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FLOYD MAYWEATHER: The Outrageous Ways The World's Highest-Paid Athlete Spends His Millions

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floyd mayweather jr prepares fightFor all his ridiculous antics, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the most financially successful athletes in the world.

This week he'll make a record $41.5 million for fighting Canelo Alvarez.

We'd say that Floyd has more money than he can spend ... but he is putting that idea to the test by doing some wild things with his cash.

He travels with stacks of hundreds in Ziploc bags, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

He has a single bank account with $123 million in it. He's obsessed with cash.

Source: ESPN



He travels with Ziploc bags of hundreds, and is known for his crazy shopping sprees.

Source: ESPN



He has two fleets of luxury cars (including a $290,000 Bentley). All his cars at his Miami house are white, and the cars at his Vegas house are black.

Read more >



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's What Astronauts Pack When They Go To Space

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There is no washing machine in space. Water is heavy and therefore expensive to take on a 250-mile journey above Earth. That pretty much means what you think it does — astronauts have to wear the same clothes, including underwear, for several days in a row before they can put on a clean outfit.

So how does one pack for space?

NASA instructor and engineer Robert Frost provides some insight in a response on Quora.

Here's the packing list:

1 pair of shoes for the treadmill
1 pair of shoes for the bike
1 pair of exercise shorts for every 3 days of exercise
1 T-shirt for every 3 days of exercise
1 work shirt for every 10 days
1 T-shirt for under the workshirt for every 10 days
1 pair work pants/shorts for every 10 days
1 pair underwear for every 2 days
1 pair socks for every 2 days
2 sweaters
2 pairs Russian overalls (optional)

This doesn't include the spacesuit that astronauts wear during launch and landing, and when working outside.

NASA points out that because astronauts live in temperature-controlled environments and don't go outside except when wearing their spacesuit, clothes don't get as dirty as they do on Earth.

Most of the clothing brought to the space station doesn't come back home. Dirty clothes are placed in a bag and most of it is put on a resupply vehicle that makes a one-way trip to the space station several times a year. The Progress cargo capsules then burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.  

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I Wasn't The Only Voter Feeling Lonely In Yesterday's Primaries

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New York Voting

Yesterday, I wrote about being the first Republican voter of the day at my heavily Democratic precinct in Queens. The poll workers first handed me a Democratic voter card and were confused when I said I wanted to vote in the Republican primary. Several of you wrote in with similar stories.

My friend Josh Culling is a Republican who lives in Washington, D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood. He reports:

I had the same exact experience in Washington D.C.'s 2012 presidential primary. Was handed a blue card, had to correct them, and received a look of astonishment. A more private person would have been offended about being outed, I think.

Josh's wife Sally McNamara adds "I think this was a first, to be fair." Actually, it wasn't. D.C. election records indicate a grand total of 15 votes were cast at Josh's precinct in the 2012 Republican presidential primary. In the general election, Barack Obama took 97% of the vote.

More awkward than being a white Republican voting in a mostly black precinct is being a black Republican voting in a mostly white precinct. Jim Copland describes his wife's experience voting in Westchester County on Tuesday:

When Tahira walked into our Mount Pleasant polling place last night, with our son, the election officials said to her, "it's only a Republican primary today"—the presumption being she couldn't possibly be there to vote in THAT!

Of course, this experience isn't just for Republicans. I also heard from Democrats living in deep red areas who met similar astonishment when they asked for ballots from the proper party.

When Tim Barber went to vote in a primary in Utah in 2012, a poll worker handed him a party change form and said "Here's a form for you to register as a Republican so you can vote today." When he expressed his desire to vote in the Democratic primary, he got this response from the two ladies working check-in:

"Ohhhhhh" they both exclaimed and looked at each other, and then at me almost as if I was their grandson and had disappointed them.

Jacob Nix had a similar experience some years back in rural North Carolina:

My polling place, typical of the town, was a church. A very nice elderly precinct worker asked which party, I said Democrat, to which she deadpanned, "Okie dokie. This isn't a Catholic Church, but I'm sure someone could hear your confession afterwards." She was told to shush by other precinct workers amid generalized laughter. She didn't laugh and never lost her seriousness.

So remember, even if you feel alone on election day, you're not.

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Yahoo Just Passed 800 Million Monthly Active Users Worldwide (YHOO)

Korea Will Soon Be Home To The World's First 'Invisible' Skyscraper

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The world will soon have its first "invisible" skyscraper.

There's no construction date yet for the planned 1,476-foot tower, called Tower Infinity. But its architects have just been granted a construction permit to begin building outside of Seoul, South Korea near Incheon International Airport.

The visionaries behind the project, GDS Architects, will make the tower appear "invisible" using an LED facade system with optical cameras to display what's directly behind the building. When turned on, the "reflective skin" of the building will give the illusion that Tower Infinity is blending in with the skyline.

The building's projections may also be used for broadcasting special events, or for advertising purposes, according to GDS Architects.

The tower itself has an impressive profile, with a main spire flanked on either side by two separate building wings. Tower Infinity will be used primarily for entertainment and leisure purposes, and is set to include a 4D theater, restaurants, a water park, landscaped gardens, and the third-highest observation deck in the world.

"Instead of symbolizing prominence as another of the world’s tallest and best towers, our solution aims to provide the World's first invisible tower showcasing innovative Korean technology while encouraging a more Global narrative in the process," Charles Wee, AIA, GDS Design Principal said in the press release. "We look forward to providing Korea and the world with a completely new model for what it means to be an observation tower."

Take a look at some of the concept images below.

The Tower Infinity will have three major projection points that will display what's directly behind it.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

Those projection points will be at three different heights, as well as on six different sides of the building.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

 Here's a good way of thinking about how it will work:

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

And here's what it will look like without the projections turned on.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

It will have the third-highest observation deck in the world.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

The floorplan is open so that you can peer down multiple levels as you ascend.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

It will be used primarily for entertainment and luxury purposes, and will have a 4D theater, restaurants, waterpark, and more.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

But the view from the tower will be its best asset. Multiple floors at the top of the building will be used as an observation deck and as landscaped gardens.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

And here's how it stacks up with other well-known towers, height-wise. Tower Infinity is 1,476 feet high.

Infinity Tower GDS Architects

SEE ALSO: The Tallest Skyscrapers Under Construction Right Now

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Marissa Mayer Explains Why She Posed Upside Down In That Vogue Spread

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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer stirred up buzz and controversy when she struck a sultry pose for Vogue back in August. 

Michael Arrington, the former co-editor of TechCrunch, interviewed Mayer today at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF conference, where he asked her about some of her posing choices. Mayer said photographer Mikael Jansson told her it was a story of unconventional leadership, "so don't pose conventionally".

Here is one of the most popular photos from the piece:

vogue marissa mayer

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People Are Up In Arms About Feathers Being Worn At Burning Man

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Burning Man Costumes

Feathers were a huge trend at this year's Burning Man festival.

They were everywhere: on bicycles, headdresses, skirts, tops, and skimpy showgirl outfits.

But when we posted a slide show on "The Craziest Costumes At Burning Man," commenters went berserk.

Apparently, feathers don't fly at Burning Man.

According to the official festival website and packing checklist, it's true  feathers are the number one item listed on things you're not allowed to bring: 

Burning Man feathers

Burning Man is the largest Leave No Trace event in the world, meaning any MOOP — an acronym for "Matter Out of Place"  is to be removed from the land.

And that means everything, including dirty shower and dish water, must be taken out of the gates at the end of the seven-day festival.

Despite the infiltration of feathers as a fashion accessory, Burning Man does an incredible, months-long job of cleaning up after itself.

The festival, and Black Rock City where it's held, are continuously recognized by the Bureau of Land Management for not only maintaining Leave No Trace standards, but for setting high standards by which other recreation events are measured, the website proclaims.

Our trusty Business Insider commenters elaborated, expressing their frustrations with the pesky feathers:

BI Burning man feathers comment

BI Burning man feathers commentBI Burning man feathers comment

SEE ALSO: Oops! More feathered costumes at Burning Man

MORE: I went to Burning Man and it was even crazier than I expected

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These 5 Phone Calls Saved Me $100 A Month

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texting

It’s easy to get into the habit of paying your bills every month without giving them much thought.

I’ve always heard that you could negotiate some bills but it was just one of those things I never got around to doing.

So one day last month, I figured I’d give it a shot and see if I could lower my bills with some phone calls.

It costs many companies a lot more money to obtain a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.

So while they may not advertise it in their commercials and ads, many are willing to negotiate and offer a discount if you’re thinking about leaving.

They’d rather give you a lower rate and lose a few bucks per month than to lose you as a customer entirely. In many cases, all you have to do is call.

In four out of the five phone calls I made, I was able to save some money simply by asking.

Eight dollars here and ten dollars there doesn’t sound like much but when you put together the savings and stretch them out on a monthly basis, it can easily add up to $1,000 or more per year.

So I figured I’d give it a try. Here’s how I lowered my monthly bills by $100.

Cable and High-speed Internet

With a virtual monopoly in my city on cable service, there aren’t any options to shop around.

I need the cable line for the high-speed internet service and I still prefer the old fashioned cable. But over the past few years, my bill has risen every year and at $120 per month, it really starts to add up over time.

[Related Article: 5 Ways to Cut the Cable Cord]

I called my cable provider explaining that I’ve been a loyal customer for 12 years and wanted to see what I could do about my rate.

Without even flinching, they immediately offered a deal that would drop my rate by $20 per month and lock it in with a 2-year commitment. I was on and off the phone in less than 10 minutes.

Savings: $20 per month for two years. $540 in all.

Phone service

Many Americans are ditching their home phones in droves and relying simply on their cell phones.

I still need a land line for my home office.

I had been paying $31 per month for a premium service with a national VOIP provider. The package has served me well but like other providers, they’ve slowly raised my rate over the years.

Meanwhile, other options have been coming on the market everyday. I may shop around but figured I would at least see what my provider could do.

I called and told them that I was going to either have to scale back my plan or look for other options.

With five years as a loyal customer with a stellar payment record they said they didn’t want to lose me.

Within a couple of minutes, the representative came back and said they coincidentally had a “special promotion” that would reduce my rate to $14.99 for a year.

After that year is up, she said there would more than likely be “another promotion” to keep my bill lower.

I still may switch carriers in the near future but I’m already saving by making the call.

Savings: $16 per month. $192 in one year.

Satellite radio

Okay, it’s far from being a necessity but I’ve had satellite radio in my car for over 5 years and love it. But I’ve recently started to question if it’s worth $16 per month.

That’s almost $200 per year I was spending to listen to music in my truck when I barely even drive that much.

So like the others, I called the service provider and basically explained the situation.

I told them that while I loved their service, I questioned the value of it and was considering adding it to my list of budget cuts.

Within a few minutes, they came back on the phone and offered 2 months free service after which my rate would drop to $8.99 per month indefinitely. I still said no and put in a cancellation date.

About a week after my cancellation, I got a letter in the mail offering me a price of only $25 for six months.

That’s a rate of $4.17 per month, only a fourth of what I was paying before I called.

Savings: $32 (two months free service) plus $12 per month. $176 in the first year.

Auto insurance

Experts say you should shop around for auto insurance rates every couple of years. Because auto insurers are constantly reassessing their risk and driver portfolios, rates can frequently change.

Your insurer may have the best rate for you now but two years later, their competitor could be 18% cheaper.

I spent about an hour online running quote estimates and found three insurance companies were offering lower premiums than my existing insurer.

One actually quoted a rate that was about 35% cheaper than what I was paying now. It factored in about an 8% discount if I paid my six-month premium in full.

The savings in all were about $500 or $41 per month, a pretty significant chunk of change.

[Related Article: 8 Car Insurance Discounts You Need to Know About]

So I called back my insurance company and told them the situation. I explained that I could save up to $500 with the exact same coverage with another company.

The representative did some poking around and found an additional anti-theft discount on one of our vehicles that saved me an additional $30 per year.

I ultimately changed insurers the following week because the savings were just too significant to pass up.

Savings: $500 per year, or $41 per month.

Gym membership

People join gyms all the time and then quit a couple of months later. Some require commitments, others don’t. I’ve been a member at my gym for about three years.

The membership isn’t cheap but I do take full advantage of it and the two hours of free childcare per day helps out as a working parent.

I called membership to see if there were any discounts or anything we could do to lower my rate.

I played hardball, eventually alluded to the fact that I was going to cancel my membership and it went nowhere. It was the only call where I struck out.

[Related Article: How to Score a Sweet Deal on a Gym Membership]

Whether there was truly nothing they could do, or whether they just called my bluff, they seemed to have little concern if I was going to leave.

I may shop around for another gym in the future but the child care benefits are what keep me there for the time being.

Savings: None.

Other Options

There are other things that are often up for negotiation including the interest rates you pay on your credit cards.

If you’ve been a long term account holder, have a good payment history and good credit, you can often talk down the interest rate you are paying.

[Related Article: How to Negotiate a Lower APR]

They may also offer you balance transfer specials allowing you to pay little or no interest on a balance.

SEE ALSO: Baby Boomers Have No Idea What To Do With Their Retirement Money

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This Customized Mercedes-Benz Truck Is Delightfully Insane

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2013 brabus b63s

When Mercedes-Benz showed off the G63 AMG 6x6, the world let out a collective awed hush that developed into a wild rush of massive levels of "I want one!"

Sadly, it's an expensive toy produced in extremely limited quantities. Of course, there are ways to make even the most exclusive vehicles even more out of reach.

Enter Mercedes-Benz madness magnifier Brabus. This is a company that seems to live by the "Go big or go home" motto, especially when it comes to pushing their vehicles well north of the 200 miles per hour barrier. This time, however, they've gone big in an entirely different way.

ALSO SEE:  BMW's 'Revolutionary' Electric Sports Car Will Cost $135,925

Say hallo to the 2013 Brabus B63S 700 6x6, which debuted today at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show.

2013 brabus b63sBrabus has taken the G63 AMG 6x6 and added in its own special brand of engineering excellence. The tuners engineers have taken to tinkering under the hood, and the result is an engine that is churning out 690 horsepower. That's good enough to push this four-ton behemoth from 0-62 miles per hour in just a few ticks over the seven second mark. The top speed had to be electronically limited to 100 miles per hour because this thing is rolling on 37-inch tires, and shouldn't have a need to dip into the triple-digit world of speed.

The power improvement, which is a significant jump over the stock Benz 6x6 output of 544 horsepower, comes from revised engine tuning. It also comes by way of supplying the 5.5-liter V-8 engine with a new pair of turbochargers. Torque is also up on the Brabus B63S 700. The new output is 708 pound-feet at just 2,000 rpm and on through 4,500 rpm. By comparison, the original G63 6x6 pumps out 561 pound-feet of torque. All of the energy is routed through an AMG seven-speed gearbox, which can be controlled by a pair of aluminum paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel.

ALSO SEE: Porsche's New Hybrid Just Ran The Fastest Lap Ever On The World's Toughest Track

How much will it cost? Well, Mercedes-Benz prices its own G63 AMG 6x6 somewhere in the neighborhood of $400,000 - $500,000. The Brabus version should cost... a bit more than that.

Follow Motor Authority on FacebookTwitter, and Google+.

SEE ALSO: We Really Hope Kia Brings This 'Impish' Concept To Life

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This Experimental Internet Company Is Challenging Google Fiber (GOOG)

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Google-Fiber-Kansas-CityWhen it comes to the digital future of Kansas City, Google Fiber, the super-fast Internet service from Google, automatically comes to mind. But it is not the only revolutionary new Internet service provider in town. 

The KC Freedom Network aims to one-up Google Fiber by bringing truly affordable Internet to the city, according to The Verge. 

But, wait, isn't one of the amazing things about Google Fiber that it offers a free Internet option?

Well, "free" has some strings attached. Interested customers must pay a $300 construction fee for the service, which can be paid either all at once or in $25 installments for a year. 

So, enter the truly free KC Freedom Network. Six Kansas City organizations began building the nonprofit wireless Internet service because many poor residents could not afford Fiber or lived in an area that didn't meet Google's minimum pre-registration requirement. The KC Network currently serves about 600 low-income households. In comparison, Google Fiber had fewer than 830 customers at the end of last year, according to Internet traffic monitor Akamai.  

Sure, the speed of the KC Network can't compare with Google's ultra-fast Fiber, but it does do a better job at mitigating Kansas City's digital disparity. 25% of the city didn't have broadband at home when Google conducted its comprehensive survey last year.  The Network hopes to eventually charge $20 a year.

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Half Of Canada Lives In Just These Counties

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 Last week, we showed you how concentrated the United States was in a map. Half of the country lives in a measly 146 counties out of well over 3,000. 

Our neighbor to the north, Canada, isn't so different. Seventeen out of 298 counties hold  half (51% to be precise) of the Canadian population. 

So technically, Canada doesn't have "counties," they have "Census Geographic Units" but they serve essentially an identical purpose a counties do here in the states. 

Here's half of Canada, and below it is the list of counties.

canada map

Here are the 17 Canadian census geographic regions in order of population:

  • Toronto, Ontario
  • Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Montreal, Quebéc
  • Division #6, Alberta
  • Peel, Ontario
  • Division #11, Alberta
  • York, Ontario
  • Ottawa, Ontario
  • Division #11, Manitoba
  • Durham, Ontario
  • Quebéc City, Quebéc
  • Hamilton, Ontario
  • Waterloo, Ontario
  • Halton, Ontario
  • Simcoe, Ontario
  • Middlesex, Ontario
  • Niagara, Ontario

 

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This Spectacular Photo Shows A Frog Photobombing NASA's Recent Rocket Launch

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frog

An unlucky frog seems to have hopped in front of a photo taken of the LADEE launch at Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia on Sept. 6. 

Jeremy Eggers from the Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport confirmed to Universe Today that the photograph is real. And that the frog probably didn't make it. 

The website explains: 

The launchpad at the Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has a "pool" for the high-volume water deluge system that activates during launches to protect the pad from damage and for noise suppression, and likely there was a (formerly) damp, cool place that was a nice spot for a frog to hang out.

LADEE, which stands for Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, is a robotic mission conducted by NASA. The probe will orbit the moon and send back information about the lunar surface and atmosphere.

SEE ALSO: Here's What Astronauts Packs Before They Go To Space

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Keep Your Top Talent By Giving Monthly Performance Evaluations

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Luc Levesque

Good employees want to know how they're doing. Managers can make this happen with frequent evaluations, which gives them a chance to give positive feedback and tell workers what's expected out of them for the next few weeks.

This way, there is no confusion and workers don't feel as though they aren't valued or being ignored.

Luc Levesque, the founder of travel blog site TravelPod.com, tells Adam Bryant at The New York Times that he conducts monthly evaluations with his workers:

"This approach is supposed to speed us up, and it creates alignment every 30 days, and you’re constantly giving feedback," he says. "The meeting every month just facilitates a conversation, and it captures all of the great things they’ve been doing. And I think the most important questions at the end are: 'What can I expect for the next 30 days? Anything I can do to make things go faster?' "

Levesque says he now uses a Google spreadsheet to keep tabs on workers' goals and achievements.

"It creates some structure, because we’re so busy as leaders that we might not be doing it otherwise," says Levesque. "And the beauty of it is that the year-end conversation is a piece of cake, because it’s all written already, and you know exactly where you stand throughout the year."

Want your business advice featured in Instant MBA? Submit your tips to tipoftheday@businessinsider.com. Be sure to include your name, your job title, and a photo of yourself in your email.

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Marissa Mayer: 'It's Treason' For Yahoo To Disobey The NSA (YHOO)

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Melissa Mayer Yahoo

Marissa Mayer was on stage on Wednesday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference when Michael Arrington asked her about NSA snooping.

He wanted to know what would happen if Yahoo just didn't cooperate. He wanted to know what would happen if she were to simply talk about what was happening, even though the government had forbidden it.

"Releasing classified information is treason. It generally lands you incarcerated," she said, clearly uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.

She also explained that when the government comes calling wanting information on Yahoo users, the company scrutinizes each request and "we push back a lot on requests." But "we can't talk about those things because they're classified," she said.

This has been going on long before her reign, too, she said:

"I'm proud to be part of an organization that from the very beginning in 2007, with the NSA and FISA and PRISM, has been skeptical and has scrutinized those requests. In 2007 Yahoo filed a lawsuit against the new Patriot Act, parts of PRISM and FISA, we were the key plaintiff. A lot of people have wondered about that case and who it was. It was us ... we lost. The thing is, we lost and if you don't comply it's treason."

SEE ALSO: Here's How Steve Jobs Helped Invent Cloud Computing, According To Marc Benioff

SEE ALSO: The Business App 50: The Best Apps To Help You Do Your Job

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Fannie Mae's Chief Economist Says Recovery Is Still Three Years Away

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fannie maeSeptember 15th is the day many people use to mark the start of the financial crisis -- it's the day Lehman Brothers went under. You could argue -- and many do -- that the real point of no return was 10 days earlier, when the Treasury Department took over the two big government-backed mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in an effort to calm the markets.

Lehman's Legacy: A Timeline Follow the key events before and after the Lehman Brothers collapse, and see how the financial crisis unfolded. Follow the timeline

The cost of the takeover? Around $188 billion.

"It was stunning, there's no question. There was nothing in the history of the company to suggest that that was a likely probability," says Douglas Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. He started work there just before Hank Paulson, then Treasury Secretary, announced the government was taking over both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Duncan says there were signs that problems were brewing at Fannie earlier in the year but he didn't expect the Treasury's actions would be so sweeping.

Fannie Mae remains under the Treasury's conservatorship.

Duncan says the economy today is “improving but it's not robust." He says he doesn't expect a full recovery for another three years or so, in the beginning of 2016.

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What Happened On 9/11

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9/11 September 11th Attacks

It has been 12 years since September 11, 2001, the date of the deadliest attacks on U.S. soil since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in World War 2. 

Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks, which The New York Times declared the "worst and most audacious terror attack in American history."

The nation is still working to move past the tragedy.

More than a decade later, New York City is still rebuilding the Financial District skyline. And earlier this year, a piece of one of the planes that crashed into the towers was found wedged between two buildings near Park Place downtown.

These photos tell the story of what happened that morning, much of which was captured on live television.

The morning of Sept. 11, 2001 started off like any other. The Twin Towers stood tall in the Financial District, as they had for more than 30 years.



At 8:46 a.m., American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At first, newscasters weren't sure if it was an accident or a deliberate attack.



At 9:03 a.m., United Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower, leaving no doubt that this was an attack. Some news channels captured the traumatic moment on live television.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The Government Shutdown And Debt Ceiling Battles Could Be A Total Disaster For The GOP

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John Boehner

The coming battles over a bill to keep the government funded and raising the debt ceiling could turn into a disaster for Republicans, a new CNN/ORC poll suggests.

According to the poll, 51% of respondents would blame Congressional Republicans in the case of a government shutdown. That's up from 40% the last time a government shutdown was a potential issue — back in March. The government needs to pass a new continuing resolution by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown and keep the government funded.

Only one-third of respondents said they would blame President Barack Obama in the case of a shutdown. That's down from 38% back in March, and it leads to a significant split that could place the blame mostly on the shoulders of Republicans.

The number looks even worse for Republicans in the debate over raising the debt ceiling — where many Republicans are looking to carry out a fight. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last month that the debt ceiling will need to be hiked by mid-October

But according to the CNN poll, if it's not raised, 54% said they would blame Congressional Republicans. Only 25% would blame Obama.

The poll shows that the public has legitimate concerns over both prospects. Combined, 62% of respondents said that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would either lead to a "crisis" or "major problems." And 74% said the same about a government shutdown if it lasted "a few weeks."

On Wednesday, House leadership pulled from the schedule a stopgap spending bill because of internal disagreements over the funding it would, in effect, appropriate for the Affordable Care Act.

GOP leaders' plan would send two bills to the Senate: One that keeps the government open and spending about as much money as it has been, and another that amends that spending bill to defund various parts of Obamacare implementation. They would allow the Democrat-controlled Senate to pass the former, as long as there is a vote on the latter.

Conservative House members and conservative groups staunchly opposed that plan. In any case, they have three weeks to figure it out — and then another two to three weeks to debate the debt ceiling.

The poll also shows vulnerabilities for Obama. Only 43% approve of how Obama is handling the economy, and 36% approve of how he's handling the federal-budget deficit. 

And though they might be worried about using Obamacare as a bargaining chip, public support for the health care law has dipped 12 points over the past nine months. In January, 51% said they favored all or most of the provisions in the Affordable Care Act. That number has dipped to 39%.

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JIM GRANT: Jay-Z Rapping About Warhol Is Evidence Of An Art Bubble

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jim grant

Plenty of economists, art dealers and collectors have warned of an art bubble over the past year. But there is one sure sign that the art market is overdone: Jay Z is now rapping about Warhol, Basquiat and Art Basel.

"It ain't hard to tell
I'm the new Jean-Michel
Surrounded by Warhols
My whole team ball
Twin Bugattis outside
Art Basel"

Market guru James Grant quotes Jay Z's "Picasso Baby" in his latest Grant's Interest Rate Observer, arguing that prices in the contemporary art market may not be justified by long-term value. While well-hyped artists like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Jean-Michel Basquiat are fetching eight-digit prices, it's unclear whether their work will withstand the test of time, art critics and museums.

It's hard to tell, for instance, whether one of Koons' famous pieces, "New Hoover"—four vacuum cleaners in an acrylic case —will be valued as a work of genius or "just another vacuum cleaner," Grant said.

(Read more: Art is the next gold: Novogratz)

"Modern art is valued in terms of modern money," he wrote. The Fed's low-interest-rate policies have driven the wealthy increasingly to collectibles of all kinds, including art, cars and jewels. "Miniature interest rates have reduced the opportunity cost of investing in any kind of nonyielding asset."

And while Koons and Basquiat are hot now, they might end up like the English portraits of the early 19th century, whose frenzied boom was followed by a spectacular bust. Prices never recovered.

So how can a smart investor play the collectible game without getting sucked into the Koons hype?

Grant suggests buying historical documents: letters from Abraham Lincoln, bills signed by Thomas Jefferson and even public credit reports from Alexander Hamilton. Of course, prices for historical documents have soared along with art.

And a yellowed letter doesn't look as good over the mansion mantelpiece than a Hirst or Barnett Newman. But the names Jefferson and Lincoln may be more likely to hold up over time.

"Sell Newman, we say, and Jeff Koons, too: buy the Founding Fathers and—as far as that goes—Abraham Lincoln," Grant writes.

—By CNBC's Robert Frank. Follow him on Twitter


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There Is One Mainstream Brand That Admits To Advertising On Porn Sites — And The ROI Is Incredible, It Says

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California-based food delivery service Eat24.com was looking to get the word out about its late-night meal offerings without breaking the bank.

Having accepted $0 in venture capital funding, Eat24 needed to find sites to advertise on that drew large traffic numbers, but wouldn't charge the company high rates to display its ads.

The answer, of course, was porn.

An industry leader like Pornhub brings in 14.9 million unique visitors monthly, according to the tracking site Quantcast. That's more than the websites for Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal combined. "A whopping 30% of ALL web traffic is dedicated to adult sites," the company claims.

The catch is that a brand that advertises on Bloomberg is probably unlikely to put their name beside X-rated content. In fact, Eat24 found that the only companies that advertised on porn sites were other porn sites and "natural male enhancement" sellers.

As a result, Eat24 said the advertising rates were dirt cheap. The company capitalized by pairing sexually suggestive banner ads ("BLT with your BDSM?") alongside video landing pages. The viewers that saw the ads were, naturally, not dressed appropriately to go out in public, and likely to have worked up an appetite. In short, they were the perfect customers to order delivery from the comfort of their own homes. 

The campaign wound up being a whopping success. Eat24 said its adult site banner ads were able to get three times as many impressions as the ads they posted on Facebook, Google, and Twitter combined. And they did it at just 10% of the cost. What's more, the company said 90% of the visitors the banners generated were coming to Eat24 for the first time.

It remains to be seen whether other non-adult companies will follow Eat24's lead.

For other observations that are perhaps unsuitable for our website, check out Eat24's case study.

SEE ALSO: Check out BI Advertising's Facebook page for other interesting, if less scandalous, advertising news and analysis.

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National Review Is Suing Cory Booker To Find Out If One Of His Campaign Stories Is Real — And Booker Fights Back

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Cory Booker NJ Senate race

Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, said Wednesday that the publication is suing Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the Newark Police Department and the City of Newark.

The publication is suing to obtain public records relating to one of the stories Booker frequently tells on the campaign trail — one relating to the 2004 murder of Wazn Miller, who was killed in a case that remains unresolved. 

Lowry said that National Review decided to file suit after weeks of stonewalling from "everyone involved" in obtaining the records, despite the fact that New Jersey is an open-records state.

The mayor's office pushed back on this later on Wednesday.

Booker spokesman James Allen issued a statement to Business Insider on the incident, saying that National Review will receive the requested records by Sept. 13.

Here's the full statement:

"The request in question was filed with Office of the City Clerk, the custodian of records that operates independently of the Office of the Mayor. Because no electronic police records exist for this time period and the Clerk’s search of microfilm records did not produce any results, the Clerk directed the Police Department to perform a manual search of hard copy archives. The Clerk notified the National Review that they anticipated a response on or before September 13th and did not receive an objection. Officials at the Police Department searched extensively and located hard copies of the incident report. The Clerk has indicated that the National Review will receive the records on Thursday, prior to the deadline.”

Allen included documents that supported his statement, which verify that the request was made on Aug. 22. Kenneth Louis, the deputy city clerk, said National Review would receive the documents by Sept. 9. Because it had to search hard copies, it requested a four-day extension. It did not receive any objection from National Review.

Anthony Ambrose, Essex County Chief of Detectives and former Newark Police Director, also released a statement which backs up Booker's telling of the events:

“I was Director of the Newark Police at the time of the Miller case in April 2004 and I responded to the scene where Wazn Miller was shot. When I arrived, I found first responders as well as Cory Booker. I remember that Cory was wearing jogging pants and a sweatshirt, and that he had blood all over his hand and on his arm. The people at the scene said he rendered aid to the victim, and I recall him staying by the victim’s side until he was transported to the hospital. Unfortunately, the individual did not survive.”

The story of Miller is one Booker, who is running for Senate in New Jersey, often tells. 

Here's a version published by The Star-Ledger, from 2004:

“Booker said he cradled Wazn and applied pressure to the wound to his stomach to stop the bleeding. He also kept checking the young man’s pulse.

‘The first time, I felt a weak pulse. The second time, I felt really strange sensations. Then there was no pulse at all,’ Booker said.

Booker said he tried to talk to Wazn until the ambulance arrived.

‘I said, ‘Hold tight. Stay with me. You’re going to be okay,’ Booker recalled.”

National Review's suit comes weeks after one of its reporters, Eliana Johnson, published a lengthy account that alleged a key character in one of Cory Booker's frequent campaign-trail stories — a drug dealer named T-Bone who once threatened Booker's life but then became his friend — is imaginary.

In response, the Booker campaign told Business Insider that National Review was simply trying to stir up trouble. 

"This is a national, partisan, right-wing publication that's trying to make a fake controversy from 2008 into a fake controversy from today. That's essentially what it is," Booker campaign spokesman Kevin Griffis told Business Insider in an interview late Thursday."It's just not — it's old news."

This post has been updated. 

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