, implicated him in campaign finance violations in a federal court. 

An attorney for a crack dealer in New York City last week attempted to cite President Donald Trump's suggestion that "flipping" should be illegal during closing arguments before being cut off by the judge, the New York Daily News reported. 

Kafahni Nkrumah, the attorney for Jamal "Mally" Russell, began to mention the verdict surrounding Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, before the judge intervened. 

Nkrumah reportedly later said he intended to reference Trump's suggestion that flipping "ought to be illegal" that he had made on the show "Fox and Friends" earlier that day.

"I believe that the president's opinion of cooperators is just as pertinent as anyone else's opinion about cooperators," Nkrumah was quoted as saying.

But US District Judge Gregory Woods did not agree and barred Nkrumah from continuing with this line of argument.

Woods emphasized that flipping is not illegal and added that he silenced Nkrumah because he was "concerned about the confusion" that suggesting otherwise could've "wrought" among members of the jury, according to the Daily News. 

Russell was convicted on a charge of conspiracy to deal crack.

The president's comments on flipping were in relation to his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who last week implicated him in campaign finance violations linked to payments made to two women who have alleged they had affairs with Trump.

"If somebody defrauded a bank and he is going to get 10 years in jail or 20 years in jail, but you can say something bad about Donald Trump and you will go down to two years or three years, which is the deal he made, in all fairness to him, most people are going to do that," Trump told "Fox and Friends." "And I have seen it many times. I have had many friends involved in this stuff. It's called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal."

SEE ALSO: Giuliani says he advised Trump against pardoning Manafort until the Mueller investigation is over

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NOW WATCH: Meet the woman behind Trump's $20 million merch empire

• Michael Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis has made stunning reversals in recent days.
• Experts say it could make it much more difficult for Cohen to be viewed as a valuable witness in other investigations.
• Meanwhile, the reversals have caused CNN to come under fire for a story from which Davis has backed away.
• But CNN is standing firmly by its report.

Michael Cohen's attorney has come under fire in recent days after backtracking on explosive claims that his client had knowledge that President Donald Trump knew in advance of the controversial June 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving top campaign officials and a Russian lawyer.

The reversal from Lanny Davis, the attorney, sparked widespread condemnation — particularly on the right— of a July CNN story citing multiple sources who claimed Cohen was prepared to tell special counsel Robert Mueller about Trump's advance knowledge of the meeting. It also opened up Cohen to new questions about his credibility and, experts told Business Insider, it may complicate his ability to cooperate in other investigations.

Last week, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts of federal felonies, including two campaign-finance violations stemming from hush money payments to a pair of women who alleged affairs with Trump.

Davis's reversals have brought a July CNN story under the microscope:

• In the story, "sources with knowledge" told CNN that Cohen knew that Trump knew in advance about the Trump Tower meeting and was "willing to make that assertion" to Mueller. 
• Trump has has publicly denied this.
• The sources told CNN that Cohen was in the room with several others when Trump first learned of the Russians' offer to meet.
• A source told CNN that Cohen did not testify that Trump had advance knowledge when he was testifying before the House Intelligence Committee.
• CNN said that Davis "declined to comment."

At the time, Trump's team hit back. The president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, called Cohen a "pathological liar" who has been "lying for years."

Giuliani has shared his thoughts on Davis's credibility to Business Insider, pointing to the attorney's past work for former President Bill Clinton. Davis served Clinton as an attorney and spokesman amid the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

What happened

Last week, nearly a month after the CNN story ran and right after Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court, Davis seemed to contradict the report, raising some eyebrows.

"I think the reporting of the story got mixed up in the course of a criminal investigation," Davis told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. "We were not the source of the story."

• Davis then told The New York Post and The Washington Post, two outlets to which Davis had confirmed the CNN story, that he actually could not independently confirm it.
• In his interview with The Washington Post, Davis also walked back from another claim — that Cohen could provide Mueller with information suggesting Trump knew in advance about Russian hacking efforts.
• Additionally, Davis told Axios last week that he didn't shoot down the CNN story earlier because "we were not the source, we could not confirm, and we could not correct." 

But after initially denying he was a source in the CNN story, Davis told BuzzFeed on Monday that he was an anonymous source for the publication. That contradicted words he said on CNN days prior.

"I made a mistake," Davis told BuzzFeed, adding that he didn't lie to Cooper but just "unintentionally misspoke."

CNN comes under fire

CNN is standing by the story, and two employees told Business Insider the network's level of commitment is "100%."

Those people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, pointed to the multiple sources who provided the outlet with the information and what they said is an ulterior motive Davis could have for suddenly changing his tune.

After Cohen made his plea deal last week, leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a statement saying they "recently reengaged with Mr. Cohen and his team following press reports that suggested he had advance knowledge of the June 2016 meeting between campaign officials and Russian lawyers at Trump Tower."

"Mr. Cohen had testified before the Committee that he was not aware of the meeting prior to its disclosure in the press last summer," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chairman Mark Warner said. "As such, the Committee inquired of Mr. Cohen's legal team as to whether Mr. Cohen stood by his testimony. They responded that he did stand by his testimony."

If Davis, speaking on behalf of his client, stood by his original comments to CNN, Cohen could be opened up to a perjury charge.

Some critics called for CNN to issue some sort of correction — or even a full-blown retraction— but the CNN employees said that's not under consideration. One person said the reaction to Davis's reversal is "overblown" and there was "no freak out" among people inside the network.

That person added that CNN would make immediate amendments if the story was incorrect, but they haven't found any reason to believe it is untrue. The person pointed to Davis saying not that the story was false, but simply that he cannot independently confirm it, as bolstering CNN's argument.

A second CNN employee said Davis was one of at least two "primary sources" on the story. The backlash to the story is "an attempt to delegitimize" CNN, the other person said.

On Tuesday afternoon, two of the reporters who authored the original CNN piece wrote on Davis's reversals in an attempt to provide clarity amid the backlash.

Davis did not return a request for comment from Business Insider. Cohen has not publicly addressed Davis's reversals or the CNN story itself.

Legal experts: Davis just harmed Cohen's credibility

Legal experts told Business Insider that Davis' reversals could prove harmful to Cohen if he wants to further cooperate with the government in any ongoing investigations.

"To the extent that Michael Cohen knew that Lanny Davis would make (or had made) that representation and took no steps to repudiate it, that would create a credibility issue that could be used on cross-examination," Mitchell Epner, an attorney at Rottenberg Lipman Rich and a former federal prosecutor in the District of New Jersey, told Business Insider. "Special Counsel Mueller would consider that information as part of the baggage that comes with Michael Cohen."

Even if Cohen "immediately denied" the veracity of Davis' statements, Epner said there is still "a potential credibility problem in the fact that Lanny Davis continues to represent Michael Cohen."

Epner said he was surprised Cohen hired Davis originally because of Davis' past comments on Cohen-related issues.

"It is difficult for an attorney to represent a client when that attorney has previously attacked the credibility of that individual," Epner said.

Roland Riopelle, a partner at Sercarz & Riopelle who was formerly a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, seconded Epner's assessment, telling Business Insider in an email that the reversals "reduce Mr. Cohen's value as a witness because they provide fodder for any future cross-examiner."

"Mr. Davis has done a disservice to his client, in my opinion, by presenting his case in the press and then contradicting himself and making grandiose claims about what Mr. Cohen knows or can do," he said. "These sorts of statements may very well benefit the Clintons ... but they do not benefit Mr. Cohen."

SEE ALSO: Michael Cohen's attorney: The 'final straw' for Cohen was Trump's disastrous summit with Putin, and he now feels 'liberated' after making a deal with prosecutors

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NOW WATCH: Meet the woman behind Trump's $20 million merch empire

• Germany luxury brand Buben & Zorweg makes safes for the ultra-rich.
• The company's bespoke-made safes can cost over $386,000 and can be customized extensively to the client's specification.
• The company estimates that their average customer has around $4 million in disposable income.
• Head of design Eberhard Hagmann recalled making a safe for a customer who wished to safeguard an antique worth $40 million.

When you own inanimate objects worth as much as several houses, no cost is too great for the safe in which you store those objects securely.

Peace of mind, as they say, is priceless.

If you did want to put a price on it, though, German luxury brand Buben & Zorweg would like it to be $263,800 for their Solitaire Vision model.

For that princely sum, clients receive a safe hand-crafted in Germany, protected by 16mm-thick bulletproof spy glass, housing 46 watch-holders, a humidor and, of course, a Bluetooth-enabled HiFi speaker system.

If you really wanted to push the boat out, you could opt for the Treasury — Buben & Zorweg's most expensive base model — which starts at $386,000 in the US.

The 600 kg (1,323 lb) Goliath is adorned with Italian nappa leather and features a giant flying minute tourbillon clock right in the middle.

If you thought that Buben & Zorweg's safes were just for show, though, think again — all their safes are VdS-certified (the highest mark of quality available).

So, who buys them?

Unsurprisingly, it's rich people — the company estimated that their average customer has around $4 million in disposable income.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Eberhard Hagmann, head of design, said: "More and more, they want a good design, so when you see this object, you don't know if it's a safe or not.

"It's furniture."

Apparently, clients come to the company with photos of their homes so that the safes can match their decor, and the level of customisation available is infinite.

"Everything is possible at Buben & Zorweg," the company's head of international marketing, Michael Arnsteiner, told Business Insider.

He says the company also builds bespoke safe rooms for clients, which start at €400,000 ($463,000).

Hagmann recalled once designing a safe to match the interior of his client's Aston Martin One-77.

As far as what customers put in these safes, which alone are worth more than the average person's most prized possessions, Hagmann says it varies, from guns to a Jimi Hendrix guitar. The designer once made a safe to hold one antique for a client worth $40 million.

SEE ALSO: 20 of the most expensive watches worn by the world's most elite athletes

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NOW WATCH: How movie theaters are ruining your movie

LONDON – A lazy, indulgent brunch is the perfect way to catch up with family and friends.

If you're living in — or passing through — a big city like London, bottomless beverages, such as all-you-can-drink prosecco and bloody marys, are often part of the deal.

We've compiled a list of the best bottomless brunch deals in London to make sure you get the most out of your money – and your time limit.

Of the many restaurants in the capital that serve free-flowing booze with brunch, the food menus vary from Japanese steamed buns to a classic full English breakfast.

Here are 37 of the best-value and most popular bottomless brunch spots around London, from Hackney to Chelsea, ranked by price from the most expensive to the cheapest.

Some restaurants charge food and bottomless drink separately, in which case we have listed a combined price.

Oblix East, The Shard — £75

Based on Level 32 of The Shard, the East Brunch at Oblix involves digging into a three-course meal — including the likes of lobster, truffle, and steak — while looking out over Tower Bridge, The City, and beyond.

It's a special, blow-out experience, though — it'll cost you £75 for the meal with free-flowing red and white wine, or £80 if you'd rather have bottomless sparkling Chandon.

When: Saturdays and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.

Gaucho (Various Locations) — £59.95

Splash out on Gaucho's Electro, Acoustic, or Balearic Brunch — depending on location — where you'll get two hours of endless drinks and food, including steak & eggs, Nutella donuts, and Aperol Spritz, for £59.95.

When: Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Roka Aldwych – £59

The bottomless brunch at Roka Aldwych includes 10 sharing plates like edamame and sashimi, a main course including the likes of sake teriyaki, a dessert and unlimited red or white wine – but it'll cost you, at £59 per person.

When: 11.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. on Saturdays, 11.30 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Sundays and bank holidays.

Setting off the fall TV season, a few highly anticipated new shows are premiering next month.

SEE ALSO: Jim Gaffigan on turning down Netflix to make his latest stand-up special 'available to everyone'

5. "Mayans M.C." — Premieres September 4 on FX

Summary: "The next chapter in Kurt Sutter’s award-winning 'Sons of Anarchy' saga. Set in a post-Jax Teller world, Ezekiel 'EZ' Reyes (JD Pardo) is fresh out of prison and a prospect in the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. Now, EZ must carve out his new identity in a town where he was once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp."

4. "Manifest" — Premieres September 24 on NBC

Summary: "When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. But in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years - and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they're all given a second chance."

3. "The Purge" — Premieres September 4 on USA

Summary: "During a 12-hour period when all crime — including murder — is legal, a group of seemingly unrelated characters cross paths in a city in an altered America."

• President Donald Trump used Twitter on Wednesday morning to react to Tuesday's gubernatorial primary elections in Florida, calling the Democratic nominee, Andrew Gillum, a "failed Socialist."
• Trump also predicted that Gillum would lose to his pick, GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis, in November's general election.
• Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, could become Florida's first black governor. 

President Donald Trump used Twitter on Wednesday morning to react to Tuesday's gubernatorial primary elections in Florida, calling the Democratic nominee, Andrew Gillum, a "failed Socialist."

Trump also predicted that Gillum, a progressive, would lose badly in November's general election to his pick, GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis.

"Not only did Congressman Ron DeSantis easily win the Republican Primary, but his opponent in November is his biggest dream....a failed Socialist Mayor named Andrew Gillum who has allowed crime & many other problems to flourish in his city," Trump tweeted. "This is not what Florida wants or needs!"

Trump added that Republicans' victories in Tuesday night's primaries in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Florida were big for the GOP.

"Big Election Wins last night!" Trump tweeted. "The Republican Party will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Actually, it is happening faster than anybody thought possible! It is morphing into KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"

Gillum, 39, the mayor of Tallahassee, defeated the establishment candidate Rep. Gwen Graham in Florida's Democratic primary. If elected, Gillum, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, will be the Sunshine State's first black governor.

DeSantis, also 39, defeated the state's agriculture commissioner, Adam Putnam, in Florida's Republican primary. The conservative congressman's campaign has been defined by his enthusiastic support for Trump.

Trump tweeted his congratulations to DeSantis on Tuesday night.

"Such a fantastic win for Ron DeSantis and the people of the Great State of Florida," Trump said. "Ron will be a fantastic Governor. On to November!"

Many are viewing the Florida race as a referendum of Trump versus Sanders.

SEE ALSO: Liberal candidate pulls off upset in Democratic primary in Florida, bringing him closer to becoming the state's first black governor

DON'T MISS: GOP congressman Ron DeSantis easily wins primary for Florida governor after Trump's endorsement

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NOW WATCH: A North Korean defector's harrowing story of escape

• Low-carb diets are a popular way to lose weight, but a growing body of research suggests they may also lead to premature death when followed for long periods.
• A new study of more than 24,800 adults in the US found that those who limited their carb intake had a 32% higher risk of death from any cause than people who ate high-carb diets.
• That finding aligns with other new data of more than 447,500 people around the globe.
• Limiting carbs might be a good strategy for weight loss, but experts say it's not a great plan to follow in the long term. 

Low-carb diets have many iterations, each with a devoted following. Atkins dieters eat lots of meat and eggs before slowly and carefully reintroducing carbs, while the ketogenic diet urges people to severely cut carbs and focus on upping their fat intake from foods like butter, cheese, and avocados.

But increasingly, scientists are discovering that going low-carb may not do you any favors in the long run.

A study presented Tuesday at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2018 looked at the self-reported eating patterns of 24,825 people in the US over more than a decade.

The researchers separated participants into four quartiles, from lowest- to highest-carb diets. They found that Americans in the bottom 25% of the pack, who ate barely any carbs, had a 32% higher risk of death from any cause than those who had the highest carb intakes.

They also found that low-carb dieters had a 51% increased risk of dying from coronary heart disease and a 35% increased risk of dying from cancer relative to people in the top 25% of carb eaters.

The researchers compared those results with data on the diets of 447,506 people around the world and found that overall, low-carb dieters had a 15% increased risk of death.

The researchers think this may be because replacing healthy, fiber-rich carbs — like whole grains and certain vegetables — with more meat can lead to danger.

"Our study suggests that in the long-term they are linked with an increased risk of death from any cause, and deaths due to cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer," Maciej Banach, a professor at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland who helped write the study, said in a release.

Healthy carbs like whole grains and beans aren't bad for you

This new study comes on the heels of another worldwide investigation into death data published in the Lancet earlier this month. It found that people who ate a moderate amount of carbs and focus on whole, healthful foods like veggies, legumes, and nuts tended to live longer than people who limited their carbohydrate intake.

It's more evidence that the best long-term diet strategy is a regimen rich in vegetables, filling whole grains, and healthy fats from naturally oily sources like olives and avocados.

"Try to make choices that fill your plate with plants," Sara Seidelmann, a cardiologist and nutrition researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who led the Lancet study, previously told Business Insider.

She said it's not clear whether a plant-based diet that is also low-carb might be a healthy long-term strategy because no one really eats that way.

"It's not a natural eating pattern," she said.

Instead, when people dump carbs, they often reach for more animal proteins and fats.

Eating more butter and meat can increase your blood pressure, and the World Health Organization says that processed meats like hot dogs, ham, bacon, and sausage can cause cancer. It's possible that any kind of red meat, processed or not, could be linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. And some fish carry high levels of nitrates, which can cause cancer in animals.

What's more, low-carb dieters who trade grains and fresh produce for more meat and fish may unwittingly acidify their urine, putting them at risk for developing kidney stones.

That said, there are a few good reasons to go low-carb

Still, low-carb diets offer real benefits for certain people.

The ketogenic diet— keto for short — was originally developed to help curb epileptic seizures in children. Cutting sugar and eating more fat has been found to help control seizures when drugs can't and to stop them completely in some cases.

Going keto can also help control blood glucose levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes. That's also why it can be an effective short-term weight-loss treatment.

"Low-carbohydrate diets might be useful in the short term to lose weight, lower blood pressure, and improve blood glucose control," Banach said in the release. His study suggests that the link between early death and low-carb diets is stronger for people who aren't obese, lending credence to the idea that it might be all right to cut carbs if you need to lose a lot of weight.

Cancer doctors also think that keto diets may play a role in making certain types of treatment more effective, and they've studied how cutting sugar from mice's diets helps one class of cancer drugs more effectively kill tumors. Human trials of this drug-diet combo are set for this fall.

But for most people, restricting carbs is done by ramping up their intake of meat and other proteins and forgoing high-fiber, carb-heavy foods like beans, carrots, and legumes that help keep you satisfied until your next meal.

That said, cutting back on carbs does help dieters eat healthier in one important way: It reduces their sugar intake.

Sugar is essentially all carbs, and research has clearly shown that eating sugar can lead to all kinds of health problems — like weight gain, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes — if left unchecked.

"If we're talking about a Mountain Dew from 7-Eleven, I would agree that carbohydrate in that context is bad," Edward Weiss, an exercise scientist, recently told Business Insider. But he said that processed carbs like white bread and sugary snacks that lack fiber and vitamins shouldn't be equated with healthy carbs like whole vegetables and whole grains.

"These are the healthiest foods we know of," he said. "To avoid them is, I think, really taking a chance and doing self-experimentation with something that might have long-term negative effects."

SEE ALSO: Scientists who studied the diets of more than 447,000 people around the world are zeroing in on the ideal dose of carbs for a long life

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NOW WATCH: A nutritionist reveals the best time to eat carbohydrates — so that your body uses them up instead of storing them as fat

• Gap is struggling to keep up with its sister stores Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta.
• Gap Inc,. saw 2% sales growth overall, but the Gap brand reported comparable sales were down 5% this quarter.
• We visited a Gap store to see why it's struggling. 

Gap is struggling to keep up with its sister stores. 

Gap Inc., the parent company of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta, saw 2% sales growth overall, with growth spearheaded by Old Navy and Athleta. It was the seventh consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales growth for the company.

But the Gap brand itself is struggling — comparable sales were down 5% this quarter. "A rising economic tide does float all retail boats, but it cannot float those with holes in them and, in our view, Gap is still a very leaky vessel," Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData Retail, told Retail Dive in an email. 

Gap makes the mistake of discounting nearly everything in the store, threatening margins and making shoppers less likely to pay full price. It also offers a lot of the same styles and quality clothing as it's sister store Old Navy, but the prices are much higher at Gap. 

But Gap CEO Art Peck said in an earnings call last Thursday, "Quarter-by-quarter, we expect performance to improve, and we believe the worst is behind us." 

This is what we found when we visited a Gap in NYC.

SEE ALSO: We shopped at TJ Maxx and Kohl's to see which store was better, and the winner was clear for one key reason.

We went to the Gap in the financial district. There was a 40% off sign in the window, and a 70% off sign outside the door.

Women's clothing was on the first floor.

Generally speaking, it was pretty expensive.