• The wife missing Interpol President Meng Hongwei says her husband sent her an image of a knife before he disappeared during a trip to their native China.
• Grace Meng told reporters she thinks the knife was her husband's way of trying to tell her he was in danger.
• Meng was first reported missing after traveling to China September 29. 

The wife of the missing president of Interpol says her husband sent her an image of a knife before he disappeared during a trip to their native China.

Making her first public comments on the mystery surrounding Meng Hongwei's whereabouts, Grace Meng told reporters in Lyon, France on Sunday she thinks the knife was her husband's way of trying to tell her he was in danger.

She says she has had no further contact with him since the message that was sent on Sept. 25. She says four minutes before Meng shared the image, he had sent a message saying, "Wait for my call."

She says she hasn't heard from him since and does not know what happened to him.

The disciplinary organ of China's ruling Communist Party said Sunday Meng is under investigation on suspicion of unspecified legal violations.

The party's watchdog for graft and political disloyalty said on its website late Sunday that Meng Hongwei, China's vice minister of public security, is "suspected of violating the law and is currently under the monitoring and investigation" of China's new anti-corruption body, the National Supervision Commission.

Meng, a Chinese national, was first reported missing on September 29. Interpol said in a statement it was "aware" of the Meng's alleged disappearance, but that France and China was responsible for the investigation.

Rights groups previously said that Beijing could use Meng's position to arrest and deport its critics abroad.

Interpol is headquartered in Lyon.

SEE ALSO: Turkish investigators reportedly believe a Saudi journalist was killed in a 'preplanned murder' at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate

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• At least 20 people are dead after a limousine and another vehicle collided in upstate New York on Saturday, police said.
• Details of the crash are still unclear.

A limousine and another vehicle collided in upstate New York on Saturday afternoon, killing 20 people, state police said Sunday.

Details of the crash, which occurred in Schoharie County, are still unclear. The National Transportation Safety Board announced early Sunday it was sending a "go-team" to investigate.

Local media reported that the limousine, carrying members a wedding party, sped into another vehicle near the Apple Barrel Country Store.

It's unclear how many of the victims were in the vehicles, and how many were bystanders, according to The Albany Times Union.

Authorities said in a statement they are not releasing the victims' names because their next-of-kin are still being notified.

Schoharie is roughly 30 miles west of Albany, New York.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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• President Donald Trump repeated his demand for tougher libel laws as he railed against Michael Avenatti, who represented a woman accusing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
• Trump told Fox News' Jeanine Pirro he thought "totally false statements" by Avenatti should be held to "the highest standard" for punishment.
• Trump has previously called for tougher libel laws, which concern written defamatory statements and are controlled by state legislatures. 

President Donald Trump called for tougher libel laws while railing against attorney Michael Avenatti in an interview with Fox News' Jeanine Pirro on Saturday. 

Trump said there should be ramped-up legal consequences for the "totally false statements" by Avenatti who pursued allegations Kavanaugh had a past of predatory sexual violence and called the FBI investigation into other sexual misconduct allegations was a "farce." 

"It's disgrace that they are able to do it," Trump said. "I would love to see our libel laws get toughened up so you can take people and sue them."

Avenatti wasted no time in hitting back at Trump late Saturday night and Sunday morning.

"You are an habitual liar and a disgrace to this nation," Avenatti tweeted. "You again claimed tonight that I have made false accusations against you. Name them! Those felonies that Cohen pled guilty to? The allegations about you having sex with my client with a 4 mo old at home?"

Libel laws concern written defamatory statements and are controlled by state legislatures. 

Avenatti's client, Julie Swetnick, alleged that Kavanaugh and a friend engaged in "abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls" at parties in high school and were present at a party where she was "gang raped." Kavanaugh has vehemently denied all allegations against him, and told the Senate Judiciary Committee in his sworn testimony that Swetnick's accusations were a "farce."

Trump spoke generally Saturday when he said he though there should be punishment for the "many false things" said about Kavanaugh. 

"I would say they should be held to the highest standard," Trump said. "You can't go around, and whether it's making up stories or making false statements about such an important position, you can't do that. You destroy somebody's life."

Avenatti and Trump have publicly clashed in the past over a case brought against the president by porn star Stormy Daniels. 

Trump has called for tougher libel laws in the past, most recently in a tweet that said he wanted the ability to seek "retribution" after journalist Bob Woodward's explosive book "Fear" detailed Trump's administration as plagued by chaos. 

SEE ALSO: Trump says he mocked Christine Blasey Ford at a rally to 'even the playing field' for Kavanaugh Michelle Mark 2h

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• Selfies played a part in more than 250 deaths between October 2011 and November 2017, a new study says.
• Researchers found that the top causes of selfie-related deaths were centered around water or moving vehicles.
• The idea of "no-selfie zones" has emerged in an effort to decrease the amount of selfie-related deaths.

Before going to great lengths to capture that one-of-a-kind selfie, you might want to think hard about how much you'd risk for it.

More than 250 deaths between October 2011 and November 2017 can be linked to selfies, a recent study has found.

The deadliest place to take a selfie? 

Water.

According to the study, there have been at least 70 selfie fatalities due to drowning during the 6-year period. The deadly incidents include people getting swept away by waves, ignoring safety warnings on beaches, and being on boats that have capsized. 

Water-borne selfie deaths are especially deadly as they often involve multiple people. The 70 deaths stemmed from 32 incidents, according to the study. 

Perhaps just as dangerous, or even more so, are selfies taken from elevated places. 

The study cites 48 deaths from "falling" that resulted from 41 incidents — that's a higher number of fatal incidents involving selfies than drowning, even if the overall death toll is lower. 

Here's a full list of the causes of selfie death:

The study was conducted by a group of researchers out of India, which is home to more selfie-related deaths than any other country. It's important to note that researchers based their findings off English news outlets' existing coverage of selfie-related deaths, meaning there may be other deaths that occurred within the study's six-year period that either weren't reported or occurred in a non-English speaking country.

A couple of other interesting findings:

Almost three-quarters of the selfie-related deaths were men. Even though studies have found that women take more selfies than men, men more likely to engage in risky behavior to capture the perfect picture.

The majority of the 51 people whose deaths involved a mode of transportation were killed in selfie-related incidents involved moving trains. 

Most of the selfie deaths involving firearms occurred in the US.

To reduce the number of selfie-related deaths, researchers suggest that cities and other public entities designate certain places as "no-selfie zones"  This idea has already been implemented in Mumbai, where authorities have marked 16 places in India's largest city as off-limits that they deem to be most risky for selfie shots.

Other countries have taken similar steps to ensure safe selfie-taking — Russia ran a public safety campaign in 2015 centered around safe picture-taking practices. Rangers in New York's Catskill Mountains enacted a number of safety measures near several waterfalls and cliff edges, and can ticket visitors for putting themselves in risky situations in the name of selfies.

But it's hard to say whether the fervor to capture the best selfie will diminish anytime soon. Businesses have found innovative ways to profit off the craze, including pop-up museums in several cities who are attracting visitors by providing backdrops for Instagam-worthy pictures.

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• An initiative called Project Drawdown is bringing researchers together to figure out the best ways to cool down the planet and prevent more damaging floods, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and starvation.
• Chad Frischmann, vice president of the project, spoke about the group's plan at TED's New York offices.
• The solutions he proposed all exist already, and many have to do with better management of our food systems — wasting less and reducing spoilage.

There's a lot of fear and uncertainty going around about the future of our planet.

Sea levels are rising, we could soon face a "Hothouse Earth" scenario, and severe flooding from torrential rains is expected to get worse. If the atmosphere keeps heating up, some towns could even be threatened by wayward icebergs.

But Chad Frischmann doesn't think things are so bleak.

He's vice president of an initiative called Project Drawdown: a group of scientists, researchers, and writers who've calculated how to cool the planet over the next 30 years by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The two-pronged plan is designed to both cut planet-warming emissions from fossil fuels and also suck more carbon dioxide into the ground, largely via photosynthesis. 

"Drawdown is a new way of thinking about and acting on global warming," Frischmann told an audience gathered at TED's New York conference stage last week. As he spoke, world leaders were gathered on the other side of Manhattan at the United Nations, debating the best ways to solve extreme poverty, disease, and malnutrition.

Frischmann said that solving those issues and tackling climate change are part of the same puzzle. He's convinced his drawdown plan can improve lives around world by feeding the hungry and educating young minds, all while reducing the Earth's temperature a bit for future generations.

He listed the top 20 ways that everyone — consumers, policy makers, food growers, and energy providers — could reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Some of the solutions he proposed are already in use; these include universal education, family planning, sustainable refrigerants, better farming methods, and more wind power. 

"We have real, workable technology and practices that can achieve drawdown," Frischmann said. The problem is that the necessary changes to the ways we put food on the table and generate energy aren't happening fast enough.

"What we need is to accelerate the implementation," he said. 

A wish list for the planet

Below is Frischmann's ranking of the best ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on how many gigatons (billions of tons) of carbon dioxide emissions each approach could be expected to cut over a 30-year period. 

The solutions are grouped into a few key topic areas, like energy sources, food, and education of women and girls.

For example, according to Project Drawdown's calculations, by adopting a more plant-rich diet and eating less beef, we could cut more than 66 gigatons (that's billions of tons) of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 30 years. Other solutions include changing the way we cool our offices and homes, using less fertilizer on crops, improving soil health, regrowing forests, and restoring carbon-sucking peat bogs.

The cost of implementing all the solutions in Project Drawdown is estimated to be $1 trillion a year over the next 30 years, according to Frischmann.

"I know that sounds like a lot," he said, but he reminded the crowd that global GDP is now above $80 trillion a year, so it would cost less than 1.25% of our annual purse to enact these potentially planet-saving strategies.

Here are the top 20 things on the Project Drawdown list:

The number one way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, according to the list, is to change the way we keep food and buildings cool.

Currently, air conditioners and refrigerators run on hydrflurocarbons, also known as HFCs, which heat up the planet. HFCs will start being phased out in high-income countries in 2019 as part of the Kigali accord, but they'll still be used in other corners of the globe, where incomes are rising and more people are buying fridges and A/C units. Plus, we'll still have to make sure to properly dispose of all HFC-powered fridges and air conditioners; otherwise the refrigerant left inside could become a huge source of emissions.

[Read more: The one thing a renowned climate scientist does to reduce her own impact on the environment]

But the number one solution to global warming may have nothing to do with energy

Eight of the other 20 items on the list have to do with the way our food system is set up, from how we till and fertilize land to what we consume. That 's something anyone can take action on right now, Frischmann said. 

"The decisions we make every day about the food we produce, purchase, and consume are perhaps the most important contributions every individual can make to reversing global warming," he said, adding, "we don't need to cut down forests for food production. The solutions to reversing global warming are the same solutions to food insecurity." 

But beyond food and farming, there's another powerful weapon that the Project Drawdown list doesn't fully highlight.

"Taken together, educating girls and family planning is the number one solution to reversing global warming," Frischmann said. 

Letting more girls continue their education, receive wanted contraception, and space out their youngsters as they’d like could cut around 120 billion tons of greenhouse gases that we'd otherwise emit over the next 30 years, according to Project Drawdown's calculations.

That's because better control of the population size would reduce demand for energy, food, travel, buildings, and all other resources on the planet.

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• Julie Swetnick, who has accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, fired back at her critics in a statement on Sunday, saying they have "re-victimized" her.
• A number of Democrats have dismissed Swetnick's allegations — and the involvement of her attorney Michael Avenatti — as a "distraction."
• "I had every right to come forward and I literally placed my life in jeopardy to do so," Swetnick said.

The third woman who publicly accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct fired back at her critics Sunday morning in a statement shared by her attorney, Michael Avenatti.

"As a sexual assault victim, I am disgusted and appalled by the way that I have been re-victimized over the last 2 weeks after I had the courage to come forward," Julie Swetnick wrote. "I stated the truth in my sworn declaration and I stand by everything in it."

Swetnick alleged in the declaration, released by Avenatti on September 26, that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge attended an early 1980s party at which she was gang raped. She also alleged that Kavanaugh and Judge tried to "target" other girls with spiked punch so they could be gang raped by a "train" of boys.

Kavanaugh and Judge have categorically denied Swetnick's allegations, and Kavanaugh called them a "joke" and a "farce" during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The shocking nature of Swetnick's claims, coupled with Avenatti's involvement, resulted in her allegations largely being dismissed by Democrats and seized upon by Republicans as evidence of a conspiracy against Kavanaugh.

Further questions arose when Swetnick was interviewed by NBC's Kate Snow about her allegations, when she conceded she didn't know precisely whether Kavanaugh and Judge spiked drinks at parties, but she saw them "around the punch containers."

Multiple Democratic congressional aides told Business Insider's Joe Perticone they wanted to investigate Swetnick's accusations, but feared that Avenatti's involvement undermined her credibility and offered fuel to Republicans in casting doubt on Kavanaugh's other accusers.

"Personally, I think he's kind of a distraction," Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia told Business Insider. "I don't know him, but I think he's a distraction."

Swetnick lashed out at those criticisms in her statement, saying they showed a "complete lack of empathy for survivors."

"They claim my allegations were 'not helpful to the process,'" she said. "I had every right to come forward and I literally placed my life in jeopardy to do so."

Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Saturday, eking out a razor-thin 50-48 victory in the Senate. He was sworn in as the country's 114th justice later that evening.

Joe Perticone contributed reporting.

SEE ALSO: Trump says he mocked Christine Blasey Ford at a rally to 'even the playing field' for Kavanaugh

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• Christine Blasey Ford has still not been able to return home because of the volume of death threats she has received since she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, her lawyers said Sunday.
• Ford previously told the Senate Judiciary Committee she was forced to leave her home with her family on September 16. She then said her "greatest fears have been realized."
• Ford originally hesitated to put her name to the allegations, telling The Washington Post she feared upending her life while leaving Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation process unaffected.
• Kavanaugh, who repeatedly denied Ford's allegation, was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice on Saturday.

Christine Blasey Ford's lawyers say she has still not been able to return to her home because of the "unending" death threats she has continued to receive after testifying against Brett Kavanaugh, who was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice over the weekend.

Debra Katz, one of Ford's attorneys, told NBC News on Sunday that it would be "quite some time" before Ford and her family could return home.

"Her family has been through a lot," Katz said. "They are not living at home. It's going to be quite some time before they're able to live at home. The threats have been unending. It's deplorable.

"It's been very frightening."

Ford testified September 27 in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she said that during a high-school party in the 1980s Kavanaugh pinned her down, tried to take off her clothes, and pressed his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming.

Kavanaugh repeatedly denied the allegation and, following an FBI background investigation, was confirmed by the Senate on Saturday after senators voted largely along party lines. Thousands of protesters demonstrated on Capitol Hill as Kavanaugh was sworn in.

Ford addressed the harassment against her in prepared remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she said: "My family and I have been the target of constant harassment and death threats. I have been called the most vile and hateful names imaginable."

She added that she and her family had been forced to leave their home. "Since September 16, my family and I have been living in various secure locales, with guards," she said.

Ford said "my greatest fears have been realized — and the reality has been far worse than what I expected."

She said her work email account was hacked "and messages were sent out supposedly recanting my description of the sexual assault."

Ford's lawyers, in the NBC interview, said the FBI investigation into Ford's allegations was not thorough enough.

This was a sentiment echoed by Democrats, who had hoped the bureau would interview more people as part of the investigation.

"With Anita Hill, there was a full FBI investigation before there was ever a hearing," Lisa Banks, another of Ford's attorneys, told NBC, referring to the woman who accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment after he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1991. "That did not occur here. This process was far worse."

Banks said Ford "knows" who assaulted her, disputing the idea popular among some Republicans that Ford was assaulted but had mistaken her assaulter's identity.

"She testified she knew him, he knew her, and she knows exactly who sexually assaulted her on that day," Banks said.

Banks also said Ford was "horrified" after President Donald Trump mocked her at a campaign rally.

"She was upset by it, yes, as any woman would be who's the victim of sexual assault who was mocked and belittled by anyone, never mind the president of the United States," Banks said.

Ford, a 51-year-old research psychologist, requested anonymity when she first made the allegation against Kavanaugh in a letter to lawmakers.

She later told The Washington Post that she felt her life could be ruined without affecting Kavanaugh's confirmation.

"Why suffer through the annihilation if it's not going to matter?" she told the newspaper.

SEE ALSO: Trump says he mocked Christine Blasey Ford at a rally to 'even the playing field' for Kavanaugh

READ MORE: How 'the Forrest Gump of Republican politics' Brett Kavanaugh became the Supreme Court's most embattled justice in decades, after controversy over sexual misconduct allegations

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NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

• The alt-right is calling Taylor Swift a traitor, attacking her appearance, and calling for violence after she endorsed two Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate.
• Swift is often silent on political issues, which allowed the alt-right movement to create the false theory that she is secretly a white supremacist.
• 4chan users who pushed the theory were angry at Swift for standing up for gender, racial, and LGBT equality in a statement she made on Instagram over the weekend. Some of them called for violence against her.
• Swift denounced Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, writing: "I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love."

Members of the alt-right are calling Taylor Swift a "traitor" after she broke her usual political silence to endorse two Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee.

Users on 4chan, a messaging board popular with the alt-right, had long endorsed Swift and pushing a theory that she was a white supremacist, hailing her as "the Aryan princess" due to her features and her usual policy of not commenting on political issues.

But Swift on Sunday said she was spurred to speak out in opposition of Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who represents Tennessee's 7th District, saying that Blackburn's voting record "appalls and terrifies me."

Swift endorsed Tennessee Representative Jim Cooper for the Senate and former Governor Phil Bredesen for the House of Representatives while posting about the importance of LGBT rights, gender and racial equality, and equal pay.

In response, 4chan users called her a traitor, called her ugly, and called for her to be "executed." Many were angry at Swift for standing up for gender, racial, and LGBT equality.

Many of the posts used explicit language, used homophobic and racial slurs, and called for graphic violence against Swift. Business Insider has chosen not to publish them.

One wrote that Swift is "pro- f-g and anti-racist" — using a derogative word for gay people — "so she must be executed."

Another wrote: "What a traitor bitch. the trump curse will take her now."

A number of threads were posted on the website, with hundreds of responses.

In her Sunday post, Swift acknowledged that she is usually quiet when it comes to politics.

"In the past I've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now," she wrote.

Swift's usual policy of political silence led to her becoming a bizarre symbol for the white supremacist movement, despite never publicly endorsing their values. They then theorized that Swift is secretly a white supremacist too.

Last year Swift threatened to sue a blogger who, when criticizing her silence on political issues in 2017, accused her of enabling an alt-right and white supremacist fan base around her to exist.

The theory about Swift spread to a number of more mainstream platforms, with one parody account on Pinterest falsely attributing quotes by Adolf Hitler to Swift, like this one:

Former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos wrote for the conservative news site in 2016 that Swift has a sizeable fan club in the alt-right movement as she is "very white and very blonde" and that she "isn't very forthcoming about her political or religious views."

He said that the association is a joke for some, but that many take it seriously: "Like the alt-right itself, the far-right internet’s love affair with this pop star is predominantly sincere but with a heady whiff of satire and troublemaking."

In reality, Swift's rare political statements have skewed liberal. In March, she endorsed the March for Our Lives, a national movement calling for increased gun control.

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• Your desk should be organized in a way that maximizes productivity and your ability to perform tasks efficiently at work.
• A cluttered, messy desk can negatively impact your ability to perform your job.
• Here are nine things you should never keep at your desk.

Organization comes naturally to some, but for others, it's just not in their nature. Maybe you're too busy to clean up, or perhaps organized chaos works well for you.

Regardless, a messy desk can negatively impact productivity and your ability to perform tasks efficiently at work, according to a study published in The Harvard Business Review.

Additionally, some of the items you keep on your desk may not be appropriate for the workplace, such as political items or documents with sensitive information.

Whether your place of work is cubicle, corner office, or open layout, here are nine things you should never keep at your desk:

SEE ALSO: 6 things you should always keep at your desk

1. Lunch

You may think it's wise  to eat lunch at your desk, when in fact, it could actually hurt your productivity.

In a 2015 NPR article, Professor Kimberly Elsbach of the University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management noted, "We know that creativity and innovation happen when people change their environment, and especially when they expose themselves to a nature-like environment, to a natural environment."

"So staying inside, in the same location, is really detrimental to creative thinking. It's also detrimental to doing that rumination that's needed for ideas to percolate and gestate and allow a person to arrive at an 'aha' moment," Elsbach said.

2. Dirty coffee mugs

Unwashed coffee mugs lying around can add clutter your workspace.

"It's best to take a minute and leave your coffee mug in the kitchen immediately after usage," Valli Vishnubhotla, digital PR manager at AW Media, told Business Insider.

3. Political items

"Although everyone is entitled to their beliefs and opinions, your work colleagues may take umbrage to your political viewpoint," business coach and entrepreneur Eugene Gamble told Business Insider.

This can lead to unnecessary work tension and conflict. Gamble suggested keeping your political views separate from the workplace.

• Recreational Vehicles, or RVs, are among the enduring symbols of Americana and form an important part of the nation's identity, one akin to apple pie and baseball. 
• The RV, sometimes also called motorhomes, has been the subject of numerous films and books since its debut in the 1920s.
• There are actually three classes of RVs—A, B, and C—with Class A being the largest and most luxurious. 
• RVs span across a broad range of prices. Most fall between $60,000 and $200,000, but some can go for as much as a million dollars. 

Recreational Vehicles, or RVs, are among the enduring symbols of American culture. These houses on wheels are the go-to modes of transportation for countless Americans when it comes to short camping journeys, college road trips, extended vacations through National Parks, or as actual homes for people to live in.

RVs form an indelible thread in the nation's cultural identity, one akin to apple pie or baseball. Having been around since the 1920s, the RV has been the subject of multiple films, and there are even books devoted specifically to RV enthusiasts. In the 1960s, Winnebago Industries began to mass produce their line of recreational vehicles to such an extent that the brand name became interchangeable with RV in the American lexicon. 

While their bulky exterior and clumsy handling have made RVs the butt of some jokes, the vehicles are actually rather complex and interesting. 

There are three classes of RVs. Class A, the largest, are built on a truck chassis, one almost as large as some buses, and are the most expensive and luxurious. Class C consists of mid-size RVs. They are smaller than Class A models, but are also built on trucks chassis. Class B RVs are the smallest of three groups. They are built on a conventional van chassis, and are occasionally called "campervans." 

RVs cover a wide range of price points. Most fall between $60,000 and $200,000, but some more luxurious ones can go for millions of dollars.

Here's a list of the best Class A, Class B, and Class C RVs on the market for under $150,000. 

*All prices listed are estimates based on the average price of 2018 or newer examples of each RV on RVTrader.com.

SEE ALSO: 10 fastest-selling used cars in America

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7. Winnebago Intent (Class A): est. cost — $90,000

Source: Winnebago Industries and RVTrader

The Winnebago Intent interior features a cozy dinette, 39" HDTV, swivel cab leather seats, three-burner range over, pantry, private rear bedroom, and textured glass shower door.

Source: Winnebago Industries and RVTrader

6. Jayco Greyhawk Prestige (Class C): est. cost — $96,000

Source: Jayco and RVTrader

• Rose McGowan has clarified on Twitter an interview she did with UK's Sunday Times Magazine, in which she's quoted saying the #MeToo Movement is "bull----" and "a lie."
• "I never said #MeToo is a lie. Ever. I was talking about Hollywood and Time's Up," the actress tweeted on Sunday.

Following an interview in which Rose McGowan is quoted as saying that the #MeToo movement is "bull----" and "a lie," the actress, who has been one of the loudest voices of the movement, has taken to Twitter to clarify her comments. 

On the same day that an interview with McGowan ran in the UK's Sunday Times Magazine, in which her disparaging comments about #MeToo are included, the actress tweeted on Sunday that she is still very much a supporter of the movement. 

"I never said #MeToo is a lie. Ever. I was talking about Hollywood and Time's Up," the actress tweeted, referring to the movement against sexual harassment formed by celebrities in response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the revelations that followed from #MeToo.

McGowan then followed that with two brief video tweets, again, praising #MeToo.

“#MeToo is important, it’s honest, and it’s our experience. It is not a lie,” she said in the first video.

Followed by another where she said, "For some reason there are people in the media who will try to bring it down, but I say stand strong. Again, it’s simply our shared experience. That is what #MeToo is, and it’s beautiful, as are we.”

In the Sunday Times Magazine story, McGowan is quoted as saying that she felt those in Hollywood who supported #MeToo were not supporting her. 

"I just think they're douchebags," she said. "They're not champions. I just think they're losers. I don't like them. How do I explain the fact that I got a GQ Man of the Year award and no women's magazines and no women's organizations have supported me?"

McGowan also claimed in the interview that she has been excluded from "MeToo campaign lunches" and "survivor brunches."

"And I don't want to go, because it's all bull---," she said. "It's a lie. It's a Band-Aid lie to make them feel better. I know these people, I know they're lily-livered, and as long as it looks good on the surface, to them, that's enough."

McGowan also added that it's "literally impossible" that Meryl Streep didn't know about the allegations against Weinstein before they went public, as Streep has claimed. She also said in the interview that she doesn't plan on acting anymore, stating that the film industry is a "disgusting" world.

Read the Sunday Times Magazine interview here.

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• Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was quick to condemn Taylor Swift on "Fox and Friends" after she made a rare political statement endorsing two Democratic politicians.
• Kirk, the 24-year-old founder of right-wing think tank Turning Point USA, suggested that Swift hadn't actually written her statement and had "bad information."
• But the millennial activist had a different reaction to a conservative celebrity speaking his mind, recently praising Kanye West's support for the president. 

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was quick to condemn Taylor Swift on "Fox and Friends" after she made a rare political statement endorsing two Democratic politicians in her home state of Tennessee in an Instagram post on Sunday. 

The 24-year-old founder of right-wing think tank Turning Point USA suggested that Swift, who had until Sunday stayed out of the political arena, hadn't actually written her statement and had "bad information" about the candidates she endorsed — and the one Republican lawmaker she criticized. 

"I don't want to accuse her of this, but I don't think she's the only one who wrote that post on Instagram. She probably got some very bad information," Kirk said during a Monday morning interview on "Fox and Friends."

Kirk urged Swift to stay out of politics and keep her message "neutral." 

"This is what I used to love about Taylor Swift is she stayed away from politics — she was all about music all about, you know, female empowerment," he said.  

The 28-year-old pop star urged her massive following to educate themselves on candidates for office, "vote based on who most closely represents your values," and register to vote. She also voiced her strong opposition to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican candidate for Senate in Tennessee whose record she said "appalls and terrifies" her, and said she'd support Blackburn's Democratic opponent, a centrist Democrat and the state's former governor, Phil Bredesen. 

"I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country," Swift wrote. "I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love."

Kirk said it was "ridiculous" for Swift to say that Blackburn is hostile to LGBT and women's rights, even though the congresswoman — a self-described "hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative" — has long advocated positions that would limit the rights of LGBTQ Americans, including opposing the Violence Against Women Act's LGBTQ protections, supporting a constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage, and supporting Trump's ban on transgender Americans serving in the military. Swift cited some of these positions in her post. 

Kirk had praise for another influential musician wading into politics, however, calling Kanye West's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" an "amazingly profound cultural moment." West appeared on the show wearing a "Make America Great Again Hat" and told its largely liberal audience that they couldn't "bully" him out of supporting President Donald Trump. 

"What I love about Kanye West is he's been blazing this trail saying, 'It's okay to think freely,'" Kirk said during a recent interview on "Fox and Friends." "Thank you Kanye West for standing up for what is right." 

While Kirk praised Swift's success as a pop star during his Fox interview, he attacked the artist's intelligence and career on Sunday evening. 

"You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Kirk tweeted. "Your career has never recovered since Kanye ended it." 

SEE ALSO: 7 Democratic women to watch in 2020

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• Patrick Winget, the head of design and production for LuLaRoe, abruptly left the $2 billion women's clothing company in mid-September. 
• Winget's departure comes as many LuLaRoe consultants — the tens of thousands of women who sell its clothing — flee the business in droves, according to interviews with nine former consultants. 
• Sellers who exited the business last year said they are still waiting on refund checks worth as much as $8,000 from the company.
• "I’m terrified [LuLaRoe] will go bankrupt before I get my refund," said an ex-consultant who claims she has been waiting since December for a check totaling more than $4,000.
• LuLaRoe did not respond to requests for comment on the refund claims.

One of LuLaRoe's most senior founding executives, Patrick Winget, has suddenly left the women's clothing brand.

Winget served as the head of design and production for the multilevel-marketing company since its inception in 2013. He is widely regarded as a sort of celebrity among the tens of thousands of people — mostly women — who sell LuLaRoe clothing online and at private parties across the US.

In hundreds of social media posts over the years, LuLaRoe sellers have gushed about meeting Winget in person at LuLaRoe events. They have asked him to sign their clothing and have praised him as the "brilliant" mind, "man genius," and "hero" behind the brand.

There's a LuLaRoe garment named after him — the "Patrick" t-shirt — and late last year, the company sold thousands of t-shirts and leggings with an image of his bearded face printed across them. 

Winget abruptly announced his departure on Instagram in September, writing, "Hello Everyone, Just wanted to let you all know that as of today I am no longer with LuLaRoe. I wish you all nothing but continued success. See you soon." The post has since been deleted. 

LuLaRoe later sent an email confirming Winget's exit to its sellers.

The email said Winget "decided to step down from his role, and pursue other opportunities" and that he would be "spending some important and precious time attending to some personal family matters."

LuLaRoe declined to provide further details on Winget's departure in response to a request by Business Insider.

Women fleeing LuLaRoe say the company owes them thousands of dollars in refunds

Winget's departure comes as the company, which generated more than $2.3 billion in sales last year, faces several lawsuits attacking its business practices.

A 2017 Business Insider report revealed quality complaints about its clothing, including claims that its pants "rip like wet toilet paper." Following the report, LuLaRoe launched a refund program for customers.

In the months that followed, thousands of consultants began fleeing the business by sending their unsold inventory back to LuLaRoe for a refund.

But the company has failed to refund many of those sellers, some of whom claim they have been waiting nearly a year for LuLaRoe to repay them, according to interviews with nine former consultants. LuLaRoe did not respond to requests for comment on the refund claims.

Ex-consultant Nicolette Fontenot told Business Insider that LuLaRoe owes her a refund check totaling $7,999.89. She sent the company her unsold inventory in December.

"I'm pretty confident I'll never see a dime," said another former consultant, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Ashly. She said she has been waiting since February for a refund totaling more than $4,000.

Some former consultants said they are afraid the company is headed for bankruptcy. 

"I’m terrified they will go bankrupt before I get my refund," said an ex-consultant who has been waiting since December for a check totaling more than $4,000. She asked to remain anonymous for fear that LuLaRoe would retaliate against her for speaking to the media.

SEE ALSO: Leaked email reveals Amazon is changing how delivery drivers are paid following reports of missing wages

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• A Boston-bound JetBlue Airways flight from Las Vegas experienced a scary moment on Sunday as the plane had to be evacuated just before takeoff because of smoke pouring out from its engine, according to multiple reports. 
• In a statement to Business Insider, a JetBlue spokesperson said, "Flight 178 from Las Vegas to Boston experienced smoke coming from its right engine before takeoff. The smoke was quickly suppressed and the aircraft taxied safely back to the gate."
• Fox 5 Las Vegas reported that McCarran International Airport officials said the flight was canceled because a fire broke out in the plane's engine. 
• JetBlue did not respond to Business Insider's request to comment on the cause of the smoking engine. 

A Boston-bound JetBlue Airways flight from Las Vegas experienced a scary moment on Sunday as the plane had to be evacuated just before takeoff because of smoke pouring out from its engine, according to multiple reports. 

JetBlue Airways Flight 178 was scheduled to depart Las Vegas McCarran International Airport on Sunday morning, October 7, for a flight to Boston Logan International Airport. But the plane never took off. 

In a statement to Business Insider, a JetBlue spokesperson said the plane, "experienced smoke coming from its right engine before takeoff. The smoke was quickly suppressed and the aircraft taxied safely back to the gate. All customers safely deplaned and the aircraft has been taken out of service for inspection."

Fox 5 Las Vegas reported that McCarran airport officials said the flight was canceled because a fire broke out in the plane's engine. 

Boston 25 News reported that passengers said the pilot mentioned a blown tire and engine. 

JetBlue did not respond to Business Insider's request to comment on the cause of the smoking engine. 

The plane experienced issues just prior to takeoff, according to reports.  As the plane was accelerating to lift off into the air, passengers said the plane made a loud noise which led the pilot to slam on the breaks and abort the flight altogether, according to CBS 4 Boston.

Ryan Cunningham, a passenger of Flight 178, told CBS 4 Boston that he noticed some initial bumpiness during takeoff.  

"Pretty sure the nose was probably off the ground, probably three or four feet, and then we just heard this loud ‘Boom’ and the pilot slammed the brakes," Cunningham told CBS 4.

Passenger Theresa Alexander told ABC 5 Boston, "We had just barely got off and all of a sudden, I heard this, ‘bang, pop.’ The plane kind of went sideways, and I saw the smoke coming out of the side." 

Video provided by CBS 4 Boston on YouTube shows large plumes of smoke pouring out of the engine as the plane parked itself on the ground. 

Fox 5 reports that the McCarren airport control center was notified of the fire at 11:30 a.m. and that after the Clark County Fire Department arrived on the scene, the fire was put out by 12:03 p.m. 

McCarran officials stated there were 146 passengers on board the flight, according to Fox 5 Las Vegas.

The Boston Globe reported the evacuated passengers were accommodated on alternative flights. 

Video uploaded to social media by a passenger on the plane shows the extent of smoke coming from the engine. 

SEE ALSO: A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Sydney after the pilots made a mayday call because the plane was running low on fuel

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• James Bond will continue to be played by a man, according to the franchise's producer Barbara Broccoli.
• “He’s a male character," she told The Guardian. "He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male."

The overseer of the James Bond franchise has spoken: "Bond is male."

That was how producer Barbara Broccoli put it when asked if there would ever be a female James Bond. 

“He’s a male character," she went on to tell The Guardian in a recent interview. "He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male. And that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”

With the recent gender-bending trend bringing new life to existing IPs ("Ocean's Eight," "Dr. Who"), the internet has been pushing a female Bond for years. Even actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Gillian Anderson have voiced their interest in obtaining the coveted license to kill.

But Broccoli, one of the most powerful producers working in the industry today, states that despite keeping Bond a man, that doesn't mean the character has to continue to have the same old-school qualities the character had in the early days of the franchise decades ago. 

"I think Bond has come through and transformed with the times," she said. "I’ve tried to do my part, and I think particularly with the Daniel [Craig] films, they’ve become much more current in terms of the way women are viewed.”

Craig will return to the role for the final time in the 25th Bond movie, which will begin production in March. But looking forward, can Broccoli see a female directing one of these movies?

“Yes, absolutely,” Broccoli told The Guardian. “As a female producer, of course I’d like to do that.”

SEE ALSO: All of the "A Star Is Born" movies ranked from worst to best

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• President Donald Trump told reporters Monday he didn't have any plans to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
• "I get along very well with him," Trump said before boarding Air Force One with Rosenstein, whose future with the administration seemed uncertain in recent weeks.
• Trump had previously expressed considering firing Rosenstein after The New York Times reported that Rosenstein had discussed wearing a wire to secretly record the president and invoking the 25th Amendment.

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday he didn't have any plans to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, saying they "actually have a very good relationship." 

"I get along very well with him," Trump said before joining the Justice Department's No. 2 on Air Force One. The president's dismissal of any tension comes nearly two weeks after reports suggested Rosenstein had "verbally resigned" — something that ultimately didn't come to fruition after a day full of confusion about his status.

Rosenstein's future with the administration seemed to be uncertain after The New York Times reported he had discussed wearing a wire to secretly record the president and invoking the 25th Amendment.

Days after the report, Trump said he hadn't decided whether to fire Rosenstein. But the White House eventually waved off rumors of a decision and Trump postponed a one-on-one meeting amid the confirmation drama surrounding his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. 

Lawmakers and intelligence officials were concerned over reports of Rosenstein's exit because of his role overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller, the prosecutor conducting the Russia investigation.

SEE ALSO: The Saudi journalist believed to be dead from a 'preplanned murder' in Turkey reportedly feared for his life for at least 2 months

DON'T MISS: Christine Blasey Ford still can't live at home because of 'unending' death threats after her Kavanaugh testimony, lawyers say

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Speculation has swirled about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's future at the Justice Department.

In September, The New York Times reported that Rosenstein had discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office and wearing a wire to record their conversations. Rosenstein has disputed the report, but it is said to have pushed Trump to weigh firing Rosenstein.

Rosenstein's authority over the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election has made his fate a top concern for lawmakers and officials.

Here's how the "poster child for the professional, competent, ethical, and fair-minded prosecutor" became one of the most-watched officials in Washington:

SEE ALSO: Here's who could replace Rod Rosenstein if he's fired

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Rod Jay Rosenstein was born on January 13, 1965, in Philadelphia.

He earned an economics degree in 1986 from the University of Pennsylvania, where Trump graduated from the Wharton School 20 years earlier. In 1989, Rosenstein graduated from Harvard Law School.

Source: US News and World Report

After clerking with the DC Court of Appeals, Kenneth Starr recruited Rosenstein to investigate former President Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Whitewater Development Corporation business in Arkansas.

Source: Department of Justice

Hope Hicks was President Donald Trump's 29-year-old White House communications director. But before joining Trump's 2016 campaign, she had no political experience.

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

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

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

Yet she became the youngest White House communications director in history.

And Hicks has been with Trump — to use his words — "from the beginning." White House staffers may even called her his "real daughter."

Hicks became ensnared in two high-profile White House controversies: the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and her role in crafting the White House's response to abuse allegations against staff secretary Rob Porter.

On February 28, Hicks announced that she was resigning one day after she said in testimony she had occasionally told white lies for the president but never lied about anything consequential related to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

After laying low in New York and Connecticut for several months, it was announced that Hicks would head to Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox as executive vice president and chief communications officer.

Here's what we know about Hicks.

SEE ALSO: Inside the strange relationship between Trump and Hope Hicks, his right-hand woman and the youngest White House communications director in history

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

Source: New York Times

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

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/816768567517581312
Congrats to my brilliant, kind & wickedly funny friend Hope Hicks on being named to the @Forbes#30Under30 list! https://t.co/s3YO9Eq83Z

Sources: New York Times, GQ, NYMag

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

Source: New York Times

• More and more people are staying in luxury extended-stay hotels for months at a time, choosing the convenience and amenities over apartments and Airbnbs.
• At Roost Apartment Hotels in Philadelphia, suites come with full kitchens, 4K Apple TVs, Chemex coffee makers, and 100-year-old rugs.
• A stay in a one-bedroom ranges from $225 to $295 per night but can be as low as $175 a night for a monthly stay.

Living in a hotel is an extravagant and unattainable concept for many.

But for wealthy families and individuals who want the comfort and coziness of an Airbnb but would rather avoid the unpredictability and what can be a hassle of a check-in process, an increasingly popular option is to stay in a luxury extended-stay hotel. 

Roost Apartment Hotels in Philadelphia offer luxurious, home-like apartments that can be rented on a weekly or monthly basis. They're often in central urban areas and offer much more personality than traditional corporate extended stay hotel rooms, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

"You feel you are in an apartment that could be your home," David Grasso, who founded Roost with Randall Cook, told Forbes. "We designed these apartments to create a sense of comfort, a sense of place, a sense of enlightenment."

The suites come with full kitchens with cookware and utensils, Bosch washer and dryers, 100-year-old Turkmen rugs, 4K Apple TVs, and Chemex coffee makers. Some offer common lounge areas, fitness centers, conference rooms, and valets.  Guests also have access to a concierge, weekly housekeeping, free bike shares, free high-end coffee beans, dog walking, and the option to arrange for a personal trainer.

A booking search for a 30-day stay from Nov. 30 to Dec. 30, 2018 at Roost's Midtown location revealed rates starting at $140 per night for a studio suite, or $4,200 total. Rates went all the way up to $270 per night, or $12,300 for the month, for the Presidential two-bedroom apartment suite.

While that may be pricier than a typical apartment, some guests find extended-stay hotels to be a bargain, according to the Wall Street Journal. After all, there is no putting down a deposit, no buying furniture, and no worrying about paying internet and utility bills. You also don't need to give 30, 60, or 90 days notice when moving out, as most apartments require.

"I didn't have to return a cable box or cancel the electric," finance executive Robert Wolfangel, who spent more than a year staying with his family at Roost for about $5,250 a month, told the Journal. "It was painless."

Staying in these upscale extended-stay hotels seems to be a rising trend. The number of extended-stay hotel rooms is up to more than 456,000, Jan Freitag, senior vice president at STR, a data provider to the hotel industry, told the Journal. That's a nearly 34% jump from just five years ago.

And according to Freitag, these rooms are occupied 77% of the time, which is higher than the average US hotel occupancy rate of 70.2%. 

SEE ALSO: Disappointing photos show what 9 top luxury destinations look like in real life

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• I flew Southwest Airlines for the second time in my life as I traveled from New York City to St. Louis in October.
• I came away satisfied with my flight and more likely to use Southwest in the future.
• The plane's cleanliness and entertainment options, as well as the ability to check my suitcase for free, were the biggest highlights.

As airplane seats get smaller and fees get larger, what once seemed like small comforts take on greater importance. 

In October, I flew Southwest Airlines for the second time in my life as I traveled from New York City to St. Louis, six months after a passenger on a Southwest flight died following a mid-flight engine failure. The flight was like most others I've taken but had a few notable differences from United and Delta, the airlines I most frequently use. Some of the differences were cosmetic and others were more substantive, but overall, my flight left me with a positive impression of Southwest and increased the odds I'll use it again.

The first time I flew Southwest, I was startled by its lack of seating assignments and unconventional boarding process. This time, I knew what to expect and was more attuned to some of the details I'd previously missed. While the plane's legroom and seat width were average and below average, respectively (according to SeatGuru), there were a few parts of my travel experience that impressed me. 

Being able to check my bag for free was a significant perk, and the seats were cleaner and seemed to be made of more comfortable material than what I'm used to when flying economy on other airlines. Southwest's entertainment options were the biggest surprise, as the airline's website offered a wide range of movies, music stations, and television shows, many of which were free, without requiring me to download an app.

Here's what I thought of my second experience with Southwest.

SEE ALSO: 10 easy ways to save money on last-minute travel

My flight was at 7:25 a.m. on a Monday, so when I arrived at LaGuardia Airport a little before 6, I wasn't surprised to find a nearly empty check-in counter.

I was happy to find that checking my suitcase was free.

My trip was about three-and-a-half days in total, which would have made it difficult to fit everything I needed in a carry-on bag. My suitcase is too big to qualify as a carry-on item, so Southwest's policy allowing customers to check two bags for free (so long as they're under 50 pounds and don't exceed 62 inches in any direction) saved me a total of $60 for the trip, compared to United, American, or Delta.

The security line was a little more crowded than I expected, though not unreasonably so.