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Mueller subpoenas Roger Stone associate and far-right conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi

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Robert Mueller

  • The special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed Jerome Corsi, a far-right political commentator and conspiracy theorist, to testify in the Russia probe.
  • Corsi's lawyer said the subpoena was not specific, but that he believes prosecutors will ask Corsi about his relationship with the GOP strategist Roger Stone, who has long been in Mueller's crosshairs.
  • Asked what he thinks Corsi may be questioned about, Stone responded with a link to an Infowars article that Corsi wrote last year, which claimed he was responsible for Stone's tweets about WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.

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Jerome Corsi, a far-right political commentator and conspiracy theorist, has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in Washington, DC, as part of the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Corsi's lawyer, David Gray, said his client was feeling "confident and cooperative" ahead of his Friday morning testimony.

"We don't know exactly what they're going to ask or what they're going to look for, but we have nothing to hide," Gray said. "And certainly, Dr. Corsi did not even come close to committing any criminal offense, so we're looking forward to being compliant with the subpoena."

News of Corsi's subpoena was first reported by The New York Times.

Gray said Corsi will bring his computer and cell phone to Washington, DC, to cooperate with prosecutors. He added that though the subpoena was not specific about the topic prosecutors want to question Corsi about, he believes their questions will center around Corsi's relationship with the longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone.

Stone has been in Mueller's crosshairs since the early stages of the Russia investigation, which is probing Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether members of President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the race in his favor.

Mueller zeroes in on Stone

roger stone

The special counsel has zeroed in on Stone of late, and has called over half a dozen of Stone's associates to testify in the Russia probe so far.

Mueller appears to be focusing specifically on links between Stone and the radical pro-transparency group WikiLeaks, as well as its founder Julian Assange.

WikiLeaks published thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign at the height of the 2016 election. The US intelligence community believes the breaches and subsequent dissemination of emails were carried out on the Kremlin's orders.

When prosecutors indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers in July on conspiracy and hacking charges, they referenced WikiLeaks — though not by name — as the Russians' conduit to release stolen documents via the hacker Guccifer 2.0, who is believed to be a front for Russian military intelligence.

Stone said he has communicated indirectly with Assange in the past through the radio host Randy Credico. Credico will testify before a grand jury on Friday. Stone is also known to have been in direct communication with WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 during the election.

Stone, who acted as an informal adviser to Trump during the campaign, sent out several tweets in the summer of 2016 that raised questions about whether he had prior knowledge about WikiLeaks' plans to publish the hacked emails.

In one tweet that drew increased scrutiny, Stone wrote on August 21, 2016, "Trust me, it will soon [be] Podesta's time in the barrel," an apparent reference to Clinton campaign manager John Podesta.

WikiLeaks published a batch of hacked emails from Podesta's account days later.

Stone denied knowing about the document dump in advance.

Corsi: 'I am now confident that I am the source behind Stone's tweet'

Jerome Corsi signs copies of his books at the Book Expo America in New York, Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

Asked in a text message what he thinks Corsi may be questioned about when he appears before a grand jury, Stone responded with a link to an Infowars article that Corsi wrote in March 2017, in which he claimed he was responsible for Stone's tweets about WikiLeaks during the 2016 race.

Corsi wrote that Democrats had "mistakenly" used Stone's tweet "to 'prove' Stone had advance knowledge Julian Assange of WikiLeaks was about to release emails hacked from John Podesta..."

"Having reviewed my records, I am now confident that I am the source behind Stone's tweet," Corsi wrote.

He went on to lay out a timeline of what he said were his and Stone's efforts to counter reports at the time that Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had a string of shady financial and political ties to pro-Russian interests.

In particular, Corsi wrote that he and Stone wanted to shed light on what they believed were Clinton's and Podesta's links to Russian money.

"When Stone wrote his 'suspicious' tweet on Aug. 21, 2016, he and I planned to publish a one-two punch, using the Government Accountability Institute report to expose Hillary and Podesta's ties to Russia," Corsi wrote.

Stone and Corsi have known each other for years. Corsi's name first cropped up in the mainstream media in March, when it emerged that the FBI had detained and subpoenaed Ted Malloch, a controversial American academic tied to Stone and UKIP founder Nigel Farage, to testify in the Russia probe.

Corsi said at the time that a shaken Malloch had called him while he was being questioned by FBI agents in Cleveland after being detained at Boston Logan International Airport.

Stone told Business Insider in March that he had met Malloch two or three times, including once at a dinner with Corsi during the 2016 campaign at the Manhattan restaurant Strip House.

Stone said his conversation with Malloch and Corsi was friendly but not memorable, and that they discussed "Brexit and globalism." He added that they never discussed WikiLeaks, Assange, or Russia.

Corsi told Business Insider in March that he worked with Malloch on the latter's book in 2016.

"Ted was NOT part of TRUMP campaign," Corsi said. "I had NO contact w ASSANGE, SNOWDEN, Kim Dot Com, Russians. MUELLER DESPERATE. panic tactics, GRAB at STRAWS."

SEE ALSO: A 'significant figure' linked to Roger Stone has been compelled to testify in the Russia probe as Mueller homes in on the DNC hack

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


Here's how to win the lottery, according to a Romanian-born mathematician who hacked the system, won 14 times, and retired on a remote, tropical island

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lottery

  • You might want to know how to win the lottery.
  • Stefan Mandel, a Romanian-Australian economist, developed a formula that's allowed him to win the lottery 14 times.
  • It's a six-step process designed to hack the system.

You're four times more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery.

Those odds apparently don't apply to Stefan Mandel, a Romanian-Australian economist who's won the lottery 14 times, The Hustle reported in a feature on the mathematician.

Mandel's first two wins were in his native Romania, where he was trying to earn enough money to get his family out of the then-communist country. His salary was then just $88 a month.

He moved to Israel before settling down in Australia, where he won the lottery an additional 12 times.

Plenty of lottery winners end up blowing it all— spending it on huge houses and Porsches, gambling it away, or getting slammed with lawsuits. Robert Pagliarini, a certified financial planner, previously told Business Insider that to prevent that, lottery winners should assemble a "financial triad" to help plan for their financial future.

"This includes an attorney, a tax person, and a financial adviser," Pagliarini said. "This financial dream team can help you make smart financial decisions and help you plan for the future. They can also help shield you from the media and from the onslaught of money requests from others."

The key way to navigate a sudden windfall like winning the lottery, Pagliarini said, is to keep calm and focus on the long term with pragmatic financial planning.

As for Mandel, he set his sights on hacking Virginia's lottery, but his stunts eventually landed him in an Israeli prison for 20 months. Now he lives a quiet life in Vanuatu, a South Pacific island country known for its volcanoes and waterfalls.

While his scheme was legal at the time, new laws in the US and Australia render Mandel's scheme impossible nowadays. You can no longer buy lottery tickets in bulk and print your tickets at home — two key parts of Mandel's formula. 

Here's the 6-step formula for how Mandel managed to make serious cash from the lottery:

  1. Calculate the total number of possible combinations. (For a lottery that requires you to pick six numbers from 1 to 40, that means 3,838,380 combinations.)
  2. Find lotteries where the jackpot is three times or more the number of possible combinations.
  3. Raise enough cash to pay for each combination. (Mandel rounded up 2,524 investors for his push to win the Virginia lottery.)
  4. Print out millions of tickets with every combination. (This used to be legal. Now you would have to buy the tickets right from the store.)
  5. Deliver the tickets to authorized lottery dealers.
  6. Win the cash. And don't forget to pay your investors. (Mandel pocketed only $97,000 after a $1.3 million win in 1987.)

Read the entire feature about Mandel's feat in The Hustle.

SEE ALSO: 20 lottery winners who lost every penny

Join the conversation about this story »

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The anonymous author of the blistering New York Times op-ed about the 'resistance' within the Trump administration is still talking to the paper

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Donald Trump

  • The New York Times on Wednesday published a blistering op-ed article by an anonymous author, described only as "a senior official in the Trump administration," who said there was a secret "resistance" inside the White House.
  • The editor of the op-ed article said in an interview released Thursday that he had spoken to the author since its publication.
  • The editor also said that he was in direct contact with the author before publication and that extensive research was done to fully confirm their identity.

The author of an anonymous op-ed article published in The New York Times on Wednesday saying that some members of the Trump administration were part of a secret "resistance" working to undermine the president is still in contact with the newspaper, its op-ed editor said Thursday.

The Times described the author only as "a senior official in the Trump administration." The op-ed editor, Jim Dao, spoke on Thursday's episode of the newspaper's podcast "The Daily," where the host Michael Barbaro asked, "Have you heard from the writer since the piece was published?"

"I have," Dao responded.

When asked by Barbaro whether the writer was surprised by the reaction to and popularity of the column, Dao said, "I'm not quite sure how surprised they were."

But Dao said that he was surprised by the impact of the column and that he perhaps "should have been more nervous" in light of its popularity.

"I thought it would be well-read," Dao said. "I had no idea."

Dao also said that he was in direct contact with the author before the column was published on Wednesday but that he was originally connected through an intermediary.

"I did then have direct communication with the writer," Dao said.

Dao said he had to get to a point where he was "100% confident that they were who they are," a process that he said involved research and background checks.

"Based on those conversations," Dao said, he "came away feeling totally confident that this was the official in the Trump administration that they claimed they were."

Trump has criticized the anonymity of the article, calling the author "gutless." Dao said in the interview that The Times' opinion section rarely granted anonymity but had done so when the author would be in danger, personally or professionally, if their identity were revealed.

Dao said he couldn't imagine any circumstances in which The Times' opinion section would identify the author.

SEE ALSO: Everyone is trying to guess who the NYT op-ed writer is from potential tells like 'lodestar' — and the editor behind the piece says it could work

Join the conversation about this story »

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

Starbucks finally opened its first store in Italy, where the idea for the massive coffee chain was born. Take a look inside. (SBUX)

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starbucks italy 05

  • Starbucks just opened its first-ever store in Italy. It's one of only three Reserve Roasteries in the world.
  • The Roasteries are seen as more upscale than the typical Starbucks location. Starbucks has plans to open several additional Roasteries over the next two years. 
  • The Milan Reserve Roastery has unique features like a Scolari coffee roaster manufactured just miles outside of Milan, an Arriviamo bar serving more than 100 cocktails, and an affogato station where ice cream is made to order using liquid nitrogen.

Starbucks just opened its first-ever store in Italy, and it's unlike any other Starbucks in the world. 

The Starbucks in Milan is one of three Reserve Roasteries in the world, along with the new locations in Shanghai and Seattle. Starbucks plans to open additional Roasteries in New York later this year, and in Tokyo and Chicago in 2019.

The Roasteries are seen as more upscale than the typical Starbucks location. Customers typically spend four times more in the company's Reserve Roastery locations than in a traditional Starbucks, according to a company spokesperson. 

Starbucks' first Italian location is largely inspired by Milan itself. It uses bright colors to celebrate Milan's history of fashion and design, and it uses bronze and marble elements to blend in with Milan's architecture. The Roastery also features a Scolari coffee roaster manufactured just miles outside of Milan, and has unique features like a Arriviamo bar serving over 100 cocktails and an affogato station where ice cream is made to order using liquid nitrogen.

Though this is Starbucks' first store in Italy, the brand has long been informed by Italian coffee culture. Starbucks' former longtime CEO and chairman, Howard Schultz, has said he was inspired to develop Starbucks as a destination coffee shop after a 1983 visit to Italy. According to Reuters, however, the $2.09 Starbucks is asking for an espresso is nearly double what local Italian coffee shops typically charge. 

Take a look inside the stunning new Milan Roastery: 

SEE ALSO: We compared Dunkin' Donuts' 'store of the future' with Starbucks to see which was a better coffee shop. Here's the verdict.

The new Reserve Roastery is in Milan's Palazzo della Poste on the Piazza Cordusio.



Surrounding the entrance to the Roastery is a floor-to-ceiling visual representation of Starbucks' history and its coffee. Customers can use the Starbucks app to learn more about anything on the wall.



The interior of the Roastery is huge, and the design was inspired by Milan itself.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

People are paying up to $700 a night to go 'glamping' in luxury tents with 1,500-thread count linens on an island in New York Harbor

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glamping governors island

  • For between $150 and $700 a night, you can go "glamping" — or luxury camping — on an island in New York Harbor.
  • Guests sleep in Scandinavian-inspired tents with king-sized beds and 1,500-thread count sheets, en-suite bathrooms, electricity, Wi-Fi,  and a French Press coffee bar. 
  • They can enjoy a multi-course fine dining experience and BBQ picnics.
  • The camp has a picturesque view of the New York City skyline.

 

You might have heard of luxury camping,  or "glamping," in places such as Montana and Alaska — and now, it has come to New York City.

Just moments from the hustle and bustle of the city lies a luxury retreat where the canvas tents house king-sized beds with 1,500-thread count sheets, rain-style showers, and French Press coffee stations, and guests can connect to Wi-Fi and enjoy a multi-course fine dining experience.

Collective Retreats, which also has locations in Montana, Texas, Colorado, and the Hudson Valley in New York, opened its location on Governors Island — an eight-minute ferry ride from lower Manhattan — in July 2018.

It closes for the year on October 31, when the island closes to the public. You can still make reservations, but spots are filling up quickly, especially on weekends, a representative for Collective Retreats told Business Insider.

Here's a look at the luxury camping experience just moments from the hustle and bustle of the city.

SEE ALSO: I spent 3 nights 'glamping' — here's what it was like

DON'T MISS: These 26 national parks show the beauty of the American wilderness

The retreat is on Governors Island, a 172-acre island in New York Harbor that once housed a US Army post.

Source: Governors Island



The island is an eight-minute ferry ride from lower Manhattan.

Source: Collective Retreats



Governors Island is a car-free island that closes to visitors in the evening.

Source: Governors Island



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

All the Trump officials who have publicly denied writing the anonymous New York Times op-ed

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Pompeo

  • Several White House senior officials have denied writing the bombshell anonymous New York Times op-ed article, whose author the paper described only as "a senior official in the Trump administration."
  • There was speculation that Vice President Mike Pence was the author because of the column's use of the word "lodestar," but he denied having written it.
  • Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested the op-ed article was written by a "disgruntled deceptive bad actor" and said the author should leave the White House.

As speculation swirls over the identity of the author of the controversial New York Times op-ed article, described by the paper only as "a senior official in the Trump administration," several White House officials have denied writing it.

The author of the anonymous op-ed article, published on Wednesday, said there was a "quiet resistance" against President Donald Trump within his administration.

The column details an effort to undermine Trump's authority and slams the president on an array of issues.

Since its publication, several senior administration officials have stepped forward to say they're not the author. Here are their statements.

Vice President Mike Pence

Pence's office released a statement on Thursday morning denying that the vice president was the op-ed's author.

It came after speculation that he was the anonymous author due to the inclusion of the word "lodestar," which Pence has used in a number of speeches.

Pence's communications director, Jarrod Agen, said in a tweet: "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds."

Agen continued: "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts."



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Pompeo, who is currently traveling in India, told reporters at an embassy meet-and-greet that he was not the author.

"I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave," Pompeo said.

The secretary of state added that the op-ed was likely written by a "disgruntled deceptive bad actor."

"I have to tell you, I find the media's efforts in this regard to undermine this administration incredibly disturbing," he added, according to The New York Times.



Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats

Coats released a statement about the op-ed on Thursday morning:

"Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not. From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC remain focused on our mission to provide the President and Policy makers with the best intelligence possible."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Cuba has notoriously bad internet — here's what it's like to use

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cuba internet hotspot

  • Cuba has notoriously bad Internet. It's slow, expensive for the local population to use, and primarily provided through crowded government-approved Wi-Fi hotspots.
  • I traveled to Cuba last year and found that, in order to get internet, you need to buy scratch-off cards that give you a pre-determined amount of time on the approved Wi-Fi hotspots.
  • The government is trying to increase access to the internet for citizens and signed a deal in 2016 with Google to add local servers, but increased access may result in more censorship.

It's not exactly a secret that Cuba has notoriously bad internet.

For those travelers heading to Cuba for vacation, the lack of internet is something to keep in mind — don't expect to be hailing Ubers or using Google Maps to navigate when you get lost.

All internet service in the long-stagnating island nation is controlled by the state-owned telecom company ETSECA and primarily provided through crowded, government-approved Wi-Fi hotspots around the country.

Here's what it's like to use:

SEE ALSO: There are 3 things you need to know before traveling to Cuba — and it will make or break your trip

DON'T MISS: The best part about traveling to Cuba is that you don’t have to plan anything — here's why

Paid Wi-Fi hotspots are scattered through major cities. They are instantly recognizable by the crowds of young Cubans gathered with their eyes glued to an assortment of smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

Since 2014, the government has opened approximately 237 paid public Wi-Fi hotspots, according to Reuters, which cost $2 per hour to use.

That’s not a lot of internet access for a country of 11 million people.

The Cuban government blames the country's poor internet access on the US trade embargo, which they say has obstructed the introduction of new network technology and prevented them from accumulating funds to buy equipment from other nations, according to The Associated Press. Cuba estimates that the embargo has cost it $753.69 billion since the US implemented it in 1960.

Critics say Cuba has poor internet by design, to prevent most Cubans from accessing outside culture or information.



For tourists, getting online isn’t too difficult.

Head to the nearest ETSECA office — there’s usually one right next to the Wi-Fi hotspot — and purchase one of the Nauta scratch-off internet cards for $2.

Like everything else in Cuba, be prepared to wait. I would recommend buying a few at a time. Whether the queue is long or short, the process is excruciatingly slow (minimum: 30 minutes to an hour).

Here's a list of ETSECA hot spots in Cuba.

 



Once you have the card, scratch off the login and password on the back and join the nearest Wi-Fi network.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The new Roomba costs almost $1,000, works with Amazon's Alexa, and can empty its own dust bin up to 30 times so you only need to clean it once a month

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roomba i7

  • iRobot's new Roomba i7+ comes with a self-cleaning base and dust bin that sucks out debris and prepares the vacuum for its next cleaning session.
  • The bin can be used up to 30 times without being emptied, which means you shouldn't have to worry about cleaning the Roomba or the bin more than once per month. 
  • The house-cleaning robot can also automatically map out your home and section it off by rooms, which can be edited in Roomba's mobile app. The device is also Alexa-enabled, allowing you to tell the Roomba to start cleaning or assign it to a certain room that might need extra attention. 

iRobot's newest Roomba device is designed to clean your home without requiring you to touch or look at the dirt it picks up more than once a month. 

The Roomba i7+, priced at $950, is the latest addition to iRobot's line of home-cleaning robots. It comes with a self-cleaning dust bin base that automatically removes dirt and debris from the Roomba, and can be used up to 30 times before it needs to be emptied. That means you should only have to empty the base about once per month. However, the self-cleaning base can only be used with the Roomba i7, and isn't compatible with previous Roomba versions. 

In addition, the Roomba i7+ automatically maps out your house and sections it off by rooms while it cleans. You can then use the iRobot HOME app to tweak the room boundaries, which allows you to use the app or voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa to tell the Roomba to only clean a particular room. Roomba learns the general layout of your home after a few cleaning sessions, and it can store up to 10 different floor plans. 

If you don't want or need the base that automatically replaces the Roomba's dust bin, you can buy the standalone Roomba i7 for $699. Pre-ordered Roomba i7s will ship on September 12, but they won't be available in retail stores until October. 

The key differences between the i7 and the previous 980 lineup of Roombas is the inclusion of the base and the home-mapping features. Otherwise, they're pretty similar. The Roomba 980 is priced at $699, but doesn't have a self-cleaning base. However both are able to avoid falling down stairs or drops in a floorplan, both are compatible with the iRobot HOME app and compatible voice assistants like Alexa, and both can avoid objects and furniture that gets in the way.

Join the conversation about this story »

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New evidence suggests that a diet with key benefits for your body and brain may also shield against aging

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breakfast eating woman eggs salmon toast

 

Instead of combing grocery store aisles for miracle diet ingredients, consider this: the healthiest eating plan is mind-blowingly simple. It involves consuming more vegetables, fruits, and protein, and fewer processed carbohydrates.

That's the conclusion of a growing body of research, which suggests the best way to eat to maximize your chances of a long and healthy life is to seek out whole foods. There are a variety of names for this type of eating plan. Some call it Mediterranean, others call it "plant-based." But the gist is the same: a regimen that centers around vegetables, incorporates some types of protein and fat, and limits heavily processed foods and refined carbohydrates like the kind found in bagels and breakfast bars.

Fill your plate with plants like spinach, tomatoes, and beans, studies suggest. Top that off with proteins and fats from salmon, nuts, and eggs, and you'll be more likely to see benefits including weight loss, a stronger heartfewer depressive symptoms, and even a longer life.

In the latest study highlighting the benefits of this diet, researchers at Italy's Neuromed Institute found that those who ate the most like Mediterraneans were significantly less likely to die from any cause than their peers who did not. Their research, published last week in the British Journal of Nutrition, looked at data on close to 12,000 people and found that the Mediterranean diet could be a powerful protective shield.

"The more you follow the Mediterranean diet, the greater the gain in terms of mortality risk reduction," Licia Iacoviello, head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology at the Neuromed Institute, said in a statement.

Eating like a Mediterranean for a longer, healthier life

avocado smoked salmon blueberries healthy food meal bowl tomatoes lunch

For the latest study, scientists performed two analyses. First, they scored the diets of 5,200 people over age 65 to determine how closely they followed a Mediterranean eating plan, based on a widely used dietary questionnaire. Each participant got a score from 0-9 (9 being the most Mediterranean-like; 0 being the least). Then the researchers followed the participants for eight years, noting any deaths and their causes.

The team found that people who adhered most closely to the Mediterranean diet were significantly less likely to die. Those who ate the least like a Mediterranean, on the other hand, faced a higher risk of death.

For the second part of the study, researchers analyzed six additional studies on diet and mortality. Including the participants in their own study, the total number of people analyzed amounted to nearly 12,000. Collectively, that analysis also found a link between sticking to the Mediterranean diet and living longer. 

In addition to potentially prolonging life, eating like a Mediterranean also appears to help protect against some of the mental declines that come with age, such as slowed cognitive performance, according to a study published last summer in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

For that research, scientists analyzed the diets of 6,000 older people against their performance on a range of cognitive tests like word lists and counting exercises. Those whose eating plans lined up with Mediterranean-style diets did significantly better than the people who didn't eat like Mediterraneans.

In fact, the more closely aligned people's diets were with a Mediterranean-style plan, the lower their risk of scoring poorly on the quizzes.

"These findings lend support to the hypothesis that diet modification may be an important public health strategy to protect against neurodegeneration during aging," Claire McEvoy, the lead author of the paper and a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of California San Francisco, wrote in the paper.

Adding 'life to years, not just years to life'

woman running stretching fitness exercise joggingResearchers still aren't sure why Mediterranean-style eating plans are so beneficial for the brain and body, but they have some clues.

The diet is rich in antioxidants and two types of healthy fat: monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids. Previous studies have found a link between these ingredients and a reduced risk of dementia, as well as higher cognitive performance

The green vegetables and berries emphasized in one version of the Mediterranean diet called the MIND diet have also been shown to help protect against progressive loss of the structure or function of brain cells. This loss, known as neurodegeneration, is a key characteristic of diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Mediterranean-style diets also do a good job of satisfying all of your body's needs — the eating plan satiates muscles that crave protein, soothe the digestive system with fiber, and supply tissues and bones with vitamins.

"We think that our data launch an important message in terms of public health," Giovanni de Gaetano, another author on the recent paper, said in a statement. "We must add life to years, not just years to life."

SEE ALSO: The best ways to lose weight and keep it off, according to science

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White House calls author of anonymous op-ed 'gutless loser' and encourages people to call New York Times to find out who it is

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sarah sanders

  • The White House is doubling down attacks of the anonymous staffer who criticized President Donald Trump in a New York Times op-ed.
  • White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the author a "gutless loser" in a Thursday statement.
  • The statement included the phone number to the "failing New York Times" for reporters speculating about the writer's identity to call.
  • A number of high-profile administration officials have so far publicly denied writing the piece, which the Times says was written by a "senior official." 

The White House is doubling down on its attacks of the senior official who wrote a scathing anonymous op-ed in the New York Times published Wednesday that described the internal efforts of staffers to contain the impulses of an "adversarial, petty and ineffective" President Donald Trump.

"The media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop," press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in a Thursday statement.

"If you want to know who this gutless loser is, call the failing NYT," she added, providing the phone number for the opinion desk. "They are the only ones complicit in this deceitful act."

The new statement follows an initial response from Wednesday in which Sanders called the op-ed "pathetic, reckless, and selfish" and demanded the Times apologize for publishing it.

In the aftermath of the op-ed's publication, a number of high-level officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions all publicly denied speculation that they wrote the piece when asked by members of the press. 

The Times' opinion editor, Jim Dao, confirmed that he has remained in contact with the op-ed's author since the piece's publication on Thursday's episode of the New York Times podcast "The Daily."

Trump also referred to the author as "gutless" in a Wednesday tweet in which he called for the Times to "turn over" the staffer to his administration "for national security purposes," followed by a tweet simply reading "TREASON?" in all caps. 

SEE ALSO: All the Trump officials who have publicly denied writing the anonymous New York Times op-ed

DON'T MISS: The anonymous author of the blistering New York Times op-ed about the 'resistance' within the Trump administration is still talking to the paper

Join the conversation about this story »

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Take a look inside Carnival Cruise Line's largest-ever ship, which holds 6,600 passengers, cost nearly $800 million to build, and has 2 private 'islands' and a jungle-themed water park

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AIDAnova_Elbphilharmonie

  • Carnival Cruise Lines just added its latest ship: the AIDAnova. 
  • It holds around 6,600 passengers and features a high ropes course, three water slides, a live TV studio, two private "islands," and 40 bars and restaurants. 
  • AIDAnova is also the first cruise ship in the world to run on liquefied natural gas, a clean-burning fossil fuel.  

Carnival Cruise Lines and its German brand AIDA Cruises introduced the newest addition to their 100-plus fleet of ships: the AIDAnova.

AIDAnova was named on August 31 in front of 25,000 spectators at an open-air concert headlined by David Guetta. Along with a slew of on-board features, the AIDAnova is distinctive for being the first cruise ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas, which is the world's cleanest burning fossil fuel. 

The AIDAnova will embark on its maiden voyage in December. Here's a sneak peek of the gargantuan ship:

SEE ALSO: Disappointing photos show what Disney cruises look like in real life

AIDAnova can accommodate 6,600 passengers and 1,500 crew members, making it the fifth-biggest ship in the world.

Source:Traveller



Reportedly costing nearly $800 million to build, AIDAnova is 1,080 feet long and weighs 184,000 tons.

Source:Traveller 



The AIDA was christened on August 31 in front of a huge crowd in Papenburg, Germany.

Source:AIDA



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the world's most valuable passports

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singapore

  • Arton Capital ranked world passports by the number of countries one can visit without obtaining a visa.
  • The United States is tied for second this year after being tied for sixth in 2017.
  • Singapore finished first in the rankings.

 

The United States has jumped four spots in the finance firm Arton Capital's most recent rankings of passport mobility, which measures the number of countries one can visit with a given nation's passport without obtaining a visa. The US is tied for second in the 2018 rankings, up from sixth in 2017. Singapore takes the top spot with a passport that provides access to 166 countries without a visa.

You can see all of the countries ranked in the top 10 below.

Countries are ranked according to Arton's "Visa-Free Score," with a higher score resulting in a higher ranking.

SEE ALSO: The incredible history of the Boeing 737, the best-selling airliner of all time

T10. United Arab Emirates — 156 countries



T10. Croatia — 156 countries



T10. Cyprus — 156 countries



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We compared the prices and amenities of standard rooms on Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival cruise lines — here's the one with the best bang for your buck

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  • The cost of a cruise depends on what room you get and where you're going.
  • We compared the cost of an inside stateroom — the standard, most affordable stateroom — and its amenities on a cruise to the western Caribbean at three major cruise lines: Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean.
  • Carnival is the most expensive, but offers more room, while Royal Caribbean is the most affordable overall.

How much does a cruise cost?

Well, that depends on what room you get.

We took a look at the standard inside stateroom — the most affordable room on a cruise ship — at three major cruise lines: Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. To keep things consistent, we chose a similar itinerary for each, selecting a five-day western Caribbean cruise in early April 2019 for two passengers embarking from Miami.

Carnival is the most expensive per room, but offers more square footage for your money. Meanwhile, Norwegian is the second most affordable per room, but costliest per square foot. Royal Caribbean is the most affordable overall, both by cost and per square foot.

royal caribbean norwegian carnival cruise line comparison

However, there's more to a room than the cost — you also have to think about what you're paying for, like sleeping provisions and amenities. The size and arrangement of beds (or sofa beds) can vary, and while most cabins have basic amenities like a TV, closet, vanity, desk, couch, dresser, some don't have them all.

So, we took a closer look at the inside stateroom in each of the three cruise lines. Keep in mind that these specifics can change depending on cruise line's ship, as well as itinerary and season, and all featured staterooms have private bathrooms and showers.

Scroll through below to see which ones really offer more bang for your buck. 

SEE ALSO: The world's largest cruise ship has robot bartenders and a nine-storey zip-line — here's a look inside

DON'T MISS: Royal Caribbean has an ultra-luxury suite that can cost over $170,000 — here's what it looks like

Norwegian: $399 at $2.80 per square foot

Square footage: 135–291

Number of beds: 3-4

Type of bed: Two lower twin beds that convert to a queen and two Pullman beds

Basic amenities: TV, closet, vanity

 

 



Norwegian offers a bargain package upgrade.

Inside staterooms on Norwegian cruise line range from 135 to 291 square feet. At 142 square feet, the Sail Away stateroom on the Norwegian Dawn (the sailing ship for the selected itinerary) is large enough to accommodate two to four guests.

Prices start at $399 and range up to $569 depending on interior location. For an extra $110, you can choose one offer among a variety for a special package: unlimited open bar, shore excursion credits, specialty dining, WiFi, or friends and family (adding one to two extra guests in your stateroom for free). 

In addition to a TV, closet, and vanity, the stateroom also comes with a hair dryer, telephone, and refrigerator.



Carnival: $414 at $2.23 per square foot

Square footage: 185

Number of beds: 2-4

Type of bed: Two twin beds that convert to a king; some cabins have pull-down beds for three or four people

Basic amenities: TV, closet, vanity, desk, couch, dresser

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The adorable love stories of 11 presidents and their first ladies

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Barack and Michelle Obama

  • Some US presidents and first ladies can boast of pretty swoon-worthy love stories.
  • Grace and Calvin Coolidge met after she spied him shaving through a window; Theodore and Edith Roosevelt were childhood friends whose relationship blossomed into something more.
  • Here's a look at some of the most romantic presidential love stories.

Marriage is one thing that all of the US presidents throughout history have in common — with the exception of lifelong bachelor James Buchanan

Not all of those relationships were equally rock steady, though.

Some first ladies, like John Quincy Adams's wife Louisa, felt deeply uncomfortable in the realm of politics.

Meanwhile, a number of presidents, like James Garfield, Warren Harding, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton, were known for their philandering.

And a few presidential pairs, like Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, functioned more like work colleagues than spouses.

Still, the book "First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women," serves up plenty of heartwarming anecdotes. Many of the most famous and powerful people in American history could be quite romantic, as it turns out.

Here's a look inside some of the most touching love stories between US presidents and their first ladies:

SEE ALSO: A congressman just called Mike Pence 'the greatest VP' since John Adams — here's why that's not really a compliment

DON'T MISS: Inside the marriage of Barack and Michelle Obama, who met at work and kissed outside an ice cream store on their first date

SEE ALSO: A look at the zodiac signs of all the US presidents

John Adams relied on his wife Abigail.

Abigail Adams famously asked her husband John to "remember the ladies" as he helped to found the fledgling United States.

As a founding father and as president, Adams didn't do much to adhere to her request on a macro-level. But he certainly relied on Abigail for support and advice throughout his career.



John and Abigail wrote to one another constantly when they were separated.

John and Abigail Adams were partners, through and through. Even when work and war separated the couple, they sought to stay in contact.

In "First Ladies," historian James Taylor estimated that the pair wrote around 1,170 letters to one another, penning messages around once or twice a week.

"They were partners in everything he did. ... he writes to her thanking her for being a partner in the activities," he said.



The two also had unique pet names for one another.

The pair's trove of letters reflects their habit of teasing one another, and an affectionate side to their marriage. Business Insider previously reported that Adams referred to his wife as "Miss Adorable" and "Diana," after the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon.

Abigail called him Lysander — referencing the Spartan War hero — and "my dearest friend."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Republicans are enraged by the 'resistance' New York Times op-ed — but not about what it said

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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 24: U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) answers questions during a weekly press conference with Republican House leaders at the U.S. Capitol July 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. When asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of revoking security privileges of political opponents, Ryan said he thought Trump was 'trolling' his political opponents. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

  • Republicans are upset about The New York Times op-ed by an anonymous senior administration official who claims there are individuals working against certain actions by President Donald Trump.
  • But the GOP lawmakers upset with the op-ed did not particularly care for its content.
  • Rather, they are enraged that the person would write such a thing.
  • The identity of the senior official who wrote the op-ed has not been made public.

WASHINGTON — Republicans on Capitol Hill condemned as an irresponsible betrayal the New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous senior administration official who admitted to covertly undermining President Donald Trump.

But most have lashed out at the fact it was published in the first place — not the content of what was written.

The op-ed published Wednesday noted that "many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations" and that Trump's instability has prompted "whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment" to remove him from office.

The individual who wrote the op-ed, while described as a senior official, has not been identified.

Thursday morning on Capitol Hill, Republicans were enraged about the op-ed — or, more specifically, that the author would commit such an act.

House Speaker Paul Ryan took issue with the anonymous author of the op-ed, telling reporters that "a person who works in the administration serves at the pleasure of the president."

"It's a person obviously who is living in dishonesty," Ryan said. "That doesn't help the president. So if you're not interested in helping the president, then you shouldn't work for the president as far as I'm concerned."

Ryan also shrugged off any of the concerns expressed by the author as well as several other GOP lawmakers who have been critical of the president's fitness for office.

"What I concern myself about are the results of government and the results of government are good results," he said. "I know the president is very unconventional. I know his tweeting and unconventional tactics bother people, but the results of government are good results."

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told TMZ the op-ed was "certainly troubling," but that the "phenomenon is nothing new" for individuals who try to undermine Republican presidents from within the US government.

"That's been true in past Republican presidencies that you've had Democrats within the government fighting to resist the priorities. But it's never been this bad," Cruz said. "It's never been this many partisans deeply within the machinery of government, fighting to try to prevent what we're trying to accomplish."

Outing the author

While Ryan said he did not know of any role Congress would have in investigating who authored the op-ed, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows suggested different.

"We’re looking right now at what’s the appropriate action from a legislative standpoint to review what’s happened," Meadows told USA Today. "It is alarming when you have people ... that would suggest resistance to the president that they’re serving, especially in light of discussion that may go into the national security realm."

It is not exactly clear what could be done to find out who the author is as it relates to congressional authority. Regardless, Republicans have routinely claimed there are "deep state" foes working inside the administration to prevent Trump from doing his job, a view the op-ed will likely only further enforce.

On the other side of the political aisle, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joked that Vice President Mike Pence was her first guess as the culprit. On a more serious note, Pelosi said that Trump's reaction to the op-ed is a "manifestation of his instability" and that the author's supposed actions to subvert the president are insufficient.

"Republicans in Congress have enabled so much of the mayhem that exists in the White House to occur without any comment," she told reporters in a Thursday press conference. "The president has to know that when a president speaks, his words weigh a ton. So if some in the White House think that correcting this behind the scenes is a consolation, I don't think it's good enough."

SEE ALSO: The Senate is tearing into Google for refusing to send a top exec to testify — and even left an empty chair and name tag to highlight its displeasure

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


Fox News's Ed Henry claims without evidence that protesters at Kavanaugh's Supreme Court hearing were paid to be there

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Fox News correspondent Ed Henry

  • Fox News correspondent Ed Henry reported on Wednesday, without citing evidence, that demonstrators at the Senate's public hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were paid to protest. 
  • Henry was likely referring to a report by a supporter of President Donald Trump who said he saw a protest organizer hand cash to a demonstrator. The organizer said the money was meant to cover bail fees. 
  • Many progressive groups organizing the demonstrations have helped protesters pay for travel, accommodation in Washington, and bail for those who are arrested. 

Fox News correspondent Ed Henry reported without citing evidence on Wednesday that demonstrators at the Senate's public hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were paid to protest. 

"People waiting on line to sit in on the hearings are saying they have seen others get paid cash to wait on line and cause trouble," Henry said on Sean Hannity's show on Wednesday night. 

The veteran journalist did not cite the source of the allegations or explain how Fox gathered the information, and did not mention that many progressive groups organizing the hearing protests are covering the $35-$50 bail fees incurred by demonstrators who have been arrested.

It's likely that Henry was referring to claims made by Adam Schindler, a Texas-based supporter of President Donald Trump and digital strategy consultant who tweeted a photo of a man he said was handing cash to a protester. The next day, Schindler added that he spoke with the protest organizer, who "confirmed handing out cash, but said they intend cash to be used to pay fines they know come when protestors break the law."

Schindler's tweets were picked up on Wednesday by the Russian government-funded outlet Russia Today, the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars, and Real Clear Politics, a right-leaning news outlet.

Kavanaugh's hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which began on Wednesday morning, have been consistently interrupted by protesters, dozens of whom have been arrested. 

Progressive groups like Planned Parenthood, the Women's March, and the Center for Popular Democracy have been planning the protests for weeks, according to CNN, and have organized volunteers to sit in on the hearings, participate in evening vigils on Capitol Hill, and write letters to lawmakers. 

Many of the groups have helped volunteers cover the costs of traveling to Washington and the fees associated with being arrested.

Winnie Wong, a senior adviser to the Women's March, told CNN on Thursday that the group has paid for members' travel, accommodations in Washington, legal training, and bail.

SEE ALSO: Tucker Carlson warns that American society 'will fall apart' because Nike is supporting Colin Kaepernick

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

Prosecutors are using a grand jury to investigate whether former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe misled the bureau

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Andrew McCabe

  • Prosecutors at the US attorney's office in Washington, DC, are using a grand jury as they investigate whether former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe misled the bureau about disclosures to the media during the 2016 election.
  • At least one witness has reportedly been called to testify and the investigation is ongoing.
  • The Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, sent a criminal referral regarding McCabe to the US attorney's office in Washington, DC, earlier this year after he found that McCabe "lacked candor" on several occasions while being interviewed by internal investigators.
  • If the US attorney's office decides to prosecute McCabe, the charge would likely be lying to the FBI.

The Justice Department is using a grand jury as it investigates whether former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe misled the FBI about disclosures to the media at the height of the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

McCabe was fired from the FBI in March after the inspector general, Michael Horowitz, found that he was not forthcoming about his role in approving the FBI's disclosures to the media in October 2016 related to its investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

Horowitz's office subsequently sent a criminal referral regarding McCabe to the US attorney's office in Washington, DC, which is currently spearheading the investigation into his conduct. Two people familiar with the matter told The Post that the grand jury has called at least one witness to testify so far and that the investigation is ongoing.

The Wall Street Journal article at the center of the probe was published on October 30, 2016, two days after James Comey, the FBI director at the time, announced in a letter to Congress that the bureau was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

The article was a detailed account of internal strife within the top ranks of the DOJ about how to proceed after FBI agents investigating Anthony Weiner, the former New York congressman, discovered 650,000 emails on his laptop that could have been sent to or received from Clinton's private email server.

The reporter who wrote The Journal's article, Devlin Barrett, was in touch with two top FBI officials on the phone two days before the story broke, according to text messages released in February.

The officials were Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer who often worked with McCabe, and Michael Kortan, an FBI spokesman.

While law-enforcement officials often speak to the press on background to provide more complete details about a story, protocol prohibits them from disclosing information about ongoing investigations.

The inspector general found that McCabe's authorization of disclosures to the media regarding the Clinton Foundation investigation "effectively confirmed the existence" of the inquiry, something Comey "had previously refused to do."

The report also listed at least four instances in which McCabe "lacked candor" when discussing the disclosures while he was under oath.

McCabe could be charged with lying to the FBI

Jeff Sessions

McCabe stepped down as deputy director in January after FBI Director Christopher Wray briefed him on the impending report about his conduct.

He was fired in March after the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility recommended that Attorney General Jeff Sessions oust him.

Legal experts say that if the US attorney's office in Washington were to charge McCabe with a crime, the charge would most likely be lying to the FBI.

McCabe's lawyers have said that he did not purposely mislead anyone and that his statements to internal investigators "are more properly understood as the result of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and honest failures of recollection based on the swirl of events around him, statements which he subsequently corrected."

Michael Bromwich, McCabe's attorney, said in an earlier statement to Business Insider: "We have already met with staff members from the US attorney's office. We are confident that, unless there is inappropriate pressure from high levels of the administration, the US attorney's office will conclude that it should decline to prosecute."

Bromwich was referring largely to the string of scathing public attacks President Donald Trump leveled against McCabe before and after his ouster.

Since then, Trump and several of his congressional allies have ramped up calls for investigations into McCabe and other officials like Clinton, Comey, Page, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, and others.

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Burt Reynolds was famous for doing his own stunts, but he told us about one he wished he'd never attempted

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Deliverance Warner Bros

  • Legendary actor Burt Reynolds died on Thursday at the age of 82.
  • Known for being an actor who did his own stunts (in a time when leading men rarely did), in 2016 he told Business Insider the stunt in his career he regretted doing the most.


Before the likes of Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves dazzled audiences by doing their own stunts in movies, Burt Reynolds was one of the few A-list American actors tough enough to pull it off.

For most of the 1970s, Reynolds — who died on Thursday at the age of 82 — wasn't just the biggest movie star on the planet, he was making box-office coin doing everything in movies from driving fast cars ("Smokey and the Bandit") to diving into the end zone ("The Longest Yard"). But ironically the movie that showed Hollywood he could actually give a great acting performance was the one in which he did the stunt he regretted the most.

On the set of 1972's Oscar-nominated "Deliverance," about a group of friends who go on a river-rafting trip that goes horrifically wrong, Reynolds went too far when he insisted on doing a scene where his character, Lewis, goes over a waterfall.

When Business Insider spoke to then 80-year-old Reynolds in 2016, he said the stunt was just "a dumb macho thing to do."

"I went over the falls in 'Deliverance' and I hit a rock and cracked my tailbone," Reynolds said. "I tell everyone I was a 31-year-old guy in great shape before I went over the falls. And once I got in they couldn't find me. I remembered one of the stunt guys said to me before the stunt, 'If you get caught in the hydrofoil and you can't get out, go to the bottom and it will shoot you right out,' but he didn't tell me it was like being shot out of a torpedo. I came out of the river about a mile away it seemed like, and I came out with no clothes. I had no shoes, socks — the falls tore them off. It was a pretty hairy stunt."

Reynolds had nothing but respect for the actors of this era who are willing to do their own stunts. He especially had respect for the amount of stunts Tom Cruise does.

"He's very brave with the stuff that he does," Reynolds said of Cruise. "And he wants to be thought of as that because for such a long time he was a pretty boy and smaller than he wanted to be, I think. The stunts that he's done, it's obvious it's him, and I'm very impressed with that. I've told him that."

However, looking back on his stunts at 80, Reynolds wish he let his longtime stuntman Hal Needham (who also directed Reynolds in "Smokey and the Bandit" and "The Cannon Ball Run") step in a few more times.

"When it's cold and I'm limping around I think, 'Why didn't I let Hal make some money and I just sit down?'" Reynolds said. "But you can't go back."

SEE ALSO: Burt Reynolds remembers his legendary career and the most dangerous stunt he ever did

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All the revelations that have come out so far from Bob Woodward's explosive book on Trump

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  • Bob Woodward's new book, "Fear," is full of damning allegations about the Trump administration. 
  • The book portrays the Trump White House as chaotic and disloyal to the president. 
  • Woodward's book is set to be released on September 11

Journalist Bob Woodward's new book, "Fear," is full of damning allegations about the Trump administration.

Woodward, a reporter who rose to fame through his coverage of the Watergate scandal, paints a chaotic picture of life within President Donald Trump's White House in the book.

Based on a number of the accusations in the book, senior members of the Trump administration do not respect the president and routinely work against his wishes.

Trump has called the book a "work of fiction," but it has reportedly sparked a "witch hunt" within his administration for people who may have spoken with Woodward.

Woodward's book is set to be released on September 11.

Here are all the revelations from the book so far:

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Cory Booker posted Brett Kavanaugh's documents online under severe threat from Republicans. But now, officials say they were already cleared for release.

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WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) delivers remarks as Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh appears for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

  • New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker posted emails from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's work in the George W. Bush administration online, prompting a massive fight in the Judiciary Committee.
  • Republicans said Booker was breaking rules and faced severe penalties, including expulsion from the Senate.
  • The former Bush attorney tasked with clearing the emails and documents related to Kavanaugh said the emails Booker released had already been cleared for public viewing.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Cory Booker commandeered the third day of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Thursday to release confidential documents pertaining to Kavanaugh's time working in the George W. Bush White House.

But after his grand display, which could have resulted in expulsion from the Senate under its maximum penalty, it became clear that Booker may have not broken any rules, as the documents were cleared for release Wednesday night.

Thursday morning as the hearing just began, Booker told the committee he would be releasing emails from Kavanaugh pertaining to racial profiling, despite them being classified as committee confidential.

"I openly invite and accept the consequences of releasing that email right now," Booker said. "The emails are being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security."

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn then accused Booker of blustering ahead of a potential 2020 presidential run by noting the release of such documents could result in his expulsion from the Senate.

"Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to," he said. "This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed classified by the executive branch because you happen to disagree with the classification decision. That is irresponsible and outrageous."

"No senator deserves to sit on this committee, or serve in the Senate in my view, if they decide to be a law unto themselves and willingly flout the rules of the Senate and the determination of confidentiality and classification," Cornyn added. "That is irresponsible and conduct unbecoming of a senator."

Booker fired back, "Bring it," as his Democratic colleagues stood by him in what he described as "probably the closest I'll ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment."

The Kavanaugh emails, which Booker's staff then posted online for the public to read, showed the Supreme Court nominee's opposition to racial profiling for airport security screenings post-September 11.

The emails were already cleared for release

Booker appeared to have committed a grave offense that comes with a severe penalty. But later on Thursday, Bill Burck, the former attorney for President Bush, said in a statement that everything Booker released was already cleared before the Thursday hearing even began.

"We cleared the documents last night shortly after Senator Booker’s staff asked us to.," Burck said. "We were surprised to learn about Senator Booker’s histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly. In fact, we have said yes to every request made by the Senate Democrats to make documents public."

Burck's statement ran in direct contrast to what happened in the committee, where Booker and other Democrats stood behind the breach of rules. However, Republicans on the committee did not note the emails were already OK for release during the tense exchange with Booker and Democrats.

But Booker spokeswoman Kristin Lynch doubled down, telling Business Insider that "Senate Republicans are doing everything they can to distract from their sham process to rush through a Supreme Court justice who will overturn Roe v. Wade, demolish the Affordable Care Act, and protect President Trump from being investigated."

Lynch added:

"Cory said this morning that he was releasing committee confidential documents, and that’s exactly what he’s done. Last night, he was admonished by Republicans for breaking the rules when he read from committee confidential documents. Cory and Senate Democrats were able to shame the committee into agreeing to make last night’s documents publicly available, and Cory publicly released those documents as well as other committee confidential documents today. And he’ll keep releasing them because Republicans are hiding Brett Kavanaugh’s record from the American people."

While Booker has vowed to continue releasing documents, which might not yet be cleared for public view, it is embroiling the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has been at its most contentious in recent history during Kavanaugh's marathon confirmation hearings.

Democrats have been fighting with Republicans over the release of certain documents from Kavanaugh's tenure in the Bush administration for the duration of his confirmation process. With more than 100,000 various emails and writings still left to be sifted through by staffers for release, the fight could continue until Kavanaugh's confirmation vote.

SEE ALSO: 'Bring it': Cory Booker says he's releasing a confidential document on Kavanaugh, risking expulsion from the Senate

Join the conversation about this story »

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

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