• Trade talks between the US and Canada broke off on Friday without a deal, leaving US officials with only a partial agreement with Mexico on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
• US officials said that negotiations with Canada would continue next week and that Canada would join the agreement "if it is willing."
• Negotiations soured after The Toronto Star reported Friday that President Donald Trump had told reporters in an off-the-record setting that he didn't plan to compromise at all with the Canadians on NAFTA.
• Trump was said to have told Bloomberg News reporters on Thursday that any NAFTA deal would be "totally on our terms."
• He said he didn't want to make the remarks public because they would be "so insulting" to Canadians, according to The Star.

Trade talks between US and Canadian officials broke down on Friday, leaving US officials with only a preliminary agreement with Mexico on the North American Free Trade Agreement. The breakdown followed reports that President Donald Trump had said in an off-the-record setting that the US would make no concessions to Canada.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement that Trump had notified Congress that he intends to sign a trade agreement with Mexico 90 days from now — and that Canada would join "if it is willing." He added that US and Canadian officials would meet again next Wednesday.

"We have also been negotiating with Canada throughout this year-long process. This week those meetings continued at all levels," Lighthizer said. "The talks were constructive, and we made progress. Our officials are continuing to work toward agreement."

The trade talks with Canada were thrown into disarray Friday morning after The Toronto Star reported that Trump had told reporters in an off-the-record discussion that he didn't plan to compromise with Canada at all on NAFTA.

According to The Star, Trump told Bloomberg News reporters on Thursday that any deal reached would be "totally on our terms" and suggested that Canadians would have "no choice" but to go along with the plan out of fear that Trump would impose auto tariffs.

"Off the record, Canada's working their ass off. And every time we have a problem with a point, I just put up a picture of a Chevrolet Impala," Trump said, according to The Star. The Chevrolet Impala is produced at a General Motors plant in Canada.

Trump appeared to confirm that he made the remarks, tweeting on Friday afternoon: "At least Canada knows where I stand!" He also blamed Bloomberg for the leak, though it was unclear who The Star's source was.

"Wow, I made OFF THE RECORD COMMENTS to Bloomberg concerning Canada, and this powerful understanding was BLATANTLY VIOLATED," he wrote. "Oh well, just more dishonest reporting. I am used to it."

The Star said that the remarks were made to Bloomberg News reporters on condition they not be published and that it had obtained them from a source and published them because it was not bound by Bloomberg's agreement with Trump.

Bloomberg said in a statement, "When we agree that something is off the record, we respect that."

'I can't kill these people'

Trump also reportedly said he didn't want his comments published because it would be "so insulting" to Canadians.

"Here's the problem," he said, according to The Star. "If I say no — the answer's no. If I say no, then you're going to put that, and it's going to be so insulting they're not going to be able to make a deal … I can't kill these people."

He reportedly added: "Again off the record, they came knocking on our doors last night. 'Let's make a deal. Please.'"

The Star said the Canadian government was aware of Trump's remarks and viewed them as confirmation that the Trump administration was not bargaining in good faith. One official told The Star that the Americans were not offering "any movement" on the issues Canada wanted to negotiate.

NAFTA talks came down to the wire Friday morning, as officials from Canada and the US met with the stated goal of reaching a deal by the end of the day.

Canada and the US have been at loggerheads over several key NAFTA provisions, particularly agricultural and trade-dispute resolution issues. The US has demanded concessions from Canada on its protected dairy market, while Canada is fighting to keep the dispute-settlement mechanism that the US wants to eliminate.

The talks followed an announcement by Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Monday that the US and Mexico had reached a preliminary deal, a move seen as upping the stakes for Canadian negotiators, who risked being excluded from a bilateral agreement.

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 notified Congress that the administration plans to enter a new bilateral trade deal with Mexico, starting an official countdown.
• The notification does not include Canada, the other member of the North American Free Trade Agreement. 
• Talks between US and Canadian officials failed to produce an agreement Friday.
• US officials said negotiations with their Canadian counterparts will continue next week, and Canada may join the US-Mexico agreement "if it is willing."
• Here are the next procedural steps to move forward with the deal and the outstanding issues that need to be resolved between the US and Canada.

President Donald Trump is moving forward with a bilateral trade deal with Mexico after talks with Canada to finish a full North American Free Trade Agreement overhaul stalled Friday.

Trump's decision to notify Congress about the new US-Mexico agreement does not mean that Canada can't be included in a final deal. But it does officially start the countdown clock.

Here are the next steps

To renegotiate NAFTA, Trump decided to use Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, also known as fast-track authority. This method allows Congress to approve a deal with a simple majority vote, avoiding a possible filibuster in the Senate. It also creates a statutory timeline for notifying Congress of any deal.

• Trump's notification of an intent to enter into an agreement with Mexico triggers a 90-day waiting period before Congress can take up the deal for a vote.
• As part of that waiting period, the Trump administration must produce the text of the deal 60 days before the vote.
• This gives the US Trade Representative and the rest of the administration 30 days to hammer out the fine details if they want to get a vote as soon as possible.

But questions remain regarding the legality of a bilateral agreement with Mexico under the current TPA.

Some trade experts and lawmakers believed that the wording of the TPA being used in the NAFTA renegotiation is restricted to a trilateral agreement, with both Canada and Mexico included.

Other experts, such as Vanderbilt University law professor Tim Meyer, believe the Trump administration can use the current TPA but may need to add another procedural step. The TPA has two different 90-day notification steps: alerting Congress to the intent to negotiate, and alerting Congress to the intent to sign a deal.

The Trump administration's notification to negotiate, Meyer told Business Insider, included both Canada and Mexico. So the Trump administration may need to first notify Congress of the intent to negotiate with just Mexico, adding another waiting period.

Ultimately, the decision on whether or not this TPA covers the bilateral deal may come down to the Senate parliamentarian — the official rules-keeper of the chamber. 

Where things stand with Canada

While Friday's deadline was arbitrary, the notification to Congress does start a countdown clock for US-Canadian negotiations.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called the talks with Canada "constructive" and a senior administration official expressed hope that the Canadians would join the deal.

"We continue to be in the process to work with Canada in terms of whether they want to be part of this historic agreement, but certainly that remains our intention," the official said in a call with reporters.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was also optimistic at a press conference Friday afternoon, telling reporters that she believes a deal is within reach, as long as all parties show "goodwill and flexibility." 

"The Canadian government will not sign an agreement that doesn't work for Canadians," she added.

Both US and Canadian officials declined to answer reporters' questions Friday afternoon about the individual trade issues that still need to be resolved. Freeland said both sides have committed to avoid "negotiating in public" due to the intensity of the negotiations.

But based on reports, here are the issues that still need to be resolved:

1. Dairy: Trump has long complained about Canada's protection for its dairy industry, which restricts the ability of US farmers to enter the market. Lighthizer told reporters Friday morning that Canada was not making concessions about US dairy access to the Canadian market. Freeland, on the other hand, said that Canada has offered concessions on dairy.
2. Dispute settlements: The US is aiming to get rid of a binding dispute settlement process created in Chapter 19 of NAFTA that allows one member to bring a grievance about unfair trade practices, such as countervailing duties or tariffs. Canada wants to maintain those protections.
3. Cultural protection: The US has sought to eliminate provisions that allow Canada to shield Canadian-made books, music, and television from having to compete with American content. Canada imposes a quota system to ensure that broadcasters and publications feature a certain amount of Canadian content, and areas like Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia are particularly keen to keep those protections.
4. Trump: His off-record comments to Bloomberg were leaked by the Toronto Star on Friday. In the remarks, Trump claimed that the US is fleecing Canada in the trade negotiations. The comments threw a major public-relations wrench into the talks.

When asked about Trump's leaked remarks, however, Freeland demurred and said she could only speak to the Canadian position.

"My negotiating counterpart is Ambassador Lighthizer, and as I said, he has brought good faith and good will to the table," she said.

SEE ALSO: US-Canada NAFTA talks fall apart and break up after inflammatory Trump comments leak

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• The Trump administration notified Congress on Friday it intends to enter a bilateral trade deal with Mexico — and Canada can join later.
• Talks between US and Canadian officials broke down on Friday, in part due to leaked Trump comments saying the US doesn't intend to compromise.
• More negotiations between Canada and the US are scheduled for next week, and representatives from both countries said Friday they're hopeful a trilateral deal can be reached.
• But lawmakers and trade groups were skeptical of Trump's US-Mexico deal, saying Canada must be included in the final version.

Lawmakers and trade groups reacted with skepticism and dismay on Friday, after the Trump administration notified Congress of its intent to enter a bilateral trade deal with Mexico— and Canada could join later "if it is willing."

Negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement between US and Canadian officials went on through much of the week, but abruptly fell apart on Friday after remarks were leaked from President Donald Trump, who reportedly said he didn't intend to compromise with Canada at all.

According to The Toronto Star, Trump told Bloomberg News reporters on Thursday that any deal reached would be "totally on our terms" and suggested that Canadians would have "no choice" but to go along with the plan out of fear that Trump would impose auto tariffs.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, however, said in a statement Friday that it will continue negotiating with Canada with the intent of eventually including the country in a trilateral NAFTA deal.

But backlash against the US-Mexico deal quickly ensued. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the deal an "incomplete NAFTA notification" in a statement, saying that fixing the trade deal would require both Mexico and Canada.

"We still don't know the specifics of this trade agreement, or whether it will measure up to the claims of an Administration with a terrible record of delivering," Pelosi said. "I remain hopeful of progress, but without a final agreement with Canada, the Administration's work is woefully incomplete."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, tweeted that his state's economy is intertwined with Canada's — as are most states across the country.

"I cannot support a trade agreement to replace NAFTA that does not include Canada, Vermont's biggest trading partner," he said. "There would be grave concerns on both sides of the aisle about proceeding with an incomplete agreement."

Beyond just lawmakers, trade groups reacted with concern, and in some cases, anger.

"After a week filled with insults directed at Canada, today's announcement that the United States is notifying Congress of its intention to sign a trade deal with Mexico is disheartening," Sharon Treat, senior attorney of the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, said in a statement. "America's farmers deserve better. A NAFTA deal without Canadian participation is not a completed deal."

The Information Technology Industry Council also said a bilateral deal would risk harming American companies and workers, and negate any positive effects of the trade agreement.

"Any such changes to the existing NAFTA agreement would be highly disruptive to global supply chains and to the regional economy," ITI CEO Dean Garfield said in a statement.

SEE ALSO: Trump just decided to move forward with a trade deal with Mexico, cutting out Canada for now. Here's what happens next.

DON'T MISS: US-Canada NAFTA talks break up after inflammatory Trump comments leak

Join the conversation about this story »

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

Every globetrotter has a bucket list of must-travel destinations — but sometimes the hotel is the draw in and of itself.

Philippe Kjellgren, the founder of PK's List, knows this more than most.

Originally the founder of luxury hotel website Kiwi Collection, Swedish-born Kjellgren has written seven travel/hotel books, runs a travel advisory service for high-profile clients, as well as a newly-launched hotel app— and he's currently on an 800 day trip around the world to visit over 1,000 of the world’s best hotels across all seven continents.

He was flying from Tokyo to Sydney when he spoke to Business Insider, and says that he has so far visited "most of Africa, all of Asia" and is "now heading [to] the Pacific, then the Americas after that."

The goal? To visit the best hotels on the planet in person so that users of his app know every one has been personally vetted by him.

"I decided to travel for 800 days non-stop, for two and a half years, and I'm on day 400-and-something," he told Business Insider, adding that he's already been to most of the hotels in the past, but "had to go back and prove I've been there."

"I'm travelling the world visiting the hotels, proving it through social media, then adding them to the app," he said.

The app — which costs $99 per year — allows users to search for anywhere in the world and see which hotels Kjellgren personally recommends within their budget.

"You can press call or email and contact them directly," he said, adding that it's "all my research in your pocket."

Kjellgren said he grew up travelling, and had been to about 100 countries by the age of 25. Now, he says he's personally stayed in about 2,000 hotels in 139 countries.

After constantly being asked for advice, he decided to start a bespoke travel advisory service after leaving Kiwi Collection — where he is still a shareholder — a few years ago, and now caters to three tiers of business. The top tier is invitation-only for "ultra-high net worths" including royals, according to Kjellgren, who says they pay him a retainer to help with travel advice and work his connections and access.

He has a team in London and people "scattered all over the world" — and claims to have personal relationships with "about 3,000 general managers in about 130 countries."

Still, he says he's "not the type of person who only stays in super high-end hotels" — although he says "not every hotel is great."

We asked Kjellgren for his pick of the absolute best hotels on the planet that everyone should visit in their lifetime.

Scroll down to see his bucket list selection, ranked in ascending order by the starting cost per night.

Ice Hôtel, Sweden — from £124 per room, per night.

This is "the original Icehotel, located in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden — 200 km north of the Arctic Circle," according to Kjellgren. "This is a world famous hotel and an art exhibition made of ice and snow."

Taj Lake Palace, India — from £214 per room, per night.

"Voted the most romantic in the world, it’s the only hotel that’s on the lake and became world renowned when the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’ was filmed at it."

Dolder Grand, Switzerland — from £313 per room, per night.

"History and design perfectly merged in one, this very classic hotel [took] four years of renovation under the direction of famed British architect Lord Norman Foster," Kjellgren said.

It isn't always easy to carve out time for a vacation. 

The average American worker takes just eight days a year, according to 2015 figures from the US Department of Labor. 

That would have been unimaginable for a medieval peasant, who took anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off.

The short breaks mean that Americans are donating an average of $604 in work time to their employers every year in unused vacation time that can't be rolled over or paid out, according to a 2017 estimate from the US Travel Association.

Nearly half (49%) of American workers said they can't vacation because their workloads are too heavy, according to a 2016 survey from NPR, Harvard, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And 42% of those survey respondents said they felt they couldn't take all their paid vacation days because there weren't enough people to cover for them.

But there are some signs Americans are starting to change their ways: a 2018 report from the US Travel Association suggests that after two decades of declines in the number of vacation days workers took per year, employees who work more than 35 hours a week and receive paid time off are now starting to both earn and use up more allotted holiday time than they did a few years back. In 2017, vacationers spent an an extra half day away from their desks on average than they did in 2016, according to the report.

Although it can feel tough to get away from the office, we're likely not doing ourselves any favors by working ourselves into the ground. There are real, important benefits to a restful vacation. 

Here's what vacation can do for your body and your brain, according to research.

SEE ALSO: A Harvard doctor says it's harder than ever to lose weight right now — but there are 5 ways to do it well

The opposite of vacation — overwork — can lead to health problems. Researchers studied the work habits of more than 600,000 people in the US, UK, and Australia, and found that people who work more than 55 hours a week are 33% more likely to suffer a stroke and have a 13% greater risk of heart attack than those who work 35-40 hours weekly.

Source: The Lancet

Economists have even calculated the most productive and efficient schedules for factory workers, and found that working much more than 48 hours a week tends to make productivity plummet.

Economist John Pencavel from Stanford says that calculation would vary by a bit for other professions, though.

Clinical psychologist Deborah Mulhern told ABC that when you don't unwind and get away from "external stresses" (like a heavy workload), it gets harder for your body to relax.

"What neuroscience is showing is that we require down time in order for our bodies to go through the process of restoration," she told ABC News. "Without time and opportunity to do this, the neural connections that produce feelings of calm and peacefulness become weaker, making it actually more difficult to shift into less-stressed modes."

When I got married, I wanted to capture every moment of our wedding week.

Not only the "Say cheese!" moments outside restaurants with our families, or the posed portraits with my now-husband. I wanted the silly, unexpected, and sometimes hopelessly romantic photos that a photojournalist's candid camera can often bring.

So, I recently purchased two pairs of Spectacles 2, the second generation of Snap's camera glasses, so I could record 10-second videos of what I was seeing. My husband and I wore them every day of our intimate wedding week in Maine. Here's my review.

Dave Smith and Avery Hartmans contributed reporting.

SEE ALSO: 20 million people are gathering on Houseparty, a group video-chat app popular with teens

Spectacles are sunglasses that record the world as you see it.

They work by pressing a button to record a 10-second video.

These "his and hers" pairs were a gift for my fiancé before our wedding.

• When Peter Dukes helped invent the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, he had no idea that the drink would become an icon — and a symbol of what it means to be "basic."
• Coming to terms with the incredible success of the PSL was "definitely a process," Dukes told Business Insider's podcast Household Name. 
• Today, Dukes said he doesn't think too much about the Pumpkin Spice Latte's reputation. But, if people having fun with the drink means it is basic, "so be it," he said. 
• Listen to Business Insider's new podcast "Household Name," to hear the history of the PSL from Dukes' perspective. To hear the full story, subscribe to the podcast for free here.

The inventor of the Pumpkin Spice Latte had no idea what the drink would become when he helped create the iconic beverage in 2003. 

At the time, Peter Dukes was helping Starbucks try to come up with a seasonal beverage that could fit the fall menus. One idea the team came up with was a pumpkin pie-inspired coffee.

The drink that would become the Pumpkin Spice Latte was a long shot, Dukes told Business Insider's podcast Household Name, with focus groups struck by how unprecedented the combination was. But, it struck a cord. And when Starbucks began testing it in stores, it immediately became apparent that Starbucks had a hit on its hands. 

"I’ll never forget coming in and pulling the numbers and looking at the numbers and how well it sold and then you just knew you had a winner," Dukes told Household Name. 

Now, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is an icon. A symbol of both fall and mainstream basic culture, it has a larger than life reputation — one that Dukes has been grappling with over the last 15 years. According to Dukes, coming to terms with the incredible success of the PSL was "definitely a process."

"I am now comfortable with when my daughters' friends come up and say, 'Oh you worked on the PSL,'" Dukes said. "I’m like, yeah it was a fun experience, I worked with a great team on it and you know, you never know when you take risks, you never know what’s going to happen with it."

Dukes, who still works at Starbucks focused on espresso-based innovation, has two decades of experience in the coffee business. So, there is a bit of irony in one of his creations being seen as a basic icon. 

Noreen Malone, a features editor at New York Magazine who wrote an analysis of the term basic in 2014, defined the word as a term "some women were using it to describe other women who they didn't think had interesting taste." In other words, it's not a label a coffee connoisseur would necessarily enjoy. 

Still, Dukes insisted he doesn't think too much about the Pumpkin Spice Latte's reputation today. 

"People seem to have fun with the PSL," Dukes said, noting the beverage has become a "marker of fall."

He added: "And, if that's basic so be it."

SEE ALSO: Starbucks is facing a 'basic' Pumpkin Spice Latte-infused identity crisis

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 has three siblings, one of whom joins her brother in the realm of politics.
• Maryanne Trump Barry, Trump's 81-year-old sister, has a law degree from Hofstra University and served as a federal judge.
• In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• She took an inactive status in 2017.

Americans may feel like they know a lot about the Trump family. Eldest daughter Ivanka, first lady Melania, and eldest son Donald Jr. are in the public eye on nearly a daily basis.

But some people may not know President Donald Trump has three living siblings— including two older sisters, Maryanne Trump Barry and Elizabeth Trump Grau, and a younger brother, Robert Trump. His older brother, Frederick Trump Jr., died in 1981.

The eldest sibling is Maryanne Trump Barry, 81, a senior judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She took an inactive status in 2017.

Barry has a law degree from Hofstra University and, in 1983, was nominated by former president Ronald Reagan as the District Judge for New Jersey (Newark). She held the position for 16 years. Then, in 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated her to serve on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

At a rare public appearance — a 2011 commencement speech at Fairfield University, in Connecticut — Barry spoke about entering the male-dominated legal field early in her career. The Washington Post reported her saying: "My first job out of law school was as one of two women assistant US attorneys in an office of 63 US attorneys, and the first woman to do criminal work appearing only before male judges. Scared? Every day of my life."

Barry is reportedly very close with the president. WNYC reported she served as a bridesmaid in his first wedding, gave him advice during a scandal involving Megyn Kelly, and, along with their other siblings, gave him money when he needed it in 1993 (which Trump later denied).

Neither of the siblings are sticklers for political correctness. In a 1992 speech, according to The Washington Post, Barry said:

"I stand second to none in condemning sexual harassment of women. But what is happening is that every sexy joke of long ago, every flirtation, is being recalled by some women and revised and reevaluated as sexual harassment. Many of these accusations are, in anybody's book, frivolous … Frivolous accusations reduce, if not eliminate, not only communication between men and women but any kind of playfulness and banter. Where has the laughter gone?"

In her Fairfield commencement speech, Barry explained her definition of success, which is in opposition to her brother's focus on material wealth and business success:

"When I say success, I don't speak only of professional success. Success can be something as simple as the warm feeling one gets if you see a stranger that you sense to be lonely and smiling at that stranger and having that stranger return your smile; it can be bringing a child into the world and raising a child to be a good man or a good woman."

Over the years, she has also held stances on issues that run counter to the president's current agenda. For example, according to WNYC, she has taken positions viewed as supporting abortion rights, and has also expressed pro-immigrant views.

"Neither of my parents had English as a first language," she once said, according to WNYC. "My father’s father died when he was a teenager, and dad went to work to support his mother and two siblings as a carpenter and as a builder’s mule, hauling carts of lumber to construction sites when it was too icey for the mules to climb the hills."

As for her personal life, Barry's husband, John J. Barry, was an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who died in 2000, according to The New York Times.

She had one son, David Desmond, a former neuropsychologist who is now an author, with her first husband. Desmond was known in Palm Beach, Florida for his columns, which gently mocked the island's wealthy inhabitants, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Barry previously owned an oceanfront mansion next to Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, but sold it to her nephews, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., in May for $18.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The two "New York power siblings" spoke to New York Magazine together, and Trump expressed pride that his older sister was a federal judge "one notch below the Supreme Court!"

Barry said she "knew better even as a child than to even attempt to compete with Donald," which Trump said was good because the two of them would have been "butting heads."

She said Trump showed his love after she had an operation.

"Donald came to the hospital every single day," she told NYMag. "Once would have been enough — the duty call. That's how love shows, when you go that extra yard."

SEE ALSO: The 13 best books about the 2016 presidential election

DON'T MISS: Step inside Trump's private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the president spent his summer vacation

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• Kansas hasn't sent a Democrat to Congress for a decade, but this year, that might change. 
• Democrats are targeting two House races in the ruby-red state that President Donald Trump won in 2016 by 21 points.
• The governor's mansion is also up for grabs, but a third-party candidate may undermine support for the Democrat on the ticket and hand the election to the Trump-backed GOP hardliner. 

Kansas hasn't sent a Democrat to Congress for a decade, but this year, that might change.

With some luck, the governor's mansion will also be part of a predicted midwestern blue wave. 

Earlier this month, Sharice Davids, an openly gay Native American lawyer, clinched the competitive Democratic primary in the state's third congressional district, beating out a spirited field that included a Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed alternative in the Kansas City suburbs.

Davids, a former mixed martial arts fighter, will face GOP incumbent Kevin Yoder in November in a district Hillary Clinton won by a single point in 2016. Democrats consider the seat one of a handful of must-wins if the party is to flip the House this year. 

"You have voters that don't want Trump, you have voters who don't like what Yoder is, and Sharice Davids is the perfect antidote to all of that," said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist and top spokesman for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. "If you looked for the opposite of Trumpism and the opposite of Yoder's inside-the-beltway corruption, you would envision Sharice Davids."

National Democratic groups, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into both Yoder's district and the second congressional district, where five-term Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins is retiring and a popular Democrat, Paul Davis, is running against a political novice, Republican Steve Watkins. The GOP has a 10-point advantage in the district, which includes Topeka and Lawrence, in a state President Donald Trump won by 21 points.

After the state's August primaries, the non-partisan Cook Political Report moved both House races from the "lean Republican" category to its list of "tossup" races. 

Compounding Republican concern, it emerged last month that Watkins, a 41-year-old army veteran, met with Democratic Party officials last year before launching his race, in what the officials described as an effort to feel out a potential run as a Democrat. 

Watkins denies that he expressed liberal social views during the meeting, which he confirmed occurred. The registered Republican — who now says he's running to "stop illegal immigration, protect the unborn, and stand with President Trump" — has only voted once before in Kansas.  

Democrats also hope that having Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, a controversial Trump-backed immigration hardliner, on the GOP ticket for governor will energize the state's moderates and progressives. 

A third-party spoiler?

Democrats celebrated when Kobach narrowly beat out the establishment favorite GOP candidate, incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer, in the August primary. 

Best known for his far-right positions on immigration and for promoting Trump's unsubstantiated theory that Clinton won the 2016 popular vote as a result of widespread voter fraud, Kobach is unpopular among many moderate Republicans in the state and barely eked out a primary victory after the president endorsed him at the last minute. 

But Democratic nominee Laura Kelly, a moderate state senator who secured an unexpectedly decisive primary victory, may be undermined by a wealthy independent candidate, Greg Orman, who has decided to remain in the race. Democrats are worried Orman could lure enough Republican and unaffiliated voters away from Kelly to hand Kobach a November victory — even without a majority of the vote.

Orman is campaigning as a centrist independent, but his policy positions — where they're clear — are actually to the left of Kelly's. A former Democratic candidate for US Senate, Orman has attacked Kelly's more conservative stances on gun control, voter ID laws, and Medicaid expansion. Some believe that despite his progressive politics, Orman could appeal to moderate Kansans alienated by Kobach.

"Partisanship being what it is, there may be a chunk of moderate Republicans, wherever they actually fall on issues, who may be tempted to vote for an independent rather than to vote for a Democrat," said Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas. "Orman could well be the spoiler in the race."

Years of a lagging state economy have also weakened Kansas's GOP. Last year, the Republican-controlled state legislature reversed former GOP Gov. Sam Brownback's dramatic 2012 tax cuts, which slashed state revenue for schools and local government and failed to create the 100,000 new jobs the party promised. 

In 2016, the state shortened the academic year to cut costs, and in 2017, the Kansas supreme court ruled that the state was starving its schools of funding by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Kelly's latest campaign ad takes place inside a public school classroom, where she argues that Brownback's "big tax experiment" has devastated the state's schools. 

"I'm running for governor to undo that harm," she said.

SEE ALSO: Beto O'Rourke, the Texas Democrat challenging Ted Cruz, is winning national praise for his viral defense of NFL players' protests

SEE ALSO: The insurgent left largely fell short in the Midwest, but they're playing the long game

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• If President Donald Trump refuses to sit for a voluntary interview, the special counsel Robert Mueller could serve him with a grand jury subpoena.
• Three previous presidents, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, were served with subpoenas while in office.
• Here's what those presidents did, and what a legal expert says could happen if Trump resists a subpoena.

Three previous US presidents, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, were served with subpoenas while in office, and President Donald Trump could be the fourth.

For months, negotiations have dragged on between the special counsel Robert Mueller and lawyers for President Donald Trump to set the terms for a possible voluntary interview with Trump. Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign's potential role in it, and whether Trump has obstructed justice during the probe.

There are a lot of questions Mueller is trying to answer that only Trump has the answer to.

In May, the Washington Post reported that during a March negotiation, Mueller threatened to subpoena Trump to testify before a grand jury if he did not agree to a voluntary interview. In July, Trump's team reportedly rejected Mueller's terms for the interview, maintaining they did not want the president to be questioned about potential obstruction of justice.

Legally speaking, a subpoena is a binding court order to provide evidence or testimony in a criminal case. For private citizens, failing to comply with one usually means being held in contempt of court. But the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether a president can legally refuse a court order to testify before a grand jury.

Trump's lead attorney Rudy Giuliani recently told Business Insider's Allan Smith that he plans to fight a potential grand jury subpoena "all the way to the Supreme Court." If the high court rules against the president and he still refuses to comply, it's anyone guess as to what could happen.

Here's what past presidents did when they were subpoenaed, and what legal experts say could happen with Trump.

SEE ALSO: Rudy Giuliani reveals how Trump's legal team plans to fight a Mueller subpoena all the way up to the Supreme Court

DON'T MISS: Rudy Giuliani says he doesn't want Trump to get stuck in a perjury trap in an interview with Mueller because 'Truth isn't truth'

Thomas Jefferson was subpoenaed in 1807.

Jefferson became the first sitting president to be subpoenaed in 1807 in the trial of his Vice President Aaron Burr, who was accused of committing treason by planning a military invasion of Mexico.

In granting the prosecution's request to subpoena Jefferson to testify in court, then-trial judge and future Supreme Court Justice John Marshall wrote, "it is not known ever to have been doubted but that the chief magistrate of a state might be served with a subpoena."

Jefferson failed to comply with the subpoena and did not appear in court, citing a logistical inability to travel from Washington, DC to the location of the trial of Richmond, Virginia.

In a letter to one of prosecutors in the case, he wrote that his absence from the White House to testify  “would leave the nation without an executive branch."

He did, however, produce certain documents requested by the court, and offered to be questioned in Washington. His lack of compliance with the order to testify in Richmond was never legally challenged.

Source: The New York Times

Richard Nixon was subpoenaed in 1974.

In 1973, Nixon was served with a federal subpoena to provide a trove of tapes and other materials relating to former White House staff who had been indicted in the Watergate scandal.

The president was listed as un-indicted co-conspirator in the grand jury indictment of the six people charged as part of Watergate, and the House of Representatives had begun impeachment proceedings.

Nixon's lawyer challenged the constitutionality of the subpoena, citing the executive privileges laid out in Article II of the US constitution. The matter went all the way up to the US Supreme Court, and resulted in a landmark case, US v. Nixon.

In a 8-0 decision, the court, led by Chief Justice Warren Burger, ruled against Nixon, ordering him to turn over the tapes and setting crucial legal precedent. Notably, Nixon was able to bring his case directly to the court without first being held in contempt.

The majority opinion acknowledged the existence of executive privilege, but dismissed the concept that the president is entitled to "absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances."

Sixteen days after the court's decision, Nixon resigned from office before the issue of whether a sitting president could be compelled to testify before a grand jury could be tested in court.

Sources: Washington Post, Cornell Law School

Bill Clinton was subpoenaed in 1998.

In July 1998, independent counsel Ken Starr served Clinton with a subpoena to testify before a grand jury, as part of the Justice Department's investigation into his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton was already battling a civil suit from Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee who accused him of sexual harassment. In the landmark case, Clinton v. Jones, in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents cannot claim immunity from civil litigation if the accusations were from before they took office.

The president struck a deal to testify voluntarily, prompting Starr to withdraw the subpoena.

On August 17, he gave four hours of testimony before a grand jury, and later delivered a televised address to the American people in which he admitted to his infidelity — and to his previous public lies about it, including his famous "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" speech.

"Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate," Clinton told the grand jury. "In fact, it was wrong. It constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible."

The House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton in December 1998 on charges of "high crimes and misdemeanors," specifically perjury and obstruction of justice. The Senate later acquitted him on both charges in January 1999.

Sources: Justia, Business Insider, TIME

• Critics are calling "Gravity" director Alfonso Cuarón's new movie "Roma" one of the best Netflix original releases of all time. 
• The film premiered to standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival this week, and it currently has a 93% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 
• "Roma" will debut on Netflix and in theaters later this year.

"Roma," the latest film from Alfonso Cuarón, the Oscar-winning director of 2013's "Gravity," premiered to a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival this week.

With 15 reviews from the film critics who saw it in Venice, "Roma" currently has a 93% "fresh" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The score places it behind 2017's "Mudbound" as the second-highest rated Netflix original film of all time. 

Here's how Netflix described the film in a release:

"'ROMA' follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst political turmoil of the 1970s."

In a laudatory review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Tom McCarthy called the film "an immersive bath in some of the most luxuriantly beautiful black-and-white images you've ever seen," and labeled Cuarón's direction "the work of a great filmmaker who exhibits absolute control and confidence in what he's doing."

Cuarón said in an interview with Variety this week that he worked out a "very harmonious" distribution model with Netflix that would allow "Roma" to debut on the streaming platform and in theaters later this year. 

Variety reported that Participation Media sold the film to Netflix under "a new type of hybrid distribution agreement," the details of which are "being kept under wraps."

Previous Netflix original films like "Roma" that the company has seen to have Oscar potential, including "Mudbound" (which earned four Oscar nominations this year), have received a limited run in select theaters to meet the Academy's requirement that nominated films appear for at least a consecutive week in "a commercial theater." 

It's unclear how extensive the theatrical release for "Roma" will be compared to past releases, and Netflix has yet to announce a release for the film. 

Watch the trailer for "Roma" below:

SEE ALSO: The 32 worst Netflix original movies of all time, according to critics

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How a black cop infiltrated the KKK — the true story behind Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'

As Tesla announces new, sometimes limited-edition 'lifestyle' products, like the wireless phone charger it unveiled on Tuesday, it's become clear that the electric car company is hoping to make some additional revenue through the brand itself. 

Earlier this summer, Tesla released 200 limited-edition surfboards, priced at $1,500, which sold out in just one day. The carbon fiber surfboards featured the same paint used on Tesla's cars, in a similar livery. The wireless chargers sold out within a day as well, and Tesla said they use "the same design language used in our energy products, like Powerwall." 

Whether you think of it as "brand leveraging," or just old-fashioned merchandising, the fact is that Tesla is lucky enough to have customers who like the company so much they're eager to buy any number of widgets with its name on it.

Here are all the creative ways Tesla is using its strong brand to give its customers new products and experiences:

SEE ALSO: The 20 best smartphones in the world

The $65 wireless smartphone charger quickly sold out even though there are other wireless chargers available that offer more bang for the buck.

Tesla sells some other phone chargers as well. The Powerbank is a portable charger, and the Desktop Supercharger is modeled after a Tesla car charger.

Your kids can have a Tesla of their own, before they're old enough to drive.

The Model S for Kids is made for Tesla by Radio Flyer.

• Meghan McCain delivered an emotional and fiery eulogy at a memorial service for her father, the late Sen. John McCain.
• "We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness — the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly," the younger McCain said at one point, in an apparent rebuke of President Donald Trump.
• Three former presidents attended McCain's funeral, but Trump was reportedly asked not to attend.

Meghan McCain delivered an emotional and moving eulogy Saturday at a memorial service for her father, the late Sen. John McCain.

In the first remarks of the ceremony, McCain spoke of her father as a sailor, husband, warrior, prisoner, hero, congressman, senator, presidential nominee, and a "great man" who set an example as an American leader.

She also did not hesitate to reference the controversial comments President Donald Trump had made about her father in the past, though she never mentioned Trump by name.

"We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness," McCain said. "The real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served."

McCain described her father's wishes for the country as evident through his two decades of service in the US Navy and three decades in Congress serving people from all backgrounds and promoting American values.

"The America of John McCain is, yes, the America of Vietnam, fighting the fight, even in the most grim circumstances, even in the most distant, hostile corner of the world, standing for the life and liberty of other peoples in other lands," McCain said.

She continued: "The America of John McCain is generous and welcoming and bold. She's resourceful, confident, secure. She meets her responsibilities. She speaks quietly because she's strong. America does not boast because she has no need to."

In describing her father's love and devotion to his country, McCain invoked Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," to hit back at the president.

"The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great," McCain said.

The New York Times reported in May that Trump would not be invited to McCain's funeral, in accordance with the senator's wishes. Two White House officials later confirmed to The Associated Press that the president was asked not to attend.

Trump sparked widespread controversy when he mocked McCain's military service during the 2016 campaign.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said. "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like peole that weren't captured."

McCain served in the US Navy for 22 years and spent over five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

The senator, 81, was a part of many of the past three decades' most significant political moments. He was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee in a contest he lost to President Barack Obama. He also sought the presidency in 2000, mounting a primary campaign against President George W. Bush.

McCain was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2017.

Meghan, a prominent conservative pundit and cohost of ABC's "The View," is the most famous among his children and has been outspoken about the challenges of her family's struggle with the diagnosis.

During a December episode of the talk show, former Vice President Joe Biden, who was close friends with the late senator, consoled her and said that if "anybody" could overcome that cancer, it was her father.

John McCain is survived by his 106-year-old mother Roberta, seven children, and his second wife, Cindy, whom he married in 1980 following a 15-year marriage to Carol Shepp.

McCain's service on Saturday included remarks from Washington heavyweights including former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were also in attendance, as was former vice president Al Gore and several of McCain's Senate colleagues and members of the House of Representatives from both sides of the aisle.

McCain's memorial service also featured the late senator's favorite hymns: "America the Beautiful," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Amazing Grace." The Cathedral Choir, the United States Naval Academy Glee Club and the United States Navy Band Brass Ensemble performed as well.

Eliza Relman contributed reporting.

SEE ALSO: Former presidents, congressional leaders, and the military commend John McCain's storied life and service

DON'T MISS: John McCain wanted Obama and Bush to speak at his funeral, but Trump's not invited

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• Former President Barack Obama delivered a eulogy for the late Sen. John McCain during a Saturday morning funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.
• In his remarks, Obama urged leaders and citizens to look beyond "mean and petty" politics to uphold American ideals of equality and greatness in McCain's honor. 
• Obama was one of the three past presidents in attendance alongside a crowd of Washington heavyweights.
• President Donald Trump was reportedly asked not to attend.

Former President Barack Obama delivered a glowing eulogy at the late Sen. John McCain's funeral service Saturday morning that urged American citizens and leaders to follow McCain's example and abandon "mean and petty" politics. 

In his remarks, Obama said a fitting celebration of the former senator's life would come in "trying to do better" and be worthy of the "great inheritance that our founders bestowed," on the country. 

"So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty," Obama said. "Trafficking in bombast and insult, and phony controversies, and manufactured outrage. It's a politics that pretends to be brave and tough but, in fact, is born of fear." 

Obama continued: "John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that."

"It's demanded of all of us as citizens of this great republic," Obama said. "That's perhaps how we honor him best. By recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or ambition or money or fame or power. That there's some things that are worth risking everything principles that are eternal. Truths that are abiding."

One of McCain's former opponents in the race to the presidency, Obama said it was McCain's ability to look beyond party lines in the name of service that made him an exemplary leader. 

"We were standard bearers of different American political traditions and throughout my presidency, John never hesitated to tell me when he thought I have screwing up, which by his calculation was about once a day," Obama

"But for all our differences ... We never doubted the other man's sincerity or the other man's patriotism, or that when all was said and done we were on the same team," Obama said. 

Obama spoke after former President George W. Bush, another man to whom McCain lost a presidential bid, and one of several Washington heavyweights who attended the funeral service. Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton were also in attendance.

President Donald Trump, who infamously mocked McCain's military service during the 2016 campaign and tore into him several times after taking office, was reportedly asked not to attend. Trump asked defense secretary James Mattis, chief of staff John Kelly, and national security adviser John Bolton to attend the service on behalf of the administration.

Obama praised McCain's military service and duty to country on Saturday, placing emphasis on the five years McCain spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

"Others this week and this morning have spoken to the depths of his torment and the depths of his courage there in the cells of Hanoi when, day after day, year after year, a youthful iron was tempered into steel," Obama said. "In captivity, John learned, in ways that few of us ever will ... how each moment, eacy day, each choice is a test. And John McCain passed that test again and again and again."

Many of McCain's Senate colleagues and several members of the House of Representatives were also there, as was former vice president Al Gore and former secretary of state John Kerry.

After McCain's death, politicians spoke out in praise of McCain's ability to unite those from different backgrounds and ideologies.

Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said on CBS's "Face the Nation" last week that McCain's choice to include his former running opponents was a significant reach across the political divide that represents McCain's style.

"These were bitter contests, both of them," Flake said. "To ask them to speak at your funeral and for them to be honored at the opportunity, that tells you all you need to know."

The service, carefully planned by McCain’s family and reportedly by McCain himself, included moving renditions of some of his favorite hymns: "America the Beautiful," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Amazing Grace." The Cathedral Choir, the United States Naval Academy Glee Club and the United States Navy Band Brass Ensemble will perform.

McCain's daughter, Meghan, delivered remarks, along with former senator Joe Lieberman and former secretary of state Henry Kissinger. Two other McCain children, James and Sidney, will also do readings, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• Former President George W. Bush spoke at the late Sen. John McCain's Saturday morning funeral service at the National Cathedral.
• Calling McCain "a man with a code," Bush described McCain's commitment to American ideals above personal differences and politics, as "he was honorable, always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings." 
• Bush was one of three former presidents at the ceremony, which also drew a crowd of politicians, military leaders, and other media and Washington heavyweights.

When eulogizing the late Sen. John McCain during a funeral service on Saturday, former President George W. Bush described McCain as a fierce defender of American values who worked to protect the "set of public virtues that brought strength and purpose to his life and to his country."

"He was courageous with a courage that frightened his captors and inspired his countrymen," Bush said, referring to the five years McCain spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. "He was honest. No matter whom it offended. Presidents were not spared."

Calling McCain "a man with a code," Bush celebrated McCain's commitment to American ideals and his willingness to rise above party and politics. "He was honorable, always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings."

Bush added McCain greatly valued individual freedom and "respected the dignity inherent in every life, a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased by dictators."

"Perhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power, could not abide bigots and swaggering despots," Bush continued. "He spoke up for the little guy, forgotten people in forgotten places."

Scores of politicians, members of the military, and other Washington heavyweights from both sides of the aisle attended McCain's service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on Saturday.

Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton were there, as were former vice president Al Gore and former secretary of state John Kerry. Many of McCain's Senate colleagues and several members of the House of Representatives were also in attendance.

Many prominent conservatives were there, including former Senator Bob Dole, who was the 1996 Republican nominee, former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Sen. Orrin Hatch, former House speaker John Boehner, House speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

President Donald Trump was reportedly asked not to attend. But several members of the Trump administration attended, including chief of staff John Kelly, defense secretary James Mattis, national security adviser John Bolton, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner.

SEE ALSO: John McCain wanted Obama and Bush to speak at his funeral, but Trump's not invited

DON'T MISS: Former presidents, congressional leaders, and the military commend John McCain's storied life and service

Join the conversation about this story »

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

When President Donald Trump was took office, he became the fifth US president to hail from New York.

The Empire State now has the third-most presidents to call its own. It's one of four states that have produced half of the 44 US presidents, along with Virginia, Ohio, and Massachusetts.

Many presidents, including Barack Obama and George W. Bush, later moved to and identified with other states.

For example, former President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, but he later moved to and was a senator from Illinois. Bush is primarily affiliated with Texas despite being born in Connecticut.

Here are the 21 states that produced all the US presidents.

SEE ALSO: The height differences between all the US presidents and first ladies

DON'T MISS: Historic photos show every time American presidents met British Kings and Queens

Twenty-nine states haven't produced any presidents yet. Most of them are in the west, and didn't exist when the country was founded. Here's the breakdown:

Virginia had eight presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.

Ohio had seven presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding.

• The Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto is one of the world's oldest bookstores, frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and a top place to visit in Portugal.
• Opened in 1906, the bookstore was once a haunt of the city's literary scene, and many say it was a direct inspiration for J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter books. Rowling lived in the city from 1991 to 1993 and was a frequent customer.
• Today, the bookstore sees 4,000 to 5,000 visitors a day, which can make the cramped bookstore feel like a tourist trap. Despite the crowds, I still enjoyed my visit.

The Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal, is one of the world's oldest bookstores and frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.

An age-old coastal city in northwestern Portugal with cobblestone streets and a historic medieval center, Porto is one of the country's premier tourism destinations. And Livraria Lello is one of the top attractions in the city.

Opened in 1906 by the brothers José and António Lello on Rua das Carmelitas, the bookstore is a stunning architectural landmark and was once a frequent hangout for Portugal's literary scene. The neo-Gothic building features a stained-glass ceiling, gorgeous wood carvings, ladders, and rails to move the books around, and a special room to protect the bookstore's oldest and rarest books.

If all this sounds like a scene from a "Harry Potter" story, you'd be forgiven for thinking so. J.K. Rowling lived and taught English in Porto from 1991 to 1993 and was a loyal customer of Livraria Lello at the time.

Many have suggested that the bookstore's ornate neo-Gothic architecture bears a striking resemblance to depictions of both Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the central setting of the books, and the Flourish and Blotts bookshop, where characters in the books purchase their books on magic.

As a writer and someone of the age for whom Harry Potter was a formative cultural experience, I knew upon arriving in Porto that a pilgrimage to Livraria Lello was a necessity.

Here's what it was like:

SEE ALSO: I ate at the most beautiful McDonald's in the world, with crystal chandeliers, stained-glass windows, and outrageously delicious pastries

I had heard it best to head to Livraria Lello as early as possible because it gets crowded. I thought I was doing OK when I got there at 11 a.m. (it opens at 10 a.m.), but when I saw the line that stretched down several blocks, I knew I was in trouble.

To get in, you have to buy tickets for 5 euros a pop (applicable toward a book purchase) from a separate storefront. My girlfriend, Annie, went and got the tickets while I held our place in line. There were some nice brochures to browse through.

The line was scalding in the summer sun, but, thankfully, Livraria Lello employees were handing out umbrellas to shade people from the sun. It was a nice gesture when you are feeling like tourist cattle.

• 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.

• Labor Day is Monday — which means some workers in the US will be getting a day off of work.
• Business Insider reached out to three experts to get a sense of some pitfalls to avoid during long weekends.
• They recommended protecting and being intentional with your time off.

Labor Day is on Monday, so people across the US will be getting an extra day off to relax and recharge.

We already know what successful people will be doing over the long weekend.

But equally importantly, what mistakes should we watch out for and avoid? After all, you don't want your free time go down the drain.

With that in mind, let's discuss some behaviors to avoid. Here are 11 things unsuccessful people do over long weekends:

SEE ALSO: 11 things unsuccessful people do over the weekend

DON'T MISS: 14 things successful people do over 3-day weekends

1. They neglect their loved ones

"A three-day weekend lets you schedule this critical quality time," said Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job."

That being said, spending a long weekend getting away from everyone isn't necessarily a bad thing.

But unsuccessful individuals don't avoid people because they're mindfully trying to unwind — they do it because something's holding them back from connecting.

2. They stress out

We all need to rest and recharge our batteries from time to time. Unsuccessful people are unable to do this, even over long weekends. This leads to misery during a time that should be filled with relaxation and happiness.

3. They spend a ton of money (needlessly)

You don't want to blow all your cash right before the holidays.

Unsuccessful people don't know how to control themselves over long weekends and may end up with empty wallets as a result. Squeezing too many impulse purchases into such a short amount of time is a really bad idea.

If you're looking to have a ton of fun on a budget, consider a staycation or just carefully budgeting your fun in the sun.

• Rob Dubbin, CEO of Scripto, had been peacefully enjoying the yield from the peach tree in his backyard when he noticed some unwelcome visitors.
• Bears had figured out how to get into the fence he built around the tree, and were wastefully eating peaches without even finishing them.
• After hearing that bears are scared of human voices, his solution was to blare podcasts through a speaker to ward them off.

What lengths would you go to in order to protect the things you care about?

That's a question Rob Dubbin, CEO of Scripto, had to ask himself when he realized his beloved peach tree, named Belvis, was being threatened by hungry bears.

In a Twitter thread, Dubbin explained how he first came to notice the peach tree on his property, how he and his partner enjoyed and utilized the yield from Belvis, and how it all came so close to crashing down. 

Clearly, this wasn't a proper defense against the forces of nature, so Dubbin took it upon himself to create a proper fence. 

Everything was going fine, you could even say peachy, as the two made pies and harvested hundreds of fruits. There were no bears in sight. 

Then, out of nowhere, a challenger appeared. 

Dubbin had to think fast. Research told him that human voices might scare the bears off, but music might not do the trick. 

Before he could come up with a solution, the bear came back — and it couldn't figure out how to get out of the fence. It was wastefully eating peaches without finishing them before it finally escaped its confinement and sprinted off to pillage another day. 

Dubbin rigged up an old iPhone, loaded it with 100 episodes of the Reply All podcast, hooked it up to a large speaker and battery, and put it under the tree.

All he could do after that was wait. 

Somehow, it worked — the bears apparently couldn't stand the sound of endless podcasts. They still haven't returned, and the remaining peaches have stayed unharmed. Belvis will live to see another day. 

However, this effective defense came with a cost. It apparently began to spook Dubbin's neighbors out, as they wondered why they were hearing strange voices all throughout the night, which he had to eventually explain. 

It wasn't long before the Reply All producers caught wind of how their podcast was being used — and they appeared to approve. 

Wanting to hear what the latest in the peach tree saga was, Business Insider called up Dubbin to talk about his experience, and what he took away from it.

"It brought me so much joy to see the joy that it was bringing other people," Dubbin said, regarding the reactions on Twitter. "I think that kind of joy is like the true essence of peaches."

Dubbin said he wasn't even sure that playing podcasts would be effective, or why conversations were said to be more effective at repelling bears than just music. "Honestly it had just been an inkling," he said. "And then we saw this bear and it became so real that I felt like I had to do everything in my power, sort of just grab at the best theory I had. It felt like one of those split-second decisions on the bridge in Star Trek."

Dubbin expected the bear to simply wait until it was dark out to return, but he was wrong.

"I thought it would avoid the daylight, but it didn’t," he said. "I thought I had all day until it would come back at night under the cover of darkness, but it was more brazen than that. And it forced my hand."

Perhaps the most insulting part of the ordeal was the bear's wastefulness with the peaches – not even bothering to finish one before moving on to the next one. 

"I was gonna say it felt like wasting a natural resource, but because it’s a bear, I feel like it’s hard to hold a bear to that standard," Dubbin said. "Having enjoyed a full peach harvest last year,  I was very conscious of the fact that we were able to make use of all the fruit, and in a lot of very delicious and nourishing ways. And for me, seeing the peaches unused on the ground was really a symbol of lost potential."

Dubbin said his neighbors were very understanding after he explained why they were hearing voices at night, and he appreciates them "bearing with him."

Although it's only been a few days, and the peach harvesting has just begun, Dubbin has high hopes for Belvis and its podcast-blaring sound barrier. He hasn't seen a bear return since setting the system up.

"We’ve taken six (peaches) off, so the harvest is just beginning," he said. "And honestly one of the things that brings the harvest along is a nice sunny day, and there’s a nice sunny day here today, so I’m optimistic."

So, if you're having bear troubles, take note from Dubbin — podcasts are your friend. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to hack an election, according to a former NSA hacker