Dan Bilzerian is a millionaire, a self-proclaimed "sexual philanthropist," and a social media superstar with millions of Instagram followers.

Now, he's also a 2016 Presidential contender.

Well, maybe. On June 24th, he'll begin his "bid for the White House" by throwing a "Dan Bilzerian 2016" party at the Marquee, an exclusive nightclub in New York City.

Despite his devoted following of college-aged males, Blizerian's electoral prospects are pretty dismal. He loves a social media scandal (earlier this year he was kicked off Snapchat after posting a very NSFW video), and he loves bragging about his wealth; showing off stacks of money and luxe cars on his Instagram account.

He also has been scolded for publicizing his irresponsible behavior with firearms (he was forced to make a PSA in retribution.) Last year, he was sued after throwing a naked porn actress off of a roof. 

Bilzerian's kick-off party will likely blow the socks off of every other candidate's debut event (although, to be fair, Jeb Bush has yet to show us what he's got.)

The starting price for admission to the soiree is $40. Yes, it seems even Bilzerian has fallen victim to the scourge of money in politics. 

Bilzerian campaign logo wear is available here. Differing slightly from Hillary Clinton's pantsuit tees, the Bilzerian '16 team is offering tank tops and tee-shirts. 

This past Christmas, Bilzerian uploaded a photo with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). It's unclear if Rohrabacher will endorse Bilzerian's campaign. It's also unclear if the Congressman endorses the party boy lifestyle for which Bilzerian is famous. 

At a time when Voldemort is polling ahead of many Republican candidates, nothing is truly impossible.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How To Make An American Flag Out Of Bacon

I made the trek to Randall's Island last Friday for New York City's Governors Ball, a raucous three-day music festival featuring big-name acts like Drake, My Morning Jacket, and the Black Keys.

Held in early June, the festival marks the beginning of a boozy, drug-addled summer for lots of the city's 20-somethings.

The year's festival didn't disappoint.

I tried to hold my own with New York's wildest partiers, but I'll be honest: I couldn't keep pace.

We started by taking the subway up to 125th Street.

Then came the 15-minute walk to Randall's Island, where the festival was held. There was a huge crowd walking with us.

Just about everyone walking to the festival was finishing their drinks on the way over. Empty beer cans and fifths of liquor littered the bridge.

Once upon a time, SalesLoft was a hot new startup.

SalesLoft was founded in Atlanta circa 2011, funded with a $1 million seed round, co-founded and advised by David Cummings — best known for selling his bootstrapped marketing tech startup Pardot to industry giant ExactTarget for $95.5 million.

SalesLoft was building a ton of buzz on its stated mission of building tools to make life easier for salespeople in any industry by automating the process of sifting through sales leads. 

The company was able to ride that buzz to a spot in the acclaimed TechStars accelerator program. Salesloft even placed on the Top 10 Innovative Technology companies in Georgia in March 2012.

There was just one problem: One year after launch, SalesLoft's product was not good. At all. 

"I was failing miserably at building a product," says SalesLoft co-founder Kyle Porter. "We weren't able to deliver anything."

With four employees, the company was pulling in $50,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR) after a year on the market. Growth was painfully slow, and even going after venture capital money, already a more difficult process in Atlanta than it is here in Silicon Valley, wouldn't fix that. 

The issue was that Porter, a first-time entrepreneur but an experienced businessperson, was way better at attending conferences, networking, writing blogs with advice for fellow entrepreneurs, speaking at events, and generally being a people person than at actually working with the developers who build the product. 

"We were just really good at telling our story," Porter says.

The TechStars program was great at teaching SalesLoft how to meet with venture capitalists or speak in public, but not so great at teaching Porter how to be a non-technical startup founder who could manage a technical team.

Meanwhile, David Cummings, the successful entrepreneur who founded the company with Porter, was involved in SalesLoft more as an advisor than in any kind of operational role.

Porter remembers landing a $40,000 deal during this period and handing the list of customer requirements off to his two-person development team. He went back to his office, and another employee asked what they should do now. 

"Let's double down on what we're good at," Porter recalls saying. "Let's go talk about ourselves." 

Eventually, it became clear that this just wasn't a good strategy. Good salesmanship and marketing could only carry SalesLoft so far. If SalesLoft was going to get any bigger, it would have to seriously reconsider its gameplan.

In early 2013, Porter decided to burn the whole thing down and start over. He laid off the company's three employees, but kept the name and the mission as he looked to rebuild.

"I made some big mistakes, I swallowed my own sword," Porter says.

During this transition period, Porter paid for the company's expenses mostly out of pocket — he rented out one of his two condos and sold his boat to make ends meet. It wasn't exactly hard living, but Porter was committed to reviving the company. 

The new SalesLoft would do three things differently, Porter says.

• First, he would establish "core values" for the company, just to ensure that he was on the same page with any new hires. Those values would revolve around concepts like open communication and personal responsibility. This approach has led to a much more in-tune and happier workforce, Porter says, which results in better product.
• The second thing was something Porter says he had to learn the hard way: Never let sales and marketing outpace investment in the product.
• Third, even though Cummings is still invested in SalesLoft, Porter needed a co-founder who would be "in the trenches" with him every day. He ended up recruiting local startup vet Rob Forman as his COO and Tim Dorr in a technical role, giving them both founder status in the revamped company. 

The approach has worked. These days, Porter says the company has 50 employees (up from 11 this time last year), mostly evenly distributed across sales, marketing, product, and operations, and $4.5 million in ARR, with 800-plus customers, pushing it into profitability. 

Last year, SalesLoft went back to winning awards, too: It was named one of the best places to work in Atlanta by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Porter himself won an "Early-Stage Entrepreneur of the Year" award the same year. 

It was enough to raise a $10 million Series A from Silicon Valley's Storm Ventures in March, which Porter says is enough to help the company grow and weather any changes in the market. 

It's not quite like the monster triple-digit-million rounds of funding raised by tech darlings like Slack, but as Porter works on building a stable business with solid growth, it's an entirely reasonable and sane amount. 

In fact, he says he's been struggling with ways to spend the money, which is why SalesLoft will have a $500,000 booth at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference.

But given that Atlanta is outside the power chambers of Silicon Valley's elite investors, Porter knows that SalesLoft has to work hard to keep growing, because money just isn't as available there. 

"You gotta scrap more. You gotta raise capital from your customers," Porter says.

SEE ALSO: These guys quit Airbnb and Twitter to help other companies grow much faster

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Barbara Corcoran Explains The Difference Between Salespeople Making $40,000 And Those Making $8 Million

It looks like Mercedes-Benz will, once again, do battle with mighty dinosaurs.

The G63 6X6 is one of the most extreme iterations of Mercedes' venerable Geländewagen, or G-Wagon.

First produced in 1979, the G-Wagon is among the most versatile and iconic off-road vehicles of all time. It's at home in the mountains of the Afghanistan with the Marines and cruising Parisian boulevards as a fashion accessory. 

The G-Wagon's appearance in 2015's "Jurassic World" will be Mercedes' second tour of duty against the film's CGI dinosaurs, coming a full 18 years after the company debuted its M-Class SUV in Steven Spielberg's 1997 "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."

"Jurassic World" hits theaters on June 12. 

In 1997, Mercedes-Benz made quite a splash when it unveiled its new M-Class SUV in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."

Nearly two decades later, Mercedes is back at it in the fourth installment of the "Jurassic Park" Series.

The company's G63 AMG 6X6 is one of the preferred modes of transport for Chris Pratt's character, Owen Grady.

Shake Shack started out as a hot dog cart in New York City's Madison Square Park.

Three years into serving hot dogs, restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer came up with an idea to turn the cart into a permanent burger stand, and he sketched the plan onto the back of a napkin.

That sketch laid the blueprint for Shake Shack's original location in Madison Square Park. Ten years later, the burger chain is now a billion-dollar business with more than 60 locations across the US.

Here's the napkin that started it all, courtesy of Shake Shack:

Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti explained the story behind the napkin sketch to Forbes earlier this year. Here's what he said:

"For three years, we ran the hot dog cart, never thinking beyond that. Then, the city was fielding proposals to fill a 400 square foot kiosk in the Park. On that day, Danny sat down and scribbled on the back of a napkin his vision of a modern version of a roadside burger stand. Not retro, not ‘50s music playing, but today’s version of what made that place great. All we ever wanted to do at Shake Shack was to have good people serving fresh food, and to sell a few hot dogs. We put the burger on the menu and the rest is history."

SEE ALSO: Burger King paid $200,000 to get its mascot in American Pharoah trainer's entourage

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 70 people were injured while filming this movie with 100 untamed lions

Women who need chemotherapy have to contend with one side effect that's lesser-known than nausea and hair loss: the potential that the harsh treatment will damage their ovaries, making them permanently infertile.

If a woman wants to preserve her fertility and can't put off chemotherapy long enough to get her eggs frozen (a process that is by no means a sure thing anyway), there's one cutting-edge, still unproven procedure that could be an option: having some of her ovarian tissue removed and frozen.

That tissue can then be transplanted back into her body later, in hopes it will resume normal function and enable her to get pregnant. The tissue transplants include primordial follicles that gradually mature and produce eggs, one of which is released for potential fertilization each month.

The procedure has had some success — several babies have been born to women who've had ovarian tissue frozen and reimplanted, but the American Society for Reproductive Medicine still considers it experimental.

For girls who haven't started menstruating, freezing ovarian tissue is their only option to preserve their fertility — they don't yet have any mature eggs to harvest, so egg freezing is simply not possible. But it hasn't been clear whether their immature ovarian tissue would be able to produce healthy eggs when thawed and transplanted many years later.

Now, for the first time ever, there's evidence it works. The first baby was born from a woman who had ovarian tissue frozen before she started menstruating, scientists announced in a June 9 case report published in Human Reproduction. 

The birth of a single baby gives us no information about the efficacy of the procedure overall or how well it will work in others. But it does suggest an important line of research for girls who historically have had to say goodbye to the possibility of having biological children long before they would even be considering it. Here's the story behind this exciting scientific first.

The unlikely baby

The woman described in the case study grew up with sickle-cell anemia so severe that her doctors decided she would need a bone marrow transplant. To prevent her body from rejecting the transplant, she would have to undergo chemotherapy, which disables the immune system. 

At the age of just 13, she faced the prospect of losing her ovarian function — a common side effect of chemo — which would render her unable to have children in the future. 

Rather than accept that possibility, her doctors decided to try something that had no guarantee. They removed her right ovary and froze fragments of the ovarian tissue, putting them aside for the uncertain future.

More than a decade later, when the woman was 25, she wanted to get pregnant. The ovary that had not been removed had failed long ago, and she couldn't menstruate naturally. So it was time to see whether the longshot procedure she'd had at 13 would pay off. 

A team of doctors led by Isabelle Demeestere, a gynecologist and research associate at Erasme Hospital, took some of her preserved ovarian tissue and grafted it back into her body. 

And then they waited.

Four months later, her hormone levels looked like a normal, fertile woman's. A month after that, she started menstruating without taking hormone therapy, which meant eggs were maturing and being released for potential fertilization.

Finally, in November 2014, at the age of 27, the woman gave birth to a healthy boy conceived naturally. Her ovarian tissue is still functioning normally, and her doctors say it's entirely possible she could get pregnant again if she wanted to.

"This is an important breakthrough in the field because children are the patients who are most likely to benefit from the procedure in the future. When they are diagnosed with diseases that require treatment that can destroy ovarian function, freezing ovarian tissue is the only available option for preserving their fertility," Dr. Demeestere said in a statement. 

Not for everyone

With more American women delaying having kids until they're older, ovarian tissue cryopreservation may seem like a way to do that without resorting to in vitro fertilization.

The medical establishment discourages that thought, however. In May 2014 the practice committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine issued an opinion explicitly saying ovarian tissue should not be frozen for healthy women who want to delay having kids.

Dr. Kutluk Oktay, who first reported successfully transplanting frozen ovarian tissue to restore fertility, explained that doing such an invasive procedure in a healthy woman who may be able to have kids without the procedure is not justifiable.

"You may do more harm than benefit," he told Business Insider.

The procedure could actually reduce the amount of time a woman is fertile, he explained, because it might remove more potential eggs than would be replaced when the tissue is transplanted back into the woman's body.

Even though this technology might not herald a new way to preserve fertility for all women, it's truly groundbreaking for women who previously wouldn't have been able to have kids because of chemotherapy.

UP NEXT: 3 revolutionary technologies could make it possible for women to have babies at any age

SEE ALSO: The success rates of 'test tube babies' are nowhere near what people think

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This is why doctors recommend that women drink less than men

The Century Foundation has a new report out today proposing that union elections be organized and held online. 

Virtual labor organizing, it says, could be the key to getting a new generation of workers in unions. It would also be much easier than the current process. 

From the post: 

Organizing a union through the use of online tools would allow employees to band together in a more organic, grassroots effort that does not require outside help to get things started. If there were 20,000 workplace election petitions per year, instead of the 2,000 filed last year, the percentage of the workforce in private unions could increase into the double digits, based on past experience.

The goal of virtual organizing would be to innovate and experiment with a new platform that is faster, homegrown, and simplified for workers to gain influence at work. Given how much today’s workers rely on information technology to do their jobs, there might be significant receptivity to this new online tool. Some 96 percent of workers use Internet, e-mail, or mobile devices to connect them to work, and some 81 percent of employees spend an hour or more on e-mail during the workday.

Communication in the organizing process is difficult. Employees wanting to unionize often have to communicate secretly, as "many employers use delaying tactics to slow down organizing drives, launch aggressive campaigns to discourage employees from signing a petition or voting to join the union, or even engage in unfair labor practices." 

Even without roadblocks from employers, the current system can be hard to navigate. Last week, staffers at the news website Gawker voted to unionize. Before the vote, there was a discussion on the site's commenting platform, Kinja, about how and why staffers were going to vote for or against. Some of the no votes came from a frustration over the apparently badly handled communication about the organizing process, despite the fact that Gawker CEO Nick Denton claimed to be"intensely relaxed" about his employees organizing. 

So how would this virtual online unionization tool work, according to the Century Foundation? 

A new, state-of-the-art virtual platform would allow average employees in workplaces across the country to organize and join a labor union with much more ease. A well-designed platform would avoid many of the roadblocks that employers often throw down when they see efforts to organize. The platform would provide an interactive, step-by-step process so that employees know what to expect at each stage, and how to handle hurdles that may arise.

Sounds like automating the "organizing" part of labor organizing. 

SEE ALSO: It's time we admitted it: To save this country, we need labor unions

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 3 goats went airborne in China as part of an elaborate stunt with a giant kite

When it was first released during the summer of 1993, "Jurassic Park" not only captured the imaginations of viewers with its dazzling special effects, it also made dinosaurs cool again, and made the public interested in paleontology.

"It had a big influence on me in wanting to study Paleontology."Dr. John Hutchinson, an evolutionary biomechanist and professor at the Royal Veterinary College in London, explained to Business Insider. "The original film was a landmark in cinema, in many ways and also an important moment in Paleontology that influenced a lot of people including me."

Our understanding of dinosaurs has changed a lot in the 22 years since "Jurassic Park" debuted in theaters. A few years after the first film came out, it was discovered that some dinosaurs were feathered. While you won't find any feathers on the dinos in "Jurassic Park," the film does cling to the theory that dinosaurs had more in common with birds than reptiles.

"I bet you'll never look at birds the same way again," Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) muses while watching a T. rex take a Gallimimus down. 

In reality, the T. rex was still a flesh-eating carnivore. However, its actual feathered appearance diverges from the popular image of it as seen in "Jurassic Park."

While some interpret that prehistoric beasts were covered entirely in feathers, others think the feathers were just "filaments and strands," as Dr. Mark Norell, current Chairman of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, tells Business Insider.

However, it's no longer just a theory that dinosaurs had bird-like features: It is a flat-out fact. 

"The distinction between what is a bird and what is a dinosaur has really gone away." said Norell.

Here's what T. rex looked like in "Jurassic Park":

And this is what scientists today think the T. rex really looked like:

Take note of the small, feathered arms and bird-like feet:

Yet, the newly discovered physical appearance hasn't altered how the "Jurassic Park" franchise has portrayed its dinosaurs. 

In "Jurassic World," you will not find a single feather, but rather the same, reptile-like appearances found in previous films.

"Jurassic World" director Colin Trevorrow announced this in a simple way on Twitter in March 2013:

This decision goes beyond the justification of artistic license into what some paleontologists believe is scientific irresponsibility.

"Well, I understand the primary mission of the movie is to tell a story and everything has to lend itself towards telling that story,"Hutchinson said. "It doesn't contribute to telling the story in some way then it's not so important. But if part of the story and the selling point of the movie is 'this is a scientifically accurate, believable vision of what could be,' then scientific accuracy begins to matter more and more." 

Hutchinson notes the original film was praised by the scientific community for sticking to the science as much as humanly possible, with a notable exception.

"If you are kind of marketing the movie as a scientific vision, then I think the 'Jurassic Park' films have given up on that largely." Hutchinson added.

There's no arguing that the T. rex of "Jurassic Park" is terrifying. Some might believe adding feathers to it would have made it less scary, especially when a lot of scientists now compare it to a "big chicken."

Hutchinson, however, believes the opposite. 

"There's still a significant sector of the public that don't like the idea of dinosaurs with feathers and think its less scary. But I think that's totally wrong. If you actually put some thought into it you can make feathered dinosaurs incredibly terrifying." Hutchinson said.

Norell concurred. 

"I think any animal that's over 40 feet long and 12 feet high at the hip, and has, you know, six inch long teeth, I mean, if it was in a clown suit it would still look scary." Norell said. 

If Spielberg and Trevorrow took these changes into account, it might have made for a stranger, more unique "Jurassic World" that completely veered away from the franchise. 

However, just because paleontologists are displeased with the science, that doesn't mean that "Jurassic World" won't be a fun time at the movies. 

"You know, people have to realize that these films are entertainment." Norell said. "I remember back when one of the films came out several years ago, I said that these films are to Paleontology what 'Star Trek' is to Stephen Hawking...They're not documentaries, they're pure fantasies and storytelling. And when I say that, I'm not making a judgment on them at all because of course fantasy storytelling can be really great. It's just...they're not textbooks about dinosaur paleontology."

Feathers or not still won't stop scientists from seeing "Jurassic World."

When asked if he would go see "Jurassic World," Hutchinson succinctly answered, "Sure...yeah."

SEE ALSO: The velociraptors in the 'Jurassic Park' movies are nothing like their real-life counterparts

AND: An Earth, Wind, and Fire song inspired Spielberg to create one of the most terrifying scenes from 'Jurassic Park'

AND: THEN & NOW: The cast of 'Jurassic Park' 22 years later

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The new 'Jurassic World' trailer shows why it took $190 million to make this summer blockbuster

When you make a mistake at work, there's always the temptation to dodge the bullet by blaming someone else or explaining why factors outside your control contributed to your failure.

But researchers say that leaders who act this way are ultimately perceived as less effective than those who acknowledge their shortcomings and seek insights on how they can improve. It's called "defending," and involves being closed-minded when challenged or given critical feedback.

According to researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Center for Creative Leadership, defending detracts from "learning agility," or a mindset that helps people develop as leaders and tackle the problems facing their organizations.

Learning agility includes practices such as evaluating your experiences and striving to do better; questioning the status quo; adopting new skills quickly; and taking on projects where success is not always a given. Studies have found that learning-agile executives are more successful, both in terms of company revenue and boss ratings.

Defensiveness, on the other hand, hinders leaders' ability to learn and, as a result, their success. The researchers looked at feedback that 134 leaders received from their managers and found that defensive leaders were generally rated as less effective on measures including self-awareness, communication, adaptability, and ability to meet business objectives.

Similarly, when it came to the traits that peers and direct reports valued in their leaders, the data showed that those who sought out feedback and tried to learn from their experiences (behaviors the researchers call "reflecting") were generally rated as more effective on measures including implementing change and managing teams.

So how can you minimize defensiveness and cultivate reflection in your management style? In terms of defensiveness, the researchers recommend that you resist the temptation to respond to feedback right away and thank the other person for his or her insights. That way, you remain open to the possibility of improvement, even if it feels uncomfortable.

And when it comes to reflection, the researchers suggest reviewing recent projects by asking what happened, why it happened, and what you can do to ensure success in the future.

SEE ALSO: These charts reveal how to lead people in 50 countries

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 9 highest-paying jobs with openings right now

Twitter announced on Thursday that Dick Costolo will step down as CEO on July 1.

Since being named CEO in 2010, Costolo's had a rough ride, constantly having to deal with rumors of management change at Twitter.

The biggest problem has been Costolo's inability to grow Twitter's user base at a faster pace. As seen in the chart below by BI Intelligence, Twitter's monthly active user growth on a year-over-year basis has been on a clear downward trend over the past three years. Although it did manage to up its monthly active users to 302 million last quarter, that was only an 18% increase from the same period of last year.

Costolo further worried investors during his last earnings call when he said, "We're off to a slow start in April," indicating even worse user growth numbers for this quarter.

SEE ALSO: Why Spotify is worth more than $8.5 billion, explained in one chart

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 12 best new features coming to the iPhone

Google's investment branch, Google Ventures, is an investor in and adviser to some of Silicon Valley's hottest companies, like Uber and Periscope, as well as rising retailers like Blue Bottle Coffee.

Rick Klau has been a Google Ventures partner since 2011 and took to Twitter to share some of the best advice he can offer entrepreneurs pitching their business to customers. It's advice that's just as relevant to pitches to investors.

It all boils down to storytelling.

Here are Klau's tips:

SEE ALSO: Billionaire investor Chris Sacca explains the 4 key elements of his investing philosophy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Facebook tried to copy Apple with its big Oculus unveiling and it failed miserably

Finally some good news for sun worshipers.

Researchers in Australia at the Royal Melbourne Institute have developed a small wearable electronic sensor that can tell the wearer when they are about to get a sunburn, according to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald.

The sensor, which is about the size of a nicotine patch, is flexible so that it can easily be worn on the skin, woven into clothing or into other accessories.

While the wearable sensor is technically an electronic device, it’s built using rubber and has tiny layers of zinc oxide, which is what is used to sense UV rays.

The idea is, this sensor could be worn on the body or built into another wearable device and linked to a smartphone so that it could send an alert to the wearer when a certain UV radiation level is reached.

The bendable electronic can also be used to detect dangerous gases like nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen, according to the RMIT website.

While the technology is still in the nascent stages, it’s impact could be significant if broadly adopted.

For example, if woven into fabrics, our clothing would be capable of warning us when to get out of the sun or when to reapply sunscreen. The technology could also be built into safety gear worn in different industries to detect gases that are harmful to workers’ health or that could lead to dangerous situations, like an explosion.

SEE ALSO: Here are the sunscreens (and skincare tips) you need for summer

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's How Sunscreen Works

Jack Dorsey's take over as interim Twitter CEO is, for now, a pro bono gig.

According to Dorsey's material contract, filed with the SEC, his lack of a salary is of his own doing.

"At your request, you have agreed to forego any compensation for your role as Interim Chief Executive Officer until the Compensation Committee agree upon a compensation package for you at the same time that it conducts its annual assessment and setting of executive compensation later in the year. Until a compensation package is finalized, you will be entitled to no cash or equity compensation for your services as Interim Chief Execuitve Officer," the contract stated.

Don't worry too much about his finances though. Since Dorsey is remaining CEO of Square as well, he's likely receiving another paycheck in the mean time.

SEE ALSO: Twitter CEO Dick Costolo will step down

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: KRUGMAN: It's Not Just About Hard Work — Dumb Rich Kids Get All The Breaks

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has been trying to merge his company with General Motors for a while now and hasn’t had any luck.

Now, Marchionne may be looking beyond just GM for a potential merger.

FCA has reportedly been eyeing other large auto manufacturers, including French automotive giant PSA Peugeot Citroën, for the potential merger. 

Bloomberg Business reports:

While Marchionne has not given up on the idea of luring GM to the bargaining table through shareholder pressure, his camp knows that they need to explore more options because GM CEO Mary Barra and her board have stonewalled him, the people said. Marchionne said in an interview that he prefers a friendly deal if he can get one, particularly with an automaker that has a similar product range, providing more opportunities for cost-saving.

A merger between FCA and GM is largely the brainchild of Marchionne himself. He wants to rid the global auto market of redundancies in manufacturing, since plenty of automakers make essentially the same vehicles.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra has acknowledged being approached by GM, but said her board had no interest in the offer.

Fiat Chrysler’s stock has steadily risen since its 2014 IPO, currently sitting at almost $16, higher than its initial asking price of $11.

SEE ALSO: Fiat Chrysler CEO Marchionne is really pushing his luck with hopeless GM merger talk

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 8 essential items you need in your car

Whether you have a passion for scuba diving or haven't interacted with marine life since your last goldfish died, David Doubilet will be your favorite new Instagram follow.

The National Geographic photographer and ocean conservancy expert travels around the world to document the wonders of the sea.

His photographs are astonishing, allowing his followers to explore the magical undersea world without looking up from their iPhones.

Doublet began exploring the underwater world at the age of 8, when he used a snorkel at a summer camp in the Adirondacks, according to his website.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/pjN01VmLYD/embed/
Width: 658px

This baby green sea turtle was photographed off the beaches of French Polynesia.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/uf0NHzmLf-/embed/
Width: 658px

He began photographing underwater at the age of 12, when he put a Hawkeye camera in a rubber anesthesiologist bag. The very first pictures he took weren't great, but he's mastered the underwater photograph since then.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/vPVMFQGLVy/embed/
Width: 658px

It's hard to imagine people experiencing culture shock in your own country.

But it happens.

We took a look at a Quora thread that asked, "What facts about the United States do foreigners not believe until they come to America?"

Answers ranged from tipping customs to the need for healthcare to the lack of public transportation.

Put yourself in a tourists' shoes and take a look at some of the highlights from the thread below.

1. Customers can return almost anything they buy.

Quora user Aniruddh Chaturvedi is originally from India and couldn't believe how lenient the return policy is in many stores in the US.

Chaturvedi pointed out that in some cases, shoppers don't even need to cite a problem with the product in order to return it and receive a full refund."Most stores actually have a 'Buyer's Remorse' category under Reason for Return options while returning the product."

2. Americans have a strong sense of patriotism.

Chaturvedi also noticed that the American flag is on display almost everywhere in the US. According to Chaturvedi, the Indian flag is not displayed nearly as prominently in India. "I was surprised to see that the US flag is displayed in schools, on rooftops of houses, etc. India has very strict rules governing the display and use of the national flag."

3. The US is a pretty clean country.

Quora user Dan Holliday had a friend visit from Spain who commented on the fact that, compared to Spain, America was relatively litter-free. The friend was especially surprised when he saw a police officer give someone a ticket for littering.

4. Healthcare is expensive and necessary.

Quora user Aditya Lesmana — who is from Asia — thinks the cost of healthcare in America is insane. "It seems that all aspects of healthcare are designed with a 'patient must be insured' assumption. Any uninsured small procedure will leave a lasting impression in your financial health for many years to come."

5. Cabs aren't cheap.

Shubhojit Chattopadhyay, a Quora user from India, was shocked that, for the most part, Americans don't use cabs for their everyday commutes. "Here, cabs are expensive enough to be called only when you don't have a car or cannot get a ride or if there's no public transport. In India, a cab is public transport and cheap enough to use for everyday commute."

6. People who work in customer service are actually helpful.

Riona MacNamara is from Ireland, but has been living in Seattle for 17 years. According to MacNamara, the service customers receive from sales associates in the US is much better than the service received in Ireland. "In Nordstrom, when a sales assistant says 'Can I help you?' she or he actually means 'Can I help you?' and not, say, 'You're distracting me from my phone. Can you please leave?'"

7. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, so not many Americans pay with cash.

Quora user Triya Bhattacharya is from India, a place she says requires cash since most establishments don't accept credit cards. Bhattacharya encountered the opposite in the US. "Every place accepts credit cards. Even a small picnic I went to, which had an entry fee, had some sort of mobile app and a device attached to accept credit cards. It was amazing."

8. Americans tip for most services they receive.

Bhattacharya also mentions her frustration at almost always having to leave a tip. She says she doesn't really understand the concept. "So I pay you for cutting my hair. And then I tip you because you were gracious enough to cut my hair?"

9. Public transportation isn't always available.

According to Quora user Natalia Rekhter — who is from Russia — unless you live in a big city in the US, you probably need a car to get around. "There is almost no public transportation except in a few large cities. People actually have to have cars to get places. Cars are a necessity, not a luxury."

10. A good part of the population is religious.

Quora user Olof Åkerlund is from Sweden, and was surpised by the number of Americans who believe in creationism. "The role of religion is much stronger here than in other Western nations. Things like creationism are usually believed by a handful of people in other places, but here it seems to be at least a force to be reckoned with."

11. Americans love sports, and they care about their overall fitness.

According to Quora user and Toronto native, Lana Kolupaeva, Americans are obsessed with living an active lifestyle. "Everyone runs or rides a bike or skates or does yoga in the park. Public tennis courts and pools are full all summer long, not to mention fitness clubs."

12. The US is a huge country, so distances between places are vast.

Quora user Candace Dempsey describes herself as Italian-American. Although she is originally from the West Coast, she has Italian relatives, all of whom can't believe how far American cities are from each other. "My Italian relatives come here thinking they can visit me in Seattle, plus also see New York City, Miami, the Grand Canyon and Hollywood all in a week — by car. I can't get them to understand that it's 3,000 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts."

SEE ALSO: 10 things about China that shock foreigners

FOLLOW US: BI Travel is on Twitter!

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to skip long lines at the airport — just like the 1%

Some television critics and a lot of viewers are up in arms over CBS's new reality series, "The Briefcase." 

Detractors are saying that the show takes advantage of the poor by forcing its financially-challenged contestants to make very stressful decisions, and pits poor families against each other.

At this time, nearly 14,000 people have signed an online petition requesting that CBS cancel the show.

It should be noted that the petition includes the signatures of people who live outside the United States, where the show hasn't aired.

So, what's the deal with "The Briefcase"?

The show hands a family a briefcase with $101,000. But there are strings attached.

The family also learns of another cash-strapped family and are given the option to keep the money or give some or all of it to the other family. What both families don't know is that each has been given the same amount of money and the same moral dilemma.

"In the two episodes CBS made available for review, the decision weighs incredibly heavily on all participants. One woman is so overcome that she vomits," wrote Vulture TV critic Margaret Lyons.

She goes on to ask, "How much struggle are we expecting everyone to endure? And how much are we exploiting that struggle by turning it into entertainment?"

The creator of "The Briefcase," David Broome (who also created weight loss show "Biggest Loser"), defended his show to the New York Post. He said the series is less about money and more about forming connections between strangers.

“Don’t tell me this is taking poverty-stricken people and pitting them against each other,” says a defiant Broome, who appears on-camera giving the briefcase to the Bailey-Stewarts. “I don’t want the media portraying it like that. We’re taking two typical middle-class families — that’s the starting point for us … and to see headlines about ‘poverty-stricken people being pitted against each other’ … that’s horrifically sad and misleading to the real poverty-stricken people in this country.

A CBS representative declined to comment for this story.

"The Briefcase," which airs on Wednesdays, currently averages a 1.07 rating in the advertiser-coveted Adults aged 18-49 years old and 5.7 million viewers after just three episodes.

Watch a trailer below:

SEE ALSO: The stars of 'Bachelor' parody 'Unreal' disagree when it comes to finding love on TV

MORE: Illegally leaked 'Supergirl' pilot is expected to reach 250,000 downloads in 24 hours

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Marvel's new 'Ant-Man' trailer looks even better than 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

I'm going to live to 86 years old, and if I change my current habits and lifestyle, I can add 12 years more.

Of course I can't know that for sure, but that's an estimate based on my answers to a detailed questionnaire from the Living to 100 life expectancy calculator. The calculator predicts an approximate age at death using metrics like diet, exercise, family history, and social life.

Thomas Perls, an attending geriatrician at Boston Medical Center and professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, developed the online quiz based on his study of centenarians. By changing our habits to reflect those of the people with the longest lives, he says, we can add years to our own.

It's difficult to quantify how many years you can add to your life by following a set of recommendations — everyone has different family histories, habits, proclivities, challenges, and genes — but the calculator tries to tie a specific number of years to good health practices and bad habits based on research. As soon as it tells you your estimated life span, it provides some concrete suggestions on how you can extend it.

What if I want to live longer than my prescribed 86 years? To do that, I'd have to make a few changes — starting with my diet and exercise regimen.

1. Cut out processed meat: +4 years

The first question on the calculator's nutrition section asked how many servings of "processed meats of fast foods" I eat a week. I don't usually eat fast food like McDonald's. I do eat processed meat, usually in sandwiches or on pizza — which can also be considered fast food. By cutting out processed meat and pizza entirely, I could live four years more, according to the calculator's recommendations.

A 2013 cohort study in BMC Medicine offers some evidence to support that recommendation. It found that diets with higher levels of processed meat (more than 20 grams a day) were associated with 3% of the premature deaths in a group of 450,000 Europeans. Those meaty diets were also associated with a 72% higher risk of dying from heart disease and an 11% higher risk of dying from cancer.

Despite these dire-seeming numbers, experts warn that the risks of processed meat may be exaggerated and that those most likely to eat processed meat were also likely to smoke, according to the Guardian.

Luckily for me, I don't smoke, but I apparently don't get enough calcium in my diet.

2. Get enough calcium: +.5 years

I have about a cup and a half of milk a day, usually in cereal or coffee. The life expectancy calculator says that might not be enough calcium to stave off osteoporosis, a disease that gets worse with age and disproportionately affects older women.

Osteoporosis, a malfunction that occurs when the body doesn't form enough new bone tissue from a lack of calcium, can increase the risk of bone fractures. Roughly half all of women over 50 will break a bone. I can get calcium from supplements or other food sources like cheese or green leafy vegetables.

3. Exercise every day: +5 years

Even if I made these changes to my diet, it's clear I don't exercise enough. Exercising 6 or 7 days a week could add up to 5 years to my life — a pretty impressive addition. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity at least twice a week, though some believe that minimum should be raised to three days. The health benefits of exercise are endless. It lowers the risk of heart disease and diabetes and improves mental health and mood. It even increases the chances of living longer, according to the CDC.

Starting a good exercise regimen now can also help me maintain good fitness habits as I get older, when exercise is most crucial. A 2014 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that even formerly inactive elderly experienced the benefits of exercise, according to Reuters. This is especially important as mobility typically decreases the older one gets.

4. Visit the doctor regularly: +.5 years

I could eat better and exercise more, but I'd still have to visit the doctor on a regular basis.

It's been years since I've gotten an annual checkup with a doctor. For someone like me who has a family history of diabetes and heart diseases, blood tests shouldn't be optional — they may be live-saving. Primary care visits can help catch risks and signs of diseases before they become serious. A 2014 Harvard study conducted in Massachusetts found that 320 deaths in the state per year could have been avoided by greater access to health care.

Still, there's a risk that greater access to health care could lead to overtesting and overdiagnosis. Unnecessary testing can result in false positives and actually do more harm than good.

5. Spend more time with family and friends: +.5 years

Seeing the doctor and having the right diet are important, but it's easy to forget how much our friends and family matter when it comes to longevity.

The quiz told me that I don't see my family or friends enough. My family is in Nevada and most of my good friends are scattered across the country. Caring friends and family can help through tough times and minimize the stress that comes with adversity.

Good social lives also "lead to increased cognitive stimulation and activity, which are linked to healthy aging," Perls said. A 2010 PLOS Medicine study also shows that "people with stronger relationships had a 50% increased likelihood of survival than those with weaker social relationships."

Even if I see my friends and family more often, it's clear I'd need to reign in my bad habits.

6. Decrease exposure to harmful UV rays: +.5 years

I made a recent mistake believing my complexion made me less susceptible to getting sunburned, and now I'm paying the price for forgoing sunscreen. Though I don't have light skin, a history of sunburns puts me at risk of skin cancer and can subtract years from my life.

The CDC recommends staying in the shade, wearing protective clothing, and using sunscreen during prolonged hours in the sun. A recent study that analyzed 200-year old data found that "high levels of sun exposure during the year of birth may increase infant mortality and shorten the average life span of a population" by as much as 5 years, according to Live Science.

7. Floss teeth every day: +1 year

Another bad habit I have is not flossing every night. I only floss when I remember, and it turns out that may be shortening my life. Not flossing daily leads to a whole host of dental problems like gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss. People who have gum disease are at higher risk for diseases that affect more than one area of the body, including kidney disease and diabetes.

The takeaway

I have a few changes I need to make if I want to live to 98, according to this calculator. Some of them might be worth it, like cutting down on processed meats and exercising more regularly.

But the calculator also recommended completely cutting out caffeine to live half a year more, even though research on whether caffeine helps or hurts life expectancy is mixed.

A 2012 National Cancer Institute study that followed 400,000 thousand people aged 50 to 71 from 1995 to 2008 found that "men who reported drinking two or three cups of coffee a day were 10% less likely to have died than those who didn't drink coffee," according to The New York Times. 

On the other hand, Time reported that drinking certain kinds of coffee can raise LDL cholesterol and cause problems for those with existing cholesterol issues.

Still, it's hard to believe that caffeine is worth 6 months of life. The coffee recommendation highlights the problem with calculators like these – it's difficult to quantify how many years a specific habit is worth. For now, I think I'll stick to my morning cup of joe.

SEE ALSO: Most people fundamentally misunderstand what happens if you live to be really, really old

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to slingshot with a parachute out of a hot air balloon at 16,000 feet

Dick Costolo will not receive any severance after stepping down as the CEO of Twitter according to the conditions laid out in the company's SEC filing.

In the 8-K form Twitter filed to announce Costolo's exit, the company writes that he also agreed to cancel all of his remaining unvested equity until after July 1 2015, which is when his departure becomes effective.

Here's what the document says (emphasis is our own):

In consideration of your continued service as Chief Executive Officer through the Employment End Date, you will continue to vest in all Company equity awards held by you and outstanding as of the date hereof through and including the Employment End Date. Following the Employment End Date, all Company equity awards that remain unvested as of that date shall cease to vest and will be cancelled and unvested shares forfeited. The terms and conditions of your vested Company equity awards as of that date and the governing plan(s) shall remain in effect as set out in those documents.

In an earlier filing, the company noted that Costolo was in an "at-will" employment arrangement, where either he or Twitter could end his employment unilaterally.

Jack Dorsey, one of Twitter's co-founders who is taking over as Twitter's interim CEO, will also remain as the CEO of Square while Twitter searches for a new permanent leader.

Dorsey isn't accepting any pay for his role as the interim CEO of Twitter. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 12 best new features coming to the iPhone

A female prison worker who's being questioned in connection with the escape of two New York inmates had been previously investigated over her alleged relationship with one of the convicts, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a personal familiar with the matter. 

Joyce Mitchell, 51, worked as an industrial-training supervisor in the tailor shop of the maximum-security prison where the two inmates escaped, according to Reuters.

Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, were reportedly being held in an "honor block" of the prison and were allowed to spend most of their time outside of their cells— including in the tailor shop.

Senior government officials told NBC News that Mitchell "thought it was love" with Matt, who reportedly wooed her for months and got her to agree to drive the getaway car. It appears that this plan did not come to fruition. Mitchell checked herself in to a hospital for nerves the day of the escape, NBC news reported, citing senior government officials. It's unclear if the convicts acquired a vehicle somewhere else or got away on foot.

Officials who investigated Mitchell's relationship with Matt didn't find enough evidence to take action against Mitchell, according to sources who talked to the Journal.

The investigation was reportedly conducted within the past year.

Matt and Sweat, who were imprisoned for murder, escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora over the weekend. Hundreds of law-enforcement officials are involved in the search for the duo, which extends to Canada and Mexico as well as the US.

SEE ALSO: Everything we know about the elaborate maximum-security prison break in New York

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch this angry mom in Baltimore confront her son and pull him out of the police protests