• President Donald Trump's tight bond with France's President Emmanuel Macron appears to have fallen apart.
• Trump launched into an extended Twitter tirade against Macron and France on Tuesday, his third online attack on the country in the past week.
• Trump took shots at everything from Macron's approval rating to France's wine industry.
• The falling out mirrors Trump's troubles with other world leaders he once shared a connection with like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The once close relationship between President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron appears to be on the rocks after Trump launched into a Twitter tirade attacking the French president on Tuesday.

A bromance marked by intense handshakes and tree planting has now devolved, as represented by Trump's attacks on Macron's approval ratings and France's trade restrictions on US wine.

"The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so! MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!"

While the two sides' connection became strained following Trump's decision to hit the European Union with tariffs on steel and aluminum coming into the US, the falling out appears to have hit a nadir over the weekend.

Defense dust up

The presidential dust-up kicked off when Macron suggested last week that Europe needs to build up its own military in order to protect itself from threats, including the US.

"We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia, and even the United States of America," Macron said on French radio.

While Macron insisted the comment referred to the need to wean Europe off of the US's defense and cybersecurity apparatus, Trump took offense to the comment and bashed Macron in a tweet on Friday.

"President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia," Trump said. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!"

Ironically, Macron was essentially suggesting Europe do exactly what Trump wants: spend more on defense to meet NATO's defense spending threshold.

An awkward weekend

Following the back-and-forth over defense, Trump traveled to France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I where Trump's displeasure with Macron was on full display.

The trip got off to a shaky start on Saturday when Trump did not attend a World War I memorial service just outside of Paris on Saturday due to inclement weather, which drew a slew of critiques.

Trump defended the choice in a tweet Tuesday, saying that Marine One could not fly to the graveyard and the Secret Service would not allow Trump to travel by car. While previous presidents have typically had back-up plans in the event of foul weather, it appears Trump's team did not.

The awkwardness continued Sunday during Trump and Macron's one-on-one meeting which did not appear as warm as previous interactions between the two leaders. The interaction was then followed up a Macron speech denouncing nationalism, a movement that Trump has explicitly tied himself to in recent months.

"Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism," Macron said just a few yard away from Trump. "By saying, 'Our interests first, who cares about the others,' we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what gives it grace and what is essential: its moral values."

While Macron did not call out Trump by name, the US president did not appear to be enthused by the public condemnation of his ideology.

Lashing out

Following the rocky weekend, Trump continued to launch online attacks at France and the rest of the European leaders. On Monday, Trump threatened to pull out of NATO and declared that "Trade must be FREE and FAIR!"

Trump then continued his tantrum on Tuesday with the personal attacks about Macron's approval ratings (which are admittedly dismal) and a variety of other bizarre insults, including a shot at France's record during World War II.

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along. Pay for NATO or not!"

The president also attacked France's wine trade, saying trade restrictions imposed by the European Union are unfair to US wine producers.

"On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the US," Trump said. "The problem is that France makes it very hard for the US to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the US makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!"

According to data from the International Trade Centre, France exported roughly $1.8 billion worth of wine to the US in 2017 while just $71 million went from the US to France.

Interestingly, Trump reportedly has a renewed interest in imposing tariffs on imported cars and trucks in recent days. While France wouldn't be as suffer from auto tariffs as much as other EU nations — such as Germany — the move would likely cause major economic disruptions across Europe. France's finance minister has pledged to hit back if Trump imposed auto restrictions on European cars.

A dwindling number of close relationships

The back-and-forth between Trump and Macron seems to have buried one of the president's closer diplomatic relationships.

Macron was the first official state visitor of Trump's presidency and the pair always shared a chummy rapport in their public interactions, but Trump appears to have been scorned of late. In fact, Macron appeared much closer to German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who has not enjoyed a friendly relationship with Trump— over the weekend.

The collapse of the Trump-Macron bromance bears a lot of similarities to the falling out between the US leader and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

Trudeau and Trump seemed to forge a connection early in Trump's presidency, but feuds over trade policies and personal attacks by Trump caused an ugly break up. Similarly, Trump's relationships with other leaders, like Chinese President Xi Jinping, have become strained over trade fights and other disagreements.

But Trump did share a warm greeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a memorial ceremony on Saturday, with Putin throwing Trump a big thumbs up.

SEE ALSO: Trump is once again moving closer to imposing auto tariffs, a move that could have massive economic consequences

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• WealthyNew Yorkers are paying professional dog walkers to take their dogs on day-long hikes upstate, The New York Times reported.
• Dog walkers from companies such as My Dog Hikes and Kristi's Kanines pick up the pooches from their SoHo or Upper West Side homes in a special, dog-equipped SUV and drive them to designated hiking areas so they can get some fresh country air.
• These day-long hikes typically cost between $85 and $130.

New York City dogs may have less space to stretch their legs than country dogs, but they just might be some of the most pampered pups in the country.

Wealthy New Yorkers are paying professional dog walkers from companies including My Dog Hikes, NYC Doggies, and Kristi's Kanines to take their dogs on day-long hikes upstate, as The New York Times reported. These hikes typically cost between $85 and $130.

With My Dog Hikes, which calls itself "New York City's #1 Rated Dog Nannies," the dogs are picked up in the morning between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. in an SUV specially equipped for dogs. The dogs are strapped into seatbelts and then driven up to an hour and 10 minutes to one of the company's "curated hiking areas" in upstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, according to its website. 

Each dog is placed with other dogs in a "pack," which is carefully selected based on each pup's personality.

The hike lasts about five hours, after which the walkers drop off the dogs back at home in the city between 4:00 and 6:30 p.m.

"For city dogs who live in this very controlled, sterile environment, there's a lot of doggy impulses they have, but can never exhibit,” Jennifer Wheeler, an owner of NYC Doggies, told the Times. "It's good physically, but it's even better psychologically for them to be off leash in nature, having a sensory experience. Not only do they transform on the hikes, but they become better adjusted to city life."

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• With a great pair of winter boots on your feet, snow, ice, and the frigid temperatures won't stop you from having fun or getting your work done.

• We considered insulation, tread pattern, lacing systems, and more to find the best winter boots.

• The Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots are our top pick, thanks to the comfort, support, and amazing insulation properties of these boots.

My favorite boots are comfortable, supportive, and have great treads for hiking on all sorts of terrain. They're reliable, they look great ... and they tend to spend many months of the year tucked away on a shelf instead of on my feet. Why? Because they're just not winter boots.

Boots have to provide two qualities to be suitable for use during the winter: insulation and water-resistance. If your boots can't help keep your feet warm and they can't keep your feet dry, then they're just not suitable for wintertime use. And of those two imperative qualities, waterproofing is the most important factor.

Once your socks grow sodden after snow, slush, or rain inundate your footwear, the insulation properties of the boots are no longer of much importance. In the winter, a wet foot is going to be a cold foot, and one more prone to blisters and infection. So while you can always help keep your feet warm with a pair of socks (or with layered socks), you have to use waterproof boots if you'll be hiking, working, or just walking around in areas liable to see snowfall or rain during those colder months. It's no coincidence that most of the boots on our list have the word "waterproof" right in the product title.

But what makes a great winter boot, beyond the warmth and dryness? It's largely relative. You need a winter boot that offers sufficient traction for activities in which you partake, but you don't need the same level of aggressive tread pattern for slushy sidewalks as you do for snowbound trails. You want enough support to help prevent a rolled ankle if you slip on ice, but your winter work boots probably don't need a calf-high rise. You want a lacing system that's snug and secure, but you also want it to be as simple as possible, as you might be wearing gloves or dealing with frosty fingers.

In short, you need to choose a boot that fits the places in which you'll use it and the tasks at hand in said locations. Don't choose a winter boot because it has lots of nifty features that seem clever and keen; choose a winter boot that's going to serve your purposes. We've rounded up the best winter boots you can buy for different use cases and styles. Read on to see which of our picks is for you.

Here are the best winter boots for men:

• Best overall: Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots
• Best classic winter boots: L.L. Bean Shearling-Lined Duck Boots
• Best affordable boots for work: Ever Boots Ultra Dry Insulated Waterproof Work Boots
• Best for working outside: Wolverine Drillbit Waterproof Steel Toe BOA Boots
• Best low-cost boots: Kamik Men’s Alborg Cold Weather Boots
• Best for wearing around town: Timberland White Ledge Waterproof Boots
• Best stylish winter boots: Red Wing's Heritage Moc Toes
• Best rubber boots for winter: Muck Boots Arctic Sport

Updated on 11/13/2018 by Owen Burke: Updated prices and added new picks to replace out-of-stock items.

Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.

SEE ALSO: The best men's hiking boots you can buy

Best winter boots overall

Why you'll love them: With the Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots on your feet, you are going to be toasty warm even when the weather isn't, thanks to the advanced insulation and lightweight design.

The Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots will keep your feet dry if you stand in a stream or puddle. Seriously, you could just step right into the water, and provided it didn't crest the impressive seven-inch rise of the shaft, your feet would not get wet. And were the stream or puddle into which you stepped freezing cold, your feet would stay nice and warm, too. That's because these exceptionally well-made winter boots come with a 200-gram insulation and an Omni-Heat reflective lining that radiates your own body heat right back at you.

You know those metallic emergency blankets (also called space blankets) that people wrap themselves in after an accident or after running a marathon? Columbia's Omni-Heat technology uses much the same approach. The lining consists of multiple little dots of a radiant metallic material that reflects your foot's warmth back into the boot instead of absorbing it and drawing the warmth away from your extremities.

And to top it off (or... bottom it off, to be more precise) these boots have an outsole featuring excellent traction that's lightweight and offers a plenty of energy return. The boots are an ideal choice for winter treks, whether you're hiking across miles of woodland terrain or simply plodding across town on a cold wintry morning.

People don't like the Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots ... they love them. A fan named Sean called them "worth every penny if you live somewhere where there is heavy snowfall," while an owner named Joey said they were "absolutely amazing" and sharing that he "tested waterproofness by having on no socks and sticking [my] foot in a bathtub filled with water. Even while fully submerged, my foot was dry."

Most professional gear testers eschewed the bathtub test and instead wore their Columbia boots out into the wilderness. A writer with The Wirecutter said they offer "the best balance of warmth, waterproofing, and walkability," while the Gear Institute review called these boots "comfortable out of the box" and noted the roomy toe box.

Pros: Amazing insulation quality, reliably waterproof, good traction on snow, ice, and varied terrain

Cons: Too warm for use except in winter, rather large and bulky

Buy the Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots on Amazon for $119.95 - $129.95 (prices vary by size)

Buy the Columbia Bugaboot Plus IV Omni Cold-Weather Boots from Columbia for $145.00

Best classic winter boots

Why you'll love them: L.L. Bean's shearling-lined 10-inch boots are the warmest of the bunch, but any of the Bean Boots will serve you well through both fall and winter, and they go with most outfits.

L.L. Bean's boots were introduced in 1912, and haven't changed much since. That's because they haven't had to.

Leon Leonwood Bean did generations of anglers and hunters a serious solid by tacking together these remarkably warm and dry boots. The Bean Boots went on to become the genesis of his stardom more than a century ago. Today, you'll find them everywhere from the backwoods of Maine to the boroughs of the Big Apple.

While many of L.L. Bean's products are being made offshore these days, the company continues to craft a select few of its products stateside, including the beloved Bean Boots.

Constructed using rubber bottoms and soles, a steel shank, full-grain leather uppers, and 3M Thinsulate, these boots have hardly changed since the start. Of course, there was no 3M nor Thinsulate in the early 20th century, but the design, the leather, and the rubber have all remained the same.

One thing that has changed L.L. Bean's boot game is variety. There are more than 30 styles of Bean Boots to choose from with an array of linings so there's a pair for each season.

These boots are part of the history of exploration and expedition themselves, having gone to war for the United States Army and forayed both poles. They are also storied to have found their way onto Ernest Hemingway's feet, who, according to GQ, even went so far as to recommend them himself.

The endorsements don't stop there. Popular Mechanics recently discussed The Never-Ending Greatness of L.L. Bean's Boots, and GQ has sung L.L. Bean's praise for years. One staff member here at Insider Inc. made a pair of these boots last more than 30 years. Here's proof.

Reviews on L.L. Bean's site are almost entirely positive across the board, yielding a 4.6/5-star rating, with only a handful of negative reviews coming from customers who seemed to get the odd bad pair.

Unfortunately, L.L. Bean's lifetime guarantee was discontinued, and purchases only come with a one-year warranty from here on out. We're sad to see this longstanding tradition go, but will still stand by Bean's boots unless the quality itself starts to drop. — Owen Burke

Pros: Sturdy, high-end leather and rubber, steel shank for support, not outrageously priced, hand-stitched

Cons: Maybe not the most fashion-forward boots you'll come across this season (or next), but their beauty lies in their utilitarianism

Buy L.L. Bean's Shearling-Lined 10-inch men's boots for $230

Shop Bean Boots at L.L. Bean for $100 to $245

Best affordable winter work boots

Why you'll love them: When there's work to be done, the Ever Boots Ultra Dry Insulated Waterproof Work Boots ensure the winter weather won't slow you down. 

A good work boot helps you accomplish your tasks without you even knowing it's there. Work boots need to be supportive and protective yet lightweight enough for the long hours required at the construction site, the farm, or the landscaping job. They need to keep your feet warm and dry in the winter, but not be so heavily insulated as to make feet sweat when your body temperature is raised. And of course, work boots need to be tough enough to endure the abuse that comes with the toughest jobs.

The Ever Boots Ultra Dry Insulated Waterproof Work Boots score high marks when tested against every one of the aforementioned standards, and they even have one more attribute worth noting: They look great. While aesthetics might have little effect on how well you get your work done, you might as well choose a work boot that looks good, right?

Made with full grain leather, these boots are a great choice for workers in areas where winter precipitation can be heavy. Beyond that waterproof leather, they have watertight stitches, water-resistant laces, and a seal added along the sole to help make sure no snowmelt, rain, or slush ever soaks through to your feet.

These boots have a solid 4.5-star rating with hundreds of reviews posted on Amazon. One customer calls them "warm and waterproof" while another says they are "sturdy and at a good price."

A gear tester with AllThingsWaterproof.com called the Ever Boots Ultra Dry Insulated Waterproof Work Boots "ideal for construction, landscaping, gardening" and more, while a MyWorkWear.org writer noted the affordable price and the "high-quality materials and exceptional workmanship."

Consider stepping down a half-size because, in our experience, these boots tend to run large.

Pros: Great price point, reliable waterproofing, classic work boot look

Cons: Sizes run too large, break-in period required

Buy the Ever Boots Ultra Dry Insulated Waterproof Work Boots on Amazon for $64.99

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Gift cards are an ideal gift in a lot of ways. For instance, you get to give them exactly what they want — in the color, style, and exact model that they want it — without polling their closest friends, family, and private online wish lists. They also typically don't expire.

Below, you'll find 30 of the best ones to give. If you want more options, there are also lots of restaurant gift cards on Amazon and plenty of other brands here. Otherwise, you might opt for stores like Best Buy with free in-store pick-up. 

Brooklinen

Buy a Brooklinen gift card

Brooklinen makes the best high-end sheets at the best price on the internet. Have a gift card delivered digitally, or in a gift card box. You can find a full review of Brooklinen's sheets here.

Amazon

Buy an Amazon gift card

An Amazon gift card is a more polite version of giving them cash — with it, they can buy pretty much anything they've had on their wish list — whether it's new and exciting tech or completely utilitarian home basics. You can also buy it in a gift card box.

Spotify

Buy a Spotify gift card on Amazon or Best Buy

They probably already have a Spotify account, but that doesn't mean they won't appreciate not having to pay for it for a while. A Spotify gift card lets you fund the next few months of something they love and use multiple times per day. 

• The vistas outside of train windows are both impressive and desolate, a slice of rural America that you can't see from any other vantage point.
• The slow pace harkens back to an era when we still had time to enjoy the journey and make new friends along the way.
• Traveling by train is a delight — here's why I prefer it to flying.

The train takes longer than flying and, for some trips, it doesn't make sense. But when I have time, the train is the way I definitely want to go.

I love the rhythm of the train wheels, the sound of the conductor's "All aboard!" and the stunning views out the big windows. I feel truly transported onboard, which is just what I want when I'm on vacation.

There are a million things that delight me about train travel. Here are just a few.

SEE ALSO: I asked 21 people for the worst thing about living in the Bay Area — here's what they said

1. The fun starts the minute you step on board

A trip from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo on the Coast Starlight opened my eyes to the easy-going charm of the train. The view out the windows was fascinating: broken down backyards, abandoned shacks melting into long-forgotten river banks, an eagle hunting over a glistening lake, pronghorn antelope grazing on a remote hillside — things you would never see from a car or an airplane.

The inside of the train was full of magic. Someone handed a guitar to the man seated across from us. He started to play, quietly, beautifully. I dozed, lulled by the music.

After getting off the train, my reflex was to collapse for the night from the fatigue of travel. To my surprise, I wasn't tired. The train ride left me so relaxed that I was ready to bounce out again.

2. Railroad folk

Amtrak train staff deliver old-fashioned hospitality, and I like it.

 The conductors, attendants, dining car staff, and station workers I've met while traveling by train in the US have been funny, kind, helpful, and generous.

They are interesting people I want to hang out with, like the sleeping car attendant on my first cross-country train trip, who could have taken retirement but kept working because it let him go from his home in Upstate New York to see shows at Yoshi's jazz club in Oakland.

3. A view of America's forgotten places

The world revealed out of train windows is a secret America: broken-down towns that were once thriving hubs when the train stopped there, fishing shacks on the water's edge, eagles soaring over an estuary, piles of railroad ties, charred forests.

During one flood year, we passed a whole town abandoned underwater. Cars still sat in driveways with only their windows showing above a Mississippi River that had taken up residence and wouldn't leave.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Airport security can be one of the most frustrating parts of any trip — especially with the busy holiday travel period coming up.
• CLEAR is a service that lets you skip the security line — it uses biometric scans to confirm your identity, and allows you to keep your ID and travel documents tucked away as you bypass the queue.
• Business Insider readers can get two free months of CLEAR by using the code "INSIDER" when applying.

The hassle of getting through security is one of the most stressful things about holiday travel, but it doesn't have to be. Imagine if you knew exactly how long it would take to go through security — about two minutes — and if you could keep your hands free, instead of fumbling with IDs, boarding passes, and your clear plastic bag full of travel-size toiletries?

Thanks to a service called CLEAR, that's actually possible.

Rather than having to wait in line to show an ID and boarding pass to a TSA officer, CLEAR members can head over to a kiosk, where they'll confirm their identity by scanning either their fingerprints or retina. It takes a few seconds, and once confirmed, the passenger can head past the stop-point and go through the X-ray machine — there's no line, no fumbling with documents, and no wait.

CLEAR applies whether or not you also have TSA PreCheck. If you do, you'll skip to the front of the PreCheck line and still not have to bother with your travel documents — as usual, with PreCheck, you can leave your shoes, belts, and light jackets on, and leave liquids and often laptops in your bag. If you don't have PreCheck, you'll skip to the front of the regular security line and go through the normal process from there.

TSA PreCheck coupled with CLEAR means that in most cases, you can get through the airport security checkpoint in minutes, if not seconds, with virtually no hassle.

The process of applying for PreCheck is fairly easy, but involves an interview that may not be possible to complete before Thanksgiving travel — if you're interested in applying for PreCheck, take a look at this article on how to get a credit to cover the application fee from your credit card.

CLEAR, on the other hand, is quick and easy to apply for, and you can complete the application and scan your biometrics at the airport on your way to a flight — that process can easily be quicker than the regular security line.

While CLEAR isn't available at every airport and terminal yet, its availability is expanding rapidly at major airports — you can see a full list here. 

Most recently, CLEAR announced that it's arriving at JFK's busy Terminal 4 before Thanksgiving, making now an ideal time to apply if you expect to transit through New York with Delta, Virgin Atlantic, or any of a number of other major carriers.

Best of all, Business Insider readers can get two free months of CLEAR — enough to cover the whole holiday period — when they apply and use promo code INSIDER. Readers can also choose a $30 discount on their first year, instead — that's $149 for the first year instead of the usual $179 — by using code INSIDER149.

If you're interested in learning more about how CLEAR works, check out our in-depth article here.

Click here to learn more about CLEAR and sign up with our exclusive discounts.

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• Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos' defense lawyers filed a motion withdrawing from representing him on Tuesday.
• They said in the court filing they were dropping out because "the criminal case [against Papadopoulos] has concluded, and the time for Mr. Papadopoulos to file an appeal has passed."
• DOJ veterans tell INSIDER that it's unusual for lawyers to file such a motion.
• Instead, they said Papadopoulos' lawyers likely withdrew from representing him for one of two reasons: because they wanted to distance themselves from him as he spreads unfounded conspiracy theories, or because Papadopoulos is actively considering withdrawing his guilty plea.
• Either way, said one former federal prosecutor, Papadopoulos has "got nowhere to go here. It's a self-defeating gambit."

Two defense lawyers who represented George Papadopoulos, a former aide to President Donald Trump's campaign, filed a motion Tuesday to withdraw from representing him.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI last year and began cooperating with the special counsel Robert Mueller, who is spearheading the FBI's Russia investigation.

Papadopoulos' cooperation ended earlier this year, and he was sentenced in September to two weeks in prison.

Papadopoulos and his wife, Simona Mangiante, have since taken to Twitter and the media to promote the unfounded theory that he was entrapped by the FBI, and the bureau wanted to "infiltrate" and "sabotage" the Trump campaign. Writing on Twitter that he will soon "expose the biggest political scandal in modern history," Papadopoulos is also actively considering withdrawing his guilty plea.

In their motion Tuesday, Papadopoulos' former defense lawyers, Thomas Breen and Robert Stanley of the law firm Breen & Pugh, said they were withdrawing "because the criminal case has concluded, and the time for Mr. Papadopoulos to file an appeal has passed."

But Elie Honig, a former prosecutor from the Southern District of New York, told INSIDER that Papadopoulos' lawyers' reasoning is atypical.

"Normally, when a case is over, and a defendant is sentenced, the lawyers don't formally withdraw from representing that person," Honig said. "The case just ends. The lawyer doesn't say, 'OK, I'm out.'"

Honig said it was more likely that Papadopoulos' "lawyers are trying to disassociate with him because of the conspiracy theories he's spreading, or perhaps they told him to knock it off, and he's not listening."

Papadopoulos tweeted in September that his meeting with Australian diplomat Alexander Downer — where he told Downer that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton's campaign in the form of "thousands of emails," an encounter that kicked off the Russia probe — was a setup by British intelligence. Breen responded to his then client's tweet by telling The Washington Post, "Most of our clients listen and follow all of our advice, some follow most of our advice, some follow some of our advice, some follow none of our advice."

Papadopoulos' lawyers leaving his case "could be due to the fact that Papadopoulos is now pursuing an odd strategy involving a conspiracy rather than a legal theory," Jeffrey Cramer, a former prosecutor who spent 12 years at the DOJ told INSIDER. "I don't know if he is appealing his conviction on some grounds or merely keeping himself in the public domain to raise money."

"Regardless," Cramer added, "he doesn't need a trial or appellate lawyer now. Tom Breen is a wonderful trial attorney and counsel. He isn't a publicist, however, which it seems is what Papadopoulos is looking for at this time."

A 'self-defeating gambit'

The other possibility, Honig said, is that if Papadopoulos is seriously considering withdrawing his guilty plea, his lawyers would no longer be able to represent him because of a conflict of interest.

If Papadopoulos is gearing up to file a motion to withdraw his plea, he would have to show a judge that he was somehow misled or coerced into pleading guilty, and the plea was not fully voluntary.

On a practical level, that would set up a defendant to argue that his lawyers didn't explain the full terms of the plea correctly, that they lied to him, or that they otherwise coerced him into entering a guilty plea.

"If he does make that motion, Papadopoulos will end up adverse to his own lawyers," Honig said. "And obviously they can't then represent him if they're also going to be witnesses." 

Successfully withdrawing a guilty plea is extraordinarily difficult, DOJ veterans told INSIDER. And if Papadopoulos does succeed, he may find himself in deeper trouble than he was before, because his indictment would resurface, and he would not have the option of pleading guilty with an agreement to cooperate.

Mueller's team indicated in the former Trump campaign aide's sentencing memo that in addition to lying during his initial FBI interview, Papadopoulos also lied while cooperating with prosecutors.

The special counsel's office added that Papadopoulos failed to provide "substantial assistance" to their investigators, which may have warranted leniency, and that he participated in a media interview last December without their knowledge. The interview, prosecutors said, prompted them to cancel a sitdown with him where he was set to answer more questions.

"There's no way Mueller would cooperate with him again if Papadopoulos withdrew his plea," Honig said. "So his only options are to enter a guilty plea without a cooperation agreement, which would almost certainly require him to do more than 14 days. Or he can go all the way and go to trial, where he would be buried."

"So he's got nowhere to go here," Honig added. "It's a self-defeating gambit."

SEE ALSO: Mueller reportedly plans to issue new indictments in the Russia investigation as soon as Tuesday

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Megyn Kelly in 2017: 'I regret a lot' of the controversial stuff I've said on live television

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned President Trump for trying to "bully" Florida into calling the highly-contested Senate race going through a recount this week.
• Schumer also said the recount should continue beyond the weekend deadline if need be.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer railed against President Donald Trump on Tuesday as the recount for the Senate race in Florida dragged on a week beyond Election Day.

Flanked by Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democrat at risk of being unseated by the Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott, Schumer tore into the president for asserting that Nelson should have already conceded the election.

"If he really wants an honest and fair election, President Trump will stop bullying, harassing, and lying about the vote in Florida and let the election proceed without the heavy hand of the president tipping the scales of justice," Schumer told reporters.

Schumer, who declined to take questions from reporters in the Capitol, also called for extending the Sunday deadline put in place to finish the recount if need be.

"Right now the state of Florida has a Sunday deadline for the hand recount. This rule stems from the 2000 Bush v. Gore recount and was put in place because the recount in 2000 was in danger of taking so long that the Electoral College would meet without knowing Florida's results," he said. "Fortunately with the Senate race, there is no Electoral College. That means supervisors of the elections should have all the time they need to count every Floridian's ballot to make sure the candidate with the most votes is actually seated in January, even if the vote count has to go beyond Sunday."

Trump has been vocal about the race, even calling for Nelson to drop out before the recount has been concluded.

SEE ALSO: One of Republicans' biggest targets in the Senate gloated at Trump after they failed to unseat him

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NOW WATCH: Trump once won a lawsuit against the NFL — but the result was an embarrassment

• Several people, including a state senator, were arrested during protests inside Georgia's state capitol on Tuesday.
•  The protests come on the last day of ballot counting in Georgia's tight gubernatorial race. 
• Republican Brian Kemp is leading Democrat Stacey Abrams with 50.3 percent of the vote, but the race would go to a runoff if Kemp is pushed below the 50 percent mark. 

Several people were arrested during protests inside Georgia's state capitol on Tuesday, the last day of ballot counting in Georgia's tight and contentious gubernatorial race. 

State Senator Nikema Williams was arrested after she refused to leave the floor of the capital, despite the fact that she said she was not actively protesting.

"I'm being arrested because I refused to leave the floor of a body I serve in. I'm a state senator. I was not yelling. I was not chanting. I stood peacefully next to my constituents because they wanted their voices to be heard, and now I'm being arrested," Williams told reporters. 

The arrests sparked immediate outrage from the left online. 

As of Tuesday, Abrams is trailing Kemp, who has 50.3% of the vote, by about 58,000 votes — or 1.5 percentage points.

Ballots continue to be counted in the state, and a runoff would be triggered if neither candidate earns 50% of the vote in the final count. While Kemp has called Abrams' refusal to concede "a disgrace to democracy," thousands of provisional ballots have been counted since election day — including at polling sites that initially said they had completed their counts.

Despite the ongoing count — which will end on Tuesday, both Kemp and Trump have declared Republican victory in the race.

Read more: Hotly contested recounts are underway in Florida, as Georgia and Arizona scramble to finalize results in key races

A federal judge Monday night ordered all of the state's provisional ballots to be counted and prevented the state from certifying the election before a Friday deadline. Still, Abrams would need over 20,000 more votes to trigger a runoff, which would be held on December 4, and it's unclear whether there are enough uncounted votes to narrow the gap between Abrams and Kemp.

"We will continue to fight for each and every eligible vote to be counted because in a democracy, every vote should be valued. Georgians deserve nothing less," Abrams' campaign manager told NBC News on Saturday.

Further intensifying the contentious battle are charges that the state has engaged in widespread voter suppression. As Georgia's secretary of state, Kemp purged an unprecedented 1.5 million inactive voters from the rolls and classified over 50,000 voters — the vast majority of whom are black — as "pending" because their information did not precisely reflect data in government records.

SEE ALSO: Hotly contested recounts are underway in Florida, as Georgia and Arizona scramble to finalize results in key races

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NOW WATCH: Megyn Kelly in 2017: 'I regret a lot' of the controversial stuff I've said on live television

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated their deal with Amazon to bring the retail giant's secondary headquarters, known as HQ2, to Long Island City, Queens.
• Both men praised the "unprecedented" scale and impact of the project — which will create at least 25,000 jobs over the next 10 years — and insisted it will positively impact New Yorkers, including marginalized communities. 
• To critics, de Blasio said, "I ask a real blunt question: Would we be happier if [Amazon] weren't coming?"

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio — two longtime political foes despite their shared party affiliation — celebrated their deal with Amazon to bring the retail giant's secondary headquarters, known as HQ2, to Long Island City, Queens.

Both men praised the "unprecedented" scale and impact of the project, which will create at least 25,000 jobs over the next 10 years in the already fast-growing waterfront neighborhood just across the East River from Manhattan, during a Tuesday afternoon joint press conference. 

Cuomo said the project will have a 9:1 revenue-to-incentive ratio — "the highest rate of return for an economic incentive program the state has ever offered" — resulting in $13.5 billion in tax revenue over the next 25 years. He and the mayor noted that the largest economic development project before HQ2 created 1,500 jobs in the state. 

"This blows away anything we've ever seen," de Blasio said. 

Amazon says it will invest about $2.5 billion in its campus and related projects, including infrastructure, a school, and green space development.

At the same time, the state will likely provide $2 billion — if not significantly more — in tax incentives to the company, a major point of contention among critics of the plan. Both de Blasio and Cuomo called the competition for HQ2 a long and "fierce" process and said the massive tax incentives were necessary in order to seal the deal. 

Read more: 'We were not elected to serve as Amazon drones': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other NYC politicians voice outrage about Amazon HQ2's move to Long Island City

But the mayor has previously insisted that he doesn't support corporate subsidies as a method of attracting big business to the city. 

"We do not believe in subsidies to corporations for retention or to attract corporations," de Blasio said last week. "That's a very strong view that I hold, and it's the difference from the Bloomberg administration that did believe in those kind of corporate subsidies."

Cuomo insisted that New York had to fight for the project in order to remain economically competitive.

"You want to be ahead of the economic curve," the governor said. "Either you are a part of the economy of tomorrow or you are a part of the economy of yesterday." 

The headquarters, which will eventually grow into an eight million square foot campus on Long Island City's waterfront, will be built in close proximity to the country's largest public housing development, Queensbridge Houses. The mayor said Amazon will work with the New York City Housing Authority to provide job and training opportunities to Queensbridge residents.

"One of the biggest companies on earth next to the biggest public housing development in the United States — the synergy is going to be extraordinary," de Blasio said, calling Tuesday "a great day for New York City" and "an extraordinary day for Queens."

'Would we be happier if they weren't coming?'

But not all Democratic leadership in the city and state are praising the announcement. Many doubt that the benefits of the project will be felt by the city's struggling communities. 

Progressive city leaders including Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and members of the New York City Council have expressed concern— and in some cases outrage — over both the process through which the deal was made. They were especially critical of the tax incentives, as well as the potential negative impacts of moving the e-commerce giant into a city whose infrastructure and education systems are already strained. 

"The idea that [Amazon] will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Monday.

Local politicians voiced concern about the headquarters' future impact on rent costs and property values, which will likely skyrocket in the neighborhood and surrounding areas, and also the burden it will place on the city's infrastructure, including the struggling subway.

De Blasio acknowledged that some concern about the massive project is fair, and said that he's working to maximize benefit for "everyday New Yorkers," which he insisted will far outweigh the costs of the project. 

"I ask a real blunt question: Would we be happier if they weren't coming?" de Blasio said. "I think most people look at the numbers and they're gonna say, 'No, how on earth are we gonna lose all those jobs and tax revenue.'" 

SEE ALSO: 'We were not elected to serve as Amazon drones': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other NYC politicians voice outrage about Amazon HQ2's move to Long Island City

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NOW WATCH: Megyn Kelly in 2017: 'I regret a lot' of the controversial stuff I've said on live television

• Being able to talk to your kids is important at any age, and is best established when children are young, open, and impressionable.
• Changes in life, like a new school schedule, can mean less time spent together as a family, making the remaining shared time all the more important to use well.
• By asking the same questions every day, parents help children reflect on not just the day that's ending, but on all the days that make up a given period in their lives.

My wife and I have a five-year-old son and a seven-month-old daughter. We ask our kids a lot of questions, and many of them are the same day after day. While Scarlett can't do much answering yet, her older brother Ben sure can.

Among my favorite questions to ask my son is, "What did you have for lunch?," because his school's chef prepares meals that sound fit for a Michelin-star restaurant, while my wife always asks about specific projects he worked on. We ask who he played with at recess, what songs the kids sang at music class, or what games they played at gym, and so on.

Most of the family dinner table talk revolves around Ben's day at school, because that's usually more interesting than the stuff adults do. ("And then, I did more research before I started writing an article!")  But the primary thing we ask our kid at the dinner table every day doesn't necessarily have to do with school, and in fact is often the most telling on weekends, during travel, or over summer break. That question is:

"What was the best part of your day?"

I always ask this question, partially because I love knowing all about my son's life and being as much a part of it as I can, even though he's now gone for most of his waking hours at school from 8:30 to 3.

Asking him what his favorite moment from a day was tells me much about what he most values at each stage in life. Sometimes it's playing with a certain classmate for several days in a row, which tips us off to schedule play dates out of school. Sometimes it's learning about a given topic, which can help us think of what books, games, and other activities to have on hand.

We don't ask what our child's best part of the day was only so we can learn about it, but also so that he can learn about it. Asking open-ended questions like this elicits reflection and introspection. When Ben thinks back on his day, at times he has a ready answer, but sometimes it takes him a while to think through the events and experiences of the preceding hours before he can pick out that highlight.

Asking a child about a highlight from their day can also help put those not-so-great days in perspective. On days where my five-year-old is in a bad mood, is feeling tired or restless, or when he simply didn't have a good day, having him isolate at least one positive can elevate his mood, making him realize it's never all bad. (Or at least that it’s rarely all bad, but hopefully he won't think like that for years or even decades to come, if ever.)

Read more:I asked my 5-year-old son what it means to be happy, and his answer was surprisingly profound

The other reason open-ended, personal questions like this are great for a kid of any age as well as for an adult? There's no wrong answer.

While I do care what my son most enjoyed from his day, and I encourage him to reflect and intuit from his pondering, more than anything, my wife and I know that communication is critical for raising kids that feel loved, valued, and engaged in the family and beyond. Until the kids are old enough to talk about the news, we're talking about our days.

And as hackneyed as this might sound, it's the truth: Usually, the highlight of our day is hearing all about his. The news is pretty rough stuff these days anyway.

SEE ALSO: Raising kids doesn't come with a handbook — here are 30 mistakes every parent makes

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NOW WATCH: Why you shouldn't be afraid to fly, according to a pilot with over 20 years of experience

• Tensions are running hot in the race for California's 39th congressional district, formerly held by Republican Ed Royce. 
• The campaign for Republican Young Kim accused her Democratic opponent Gil Cisneros of "physically tampering" with ballots and intimidating vote counters. 
• A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office denied those allegations in a statement to INSIDER. 

The 2018 midterm elections were one week ago, but tensions are heating up in several of the 10 House races that have yet to be called — including the contest for the open seat in California's 39th congressional district, which includes portions of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. 

On Tuesday, Republican candidate Young Kim saw her lead over Democrat Gil Cisneros narrow to just 711 votes from 1, 957 on Monday as the mail-in ballots counted after Election Day have leaned heavily in Cisneros' favor. Kim, a former state assemblywoman aide to outgoing Rep. Ed Royce, led by nearly 4,000 votes when the polls closed on Nov. 6th.

After initially accusing the Cisneros campaign of being "rebuked" by the Los Angeles Registrar and County Clerk's offices for alleged ballot tampering on Sunday, the Kim campaign took the allegations a step further after Cisneros gained more ground on Monday.

"The Gil Cisneros Campaign has been desperate to influence and alter the outcome of this race by harassing and intimidating vote counters in Orange County," the campaign said Monday. "Those nefarious actions reflect a campaign...that will do anything in their desperate effort to change the results." 

They also asserted that Kim's initial lead should be reflected in the results of the mail-in and provisional ballots, adding that "anything falling significantly outside of those percentages could reflect foul play." 

As the Los Angeles Times pointed out on Tuesday, however, the distribution of the vote count in the 39th district so far is par for the course in California elections. 

While older and more conservative-leaning voters make up most of those who vote early and on Election Day, younger and Democratic-leaning voters take advantage of California's policy to count all mailed-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day, meaning Democratic candidates usually see their vote counts increase as those ballots are tabulated. 

In a statement to INSIDER on Tuesday, the Cisneros campaign accused the Kim campaign of "blatantly lying" in their allegations of ballot tampering, and further alleged that a representative for the Kim campaign had, in fact, been asked to leave the premises of the LA County Registrar's Office for photographing and attempting to tamper with ballots.

A spokesperson for LA County Registrar denied the Kim campaign's allegations of ballot interference and harassment of vote counters to INSIDER, also on Tuesday.

"We have not addressed anything related to ballot tampering or physical tampering with ballots," they said. 
"Our process is transparent and secured." 

The office declined to comment on the Cisneros campaigns' allegations and eyewitness reports that as many as three observers and supporters of the Young Kim campaign were escorted off the premises of the Registrar's Office.

The Kim campaign did not respond to INSIDER's requests for comment on the Registrar's statement or whether they planned to retract their allegations of vote tampering in light of the Registrar's denial of such activity.  

Equality California, a LGBTQ rights group supporting Cisneros, called the Kim campaign's allegations a "desperate, dangerous stunt to save face as her lead continues to shrink" in a Tuesday statement. 

"Accusing your opponent of cheating just because you don't like the outcome may be the norm in Florida these days, but it won't fly in California," the group added. 

Accusations of voter fraud and disagreements over procedures for counting overseas and provisional ballots have been an issue in a number of 2018 midterm races, including the recounts of the gubernatorial and Senate races in Florida. 

Read more: Hotly contested rrecounts are underway in Florida, as Georgia and Arizona scramble to finalize results in key races

In a Tuesday ruling, a judge in Florida found no evidence for claims of election fraud and illegal practices by local election authorities lodged by Republican Senate candidate Gov. Rick Scott and echoed by other Republicans, including President Donald Trump. 

The judge also admonished both Democrats and Republicans to "ramp down the rhetoric" as the recounts of the Senate and gubernatorial races proceed. 

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NOW WATCH: Megyn Kelly in 2017: 'I regret a lot' of the controversial stuff I've said on live television

• The new movie "Boy Erased" tells the true story of Garrard Conley— the son of a Baptist pastor who, after being outed to his parents at 19, was sent to a two-week-long "gay conversion therapy" program. 
  
• Conley tells us what the experience was really like, and discussed his efforts to make the practice of conversion therapy on minors illegal. 
• It is currently legal to practice conversion therapy on minors in 36 states. 
• Conley was joined by his mother Martha, who experienced a change of heart while Garrard was in the conversion therapy program and removed him before it was complete. 
  

Following is a transcript of the video.

Victor Sykes in "Boy Erased": So, who's ready? Welcome to the Refuge Program! Come on!

Garrard Conley: I'm Garrard Conley. I'm the author of "Boy Erased," now a major motion picture. "Boy Erased" is the story of my going into conversion therapy after being outed to my parents and the psychological torture that I endured while I was there.

Victor Sykes in "Boy Erased": You cannot be born gay!

Garrard: Also, it's the story, I think, of my mom who takes me out of therapy and saves my life, and also has to go on her own journey of acceptance.

Martha Conley: I'm just here to try to stop conversion therapy because I wish I had done my homework before I took him instead of after I took him because it's a horrible thing and we need to get it stopped.

Garrard: Conversion therapy's taken many forms. It's been around since the 19th century, actually. In the 1950's and '60s, there was a hospital called St. Elizabeths Hospital outside of Washington, D.C. They performed lobotomies, they performed electroshock therapy, they had people in straitjackets. At this moment, 36 states do not have bans on conversion therapy for minors. The bigger battle, however, is that any religious organization can perform conversion therapy and charge for it currently, no matter what state you're in.

I mean, I had it pretty easy growing up. We moved to a place called Cherokee Village, Arkansas. We'd always been very much a church family. I'd always been told that being LGBTQ was not right and I don't think there were any exceptions to that. I think that, as I grew older, and I started to understand myself a lot more and my sexuality, it became obvious that I was on a crash course with these two ideologies.

Martha: Being married to a Baptist pastor and being raised the way I was, we believed exactly what the Bible said about homosexuality, and that's what I was taught and I just didn't question it because I think you don't tend to question things until it hits your family or someone that you love.

Garrard: I was actually in my first semester of college. Someone that I knew at the time raped me and he confessed to me that he'd also raped a 14-year-old boy. Right after he raped me, he confessed this to me. And I told some friends what he'd done and he found out that I'd told that. And so, as a preemptive move, he called my parents, called my mom specifically, because he really wanted to strike fear and it worked. And when I came home, Dad took me into his bedroom and said, like, "Can you explain to me what's going on?" And so I told him, "I think I'm gay."

Martha: First of all, we took him to the doctor and had his hormones checked, you know? That's how naive we were. Then we called the largest Southern Baptist church in Memphis and they said, "Oh yes, you're so lucky." "We have a unit right here in Memphis and it's called" "Love in Action, and they have an 84% cure rate." And I'm thinking, wow, you know? I didn't even know what conversion therapy was.

Garrard: We did one-on-one therapy sessions after I was outed for about six months. I went to a residential program. The main activity that we did was called a "Moral Inventory," and we were asked to write down every sexual fantasy or experience we'd ever had, and we would have to say it in front of everyone, like share that with everyone in the group. And then after that, they would give me Bible verses to sort of combat those thoughts that I'd had. I knew that if I didn't do this, I would lose my family, my faith, perhaps, my community.

By the end of the second week, I was asked to do this exercise asking me to imagine my father sitting there, and basically say that I hated him. And I remember thinking to myself, these are Christians who are saying that in order to be cured, I have to hate someone not love someone. And Christ is all about love.

Graham Flanagan: How much were you paying for this?

Martha: It was like $3,200.

Garrard: For just a really short period of time.

Martha: And then we also had to stay in a hotel for two weeks.

Garrard: But his quote for you, for me going out for a year, for doing years of therapy, how much was that?

Martha: Well, it was like $21,000.

Victor Sykes in "Boy Erased": Now this may be the toughest, but most rewarding 12 days that many of you will ever face.

Martha: We later found out that all the leaders, I mean none of them had more than a high school education. Within a week, they started talking to me about, "Oh he's not following the rules. He's not doing his homework right. I think you need to put him in the three-month program and then you need to think about keeping him out of school next year."

That was just too quick. It just got so phony to me. And they were, like, trying to pressure me into signing him up, and he hadn't even been there a week yet.

Victor Sykes in "Boy Erased": So, who's ready?

Garrard: Victor Sykes in the film is based off of John Smid, who ran Love in Action for many years.

Martha: 22.

Garrard: 22 years. And after a while, I don't know if it's because of the negative press, or if it's because it got to his conscience, but he quit. He stepped down. And once he stepped down, he began a slow journey of realizing that it was not ever working, that he was selling a lie. And then, he married his now-husband, and lives in Paris, Texas making furniture.

[Smid has since become an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights.]

Martha: It just did such damage to me as well, because of the guilt I feel for taking him there. You do it because you think you're saving your child, and you love your child. I don't want other parents to have to go through the guilt that I've had to go through for 14 years.

Garrard: I think the greatest value for this film is its ability to show a roadmap for people who are around LGBTQ youth to do better, and to act better, and to become better people through it. And that's what I hope the movie does.

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Michelle Obama's memoir, "Becoming," was released Tuesday and is chock full of never-before-heard stories from the former first lady's childhood and eight years in the White House.

Obama is startlingly candid about a wide variety of topics, from her shock after learning that President Donald Trump had won the 2016 election to racists labeling her an "angry black woman."

There are plenty of heartfelt moments too, such as the kindness President George W. and first lady Laura Bush showed her after her husband was elected, and the time she and her daughter Malia "sneaked" out of the White House.

Obama's book, which Oprah has already selected for her book club, is on sale wherever books are sold Tuesday.

Here are some of the most interesting anecdotes Obama shares in the book:

• On what it felt like to become the first black first lady: "As the only African American First Lady to set foot in the White House, I was 'other' almost by default. If there was a presumed grace assigned to my white predecessors, I knew it wasn't likely to be the same for me. I'd learned through the campaign stumbles that I had to be better, faster, smarter and stronger than ever. My grace would have to be earned."
• Five-year-old Sasha was less than impressed with the White House when Michelle took her daughters on a tour in 2006, when Barack was a senator. When the tour guide said they were moving on to the Red Room, "Sasha looked up at [Michelle] and blurted, in the unquiet voice of an aggrieved kindergartner, 'Oh nooo, not another ROOM!'"
• After winning the 2008 presidential election, the Bush family invited the Obamas to the White House, as is tradition. Barack's favorite part of the tour was the gym, something he shared with President Bush.
• Michelle's favorite part of the tour was seeing her future dressing room, which offered a view of the Rose Garden and Oval Office. Laura Bush said Hillary Clinton "had shown her this same view when she'd first come to visit the White House eight years earlier. And eight years before that, her mother-in-law, Barbara Bush, had pointed out the view to Hillary." Michelle said looking out that window reminded her "that I was part of a humble continuum."

Read more:Melania Trump never reached out to Michelle Obama for advice on being first lady

• On her husband refusing the $100,000 in federal funds to move and redecorate the White House: "As long as I've known him, he's been this way: extra vigilant when it comes to matters of money and ethics, holding himself to a higher standard than even what's dictated by law. There's an age-old maxim in the black community: You've got to be twice as good to get half as far."
• Barack's advice to Malia and Sasha on their first day of school in DC: "Definitely don't pick your noses!"
• They blasted Beyoncé in the presidential limo after walking the parade route during Barack's first inauguration.
• On how the custom Jason Wu gown she wore to her first Inaugural Ball made her feel ready to take on the role of first lady: "The dress resurrected the dreaminess of my family's metamorphosis, the promise of this entire experience, transforming me if not into a full-blown ballroom princess, then at least into a woman capable of climbing onto another stage. I was now FLOTUS—First Lady of the United States—to Barack's POTUS. It was time to celebrate."
• Michelle says she had to walk a "thin line" when it came to dressing: "I was supposed to stand out without overshadowing others, to blend in but not fade away. As a black woman, too, I knew I'd be criticized if I was perceived as being showy and high end, and I'd be criticized also if I was too casual. So I mixed it up. I'd match a high-end Michael Kors skirt with a t-shirt from Gap. I wore something from Target one day and Diane von Furstenberg the next."
• She noticed two things at her husband's first speech before a joint session of Congress. The first was the lack of diversity, which she called "glaring" and "embarrassing—for a modern multicultural country." She was also disappointed in the behavior of the Republicans, who "stayed seated through most of" Barack's speech, "appearing obstinate and angry, their arms folded and their frowns deliberate, looking like children who hadn't gotten their way." She confesses that after the event, she wondered whether "there was any path forward."
• On why she decided to start the White House garden: "I knew what mattered to me. I didn't want to be some sort of well-dressed ornament who showed up at parties and ribbon cuttings. I wanted to do things that were purposeful and lasting."
• She found life in the White House patriarchal: "Barack was now surrounded by people whose job was to treat him like a precious gem. It sometimes felt like a throwback to some lost era, when a household revolved solely around the man's needs, and it was the opposite of what I wanted our daughters to think was normal."
• Michelle was giving a speech at a children's hospital when news of the Sandy Hook shooting broke. As soon as she wrapped up her speech, her aides informed her what had happened, and that her husband wanted her to return to the White House right away. "This would be the only time in eight years that he'd request my presence in the middle of the work day...When I walked into the Oval Office, Barack and I embraced silently. There was nothing to say. No words."
• Bo and Sunny, the family's two dogs, acted as surrogates of sorts for Malia and Sasha: "Knowing that Malia and Sasha were basically off-limits, the White House communications teams began requesting the dogs for official appearances ... They made excellent ambassadors, impervious to criticism and unaware of their own fame."
• Michelle was crippled with anxiety during election night 2012. The first lady sent a text to aides early on in the night, asking how things were going, but didn't get a response and feared that Romney had pulled ahead. She was "just about ready to pass out from the anxiety" when Barack entered their bedroom, completely relaxed. "We're kicking butt," he said. "It's basically done." She later learned that the service on her phone had disconnected and that her texts never sent.
• Michelle and Malia sneaked out of the White House to see the presidential residence bathed in rainbow lights after the monumental Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. They strode past guards, but ran into issues when the door they were trying to use was locked. Staff led them to loading doors where they were able to get out view the lights together. "Malia and I leaned into each other, happy to have found our way here."
• The Queen of England had a sassy remark when she urged Michelle to sit next to her on the drive back to Windsor Castle during their last meeting, even though they were told her husband would get that seat: "'Did they give you some rule about this,' [the Queen] said, dismissing all the fuss with the wave of her hand. 'That's rubbish. Sit wherever you like.'"
• On why she decided to give a speech in favor of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention: "Since childhood, I'd believed it was important to speak out against bullies while also not stooping to their level. And to be clear, we were now up against a bully, a man who among other things demeaned minorities and expressed contempt for prisoners of war, challenging the dignity of our country with practically every utterance."
• Her reaction when Trump first announced his candidacy, in a press conference during which he called Mexican immigrants "rapists": "I figured he was just grandstanding, sucking up the media's attention because he could. Nothing in how he conducted himself suggested that he was serious about wanting to govern."
• Michelle says she'll "never forgive" Trump for calling into question her husband's birth certificate. When he first started questioning Barack's citizenship, Michelle says, "it seemed he was just making noise in general, surfacing on cable shows to offer yammering, inexpert critiques of Barack's foreign policy decisions and openly questioning whether he was an American citizen." She says she found the birther controversy "crazy and mean spirited ... its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed." With all the hatred directed at her husband and family, she grew concerned about their safety. "Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family's safety at risk. And for this, I'd never forgive him."
• On Trump's "grab them by the p---y" tape: "My body buzzed with fury after hearing that tape," she said, adding that she decided to address it directly at a speech for Clinton the following week. "I felt compelled to try to address Trump's words directly—to counter his voice with my own."

• Michelle says she's baffled at how women supported Trump in the election: "I will always wonder about what led so many women, in particular, to reject an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead choose a misogynist as their president."

SEE ALSO: Michelle Obama said she 'stopped even trying to smile' at Trump's inauguration

DON'T MISS: Michelle Obama opens up about the first time she saw Barack and what their first kiss was like

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NOW WATCH: Trump once won a lawsuit against the NFL — but the result was an embarrassment

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

One of our favorite shows to spot new products and enjoy some entertaining celebrity judge banter is "Shark Tank," which is soon returning for its tenth season.

As we've seen over the years, some pitches do extremely well, while others aren't so lucky — but the fact remains that the show brings forward new and innovative ideas most of us have never considered.

That's why the products from the show tend to make especially good gifts. They're far from generic and they usually solve a common problem or annoyance. Conveniently, most are also available on Amazon.

If your recipient loves watching "Shark Tank," they'll recognize these 20 awesome gift options.  

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.

A fun outdoor game

Spikeball 3 Ball Kit, $59.99, available at Amazon

On a beautiful sunny day at any park in the city, you'll probably see at least one group playing this fun and active game. With rules similar to volleyball, it's easy to learn — so the whole family can get involved. The company even holds nationwide tournaments if your recipient gets really good at the game. 

A balance bike

KaZAM No Pedal Balance Bike, $64.95, available at Amazon

Featuring a patented footrest design that helps young kids find their center of gravity, this bike builds the confidence needed to transition to riding a proper bike. The ergonomic, adjustable handles and seat will get kids comfortable and ready to ride right away. The bike weighs only eight pounds and the puncture-free tires never need air. 

A Wi-Fi-compatible sous vide

Nomiku Wi-Fi 1100 Watt Sous Vide, $179, available at Amazon

Pair the sous vide immersion circulator with a quality piece of steak and your home cook is equipped to make a delicious dinner to remember. The sous vide can be controlled from their phone and produces precise results without fail. 

If you want to score the best deals and not get taken for a ride this Black Friday, who better to turn to for advice than the people with extensive knowledge on the matter?

So Business Insider asked more than 40 Black Friday workers to share their best advice for shoppers and what mistakes they should avoid.

Here are 12 tips that could help you get the most out of your Black Friday shopping experience.

SEE ALSO: 14 things Black Friday workers wish shoppers would stop doing

DON'T MISS: Black Friday workers confess 9 things they'd love to tell shoppers but can't

Unless you plan to be one of the first people in line, don't bother camping out or lining up

"The big-deal items are very limited, so unless you're one of the first 10 in line, you're probably not going to get it. The rest of the products are still there a few hours later. And if you don't like crowds or waiting, stay home and order online or wait until Friday afternoon when it's slower in the stores."

The same goes for whether you want the doorbuster

"Unless there's a doorbuster you need, don't waste your time. Cyber Monday has some good deals, too, and you can camp out for those deals in your pajamas in bed."

Plan ahead

"On Black Friday so many people underestimate the time and energy it takes to do marathon shopping. If you are going with someone else, be sure they are as committed or as not committed to the experience as you are.

"Taking two cars is probably a good idea.

"Plan out your day: Where to go first, when to take a break, how long you want to be out. Give yourself extra time, too. Everything will take twice as long as you think. Be patient and be forgiving. Wear comfy shoes, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!"

• Rep. Mark Meadows told INSIDER he is unsure of whether he will run for another term as chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
• Meadows has served as chairman for the past two years.
• While the group gained several recruits in the 2018 midterm elections, they have lost some power as Democrats have taken back the majority in the House.

WASHINGTON — Mark Meadows, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, seemed unsure of whether or not he would run again for another term to head the group when the new Congress convenes in January.

"I don't anticipate doing that," Meadows told INSIDER on Tuesday when asked if he would seek another term. "But I don't know."

"Really at this point, I think probably the biggest thing they'll make nominations in January, so I don't know," he added.

Read more: A powerful group of conservatives that sprung out of the Tea Party is one of the biggest losers of the midterm elections

The HFC, which proved to be a powerful faction of the House's most conservative members in recent years, does not have term limits for chairman, according to an aide. Meadows succeeded Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan two years ago, who was the chairman since their founding in 2015.

While the HFC has considerable influence and close relationships with President Donald Trump, they will have lost much of the upper hand they held during the past two years.

Still, there is optimism for the group, as they were able to make several gains with potential recruits during the midterm elections despite Republican losses across the board.

SEE ALSO: Chuck Schumer accuses President Trump of "bullying" in Florida recount, says every vote should be counted regardless of deadline

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NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote

• Republican Rep. Mimi Walters of California claimed that Democrats would attempt to force a recount to "steal" her seat in multiple fundraising emails obtained by INSIDER.
• Walters leads her Democratic opponent, Katie Porter, by just 1,000 votes in a close race for control of California's 45th Congressional District, located in Orange County.
• Another Republican running in Orange County, Young Kim of the 39th District, also accused her Democratic opponent of tampering with votes to influence the election, which local officials denied. 

Rep. Mimi Walters, who is fighting for reelection in California's 45th Congressional District, repeatedly charged Democrats are attempting to "steal" her seat by tampering with votes, according to recent fundraising emails sent out by her campaign and obtained by INSIDER.

Walters, a second-term Republican congresswoman, is now narrowly trailing law professor Katie Porter, in the race for the 45th District, located in Orange County in Southern California. 

By 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Porter had taken a slim 261-vote lead over Walters after a fresh batch of ballots were tabulated in Orange County. Walters had led by around 1,000 votes the day before. 

Elections in California take longer to resolve than in most states, since California allows mail-in ballots that arrive up to the Friday after Election Day to be counted as long as they're postmarked by Election Day. 

In at least three emails sent out between Sunday and Tuesday, Walters' campaign charged that "Democrats are already preparing for a recount to try and steal this Republican seat after the fact." The campaign also wrote "the left has spent tens of millions against me, and they'll stop at nothing to make sure they can still win this seat."

A fundraising email sent Tuesday said "we need to be ready with the resources to handle a recount operation. We must be able to make sure vote tallies aren't tampered with, and that only valid votes from registered voters are counted." 

Unlike other states, California does not have an automatic threshold to trigger a recount of votes. A recount must be requested by a registered California voter. 

A representative for Walters' campaign did not respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

In California's 39th Congressional District, the other Southern California race that remains to be called, Republican Young Kim claimed her Democratic opponent, Gil Cisneros, had been reprimanded by the Los Angeles County Registrar for physically tampering with ballots and "harassing" vote counters. 

Read more: Tensions flare as candidates accuse each other of ballot tampering and "foul play" in a close California congressional race

A spokesperson for the LA County Registrar, however, refuted the Kim campaign's allegations in a Tuesday statement to INSIDER. The registrar's office declined to comment on the Cisneros camp's claims that multiple observers from the Kim campaign had been asked to leave for attempted vote tampering.

Republicans in Florida, which is in the throes of its own recounts in the hotly contested gubernatorial and Senate races, have also accused Democrats and local election officials of election fraud and vote tampering, allegations echoed by President Donald Trump.

In a Tuesday ruling, a judge in Florida found no evidence for those claims of election fraud, encouraging both Democrats and Republicans to "ramp down the rhetoric" while the recounts proceed. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Whether you’re planning to host a cruise-liner amount of relatives this holiday season or just a few guests, it’s a lot merrier to have wine and alcohol on deck — and even better if you don’t have to leave the house to get it. Online options require minimal energy but delivers on all the perks — just remember to read the fine print and plan on having someone 21 or older to sign for the package.

If you’re looking for an ongoing delivery, check out the Insider Picks ranking of the best wine subscriptions on the internet here. Otherwise, you'll find a list below of the places you can order alcohol from for the holidays.

Below are six solid options for delivering wine or alcohol to your door during the holidays:

Wine Insiders

Shop Wine Insiders

Wine Insiders is essentially an online wine store with both individual bottles and a lot of pack options, including six-bottle cases based on themes like Thanksgiving, Halloween, judge favorites, and staff picks ($67 - $81). There's also a 100% satisfaction guarantee. 

Shipping: $10 shipping on one - five bottles and free shipping on orders of six bottles or more. They'll generally arrive two - three business days after your order is placed. Currently, Wine Insiders ship to all states except Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Utah.

All shipments must be signed for by an adult over 21 years old, and packages can't be left on your doorstep or delivered to a PO box. Fees may apply if your wine returns to the company as undeliverable. If you work during the day, it's smart to send your box to either a convenient local pick-up location or your business address to ensure delivery. 

Bundles: 

• Mixed Wines: six bottles and deluxe corkscrew, $30 for new customers
• Red Wines: six bottles and deluxe corkscrew, $30 for new customers
• White Wines: six bottles adn deluxe corkscrew, $30 for new customers 

Wine.com

Shop Wine.com

Wine.com boasts the world's largest online wine selection, plus the convenience of home delivery or pick-up from convenient local stores (like Walgreens) that may be open late or on weekends. It's a good place to find your old favorites as well as discover new wines. New customers can use the code "NOVNEW" to get $30 off any orders $100 or more. 

Shipping: Shipping depends on the shipping state but can reach $30 per order. If you want to pick it up yourself, there are more than 10,000 participating locations that include Walgreens, Duane Reade, and Safeway. If you choose this option at checkout, you'll get an email when your order is ready for pick-up, and you'll have five days to grab it.

Wine.com also has an annual $49 membership called the StewardShip program that gets you free shipping on every order for a full year with no purchase minimum. Either way you order, an adult signature is needed to get your package.

Bundles: 

New customers can use the code "NOVNEW20" to get $20 off any orders of $50 or more

• Quintessential Case Wine Collection: 12 Bottles, $179.99 with code "NOVNEW20"
• Quintessential Reds Wine Collection: six bottles, $79.99 "NOVNEW20"

ReserveBar

Shop ReserveBar wines and spirits

ReserveBar is an online premium wine and spirits store. They carry everything from scotch, gin, and wine to moonshine, cocktail mixers, and chardonnay that arrives with Waterford wine glasses. The company has a luxury collection, limited edition bottles, and top trending gifts to skim through. They also offer high-end gift packaging and do custom engraving, perfect for those looking to gift a really good bottle of liquor with a personalized message. ReserveBar does high-brow, but they also have plenty of casual spirits for less than $40. 

Shipping: Free shipping on orders of $150 or more. Shipping fees for orders less than $150 depend upon the shipping state, but can reach $15 per shipment.

All shipments must be signed for by a 21-year-old adult. Products have a "ship to" section that shows which states allow delivery of that particular liquor or wine. Select cities can use ReserveBar Express and get fine spirits and champagne delivered to their door the same day. 

Bundles: 

• Johnny Walker Black Label: The Director's Cut and the Jane Walker Edition Bundle, $198

• The protectionist and free-trade sides of the Trump administration are once again clashing.
• Larry Kudlow, a free-trade economic adviser, criticized Peter Navarro, a protectionist member of the administration, during a televised interview.
• The cracks come as President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit at the end of the month — and as he is considering placing tariffs on imported cars and trucks.
• The fight between the free-trade and protectionist camps in the Trump administration contributed to the failure to complete a US-China trade deal in May.

Heading into a high-stakes bilateral discussion between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the US administration is missing a concrete, unified strategy to try to end the trade war while also extracting concessions from the Chinese.

Trump and Xi are set to meet in two weeks at the G20 summit in Argentina to try and strike a deal to lower tariffs on roughly $360 billion worth of goods flowing between the two countries. But two of Trump's top trade advisers appear to be in different frames of mind about a potential deal.

On Tuesday, Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, criticized Peter Navarro, Trump's ultra-protectionist trade adviser, during an appearance on CNBC. Kudlow took issue with Navarro's comments that slammed Wall Street's alleged involvement in US-China trade talks.

"If and when there is a deal, it will be on President Donald Trump's terms — not Wall Street's," Navarro said. "If Wall Street is involved and continues to insinuate itself into these negotiations there will be a stench around any deal that is consummated."

Read more:Now it's full steam ahead for Trump's trade war with China

Asked about the comments, Kudlow offered a dismissal of his coworker's words.

"Look, Peter Navarro is a friend of mine, truly. We've known each other for 20 years, but he was not speaking for the president, nor was he speaking for the administration," Kudlow said. "His remarks were way off base. They were not authorized by anybody. I actually think he did the president a great disservice."

Kudlow, a former CNBC host and Wall Street economist, said Navarro was wrong because Trump has been speaking to many interested parties — including Wall Street banks — to solicit input on the trade war with China.

"So I think Peter very badly misspoke," Kudlow said. "He was freelancing, and he's not representing the president or the administration."

Read more: Trump is once again moving closer to imposing auto tariffs, a move that could have massive economic consequences

Kudlow's dismissal of Navarro's comments underlines the central tension between two sides of Trump's economic team:

• On the one side is Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who have been cheerleaders for free trade and argued that Trump's trade war with China is designed to ultimately facilitate more free trade around the world.
• On the other side is Navarro, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and — to an extent — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who all believe the administration needs to take a hard line with China. This side also has a key advantage: Trump has been a public advocate of tariffs and trade restrictions for decades.

The two sides squared off during the last high-stakes negotiations between China and the US in May. During those meetings in Beijing, Navarro and Mnuchin reportedly engaged in a shouting match that was overheard by Chinese officials. The rift apparently left Chinese negotiators confused and helped contribute to the failure to reach a deal.

Lower-level talks between China and the US have restarted, and Kudlow told CNBC that Trump and Xi recently spoke. But the G20 summit is the first face-to-face trade discussion between the two leaders since the trade war started in earnest. While analysts aren't particularly hopeful that the two sides can come to an agreement during the meeting in Argentina, the cracks in Trump's trade team could once again make any progress even more difficult.

In addition to the looming China talks, the two sides are also reportedly bickering over Trump's desire to impose tariffs on imported cars and trucks. Navarro is reportedly encouraging Trump to move forward with the crackdown, but Mnuchin and Kudlow warn that the move would have devastating economic consequences.

A decision on that issue appears to be close, as Trump convened a meeting of his trade team to discuss the auto tariffs on Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: 'MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!': The Trump-Macron bromance appears dead as Trump launches into tirade against the French leader

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote