Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<keyword id="1354203" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gmail-users">Gmail users</keyword> must be aware of it by now. And reacted accordingly. The <keyword id="2012900" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gmail-Team">Gmail Team</keyword> has already sent a mass mail (it reached my <keyword id="1281393" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="mailbox">mailbox</keyword> in India on January 10), letting people know of the latest change and how it would befit them. On the face of it, the new feature seems a value addition of sorts and more inclusive than before. From now on, you can directly send e-mail messages to <keyword id="2012953" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anyone-on-Google">anyone on Google</keyword> Plus even if you don’t have their e-mail IDs and vice versa. Unless, of course, you have adjusted your settings. However, your <keyword id="2012904" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-mail-address">e-mail address</keyword> won’t be visible to senders until you mail them back. Similarly, you can’t see their e-mail IDs until they respond. But for all practical purposes, every <keyword id="51500" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gmail">Gmail</keyword> user now faces the risk of a massive <keyword id="2012908" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-mail-onslaught">e-mail onslaught</keyword> from a bunch of perfect strangers. 
 You will find this new feature when you start typing in your contact’s name in the ‘To’ field of an <keyword id="2012903" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-mail-message">e-mail message</keyword>. Matching contacts will appear at the top of the ‘suggestion’ list and the <keyword id="2012919" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-Plus-connections">Google Plus connections</keyword> come below that. According to the <keyword id="354776" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="search-giant">search giant</keyword>, the feature will be fully functional in a few days, but do we really need this new level of integration between <keyword id="699770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-Plus">Google Plus</keyword> and Gmail? 
 The integration of the not-so-social networking service with other popular <keyword id="989743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-products">Google products</keyword> has been a pronounced <keyword id="383688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="business-strategy">business strategy</keyword> for some time now. Gmail saw first <keyword id="2012901" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-Plus-integration">Google Plus integration</keyword> in late 2011 that allowed automatic update of address book with a contact’s most recent information. <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> also added a widget to the Gmail sidebar to display a contact’s most recent <keyword id="2012922" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-Plus-post">Google Plus post</keyword> and allowed you to add them to your <keyword id="2012923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-Plus-Circles">Google Plus Circles</keyword>. 
 <keyword id="2012924" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pushing-Google-Plus">Pushing Google Plus</keyword> into the mainstream has continued since. But when the <keyword id="2012927" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="YouTube-comment">YouTube comment</keyword> system was integrated with it in November last year, it certainly created a worldwide uproar. The new system requires users to <keyword id="2012929" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Log-in-to-Google-Plus">log in to Google Plus</keyword> for commenting on videos, thus forcing the <keyword id="6355103" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="social">social</keyword> site down the throat of those who would not have it otherwise. <keyword id="693389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> still maintains it is a goodhearted attempt at cleaning up <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword>, but the latest move shows that the company would stop at nothing to spearhead its social network – even if it means compromising on <keyword id="1491669" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="User-privacy">user privacy</keyword>. 
 As one can’t ignore the <keyword id="2012952" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Privacy-implications">privacy implications</keyword> of the current feature, Google has come up with specific measures that can check the potential deluge of e-mail messages. When it comes to controlling who can contact you, you can choose from ‘Anyone on Google+’, ‘<keyword id="2012954" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Extended-circles">Extended circles</keyword>’, ‘Circles’ and ‘<keyword id="2012956" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="No-one">No one</keyword>’ (in the mail I got, it’s in that order). Going for the last option means one can continue as before. If you choose ‘Circles’ or ‘Extended circles,’ the network broadens considerably. ‘Anyone on Google+’ may not be a palatable option unless you aim to become a <keyword id="6370207" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="lion">LION</keyword> (that’s what they are called on <keyword id="28120" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Linkedin">LinkedIn</keyword>, the acronym stands for <keyword id="2012958" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="LinkedIn-Open-Networker">LinkedIn Open Networker</keyword>) and boast your <keyword id="2012959" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Network-size">network size</keyword>. 
 The new feature will also leverage Gmail’s tabbed interface that splits the inbox into sections such as <keyword id="60906" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Primary">Primary</keyword>, Social, <keyword id="30372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="promotions">Promotions</keyword> and more. Going forward, messages from contacts in your Google Plus Circles will appear under the Primary tab while e-mail from those outside your Circles can be found under Social. But in case you are still using the <keyword id="1659109" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Priority-inbox">Priority Inbox</keyword> interface instead of tabs, the additional load of messages will be extremely troublesome. 
 But at the end of the day, what we fail to understand is why Google has to be this <keyword id="1921615" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="invasive">invasive</keyword> to push just one product. Gmail users may or may not be looking at a huge network or a Web wide party. However, people are certainly not keen to be bombarded with uncalled-for contacts just because the service provider wants to take them to a big, jolly get-together of networkers where millions will mingle and be happy. In fact, it should be totally by choice. LIONS become LIONS by choice and one is free to choose the number of <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> friends without any suggestion of invasion from these immensely popular networks. If Google is in too much of a hurry to dictate terms and amass unwilling followers at the cost of privacy and convenience, it is bound to spoil the party. 
 
Image credit: Thinkstock Photos/Getty Images

Why
This New Gmail Feature Will Make You Furious

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">APAMC Theatres.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>AMC Stubs, the membership program for AMC Theatres, has surpassed 20 million households.</li><li>According to the chain, more than 50 million moviegoers in the US are using Stubs.</li><li>The three-tier program is made up of the $15-a-year Stubs Premiere; Stubs Insider, which is free; and Stubs A-List, its movie-ticket subscription platform, which starts at $19.95.</li><li>A-List on its own recently crossed 800,000 subscribers.</li><li>The growth of Stubs has led to AMC sending out more than 1.5 billion personalized e-mails, text messages, and mobile app notifications in 2019 so far.</li><li>"That's the basis of our whole marketing platform," Stephen Colanero, Chief Marketing Officer at AMC, told Business Insider. "Get people to sign up for AMC Stubs, see what movies they see, get them personalized messages based on that, which gets them more excited to see movies in the future."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul> AMC Theatres' AMC Stubs program has surpassed 20 million households, the chain divulged to Business Insider ahead of the announcement of the milestone, which will be released Tuesday.According to the company, more than 50 million moviegoers in the US are using Stubs.The chain's popular three-tier membership program has been in the news more often since the launch of Stubs A-List, AMC's movie-ticket subscription program. A-List costs $19.95 a month (or $21.95, or $23.95 a month in various regions of the country) and lets you see three movies per week. A-List, which launched in June of 2018, recently crossed 800,000 subscribers to become the largest movie-ticket subscription service. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-down-from-3-million-subscribers-to-225000-users-data-2019-4">Business Insider</a> reported in April that A-List rival MoviePass dropped from over 3 million subscribers to around 225,000, according to leaked internal data.But the growth of Stubs as a whole isn't just from the popularity of A-List.The Stubs program launched in 2011 to little fanfare as the only option was Stubs Premiere, a $15 yearly membership with perks ranging from free popcorn and soda refills to the waiving of online ticketing fees. In 2016, Stubs was relaunched with the inclusion of a second tier, Stubs Insider. And unlike Premiere, it was free to sign up for.The Stubs Insider perks included a free large popcorn on your birthday, discounted tickets on Tuesdays, and online ticket fees waived when you ordered four or more tickets."It really gave access to people who weren't willing to spend in the initial program," Stephen Colanero, Chief Marketing Officer at AMC, told Business Insider. "Creating a free tier gave people the basic benefits and really grew our numbers."Since 2016, Stubs has seen 700% membership growth. That growth has helped AMC build a way to specifically connect with customers and keep them up-to-date on the kind of movies they like to see. The chain said in 2019 alone, it has already sent out more than 1.5 billion personalized e-mails, text messages, and mobile app notifications.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">DisneyAMC says the AMC Stubs membership came out in full force to support "Avengers: Endgame," and it led to the chain's online ticketing service to crash because of the volume of tickets being purchased.</div></div></div>"That's the basis of our whole marketing platform," Colanero said. "Get people to sign up for AMC Stubs, see what movies they see, get them personalized messages based on that, which gets them more excited to see movies in the future."To give an example of the power of Stubs' membership base, Colanero pointed out the day "Avengers: Endgame" tickets were available online. AMC's online ticketing service (as well as many other chains) crashed trying to handle the onslaught of online tickets being purchased, and he noted that a big reason for that was Stubs subscribers."Our Stubs members were ready to go when the tickets went on sale and they hit us pretty hard," Colanero said with a laugh looking back on it now. The opening weekend of "Endgame" was the best ever for AMC as it broke records for tickets sold as well as food and beverage.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/booksmart-from-hyped-2009-script-to-a-2019-hit-movie-2019-5">How "Booksmart" went from a 2009 script collecting dust to this year's must-see movie of the summer</a>"Our guests are prepared and know what's coming because we have been feeding them all along what to expect," Colanero said.Among the three big movie chains in the nation, AMC has the most robust membership program. Cinemark offers two tiers with its Movie Rewards: Movie Fan is the free option, which offers perks like popcorn and drink refills, along with access to advance screenings; while Movie Club is its $8.99 per month movie ticket subscription plan for one ticket per month (unused tickets roll over) and no online ticket fees. While Regal's Crown Club is a program where you earn 100 credits for every $1 spent, which you can use for free movies and concessions once you build enough credits.Colanero was mum on any new additions to AMC Stubs in the future, but there are new features for all AMC customers expanding this summer to many of the chain's theaters in the US.Since Memorial Day, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amc-theatres-will-have-reserved-seating-at-most-theaters-by-memorial-day-2019-5">reserved seating has been available at all theaters</a> (except AMC Classic theaters), and more AMCs are introducing the option for customers to order food or drinks before they get to the multiplex. Those are two things Colanero said should make Stubs members happy."They are the vast majority of people who order online and order ahead," he said. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-5-details-missed-easter-eggs-2019-5">17 details in 'Game of Thrones' season 8 episode 5 you may have missed</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

AMC Theatres now has over 50 million people using its Stubs program thanks to free benefits and a movie-ticket subscription

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> announced Monday that Attorney General <keyword id="4314940" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="william-barr">William Barr</keyword> would leave the Justice Department before Christmas.</li><li>Until recently, Barr was described by some legal scholars as acting more like the president's personal defense lawyer than the US's chief law-enforcement officer.</li><li>The outgoing attorney general heaped praise on the president in his resignation letter, while lending credibility to many of Trump's grievances about the FBI's Russia investigation.</li><li>Barr's fortunes as a loyal Trump ally took a turn for the worse after he failed to deliver on politically charged investigations the president demanded ahead of the general election.</li><li>He also stoked Trump's anger when he made public comments that flew in the face of the president's conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud in the election.</li></ul>President Donald Trump announced Monday that Attorney General William Barr would leave the Department of Justice before Christmas."Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family," Trump tweeted. "Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!"Tensions between Barr and Trump boiled over in recent weeks after the attorney general failed to deliver on politically motivated investigations targeting the president's rivals and when he publicly confirmed that the Department of Justice had not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud in the <keyword id="7600569" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="2020-election">2020 election</keyword>, which directly undercut Trump's conspiracy theories.The final straw for Trump came when it surfaced that Barr instructed department prosecutors not to reveal the existence of criminal investigations into President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter in the months leading up to the election. The <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> is said to have infuriated the president, who repeatedly accused the Bidens of being in bed with corrupt interests before the election.Trump's announcement on Monday was nonetheless a remarkable development for Barr, who until recently was seen as one of Trump's most loyal allies and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-fbi-veterans-react-barr-praising-trump-interview-2020-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described by some legal experts</a> as behaving more like the president's personal defense lawyer than the nation's chief law-enforcement officer.In his letter announcing that he would be leaving the department before Christmas, Barr heaped praise on the president and lent credibility to his grievances, writing, "Your 2016 victory speech in which you reached out to your opponents and called for working together for the benefit of the American people was immediately met by a partisan onslaught against you in which no tactic, no matter how abusive and deceitful, was out of bounds.""The nadir of this campaign was the effort to cripple, if not oust, your Administration with frenzied and baseless accusations of collusion with Russia," Barr added, sharply mischaracterizing the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election.The special counsel Robert Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to charge anyone on the Trump campaign with conspiring with Russia during the election. But prosecutors emphasized that "the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."Barr also tried to walk some of his statements about voter fraud back, writing, "I appreciate the opportunity to update you this afternoon on the Department's review of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election and how these allegations will continue to be pursued."Barr went on to congratulate Trump in his letter on his "many successes and unprecedented achievements," which the attorney general said Trump accomplished "in the face of relentless, implacable resistance."Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-reportedly-looking-at-george-hw-bush-william-barr-as-attorney-general-2018-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tapped Barr</a> for attorney general in 2018 after Barr wrote a memo saying Mueller's obstruction-of-justice investigation into Trump's actions surrounding the FBI's Russia investigation was "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/24/politics/barr-memo-mueller/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fatally misconceived" and "legally insupportable</a>." After he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/willam-barr-confirmed-senate-attorney-general-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed by the Senate</a>, one of the first things Barr did was open an investigation into the origins of the Russia inquiry. Barr tapped US Attorney John Durham to conduct the investigation, but the attorney general was still closely - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-veterans-react-barr-requests-foreign-officials-russia-probe-origins-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and unusually</a> - involved in the inquiry.In his public statements, Barr often <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/william-barr-believes-fbi-spied-trump-2016-campaign-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parroted</a> Trump's claims, even when they weren't supported by evidence, like the notion that the FBI illegally "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/william-barr-believes-fbi-spied-trump-2016-campaign-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spied</a>" on his 2016 presidential campaign. The DOJ inspector general <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-inspector-general-report-russia-probe-2019-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a> last year that no such improper surveillance took place.After Barr <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-reduce-roger-stone-sentencing-recommendation-trump-unfair-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overrode career prosecutors</a> in February to request a more lenient sentence for the Trump ally and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roger-stone-convicted-false-statements-witness-tampering-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">felon</a> Roger Stone, the president applauded the attorney general "for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought." Trump later <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-commutes-roger-stone-sentence-longtime-ally-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commuted Stone's sentence</a>.In May, Barr and senior DOJ officials abruptly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-drops-case-against-former-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved to drop the department's case</a> against former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who in 2017 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-flynn-charged-with-lying-to-fbi-about-conversations-with-russian-ambassador-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleaded guilty</a> to one count of lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation. Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pardons-former-national-security-advisor-michael-flynn-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pardoned Flynn</a> last month.Legal experts and DOJ veterans <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/16/politics/prosecutors-doj-officials-barr-resign/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denounced the attorney general</a> over his actions in the Stone and Flynn cases, saying he used the department as a sword against Trump's enemies and a shield for the president and his allies.Criticism of Barr's conduct mounted in September, when he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-defamation-lawsuit/barr-backs-u-s-move-to-defend-trump-against-rape-accusers-defamation-lawsuit-idUSKBN2602DN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended the department's intervention</a> in a defamation suit that the former columnist E. Jean Carroll, who has accused Trump of raping her, filed against the president. In a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/nyregion/donald-trump-jean-carroll-lawsuit-rape.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highly unusual move</a>, the DOJ asked for its lawyers to take over Trump's defense in place of the president's private attorneys.In the months leading up to the election, Barr joined Trump's crusade against mail-in voting by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/magazine/william-barr-attorney-general.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floating baseless claims</a> that foreign governments could interfere in the 2020 election by tampering with mail ballots. US intelligence officials said in August that they had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence-community-no-evidence-foreign-interference-mail-in-ballots-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no evidence to support the claim</a>, and Barr himself later confirmed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-barr-foreign-interference-mail-ballot-conspiracy-cnn-interview-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his allegations were unfounded</a>.Barr also in October defied long-standing DOJ policy and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-doj-changes-longstanding-policy-against-election-interference-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorized federal prosecutors</a> who suspected election-related offenses to take public investigative steps, even if those steps altered the outcome of the election. The decision was widely criticized by ethics watchdogs and election experts, and it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-richard-pilger-resigns-barr-memo-election-fraud-investigations-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prompted the resignation</a> of the head of the DOJ's election-crimes division.Trump showered praise on Barr through most of his tenure as attorney general, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/us/politics/trump-barr-michael-flynn.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying at one point</a> that he was "a man of unbelievable credibility and courage, and he's going to go down in the history of our country." But Barr's fortunes <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-barr-in-trump-doghouse-durham-flynn-investigations-election-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took a turn for the worse</a> this fall, when he was unable to deliver on two politically charged investigations into Biden and former Obama administration officials that Trump demanded ahead of the general election.<h2>Barr's downfall</h2><a href="https://www.axios.com/barr-durham-report-election-3c02ec6a-7613-4083-b35c-4844de6da16b.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The attorney general told Republican senators</a> in September that Durham's investigation into the origins of the Russia inquiry would not conclude in time to release a public report before the November election. The news angered the president, who had long said the inquiry would show proof that the Obama administration and the "deep state" masterminded a plot to take him down by illegally launching the Russia investigation.So far, the Durham inquiry has resulted in a criminal charge against a former FBI lawyer who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-clinesmith-russia-probe-will-plead-guilty-false-statements-durham-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleaded guilty</a> to making false statements to investigators. But it has not uncovered evidence of a nefarious conspiracy against the president by his perceived political foes. Durham's investigation is ongoing, and Barr <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-robert-mueller-statutes-elections-ae0275b4eb23981c1e6fbf9fc49c3239" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointed him as special counsel in October</a>, under the same regulations that governed Mueller's 2017 appointment to the role.Separately, The Washington Post reported in September an internal DOJ investigation commissioned by Barr that focused on whether Obama-era officials improperly "unmasked" Flynn's name in intelligence reports formally <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barr-flynn-unmasking-investigation-ends-no-charges-report-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closed without criminal charges or public report</a>.Trump made no secret of his anger with Barr amid the news that two DOJ investigations the conservative political sphere had hyped for months had come up empty before the election."To be honest, Bill Barr is going to go down as either the greatest attorney general in the history of the country or he's going to go down as, you know, a very sad situation," Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo in October."Can't comment on that," Trump <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-william-barr/2020/10/14/id/991932/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the conservative outlet Newsmax TV when asked if he had confidence in Barr</a>. "It's too early.""I'm not happy, with all of the evidence I had. I can tell you that," the president added. "I am not happy."Earlier this month, Barr again stoked Trump's anger when he told The Associated Press the DOJ and FBI <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ag-barr-confirms-lack-of-widespread-fraud-in-election-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had not discovered evidence</a> of widespread voter fraud that could have affected the outcome of the election.The revelation flew in the face of the Trump legal team's allegations that Democrats conspired with "big media" to steal the election by engineering nationwide voter fraud and working with South American communist dictators (<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/heres-how-hugo-chavez-dead-since-2013-became-responsible-for-trumps-election-loss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some of whom died years ago</a>) to rig voting machines.ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/barr-intense-meeting-trump-ags-interview-undercutting-voter/story?id=74516139" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Trump and Barr had an "intense" meeting at the White House after the AP interview was published. The DOJ also released a statement qualifying some of Barr's claims hours after his meeting with the president, and The Washington Post reported that Trump remained livid with Barr after their meeting.White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany declined to answer when asked later whether Trump still had confidence in his attorney general."The president, if he has any personnel announcements, you will be the first to know it," she told reporters.The next day, Trump similarly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-confidence-bill-barr-attorney-general-number-of-weeks-quote-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused to endorse</a> Barr when asked if he had confidence in him, telling a reporter, "Ask me that in a number of weeks from now.""They should be looking at all of this fraud," Trump said of Barr and the DOJ. "This is not civil. He thought it was civil. This is criminal stuff."This month, Hunter Biden announced in a statement that federal prosecutors were investigating his "tax affairs." Subsequent media reports said Barr worked behind the scenes to keep the tax inquiry under wraps, in accordance with department rules prohibiting prosecutors from taking overt investigative steps that could affect the outcome of an election.The Wall Street Journal reported Trump was so infuriated with the news that he discussed firing the attorney general during a White House meeting on Friday and had to be talked out of it by his aides.

Trump announces Attorney General William Barr will be leaving the Justice Department before Christmas

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Mallory Schlossberg/Business Insider</div></div></div>The <keyword id="6354851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Retail">retail</keyword> industry is struggling.Last month, many companies, from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gap-earnings-q1-2016-2016-5" target="_blank">Gap Inc.</a> to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/macys-sales-falling-2016-5" target="_blank">Macy's</a> to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nordstrom-rack-takes-over-the-business-2016-5" target="_blank">Nordstrom</a> reported dismal earnings.One reason is that they've trained consumers to shop on sale.Macy's has blamed many reasons for its nosediving sales, from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/macys-cfo-reveals-4-reasons-the-company-blew-it-last-quarter-2015-11" target="_blank">unseasonal weather to a drop in tourist traffic</a>. Both may be true, but a walk around the store's flagship in Herald Square in New York City proved that the company may be trapped in a vicious cycle.The store was a mess, which detracts from any level of luxury the company may have had. It's difficult for consumers to want to throw down lots of cash for a Gucci bag when the experience unsettling.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mallory Schlossberg/Business Insider</div></div></div>But everything is on sale, which has conditioned people to shop to do exactly that. (It's a losing game - the store is in disarray and putting everything on sale because less people are shopping there, which only in turn makes a company lose even more customers.)Perhaps most notable is its huge "Last Act" clearance section, which renders the store an off-price bargain bin.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mallory Schlossberg/Business Insider</div></div></div>J. Crew is yet another store fighting to retain its prestige amongst consumers. It has also been struggling to figure out how to get consumers to pay a premium.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mallory Schlossberg/Business Insider</div></div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mallory Schlossberg/Business Insider</div></div></div><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sweater-shows-whats-wrong-with-j-crew-2015-6" target="_blank">Quality complaints</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-wrong-with-j-crew-2015-7" target="_blank">fashion misfires </a>have hurt J. Crew more than anything, though it has been working on both. Fortunately, the excess inventory that it's trying to clear is making room for something promising: the forthcoming line from former Madewell designer Somsack Sikhounmuong which will launch this fall. It was <a href="http://wwd.com/runway/fall-ready-to-wear-2016/new-york/jcrew/review/" target="_blank">met with adulation from critics</a> at New York Fashion Week in February.But will shoppers pay full price since they've come to know<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/j-crew-fourth-quarter-sales-2016-3" target="_blank"> J. Crew as a discount retaile</a>r?Banana Republic knows this all too well.Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck has explained just how hard it is to wean people off of promotions.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mallory Schlossberg/Business Insider</div></div></div>"Same is really true on Banana, where we have backed off" on promotions, Peck said, adding: "And I will be the first to say that when you start tightening up in promotion, you are playing a game of chicken with your customers ... And so we've been playing that now for really the last quarter. And we've seen more effects on this quite honestly."In other words: it's hard to get them to do something other than shop on sale."It starts to train the customer to expect 30% off or 40% off going forward, and the only way to untrain her is to have a big fashion hit that they happen to buy very little of, and train her to start [shopping] more like [the store was] a fast fashion retailer," Mizuho Securities Managing Director, Betty Chen, told Business Insider. The problem, though, is simply the way these companies were built: they do not operate like fast fashion brands - like Zara - which has the supply chain (and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zaras-data-center-2016-3" target="_blank">an internal data center</a>) that permits it to react to what customers like and dislike, permitting it to not have to resort to incessant discounting all of the time. Zara can adapt rapidly to fickle consumers, helping keeping it immune from the current bloodbath that is the retail industry."If I had to condense the foundations for Zara's success, I would say it comes down to agility and flexibility," Neil Saunders, CEO of retail consulting firm Conlumino, said in an e-mail to Business Insider in December.This has been troubling for traditional retailers who haven't been able to adapt so easily. Worse, the onslaught of discounting has put Nordstrom in a tricky spot: it's been forced to resort to lots of discounting - in hopes of stimulating sales and also to rid itself of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nordstrom-inventory-increase-q415-2016-2" target="_blank">excess inventory </a>- but even the sales are misfiring at Nordstrom, arguably because there are so many sales out there already. "Where we're seeing a big miss is in our clearance and promo - promotional business. So what we take away from that is, number one, the clearance and promotional environment is really noisy," Nordstrom copresident Erik Nordstrom said on a recent earnings call. "There's a lot of excess product out in the marketplace. It's certainly easy to shop online. There's some heavy, heavy discounting going on. And we're seeing that effect in our business."There was arguably a time when there was a reason to shop at a premiere, traditional retailer versus a fast fashion store. It may have cost more, but the experience and quality gave people a reason to shop there. With companies competing to bottom out the next with sales - and clearance prices rivaling those of dirt cheap fast fashion retailers, which can<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zara-has-the-best-business-model-2015-12" target="_blank"> churn out on-trend clothing</a> much more quickly than traditional retailers can - consumers need more reasons than ever to purchase clothes at a premium price. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zara-dominating-beating-competition-fashion-industry-2015-7">The one reason Zara is dominating the fashion industry right now</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RtMWI0djra013JV4Ff9AoHoTLKMzvgNg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Retailers have trained consumers to do one thing - and it's destroying Macy's, Nordstrom, and Banana Republic

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vongerlachter/">Flickr/vongerlachter</a></div></div>
This post originally appeared on <a href="http://www.details.com?mbid=synd_bizinsider">Details.com</a>. People get passionate on Valentine's Day - long before the evening winds down and, if all goes well, the clothes come off.
Some love the day, reveling in and dispensing as much heart-shaped, gooey sentiment as they can fit into 24 hours. Others view it as an unnecessarily pressure-ridden faux-holiday and would rather hide under the covers until the clock strikes midnight and it's officially February 15th. 
If you're like us, you buy into the idea that it might be nice to do something special with your significant other, but you'd rather not go through the motions and trot out the same tired tricks. So this year, try one of our alternative ideas that'll make you look inspired, and also happen to be very easy to pull off.
1. The Cliché: Dinner at a romantic restaurant
The Alternative: Cook for your mate, you lazy b---ard
The Details: You don't have to be a genius in the kitchen to knock the socks (and other items of clothing) off your lover. In fact, it's best to avoid any complicated preparations that will unduly stress you out. In other words, keep it simple.
Hell, boil some water and make <a href="http://www.details.com/style-advice/food-and-drinks/201009/how-to-make-homemade-pasta-sauce-meatballs-recipes" target="_blank">pasta</a>. Pair that with a bottle of wine, candles, and some music (preferably what your partner would like), and you've got a setting infinitely more romantic than any restaurant crammed with lovey-dovey couples paying through the nose for a V-Day prix fixe.
If all goes well, you may find yourselves having dessert in the bedroom.
2. The Cliché: A Hallmark card
The Alternative: An onslaught of sticky notes 
The Details: Save the card for Mom. The key to the sticky-note scheme is saturation: the more, the better. Put them everywhere you can think of: on the bathroom mirror, on the computer monitor, on a milk carton.
When your mate opens his/her wallet at lunch, for example, and sees a note that says "I love to kiss your lips," that's guaranteed to put you over the top on the romantic meter.
3. The Cliché: A box of chocolates
The Alternative: An unexpected aphrodisiac
The Details: There's nothing wrong with chocolate, but have you tried figs? They've been associated with sexual desire since ancient Greek and Roman times and are alleged to have been one of the favorite foods of the temptress Cleopatra.
Another sexy and sweet (and sticky) treat is honey, a.k.a. the nectar of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love (and, incidentally, the lady who aphrodisiacs were named after).
On the opposite end of the palate, try dishing up some oysters. The 18th-century Italian lover Casanova was a proponent of the oyster as a sexual aide of sorts (he supposedly ate dozens of them for breakfast), and science has since confirmed that the <a href="http://www.details.com/blogs/daily-details/2013/02/are-oysters-really-aphrodisiacs.html" target="_blank">bivalves really do pump up the libido</a>.
4. The Cliché: A romantic stroll
The Alternative: A romantic adventure
The Details: The variations are endless. Your options include the skinny dip (the beach works if you don't have a pool), the secluded hike (bring bug spray and a flask filled with hot chocolate or booze, or boozy hot chocolate), the rooftop stargazing journey, or the literary pub crawl (identify spots in advance where writers once lived and drank).
One word of advice: Bring a flashlight so you don't get really lost-which is not the sort of adventure you're going for.
5. The Cliché: A romantic movie
The Alternative: A burlesque show
The Details: Chick flicks are tame. VD (that's Valentine's Day) is time to get dirty. What's more, venues across the country are hosting special V-Day shows.
So whether you're in <a href="http://www.gothamburlesque.com/" target="_blank">New York City</a>, <a href="http://lalas.tunestub.com/show.cfm?id=135166&amp;cart" target="_blank">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="http://tickets.thetripledoor.net/eventperformances.asp?evt=75" target="_blank">Seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.houseofblues.com/tickets/eventdetail.php?eventid=85383" target="_blank">Dallas</a>, or <a href="http://www.originaltease.com/lincolntap.html" target="_blank">Chicago</a>, you can get your fill of va-va-voom girls in pasties and double entendre-spouting hosts. (For a thorough listing of shows nationwide, visit the fantastic directory <a href="http://www.burlesquebitch.com/calendar.php?currentMonth=2&amp;currentYear=2014&amp;location=~~&amp;filter=&amp;keyword=&amp;x=48&amp;y=14" target="_blank">Burlesque Bitch</a>.)
6. The Cliché: A dozen red roses
The Alternative: A 12-song playlist
The Details: In days past, giving someone a mixtape was a heartfelt gesture capable of transmitting a variety of messages too difficult to put into words. Today, cassette tapes are long gone and even CDs are looking like dinosaurs, but the mixtape lives on in the form of iTunes and Spotify playlists.
Hopefully you've got your own ideas for songs that strike the right mood, but if you need a nudge, then check out Billboard's list of the <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/959432/the-50-sexiest-songs-of-all-time" target="_blank">50 Sexiest Songs of All Time</a>.
7. The Cliché: Champagne
The Alternative: Champagne cocktails
The Details: You want bubbly because it activates the salivary glands, awakens the taste buds, and looks cool in a glass. But a regular bottle of champagne, cava, or Prosecco shows no imagination.
Instead, try cocktails like the <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-75-Cocktail-350235" target="_blank">French 75</a>, <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chandon-Brut-Mojito-361529" target="_blank">Chandon Brut Mojito</a>, <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/blood-orange-champagne-cocktail" target="_blank">Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail</a>, and of course <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chandon-Brut-Mojito-361529" target="_blank">the classic Champagne Cocktail</a>. Even better if you sip from each other's navels.
8. Bonus: The Love Poem Generator App
Simply input your beloved's name and the app instantly crafts a poem from one of its 4,294,967,296 combinations of verse. Feel a line isn't living up to your standards? Tap it and it's replaced with an alternative.
Naturally, you can share the poem via e-mail, but you can also play it aloud as read by the app's slightly creepy sexy robotic voice. <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/love-poem-generator/id368780496?mt=8" target="_blank">iTunes</a>; $1
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image">Details</div></div></div>More from Details: 
<a href="http://network.details.com/post/the-top-five-hairstyles-for-men-2013?mbid=synd_bizinsider">The Top 5 Hairstyles For Men</a>
<a href="http://www.details.com/celebrities-entertainment/movies-and-tv/201008/child-actors-adult-stars?mbid=synd_bizinsider">7 Child Actors Who Made It Big</a>
<a href="http://www.details.com/style-advice/the-body/201104/healthiest-snack-foods-to-buy#/slide=1?mbid=synd_bizinsider">The 14 Healthiest Snack Foods To Buy</a>
<a href="http://network.details.com/post/how-to-make-your-beard-grow-faster?mbid=synd_bizinsider">How To Make Your Beard Grow Faster</a>
<a href="http://www.details.com/style-advice/the-body/201104/foods-to-make-you-look-younger#/intro?mbid=synd_bizinsider">5 Foods That Will Make You Look Younger</a>
<a href="http://www.details.com/blogs/daily-details/2014/01/post-6.html?mbid=synd_bizinsider">The Truth About Testosterone - And How To Get More Naturally</a>

You Searched For "E mail onslaught" and got 6 results

Why This New Gmail Feature Will Make You Furious

Sanghamitra Mandal

AMC Theatres now has over 50 million people using its Stubs program thanks to free benefits and a movie-ticket subscription

Jason Guerrasio

Trump announces Attorney General William Barr will be leaving the Justice Department before Christmas

Sonam Sheth

Retailers have trained consumers to do one thing - and it's destroying Macy's, Nordstrom, and Banana Republic

Mallory Schlossberg

The 7 Worst Valentine's Day Cliches And What To Do Instead

Details.com

The State Of The UK News Media: A Ranking Of Who's Flying And Who's Failing

Lara O'Reilly,Jim Edwards

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides