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Trump thinks he won Michigan’s ‘man of the year’ award, but a former congressman says it was actually just a framed copy of the Gettysburg Address

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Trump rally

  • President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he was honored with a Michigan ‘man of the year’ award, most recently at his New Hampshire campaign rally Thursday night.
  • On Friday, former GOP congressman Dave Trott told Michigan Live and CNN that Trump was likely mistaking a framed copy of the Gettysburg Address he was presented with by Trott in 2013 for a ‘man of the year’ award.
  • Trott invited Trump to be the keynote speaker of the 2013 Oakland County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Michigan, and presented him with a tie, a statuette of Abraham Lincoln, and the framed copy of the address.
  • At a 2017 roundtable discussion in Ypsilanti, Michigan, with auto executives, Trump said Trott presented him with the Michigan ‘man of the year’ award, and Trott didn’t correct him then, because he thought it would be embarrassing for the president.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump’s claim that he was honored with a Michigan ‘man of the year’ award was at least partially debunked by former GOP Michigan Representative Dave Trott, who believes Trump is misremembering what he was actually presented with.

Trump has reiterated the claim, despite outlets like CNN and The Huffington Post being unable to find any evidence of such an award being presented to the president at any time. Most recently, Trump said he had won the award during his Thursday night campaign rally in New Hampshire.

Trott told Michigan Live and CNN that in 2013, he invited Trump to be the keynote speaker at the Oakland County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner. During the event, he presented Trump with a tie, a statuette of Abraham Lincoln, and a framed copy of the Gettysburg Address.

Michigan Live reporter Malachi Barrett tweeted out a few photos on Friday taken by the publication that night in 2013, showing Trump being presented with the framed copy of the address, along with the statuette and tie. There was no ‘man of the year’ award presented that night, and Trott said Trump delivered a "rambling speech touching every topic under the sun."

Trott also told the publications that in 2017, at a roundtable discussion in Ypsilanti, Michigan, with Trump, Cabinet members, and auto industry executives, the president brought up the award that never was. 

Specifically, Trump thanked Trott and said he had been given a Michigan ‘man of the year’ award about five or six years ago, after which he made a speech about the state’s car industry being "stolen" from Michigan. Trott responded by telling the president his speech had been great. 

Read more: Trump mocked a man he thought was a protester for being overweight, but it turned out he was actually a supporter

The former congressman told The Detroit News that he knew at the time Trump was wrong, but he "sure wasn’t comfortable correcting him in front of a group of automotive CEOs. It […] would’ve been embarrassing to him." The exchange between Trump and Trott in 2017 was recorded.

Trott told CNN that now he is no longer a member of Congress, he feels comfortable correcting the story.

NOW WATCH: Nxivm leader Keith Raniere has been convicted. Here’s what happened inside his sex-slave ring that recruited actresses and two billionaire heiresses.

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Source: Business Insider – ktenbarge@businessinsider.com (Kat Tenbarge)

United Explorer Business card review: Generous airline perks for a $95 annual fee

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UnitedGetty Images/Scott Olson

  • The United Explorer Business Card goes a few steps beyond your average airline credit card.
  • In addition to offering standard airline co-branded card perks like priority boarding, a free checked bag, and 2x miles on United purchases, it offers bonus miles on at restaurants, gas stations, and office supplies. Cardholders also get two one-time United Club passes each year, and access to more low-level award space than non-cardholders.
  • The card’s currently offering a sign-up bonus of up to 100,000 miles: 50,000 after you spend $5,000 in the first three months, and another 50,000 miles after you spend $25,000 total in the first six months.
  • This is an elevated sign-up bonus, and it’s only available until October 10.

If you’re in the market for a big credit card sign-up bonus, the United Explorer Business Card might pique your interest. The card has doubled its sign-up bonus to up to 100,000 bonus miles. The trade-off is that the $95 annual fee is no longer waived the first year, which is a small price to pay for the opportunity to earn an additional 50,000 miles.

If you can swing the large spending requirement, this card could be worth picking up. Below are the details of the bonus and how you might benefit from applying for this card.

Keep in mind that we’re focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.

When you’re working to earn credit card rewards, it’s important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back. Basically, treat your credit card like a debit card.

United Explorer Business Card details

Annual fee: $95

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in the first three months, and another 50,000 miles after you $25,000 total on purchases in the first six months

Miles earning: 2x miles at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stories, and on United miles

Foreign transaction fee: None

Learn more: The best small business credit cards to open in 2019

Sign-up bonus

The sign-up bonus on the United Explorer Business Card is broken into two tiers:

  • Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
  • Plus, an additional 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $25,000 total on purchases within the first six months of account opening

This sign-up bonus of up to 100,000 miles is only available until October 10, so don’t wait.

That’s a pretty hefty spending requirement, but if you can manage it, the payout is pretty nice. Since this is a business credit card, most applicants probably have significant monthly business expenses they can charge to the card to meet this spending requirement. If you fall into a lower spending camp, consider these ways to meet large spending requirements.

Redemption ideas

What can you do with 100,000 United miles? Quite a bit, depending on when you travel. Here are some examples of how far 100,000 United miles can go, using low-level saver awards:

  • Four round-trip economy-class tickets within the continental US (25,000 miles each)
  • Two round-trip economy-class tickets between the continental US and Hawaii (45,000 miles each)
  • One round-trip economy-class ticket between the US and the Middle East (85,000 miles)
  • One-way business-class ticket between the US and Europe (70,000 miles)

Keep in mind that United has implemented dynamic award pricing for flights booked on or after November 15, 2019. The number of miles required for a flight will depend on demand. This could render your United Explorer Business sign-up bonus more valuable or less, depending on when you’re traveling and whether you can be flexible with your dates and your routing.

Category bonuses

The United Explorer Business Card offers bonus miles on several spending categories.

Cardholders earn 2 miles per dollar spent on United purchases, dining, gas and office supply stores. These are pretty common spending categories for most consumers, so being able to earn accelerated rewards is a nice perk. All other purchases earn 1 mile per dollar spent.

Travel perks

Whether you’re a frequent or occasional United traveler, the United Explorer Business card offers some pretty useful benefits to make your travelers more comfortable. Cardholders receive priority boarding so they can board flights early and snag overhead space before it’s gone.

The free checked bag benefit applies to the primary cardholder and a travel companion on the reservation. With United checked bag fees of $30, that’s a potential saving of $120 per round-trip flight. To get the free checked bag benefit, you need to use the United Explorer Business card to pay for your flight.

Two annual one-time United Club lounge passes can go a long way in making layovers more bearable. United Explorer Business cardholders receive two of these passes when they open their new accounts as well as every card anniversary. Considering United charges $59 for a day pass, getting these passes completely offsets the card’s $95 annual fee.

Perhaps the best benefit of the United Explorer Business card is expanded award availability. Have you ever tried to redeem your airline miles only to get blackout dates and limited availability? If you have the United Explorer Business Card, you will receive expanded award space on United-operated flights. No restrictions or blackout dates. That’s an invaluable perk that no other airlines offer to their credit cardholders.

Final thoughts on the card

The United Explorer Business Card is a terrific card for those looking to give their United MileagePlus balances a boost. Credit cards with sign-up bonuses of up to 100,000 miles don’t come around often and if you can manage the spending requirement, it’s a great offer. Best of all, this card is a long-term keeper. Even beyond the large sign-up bonus, you’ll continue to get value out of it via category bonuses, travel perks and expanded award availability. The latter part will be especially useful when it comes time to put the sign-up bonus to use.

Click here to learn more about the United Explorer Business Card from our partner The Points Guy.

NOW WATCH: Nxivm leader Keith Raniere has been convicted. Here’s what happened inside his sex-slave ring that recruited actresses and two billionaire heiresses.

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SEE ALSO: Credit cards currently offering new-member bonuses of 100,000 points or more

SEE ALSO: American vs. Delta vs. United — we compared the 3 most popular airline credit cards

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Ariana Arghandewal)

The Celebrity Edge was named the best new cruise ship of 2018. It has a 14,000 square-foot spa and a luxury suite that comes with a butler — here’s what it looks like.

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Celebrity EdgeCelebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge is one of the best new cruise ships, according to the cruise-review website Cruise Critic, which named the Celebrity Edge the best new ship from an ocean cruise line in 2018.

"Just because a cruise ship is new doesn’t make it revolutionary, but Celebrity Edge is one of the most innovative ships we’ve seen in years," the website said.
The ship can hold a total of 2,918 passengers, 1,320 crew members, and boasts high-end amenities like a spa and multi-floor suites.
Here’s what it looks like.

The Celebrity Edge debuted in 2018.

Celebrity Cruises

It has luxury suites that cover over 2,500 square feet.

Celebrity Cruises

Some suites have two floors, like the Edge Villas.

Celebrity Cruises

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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SEE ALSO: The 10 best large cruise ships

Source: Business Insider – mmatousek@businessinsider.com (Mark Matousek)

7 signs you’re building wealth faster than you think

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wealthy woman hat smilingMichael Cole/Getty Images

  • If you’re maxing out a retirement plan and being mindful of your investments, you may be on the fast track to building wealth.
  • To be sure, most people don’t get rich overnight. But, if you avoid high-interest debt, are focused on increasing your income, and have clear goals and a plan to achieve them, you’re doing better than you think.
  • Need help building wealth? SmartAsset’s free tool can help find a financial planner near you»

You have to commit to building wealth — it rarely happens by accident.

But if you’re mindful and deliberate about saving, investing, spending, and earning money, you may be building wealth faster than you think.

Below, seven signs you could be rich sooner than you realize.

1. You max out your retirement accounts every year

Tom Werner/Getty

IRAs and 401(k)s are two of your greatest allies in setting yourself up for a comfortable retirement.

If you can afford to put the full $19,000 into your 401(k) this year — or you’re moving closer to that limit — you’re accomplishing a few things.

First, you multiply your earning potential in the market. Second, if your company offers to "match" your 401(k) contributions, you score that free money. And lastly, you shelter a sizable chunk of your income from income taxes (you’ll pay those taxes later, but for now your money grows tax-free).

You can also contribute up to $6,000, or $7,000 if you’re over age 50, to an IRA in 2019. The tax savings are set up differently than a 401(k), but the fundamental strategy is the same: The more money you put in the market now, the more you stand to earn.

2. You’re thoughtful, but not obsessive, about your investment choices

Luis Alvarez/Getty Images

If you’ve made thoughtful choices about where to invest the money you put into your 401(k), you’re head and shoulders above the rest.

Too many people make the mistake of treating their 401(k) like a savings account and don’t touch the money once it’s in there, certified financial planner Eric Roberge previously told Business Insider.

Some 401(k) plans have a fine default investment selection, but you should always double-check to make sure it matches your own time horizon and risk tolerance, Roberge says.

You’re in good shape so long as you choose investments that diversify your portfolio — i.e. a mix of stocks and bonds — and don’t levy too many fees. Roberge recommends choosing either an all-in-one target date fund, which automatically rebalances itself, or building a portfolio of individual funds that provide appropriate diversification.

Checking on your asset allocation periodically to ensure it matches your overall risk tolerance is smart, but obsessing over the details could easily lead to emotion-fueled mistakes. 

3. You’re focused on the ‘big wins’

Getty Images

Spending less than you make may be the golden money rule — but it’s not the only rule. 

Yes, it’s important to cut your spending "mercilessly" on the things that don’t add value to your life, says financial expert and bestselling author Ramit Sethi. But people who are good with money know that $2 here and $10 there won’t make you rich, he says.

"There are a few Big Wins in life where — if you simply get them right — you almost never have to worry about the small things. If you can focus on the 5-10 Big Wins, rather than 50 little things, you can have an insurmountable edge in life," Sethi says.

For example, paying down debt, saving automatically, negotiating a higher salary, and investing early will have a much greater impact — and in a shorter timeframe — than forgoing your morning coffee or weekly brunches.

 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Source: Business Insider – tloudenback@businessinsider.com (Tanza Loudenback)

Burberry Unleashes Monogram Dog Hoodie for B Series

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Burberry has brought back its limited B Series pop-up, which releases a selection of exclusive goods available for just 24 hours on Instagram. One of the items from the latest series includes a luxurious dog hoodie featuring an all-over monogram print with interlocking letters "TB" for Thomas Burberry. The color scheme consists of neutral brown and cream hues, while the design incorporates ribbed cuffs and a waistband keeping the clothing in place. Burberry also offers the option of customizing the hoodie with your pet’s name.

The B Series is available to shop today, August 17 for just 24 hours on Burberry’s Instagram.

Click here to view full gallery at HYPEBEAST

Source: HYPEBEAST – info@hypebeast.com (HYPEBEAST)

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