• Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 4, 2018.
• At 2:00 a.m. that morning, most phones and computers will automatically shift an hour back, and we'll get an extra hour of sleep.
• The interruption to our internal clocks is a welcome reprieve each fall, but in the spring it literally kills people: incidents of heart attacks, strokes, and fatal car accidents all spike around the start of Daylight Saving Time each year.

Daylight saving time is a killer.

The annual ritual in which we trade an hour of morning light for evening brightness may seem like a harmless shift.

But each year, on the Monday after the springtime switch, hospitals report a 24% spike in heart attack visits around the country.

Doctors see the opposite trend in the fall: The day after we turn back the clocks, heart attack visits drop 21% as people enjoy a little extra pillow time.

On Sunday, November 4, instead of the clock turning from 1:59 to 2:00 a.m., it will repeat the hour, ticking back to 1:00 a.m. again. (Shift-workers, worry not: federal law mandates you will still get paid for that extra hour of moonlit work.) That extra hour of rest may seem like good news this weekend, but over the long haul, the interrupted sleep schedules that result from shifting the clocks back and forth may be bad for our health.

Researchers estimate that each spring we deprive ourselves of an extra 40 minutes of sleep because of the change. Our bodies may not fully recover from the shift for weeks, tough the tragic heart attack trend only lasts about a day. We're also prone to make more deadly mistakes on the roads: Researchers estimate that car crashes in the US caused by sleepy daylight-saving drivers likely cost 30 extra people their lives over the nine-year period from 2002-2011. 

"That's how fragile and susceptible your body is to even just one hour of lost sleep," sleep expert Matthew Walker, author of How We Sleep, previously told Business Insider.

"The brain, by way of attention lapses and micro-sleeps, is just as sensitive as the heart to very small perturbations of sleep," Walker explains in his book.

The problems don't stop there. DST also causes more reports of injuries at work, more strokes, and may lead to a temporary bump in suicides. 

Why we 'save' daylight for the evenings

Daylight Saving Time was originally concocted as a way to save energy, and was implemented during World War I in Germany. But more recent research suggests it's probably not saving us any megawatts of power at all. There u some evidence, however, that extra evening light can reduce crime and increase the time people spend exercising, at least in certain climates.

Worldwide, fewer than half of all countries participate in this biannual clock-changing ritual.

Not everyone in the US abides by the clock-shifting rule, either. Hawaii and Arizona already ignore DST, as it makes less sense to shift the clocks when you live near the equator, where the sun rises and sets at roughly the same time every day.

California voters are also heading to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether they want to ditch the switch. Florida recently approved the same idea, but it requires a green light from Congress.

SEE ALSO: Daylight-saving time is dumb and we should get rid of it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why we should just scrap daylight-saving time already

• The gunman who killed two and wounded five others at a Tallahassee yoga studio before killing himself Friday night had an extensive history of spreading hate messages about women and minorities online. 
• After 40-year-old Scott Paul Beierle was identified Saturday, multiple reports found police records of arrests for groping women and videos where Beierle antagonized immigrants and women.
• Beierle also seemed to identify himself as an "incel," or someone who is "involuntarily celibate."

The gunman who killed two and wounded five at a Tallahassee yoga studio before killing himself Friday night had an extensive history of spreading hate messages about women and minorities online.

The two victims have been identified as 61-year-old Dr. Nancy Van Vessem and 21-year-old Maura Binkley.

After Tallahassee Police identified 40-year-old Scott Paul Beierle as the gunman on Saturday, multiple reports found police records of arrests for groping women and social media posts where Beierle described graphic acts of violence against women and his baseless fears about illegal immigration and interracial relationships.

Beierle identified himself as a misogynist in several videos in 2014 on a Youtube channel under the name "Scott Carnifex,"Buzzfeed News first reported. In one video listed on the channel, Beierle ranted about women in interracial relationships as "whores" who had "betrayed their blood."

Beierle also seemed to identify himself as an "incel," or someone who is "involuntarily celibate." In a video called "Plight of the Adolescent Male," he praised Elliott Rodger, a 22-year-old mass murderer who killed six people and injured 14 in Isla Vista, California, in 2014 in the name of "retribution" against women.

Rodger was similarly praised in a Facebook post by a suspect in a Toronto van attack that killed 10 in April.  

Beierle's YouTube channel appears to have been removed from the site as of Saturday afternoon. 

Read more: 3 dead, including gunman, after shooting at Florida yoga studio

Beierle was arrested in 2012 and 2016 for groping women's buttocks without their consent, though charges were eventually dropped, The Tallahassee Democrat reported.

One of the incidents occurred at Florida State University, where a LinkedIn profile with the same name says he attended from 2011 to 2013. The same profile lists a position with the US Army from 2008 to 2010, which is referenced in a video Beierle made called "The Army's Role," in which he describes growing frustrated at unsuccessful friendships with other lieutenants and relationships with "females."

Beierle did not openly identify himself with a political party, but sharply criticized the contraception regulations in Obama Administration's Affordable Care Act, which he said was unfair support for "the casual sex lives of slutty girls."

The shooting comes less than a week after a far-right extremist gunman killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue, leaving behind a similarly hate-filled social media presence filled with anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views.

Authorities were reportedly searching the Deltona hotel room where Beierle was living and had obtained search warrants for electronic devices and social media Saturday afternoon. Police told reporters investigators were still trying to determine a motive.

A GoFundMe campaign was set up Saturday to support the yoga studio's owners and the victims.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 4 lottery winners who lost it all

• Days ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, turnout in 22 states and Washington, DC, shattered previous midterm early voter rates, with a reported 31.5 million ballots cast three days before Election Day. 
• These voters are taking advantage of policies in some states that allow voters to cast their ballot at a polling place in advance. 
• Check the map below to see if your state allows you to cast your vote before Election Day on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. 

Days ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, turnout in 22 states and Washington, DC, has shattered 2014 midterm election early voter rates, according to the New York Times, which reported 31.5 million ballots had been cast.

The skyrocketing voter engagement comes in the midst of an already uncertain midterms field, full of tight races. Early voting opens up polling places before Election Day so voters can try and tip the scales with a vote in person. 

See where you can cast your ballot ahead of Tuesday, November 6: 

Many states end early voting in the several days leading up to the election, so check each state's specified timelines and locations.  

Read more of Business Insider's 2018 Midterm Election coverage:

• SENATE BATTLEGROUND MAP: The race for control of the Senate is as tight as it can be
• All the dates, deadlines, and rules you need to know before voting in the 2018 Midterm Elections
• Here is the last day you can register to vote in every state
• You can take time off work to vote in 30 US states — but you're out of luck in the rest
• Here are the deadlines in every state to vote absentee in the 2018 midterm elections
• The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come — and how far we still have to go

SEE ALSO: The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come — and how far we still have to go

Join the conversation about this story »

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

• Daylight-saving time, or DST, began in the US in 1918 as a way to conserve energy.
• However, many Americans believe the practice is not worth the hassle.
• Scientific studies also suggest that daylight-saving time may cause more problems than it solves.
• There are two main proposals to get rid of DST: by creating fewer time zones or moving to one universal time.

On Sunday, November 4 at the stroke of 2:00 a.m., most people in North America will roll their clocks backward one hour to end daylight-saving time, or DST.

There's some reason to celebrate: This will give hundreds of millions of people one extra hour of sleep. But on March 10, 2019, the invisible time vampire will return to suck away that hour of sleep. (Most of Europe ended DST on October 28 and will resume it on March 25.)

This is perhaps the modern world's dumbest ritual — a curse upon those who live within its confines, and a practice that needs to be abolished.

Daylight-saving time (not "daylight-savings" time) was created during World War I to decrease energy use. The practice was implemented year-round in 1942, during WWII. Not waking up in the dark, the thinking went, would decrease fuel use for lighting and heating. That would help conserve energy supplies to help the war effort.

Nearly 100 years later, though, the US is a divided nation on this topic. A 2012 survey of 1,000 American adults found that 45% thought daylight-saving was worth it, while more than 40% considered it worthless.

More than 152,560 people have petitioned Congress to end daylight-saving time. Some of the comments on the petition are practical appeals.

"Please stop switching the time! It's awful driving home in the dark. I'm a woman that drives 30 miles down a 2 lane state hwy to get home!" wrote Lana J. from Gilmer, Texas.

Others are warranted and blistering critiques.

"Daylight saving time is an antiquated practice and serves no purpose in the modern world," wrote Dustin M. from Kings Mountain, North Carolina. "It causes undo stress to millions of Americans and does nothing for anyone."

We're with Dustin, and here's why.

What's the problem with DST?

According to advocacy groups like Standardtime.com, which are trying to abolish daylight-saving time, claims about saving energy are unproven. "If we are saving energy, let's go year-round with daylight-saving time," the group says. "If we are not saving energy, let's drop daylight-saving time!"

In his book "Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight-Saving Time," author Michael Downing says there isn't much evidence that daylight-saving actually decreases energy use.

In fact, sometimes DST seems to increase energy use.

For example, in Indiana — where daylight-saving time was implemented statewide in 2006 — researchers saw that people used less electricity for light, but those gains were canceled out by people who used more air conditioning during the early evenings. (That's because 6 p.m. felt more like 5 p.m., when the sun still shines brightly in the summer and homes haven't had the chance to cool off.)

DST also increases gasoline consumption, something Downing says the petroleum industry has known since the 1930s. This is probably because evening activities — and the vehicle use they require — increase with that extra daylight.

Changing the clocks also causes air travel synchronization headaches, which sometimes leads to travel delays and lost revenue, airlines have reportedly said.

There are also health issues associated with changing the clocks. Similar to the way jet-lag makes you feel all out of whack, daylight-saving time is like scooting one time zone over. This can disrupt our sleep, metabolism, mood, stress levels, and other bodily rhythms. One study suggests recovery can take three weeks.

In the days after DST starts or ends, in fact, researchers have observed a spike in heart attacks, increased numbers of work injuries, more automobile accidents, and higher suicide rates.

Why keep it?

Despite those early studies about energy use, one analysis from 2008 did find a small amount of energy savings after we extended DST by four weeks in 2005.

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

"Most advocates cite a 2008 report to Congress by the Department of Energy which showed that total electricity savings from the extended daylight-saving period amounted to 1.3 terawatt-hours, or 0.03 percent of electricity consumption over the year. That's a tiny number. But if electricity costs 10 cents per kilowatt, that means an estimated $130 million in savings each year."

More evening light also inspires people to go out and spend money.

Downing told NPR that this comes in the form of activities like shopping and playing golf — the golf industry told Congress that an extra month of daylight-saving was worth $200 million in 1986. The BBQ industry said extending DST would boost sales by $100 million.

Extending daylight-saving time to November might also help the Halloween industry — the longer kids can trick-or-treat, the more candy you need to buy.

Changing the law can also be expensive. One legislature representative in Alberta, Canada, suggested that holding a referendum on DST may cost the province $2 to $6 million, even if it were put into a standard election ballot, and that holding a no-DST vote on its own might cost $22 million to organize and execute.

A world divided over time

Other areas of the world have gotten rid of daylight-saving time, or never had it to begin with.

The map above shows the breakdown. Blue areas observe DST, red areas never have, and orange areas once did but have since abolished it.

Some parts of the US have decided not to observe daylight-saving time, including most of Arizona (excluding the Navajo and Hopi reservations in the northeast), and until 2006, parts of Indiana.

A bill to abolish DST was once recommended for passage in Oklahoma, but it was not signed into law. A lawmaker in Utah also introduced legislation to try to abolish DST, but his bill died in committee.

The decision is up to individual counties, but choosing not observe DST when other nearby cities and counties do can be problematic.

Alternate proposals

Standardtime.com has a unique suggestion.

Their proposal is to create just two time zones in the continental US that are two hours apart. 

Compare that to the current state of things in America.

Right now, the US is broken into six time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific time, Alaska time, and Hawaii-Aleutian time, each one hour apart from the next.

These time zones exist so that areas in the east of each time zone get sunrise at about the same time.

Under Standardtime.com's proposed system, the US' East and West Coasts would only be two hours apart. This would standardize more travel and meeting times within the country.

But the downside would be that sunrise and sunset would happen at wildly different times for many areas of the nation. 

For example, the sun rose in New York City at about 6:15 a.m. EST today and in Chicago at 6:10 a.m. CST; but if the two were in the same time zone, sunrise would be at 8:15 "Eastern Time" in Chicago.

Johns Hopkins University professors Richard Henry and Steven Hanke have come up with yet another possible fix: adopting a single time zone worldwide. They argue that the internet has eliminated the need for discrete time zones across the globe, so we might as well just do away with them. The proposal also includes a 13-month "permanent calendar." (The idea, understandably, has encountered some resistance.)

No plan will satisfy everyone. But that doesn't mean daylight-saving time is right.

The absence of major energy-saving benefits from DST — along with its death toll, health impacts, and economic ramifications— are reason enough to get rid of the ritual.

This story has been updated. It was originally published in October 2017.

Jennifer Welsh and Sarah Kramer contributed to previous versions of this post.

SEE ALSO: Daylight-saving time is bad for your health and the economy

DON'T MISS: Sunsets don't happen later during the summer — here's why it's so confusing

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NOW WATCH: Everyday phrases that even smart people say incorrectly

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Mortgages are valuable for retail banks, but they're also complex products. In the UK alone, mortgages account for almost 60% of retail banks' profits. But mortgage lending can be a complicated process — it involves estate agents, appraisers, and conveyance agents.

This complexity has resulted in major consumer pain points, like a lack of understanding of mortgages, inconvenient access channels, and difficulty switching providers. In an increasingly digital landscape, tech-savvy consumers are starting to demand simpler ways to take out mortgages, and legacy providers are suffering. In the US, the top three incumbent lenders together captured about 45% of the overall mortgage market in 2011; they hold just 24% in 2017.

But a new class of mortgage-focused startups have developed a range of business models to help incumbents update this valuable product for the digital age. Their strategies vary between geographies: In countries like the US and UK, where homeownership is culturally important, they help incumbents keep consumers interested in taking out home loans.

Meanwhile, in countries like Germany and Switzerland, where people prefer renting, they help incumbents attract new mortgage customers. Some incumbents are already partnering with these players, while others have opted to launch in-house initiatives. Each strategy has its pros and cons, but incumbents must adopt an approach to avoid losing relevancy and market share.

There are still some fundamental problems in the insurance market that present obstacles to innovation — for both startups and incumbents. But there are ways to overcome them while making mortgages more attractive for consumers and improving returns for lenders.

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence looks at the fundamental problems dogging the current mortgage process and examines why these flaws are becoming impossible for incumbent mortgage providers to ignore. It also outlines the types of fintechs stepping in to drive innovation in the mortgage space, some current efforts by incumbent banks, and hurdles still standing in the way of large-scale change in the mortgage industry, as well as what can be done about them.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report: 

• Mortgages are among retail banks' most profitable products, but these lenders have been slow to adapt mortgages to a digital economy. This has created pain points in the customer journey, like inconvenient access channels, and difficulty switching providers.
• Ignoring these pain points is no longer an option for incumbents. The rise of alternative, digital-only mortgage firms is putting them under increasing pressure to make mortgages more attractive.
• Fintech startups have detected an opportunity in incumbents’ slowness to innovate, and have developed several strategies to help them, like broadening their distribution channels, improving customer relationships, providing attractive front-ends, and making their back-ends more efficient.
• Some incumbents have instead chosen to innovate their mortgage processes in-house. There are pros and cons to both strategies, which incumbents should weigh in order to add the most value for customers and their own businesses. 

In full, the report:

• Examines the flaws in the mortgage status quo that are upsetting consumers and dampening returns for lenders.
• Discusses why incumbent lenders can't afford to delay innovating any longer around this product.
• Outlines different ways mortgage fintechs are breathing new life into this product, including by helping incumbents.
• Looks at some mortgage efforts already underway by incumbent lenders, and some considerations that should guide their projects.
• Gives an overview of hurdles still standing in the way of large-scale change in the mortgage space, and how they can be overcome.

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• The main caravan of roughly 4,000 Central American migrants is steadily moving north towards the United States border — but it has splintered into groups and remains hundreds of miles away.
• There are some major unknown factors that make it unclear exactly when, where, and how the migrants will arrive at the US-Mexico border.

The caravan of some 4,000 Central American migrants who have been steadily trekking north towards the United States for weeks began to splinter on Saturday, following dashed hopes that they would be transported via bus to Mexico City.

Though the Trump administration has been brainstorming ways to crack down on border security and pressure Mexico to keep the migrants from progressing further, the caravan has largely persisted, though its numbers have dwindled in recent days and the dispute over the buses caused them to separate.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump held a bizarre, rambling press conference in which he raged against the caravan and made a vague promise to bar immigrants from seeking asylum if they cross the border illegally, though it's unclear if such an action would pass legal muster.

Here's everything we know about the caravan and what could happen next:

Where is the caravan now and when will it reach the US?

Some of the migrants, downtrodden and exhausted, lashed out at organizers who had tried and failed to arrange the transportation, according to the Associated Press. Several thousand reached the towns of Juan Rodriguez Clara and Isla in Veracruz state, while others headed north to Tierra Blanca, Veracruz.

The group has been averaging between 20 and 30 miles per day thus far. They are mostly on foot, but have been hitch-hiking rides or piling into the backs of pickup trucks when possible.

It's unclear when exactly it will reach the US because the migrants have not said what route they're planning to take, or where along the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border they intend to cross, though they've been traveling closer along the Gulf coast in recent days, indicating they may aim for Texas.

Read more: Why the caravan of 4,000 migrants is marching to the US border

The nearest point to them would be in southeastern Texas, more than 700 miles away, but it's also possible the caravan could try to reach the San Diego, California, area more than 2,000 miles away, where a similar caravan ended up last spring.

Several other caravans have also sprung up in weeks, though they're smaller and further behind than the main caravan.

How is the Trump administration trying to stop it?

The Trump administration has been weighing a number of actions in recent weeks, and recently authorized a military deployment of more than 7,000 troops to the US-Mexico border.

Read more: Trump is sending thousands of troops to the border with Mexico — here's everything we know so far

Trump also announced Thursday he intends to dramatically limit the ways immigrants can seek asylum in the United States, and will seek to curb their ability to receive asylum if they request it after entering the country illegally, rather than at a legal port of entry.

He said his administration is finalizing an executive order for "sometime next week" about the asylum changes, though he didn't offer details.

The Immigration and Nationality Act currently requires the US government to allow immigrants to make asylum requests no matter how they crossed the border, and it's unclear what actions Trump could take to change that.

"Under this plan, the illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into this country," Trump said. "Instead, migrants seeking asylum will have to present themselves lawfully at a port of entry."

Critics immediately seized on the vagueness of Trump's announcement, accusing him of stoking anti-immigrant sentiments ahead of the midterm elections next week and misrepresenting the asylum system.

What is Mexico doing?

The Mexican government has dramatically slowed the caravan's pace in recent days, blocking the migrants' efforts to arrange mass transportation to Mexico City via buses.

Mexican authorities have also "nibbled" at the edges of the caravan, according to the Associated Press, detaining 153 migrants in the second caravan during highway inspections. Authorities have also slowed some in the main caravan down by forcing migrants off freight trucks or overloaded pickup trucks

Though the government also deployed hundreds of federal police officers to Mexico's border with Guatemala, the caravans have pressed forward regardless.

What happens if it reaches the US border?

This is still unclear because details like their exact destination, pace, and numbers are still up in the air.

Part of the confusion also stems from a lack of clarity around how the migrants intend to cross the border. There are a few options for them, and each presents its own set of challenges:

• The migrants could choose to cross illegally and remain undetected, though a large group of migrants would be hard for Border Patrol agents to miss.
• They could follow the example of the caravan last spring, whose members legally presented themselves at a port of entry and requested asylum. This may present problems for those migrants who fled Central American countries for reasons like poverty and lack of job opportunities; under US law, those are not valid reasons to base an asylum claim on.
• They could try a mix of both tactics, crossing the border illegally, but immediately requesting asylum from US authorities once they're caught. They are legally entitled to make an asylum claim no matter how they cross the border, but Trump said Thursday he intended to bar migrants from requesting asylum if they cross illegally.

Another unknown is what role the military will eventually play if the caravan reaches the US border. Troops are forbidden under the Posse Comitatus Act from enforcing domestic law, and therefore cannot directly detain or deport immigrants.

Instead, the troops are expected to play a support role for Border Patrol agents, though the amount of support they'll need may depend on how many migrants actually reach the border.

SEE ALSO: Thousands of migrant children are trekking hundreds of miles in a caravan to the US. These powerful pictures show their difficult journey.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The first woman in space almost didn't make it back to Earth and she had to keep it a secret for 30 years

• The 2018 midterms are in just three days, and they're shaping up to be the most expensive in history. 
• The Center of Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign spending, projects a grand total of $5.2 billion will be spent on this year's elections.
• Democratic candidates are capitalizing on a wave of enthusiasm to raise record numbers of small donations, while Republicans dominate in the arena of outside spending.
• Here are the Congressional candidates who have raised and spent the most money since Trump's election:

The 2018 midterm elections are in just three days away, and the stakes couldn't be higher as Democrats seek to take back the House of Representatives and minimize Republican gains in the Senate, in the first congressional elections since President Donald Trump's victory in 2016. 

Not only have this year's midterms garnered record-high levels of early voter turnout, but it's looking like they'll be the most expensive congressional elections in US history. The Center for Responsive Politics projects that a staggering total of $5.2 billion will be spent in this year's midterms, breaking the previous record of $4.4 billion in 2016. 

“We expected to see the numbers climb, as they typically do, but the astonishing spike in campaign donations is a solid indicator of the intensity driving this year’s campaigns,” Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said about the 2018 fundraising numbers.

Before the midterms even started, two high-profile special elections, one in Georgia's 6th congressional district and in Pennslyvannia's former 18th district, attracted record-high donations individual donations from Democrats looking to channel their frustration with Trump into congressional races.

That initial enthusiasm in fundraising precipitated this year's windfall for Democratic candidates, who have raised $1.3 billion from small donors compared to under $1 billion for Republicans. When it comes to outside spending from political action committees (PACs) and non-profits, however, Republicans lead the pack.

Here are the House and Senate candidates who have raised and spent the most money:  

SEE ALSO: All the dates, deadlines, and rules you need to know before voting in the 2018 Midterm Elections

The House candidates who have raised the most money:

Jon Ossoff's bid to challenge Republican Karen Handel for a July 2017 special election in Georgia's 6th district gained national attention and a surge of out-of-state donations, making his race the most expensive the 2017-18 cycle with a total of $56 million raised between him and his opponent Karen Handel. 

Some House candidates are wealthy enough to mostly self-fund their campaigns, such as lottery winner Gil Cisneros in California's 39th congressional district, who is running to flip the open seat vacated by Rep. Ed Royce, and multimillionaire Greg Gianforte, who won a 2017 special election for Montana' at-large seat but is running again in 2018 in a tight race.

So far, Cisneros and Gianforte have given $8.8 and $2.5 million respectively to their own campaigns, making their congressional bids some of the most expensive this cycle. Likewise, David Trone has donated $15 million to himself and Scott Wallace $12 million.

In 1976, the Supreme Court struck down limits on candidates financing their own campaigns.

Like Ossoff, Conor Lamb's March 2018 bid to win a special election in a Pennsylvania district which Trump carried by 19 points drew national attention and huge outside fundraising from individual donors to support Lamb and outside spending to support his opponent. 

High-profile incumbents like Devin Nunes, the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and Steve Scalise, the Republican Majority Whip, also rank high in their fundraising capabilities without self-financing. 

The House candidates who have spent the most money:

Since federal campaign finance law requires candidates to spend 100% of the money they raise for a given election on that race, the House candidates who have raised the most money also tend to be the ones who spend the most. 

One person on the list of highest spenders but not fundraisers is Rep. Paul Ryan, the powerful speaker of the House of Representatives, who is retiring this year. Ryan is giving away approximately $10.7 million of the money raised through his campaign committee. 

He's given about $7 million to the National Republican Campaign Committee, presumably to help other Republican candidates, and another $3 million to assorted Republican campaign consulting firms. 

Meanwhile, David Trone in Maryland's 6th district (which is considered solidly blue) and Scott Wallace in Pennsylvania's newly-redistricted 1st congressional district, rated a toss-up by FiveThirtyEight, are spending $15 and $11 million respectively, largely self-financing their bids. 

The Senate candidates who have raised the most amount of money:

Rep. Beto O'Rourke broke an all-time quarterly fundraising record when he raked in a staggering $38 million in the 3rd quarter of 2018 alone. He's running to defeat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, and his rapid rise to national prominence and fundraising prowess have made him a star in the Democratic party. 

Some of the highest fundraisers are also the most prominent figures in their respective parties, like Cruz and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin. 

As in the House, wealthy Senate candidates like Rick Scott in Florida, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, and pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin, the Republican candidate in New Jersey challenging embattled Democrat Bob Menendez, are largely self-funding their campaigns.

Scott, whose net worth is estimated around $233 million, has spent about $51 million on his own campaign, making up 75% of his total fundraising. Similarly, Hugin has poured in $27 million in his bid against Menendez. 

On the other hand, O'Rourke, who is not taking corporate PAC money, receives half his donations, or about $30 million, from small donors (those who spend $200 or less) and large donors. 

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Heidi Heitkamp also eschew corporate PAC money as much as they can, and similarly rely on individual donations.

Heitkamp, who represents North Dakota, recieved an outpouring of $12 million individual donations from across the country in the 2 weeks after she made the politically perilous decision to vote no on the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but she's still projected to lose her seat to Rep. Kevin Cramer. 

• PM May reportedly secures "secret" concession from EU over Northern Irish border issue.
• Sunday Times reports that under plans devised by May and EU negotiators, the whole of the UK would effectively remain within a customs union with the bloc after Brexit.
• May's plans are likely to appease all wings of the Conservative Party, and could even appeal to some Labour MPs, the newspaper said.
• Plan removes the need for a so-called "backstop" on the Northern Irish border issue.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly secured a series of "secret" concessions from the European Union that could allow the whole of the UK to effectively remain within a customs union with the bloc after Brexit.

According to the Sunday Times, May's plans are likely to appease all wings of the Conservative Party, and could even appeal to some Labour MPs.

The Sunday Times reports that the prime minister is close to a political deal on the UK and EU's so-called future economic partnership, which the newspaper says will "allow Britain to keep open the prospect of a free trade deal resembling that enjoyed by Canada."

May's secret concessions from the EU centre on checks at the Northern Irish border with the Republic of Ireland, which has so far been one of the biggest sticking points in Brexit negotiations.

Under the concessions, the EU is said to have accepted that regulatory checks on goods be allowed to take place "in market"— effectively meaning that checks can be done in places like factories, rather than at the border between the two countries.

"The EU will write an all-UK customs deal into the legally binding withdrawal agreement so an EU-designed "backstop" treating Northern Ireland differently from the UK mainland is not required," the Sunday Times said.

The backstop is a key aspect of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement which the EU and UK signed up to in December.

Basically, it is an insurance policy to make sure the current frictionless border between Northern Ireland and the Republic remains open no matter what happens in negotiations between the UK and the EU.

In practice, the backstop will only take effect if trade talks between the UK and EU fail to produce a deal deep and comprehensive enough to avoid any checks on the Irish border. 

The plan also means that May is now in a position to issue an ultimatum to Brexiteer rebels within her party, the Sunday Times said.

"Unless they support it, they will be personally responsible for causing a no-deal Brexit," May is believed to planning to tell Brexit-backing ministers.  Most regard such an outcome as a "potential disaster."

On Saturday, Business Insider reported that senior government sources "believe pro-Brexit rebel MPs will ultimately fold and support May's Brexit deal."

A spokesperson for Number 10 Downing Street described the reports as "speculation."

"This is all speculation. The prime minister has been clear that we are making good progress on the future relationship and 95% of the withdrawal agreement is now settled. Negotiations are ongoing," a statement read.

You can read the Sunday Times' full story here.

SEE ALSO: Theresa May is piling the pressure on pro-Brexit MPs who predict she will be ousted within weeks

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• Revenues for banks from European equity research are plummeting in the aftermath of the introduction of MiFID II.
• Banks will be earning about 20% less on their European equity research — a drop of about $300 million — by the start of 2019, according to a report from Greenwich Associates.
• Under MiFID, a 7,000 page tome that aims to increase transparency on how clients are charged for services, banks must charge separately for research and trading.

LONDON — Bad news for analysts who publish research on European companies: investment banks will be earning about 20% less on their European equity research — a drop of about $300 million — by the start of 2019.

That's according to a report from Greenwich Associates, which attributed the declines to the fallout from new regulations that kicked in this year known as MiFID II. Research budgets are also being slashed. The largest funds in the region cut their budgets for external European equity research by 19% in 2018, and they're planning another 5% to 6% reduction next year. 

It's a grim, but not unexpected, outcome from the European law, which kicked in on January 3. Under MiFID, a 7,000 page tome that aims to increase transparency on how clients are charged for services, banks must charge separately for research and trading. (Previously, banks handed out research for free to lure trading commissions.)

While charging separately for research and trading, also known as "unbundling," has won some fans, the reporting costs and requirements are onerous even for giant banks with huge compliance departments. For smaller firms, it's a nightmare.

Just how much is MiFID hurting the little guys? Greenwich released a report on that, too. And surprise, surprise:

"So far, the biggest winners from the industry-changing 'unbundling' regulations have been global bulge-bracket dealers," Greenwich said on September 25. The law has helped catapult big banks even further ahead of their smaller peers. "Global bulge-bracket brokers have clearly increased relative share and impact since MiFID II went live.”  

The biggest winners in European equity trading this year: Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS, which together lead the market in trading share, followed by JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley.

And those firms and their biggest rivals may get an even bigger slice of that commission pie. Their clients, the big investment firms, have been holding back about 30% of their total annual research budget for allocation, Greenwich estimates, meaning that some $300 million in unallocated research budget is up for grabs. 

That extra cash "will likely be used to top off and award current providers for additional service throughout the year," the firm said. “With so many hands in a smaller cookie jar, this unallocated budget will be incentive enough for global investment banks to provide exceptional service to their clients.” 

But one London fund manager pushed back on this idea, saying that the world of fund management is not unlike the big government bureaucracies, in that if you don't spend your budget, by next year, you lose it.

SEE ALSO: Sweeping financial reforms are set to go live Wednesday — here's how banks will be affected

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NOW WATCH: This mind-melting thought experiment of Einstein's reveals how to manipulate time

• The New Orleans Saints became the first team to beat the Los Angeles Rams this season, topping them 45-35 in a memorable shootout.
• While the game displayed both teams' high-octane offenses, it was the Saints defense that came up big when needed, slowing down the Rams to take control of the game.
• The Saints are now the league's hottest team, riding a seven-game win streak and looking like the Super Bowl contender most expected.

The New Orleans Saints sent a huge message to the rest of the NFL, beating the Los Angeles Rams, 45-35, on Sunday. In doing so, the Saints became the first team this year to beat the star-studded Rams.

Both teams entered the game as the hottest teams in the league. The Saints have not lost since a surprising Week 1 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the Rams were the last undefeated team in the NFL.

The NFL world expected a shootout, and early on, both teams delivered. The Rams and Saints exchanged two touchdowns each on the first four possessions of the game, with both clubs showing off their talented running backs (Alvin Kamara for the Saints, Todd Gurley for the Rams) and precise passing attacks.

At the end of the first half, however, the Saints took control. After the Rams missed a field goal to end the scoring streak, the Saints scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Benjamin Watson. On the ensuing possession, the Saints picked off Rams quarterback Jared Goff, then got a third touchdown from Kamara to take a 35-14 lead.

But just as the Saints seized control in the first half, the Rams came out attacking in the second half, nearly wrestling back control of the game.

The Rams defense, boasting All-Pros like Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh, and Marcus Peters, got after the Saints, forcing consecutive punts. Meanwhile, Goff and company found their groove, spreading the ball around to score 18 straight points on three drives.

After the Rams evened the score at 35, it was the Saints defense that won them the game. They forced a crucial punt, allowing Drew Brees to get the ball back and hit Michael Thomas on a 72-yard shot down the field.

It was hard to watch the two heavyweights battle it out and not imagine them facing off in January, perhaps in the NFC championship. Both teams entered Sunday with top-five offenses in DVOA. While their defenses haven't lived up to expectations, they are both capable at getting stops or creating big plays when they need to.

No team in the league is hotter than the Saints right now. After a sluggish start to the year, the Saints have rounded into the Super Bowl contender most expected.

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• President Donald Trump on Sunday said that voting for Democrats would support the caravan of Central American migrants, which he referred to as "an invasion."
• Speaking at a campaign rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee in support of Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, Trump lashed out against the migrant group making its way to the US border.
• "Turn back now, because you're not getting in," he said of the roughly 4,000 Central American migrants steadily moving north.
• In contrast, former President Barack Obama on Sunday said that the demonization of the group is being used as a "political stunt."

President Donald Trump on Sunday said that voting for Democrats would support the caravan of Central American migrants, which he referred to as "an invasion."

Speaking at a campaign rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee in support of Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, Trump lashed out against the numbers of migrants making their way to the southern border. 

"That's an invasion. I don't care what they say," Trump said.

"Turn back now, because you're not getting in," he said of the roughly 4,000 Central American migrants steadily moving north towards the United States border.

Read more: The migrant caravan from Central America is still hundreds of miles from the US border — here's everything we know about when it could arrive and what will happen next

In contrast, former President Barack Obama on Sunday said that the demonization of the group is being used as a "political stunt."

"They're telling us that the single most grave threat to America is a bunch of poor, impoverished, broke, hungry refugees a thousand miles away,"Obama said during a rally for Democratic senator Joe Donnelly in Indiana. "Unfortunately sometimes these tactics are scaring people, and making stuff up works." 

Members of the migrant caravan also responded to Trump's allegations against them, including insinuating that they are criminals and drug smugglers. 

"Donald Trump is saying that everybody in here, they're violent. That is not true," Rafael Garcia of Guatemala, who is traveling with his 13-year-old daughter and baby son, told ABC News Sunday morning.

"This is all propaganda for his campaigns. It's all political what he's doing and that's not right what he's doing. He should be ashamed of himself for saying that."

SEE ALSO: More and more US troops are arriving on the US-Mexico border in anticipation of migrant caravans arriving — these photos show what they're doing

SEE ALSO: Tired and disappointed, migrant caravan splinters in dangerous Mexican state known as the 'route of death'

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NOW WATCH: This company spent 10 years developing a product that allows humans to scale walls like a gecko

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "The Walking Dead," season nine, episode five, "What Comes After."

Rick’s final episode of "The Walking Dead" has so many references to moments in the comic and previous seasons that it’s easy to miss them all.

So buckle in, TWDFamily. This is a super-sized edition of our regular details you missed post with callbacks to the show's pilot and some of Rick's best moments on the AMC series. We'll even explain what was up with the mystery "Cardille" mailbox that appeared when Rick made a pit stop at that cabin in the woods. Keep reading to see what you may have missed on Sunday's episode. 

During Rick’s dream sequence at the episode’s start, he sees and hears a few things from the pilot episode.

Season nine Rick sees a younger, season one Rick in bed in a hospital. Morgan, the first man he met during the zombie apocalypse, asks about his wound. At the time, Morgan asked that to make sure he wasn't bit by one of the undead.

Now, Rick hears those words as he notices he's gravely injured from a piece of rebar.

The many helicopters Rick sees are a reference to the several times he’s seen helicopters throughout the show.

Rick saw a helicopter on the first episode of “The Walking Dead” when he made his way into Atlanta. He tried to follow it, but literally ran into a bunch of the undead. He saw a helicopter fly overhead again during season eight on his way to visit Jadis/Anne. At the very least, we now know she has something to do with the helicopter.

Showing all of the helicopters in Rick's hallucination is also a way of hinting at what's to come at the end of the episode. At the same time, it may be the writers’ way of acknowledging one of the show’s most frustrating mysteries for several seasons.

The crows that Rick sees in his vision are a major threat to civilization.

I mentioned this after the season nine premiere, but the crows become a major issue in the comics. The crow population starts to become so large that they begin destroying the crops the survivors are growing. This starts to get hinted at as we see the crows overrunning the Sanctuary and see Michonne getting told on season nine, episode four about the crows getting out of control.

Ahead of the season nine premiere, showrunner Angela Kang told INSIDER the new series’ logo hinted that the stone letters overgrown with greenery reflect that nature is thriving both for better and for worse. In the case with the crows, it’s for worse.

Read more: For the first time in nine seasons "The Walking Dead" logo isn't decaying — here’s why

Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead,""What Comes After."

Rick Grimes' final episode of AMC's "The Walking Dead" left viewers in a knot when the fan favorite flew off in a helicopter with Anne at the episode's end. It then became more puzzling when the story skipped ahead several years without Rick.

Where did he go and why haven't we seen him? Who are all of these new characters? INSIDER breaks down the biggest questions you're asking after Rick's open-ended farewell.

Where did Rick go?

Rick's fate was left open-ended when he flew away on a helicopter.

This will be the biggest lingering question on every fan's mind. Where did Rick go and why hasn't he made his way back to his family in the years that have passed? Is he being held prisoner somewhere? Was he left injured so badly that he can't make his way back to them? 

It sounds like we'll find out in a series of movies which will follow Rick Grimes. Chief content officer of "The Walking Dead" announced them on "Talking Dead" after Sunday's episode.

OK — but seriously. What's the deal with the helicopters?

We've seen helicopters teased since the pilot episode. We know that the mystery chopper Rick first saw on season seven is at least one that has been in correspondence with Jadis/Anne. The two have some sort of deal of trading people for supplies. This is how she kept her community alive. 

It's not clear how she knows them or where she and Rick flew off to, but Anne made it sound to Gabriel like this would be a one-way ticket and that he wouldn't be allowed to leave if he went on the trip.

What does it mean to be an "A" or a "B"?

When Anne was messaging the helicopter gang it seemed as if anyone marked an "A" was a leader-type and "B" was someone who was more of a follower. 

But it may very well be that "A" and "B" means "After" or "Before" you're turned into one of the dead.

Why?

Originally, Anne told Gabriel she thought he was a "B," but then when he was going to tell Rick what she was doing she decided he was an "A." At first, it seemed like she was impressed with him and found him to be more of a leader, but then we saw she was going to have a walker turn him into one of the undead.

When Anne found Rick at the episode's end, she surprisingly declared Rick was a "B" and not an "A." If an "A" denoted a leader, Rick would have been the ultimate definition of an "A." But now that we know he's a "B," we know the classification isn't that simple.

It's a little strange that people in a helicopter would want walkers or people turning into them. But perhaps there are still parts of the government around doing testing on people who turn into one of the undead. 

Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead,""What Comes After."

Andrew Lincoln's final episode of "The Walking Dead" aired Sunday on AMC and we finally know what became of Rick after he fell on a piece of rebar. It's a bit of a doozy. 

Don't continue reading if you haven't seen Sunday's episode and don't want to know what happens.

Rick searched the entirety of Sunday's episode for a way to get rid of the giant zombie herd threat to the communities. Somehow Rick miraculously didn't bleed out over the course of Sunday's episode.

He not only managed to pull himself up from a piece of rebar (everyone wears two belts in the zombie apocalypse, right?), but was able to ride a horse, hack away at the undead, and survive falling off a bridge all with two giant open wounds.

Near the end of the episode, Rick sacrificed himself and the bridge he worked hard to build to save the Hilltop community from the undead. He blew up some TNT, causing the bridge to explode and for him to go along with the undead into the moving river.

Luckily for him, he wound up washing ashore near Anne as she was about to flee Rick's community circus for (hopefully) greener pastures. 

When she found Rick, she immediately decided to save him. Anne convinced the mystery helicopter to whisk Rick away along with her to an undisclosed location, and just like that Rick's fate was left open-ended. 

Instead of ending there, the show flashed ahead several years later without Rick to show his daughter, Judith, much older.

Reactions to the show's decision to not kill off Rick were understandably mixed, especially since AMC has heavily marketed these past few episodes as "Rick Grimes' final episodes." Is it really a true final episode if there's a possibility for the character to return?

Most were happy and relieved that the show's main character wasn't killed off because there's a possibility we'll see him again at some point.

Some think the show should have just killed Rick off. 

While Rick may be gone on "The Walking Dead" for now, he's not gone forever. Chief content officer Scott M. Gimple announced on aftershow "Talking Dead" AMC will continue to follow Rick's journey in a series of original movies. 

Do you think the show made the right decision by leaving Rick's fate open-ended? You can follow along with our show coverage here. 

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• Floyd Mayweather is set to make his MMA debut this year.
• Mayweather will reportedly fight undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Years' Eve in an event thrown by Japanese MMA brand RIZIN.
• The fight could be the first steps towards Mayweather's highly anticipated rematch with Conor McGregor in the UFC.

Floyd Mayweather has some more fight left in him.

After moving to 50-0 as a boxer with his win over Conor McGregor in last year's circus fight, Mayweather has reportedly agreed to take his first steps into the world of mixed martial arts and will fight undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Years' Eve in an event thrown by Japanese MMA brand RIZIN.

Mayweather had teased a move into mixed martial arts for some time, both as a rematch with McGregor and as a potential superfight against undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The exact rules of the bout have not yet been set, but RIZIN has told fight fans to "stay tuned" as details are hopefully soon to follow.

Regardless of the final rules of the bout, the move makes a potential rematch with McGregor or a fight against Nurmagomedov much more likely than it felt just days ago.

While the odds of a Mayweather-McGregor bout in the Octagon still feels like a long shot, Floyd "Money" Mayweather has never been known to turn down a fight if the price is right.

SEE ALSO: Khabib Nurmagomedov is 3 wins away from becoming the best lightweight the UFC has ever seen, and could retire as 'the Floyd Mayweather of MMA'

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Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead."

Andrew Lincoln's final episode of "The Walking Dead" left Rick Grimes' story open-ended when the beloved sheriff flew off in a helicopter with Anne. 

If you're worried about if we'll ever see Rick again, AMC was quick to assure fans that Lincoln will be back in some capacity as Grimes. We just may not see him on "TWD" show.

"This is the end of Rick Grimes on 'The Walking Dead,' but this is not the end of Rick Grimes' story," said chief content officer of AMC's "Walking Dead" universe, Scott M. Gimple, on "Talking Dead. "We're going to continue telling Rick Grimes' story in a series of AMC original films. There's a lot of story to tell." 

Read more: 8 questions we need answered after Sunday's heartbreaking episode of 'The Walking Dead'

Gimple added that these will be AMC original films, which will expand the "Walking Dead" universe as we know it. In September, Bloomberg reported the network has been planning multiple movies and shows based on the zombie universe. 

"It’s going to show a different corner of the world. It’s going to show a different situation that Rick is involved in. These are going to be shown on AMC, right now, but they are going to have the scope of featured films." Gimple added. "And we’re going to be seeing an epic story told over years."

Gimple said a big focus is on telling the continuation of Grimes' story, but those won't be the only "Walking Dead" projects AMC will work on.

"We are going to be telling new series in different lengths — shorter series, longer series — we're going to be doing specials. We're working on that now. We're working on digital content. We're working on things that are not easy to describe at the moment," he added. "You're to see characters that are dead and gone. We're going to see stories of their past. We're going to see different stories of future characters. We're just going to be telling 'Walking Dead' stories in different ways. We're going to see all around the world. We're going to see the past, we're going to see the present, might see the future." 

Gimple added that this is a long-term plan. It won't all come at once. And while some of the new content will be connected to the main "Walking Dead" universe, other content will stand alone. 

Expect to find out where Rick's mystery helicopter went to next year. According to a press release from AMC, the continuation of Grimes' story will be written by Gimple and the first film will begin production in 2019.

You can follow along with our "Walking Dead" coverage here. 

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Hello! Here's what's happening on Monday.

1. US President Donald Trump says his administration is looking at anti-trust proceedings against Amazon, Facebook and Google. Trump said the European Union's $5 billion fine against Google helped convince the president to consider pursuing regulation.

2. President Trump referred to the caravan of migrants heading north towards the border as "an invasion." Trump told the thousands of migrants headed towards the border to "turn back now, because you're not getting in."

3. A Chinese warship reportedly threatened a US Navy destroyer in the South China Sea. The transcript of the radio exchange suggests that the Chinese naval vessel threatened the US destroyer, warning that it would "suffer consequences."

4. The sons of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi gave an emotional interview, saying they hoped his death was "peaceful." They also called on Saudi Arabia to release his body so he could be properly buried.

5. The US and South Korea began small-scale military exercises. The drills are taking place just days before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to hold talks with North Korea on denuclearization and plans for a second leaders summit.

6. Amazon has reportedly closed in on Northern Virginia for its second headquarters. The company is near to announcing the location of its second headquarters, known as HQ2.

7. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought back nearly $1 billion of stock. The company said its quarterly operating profit nearly doubled and benefited from lower taxes.

8. Iranians chanted "Death to America" ahead of the reimposition of US sanctions on its oil sector.  Thousands of students marched through the capital Tehran in the government-organised rally.

9. Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has declared war on "fake news" media. Bolsonaro has threatened to cut funding for ads to adversarial media groups.

10. An environmental group says new evidence points to China's use of banned industrial gas that is destroying the planet. The harmful gas is supposed to be banned worldwide under the Montreal Protocol, which is a global agreement to protect the ozone layer.

And finally...

One ticket, two days, 50+ insightful speakers, and 600+ executives. Business Insider’s flagship IGNITION conference headliners include Mark Cuban, Janice Min, Sir Martin Sorrell and Barbara Corcoran. Join us for IGNITION, December 3-4, New York City.

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• New Caledonians have roundly rejected a proposal to detach itself from France, with 56% voting against independence this weekend, and 44% voting in the affirmative.
• The results were closer than expected, and with two more referendums lined up for 2020 and 2022, the nickel-rich Pacific possession may yet slip through President Emmanuel Macron's fingers.
• New Caledonia has been part of France since 1853, a tortuous colonial history has slowly improved post-war, with the island enjoying some of the highest living standards of all Pacific nations, despite considerable inequality.

It was far from the 'Absolument Non' that many French loyalists had hoped for, but following Sunday's historic independence referendum in New Caledonia, the archipelago will remain a French posession for at least a couple more years.

Provisional results, released by French officials on Sunday night, had the count in favor of staying with the republic, with 78,400 people voting "no" to independence, while 60,600 voted "yes," to independence, representing a tighter-than-expected margin of 56.4% to 43.6%.

Delighted to claim victory and with a scarcely hidden relief, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the results in a nationally televised address from the Élysée Palace.

The referendum, the latest step in a rocky road of French decolonization, is the first independence vote to be held in French territories jealously guarded by Paris since Djibouti voted "yes" for independence in 1977.

The landmarkvote had been a pledge made by the French government almost 20 years ago in an effort to strike an accord and halt a violent separatist campaign run by supporters of the indigenous Kanak people.

The referendum literally put France to the vote in its far-flung remaining Pacific territory, which is heavily dependent on French state subsidies, yet where many are divided or conflicted, regarding a republic that is seen to have often forgotten many of its historic obligations.

Macron's 'immense fierté'

"Nouvelle-Calédonie" is known in Paris as a "special collectivity" of France, and this, the third-largest in the Pacific Ocean after Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, sits some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) east of Australia and 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles) from the French capital.

New Caledonia is home to as much as a quarter of the world's known nickel supply and is a strategic foothold for France in a Pacific region coming under intense strategic focus.

Macron spoke of his "immense fierté" or "immense pride" that the Pacific archipelago, just a few hours' flight from Auckland and with an eclectic population, dominated by indigenous Kanaks and European populations, voted to remain part of the French Republic.

"The majority of Caledonians have chosen France: it's a sign of confidence in the French Republic, in its future and its values," Macron said.

New Caledonia’s economy is underpinned by French annual subsidies around $1.5 billion, and while it has secured a notable degree of autonomy, it still relies heavily on Paris for investment, defense, and education.

Its location also has immense strategic import, providing Paris with a toehold in the Indo-Pacific region where an ever-assertive Beijing is seeking to expand its own interests.

Read more:Australia's former foreign minister let slip how casually easy it is for China to tell another country what to do

On the final count, the little Pacific archipelago, with a standard of living some ten times higher than its independent neighbor Vanuatu, in a clear majority rejected the basic proposition that the islands of New Caledonia become independent.

The fact that the result went down to the wire all but guarantees a sometimes-toxic and sometimes-tepid national debate over sovereignty will continue to dominate political life in this Pacific territory, for the foreseeable future.

Some pro-French politicians have spent the lead-up talking of a looming landslide victory, even predicting independence would be rejected by a count as high as 7 to 3.

That did not happen, providing encouragement to the yes-vote and suggesting this political goose is far from "bien cuit."

Not so black and white

Of the 174,150 Caledonians registered to vote, fewer than half are Kanak. But with a troubled and complex history, the question of independence and a severing of ties with the French Republic is not as simply black-and-white as some post-colonial observers have tried to characterize.

While the name "Kanak" follows from the Hawaiian "kanake," or "true" (person), and was in fact used broadly by early European colonists in the Pacific, the last 30 years of debate in New Caledonia has also seen the emergence of pro-republican Kanaks who support the French settlers, known as "Caldoche"— though they prefer to be called "Caledonians."

Into this mix are thrown citizens of French Polynesia, Wallis, Chinese, Japanese, and Algerian backgrounds all spread across the archipelego from Noumea to the Isle of Pines, all eligible to vote.

Noumea is also the financial capital, with a strong tourism and resources-based economy.

A sad, familiar history

French soldiers first landed in New Caledonia in 1844. In a sadly familiar narrative from the period, massacres of poorly armed local populations were first reported 2 or 3 years later.

Formal annexation by the French government in 1853 began the total disenfranchisement of the Kanaks. Massacres and land seizures ensued, particularly in and around what is now the capital Noumea, still a largely Eurocentric enclave to this day.

After fighting with courage under a French flag during both world wars, the Kanak people won a hard-fought citizenship and New Caledonia emerged from its colonial yoke and became French territory in 1956, with universal suffrage granted a year later.

At the time, population numbers were roughly even between Kanak and non-Indigenous — but reinvigorated migration, encouraged by a post-war Paris seeking to recover its prestige, soon saw the balance tilt in favor of a Eurocentric population enriched by burgeoning nickel exports.

Since 1984, the independence movement has called for the September 24 anniversary of the French annexation to be made the “Kanak Mourning Day” public holiday.

The militant pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste — which was formed the same year, called for the boycott of French institutions and elections.

Led by Jean-Marie Tjibaou, whose life inspired the magnificent cultural center that carries his name, the provisional government of the Kanak Socialist Republic was declared in December 1984.

Following further cycles of conflict and violence, a 1998 deal culminating in the processes that led to the weekend's historic ballot, guaranteed a referendum on independence before 2018.

And while New Caledonia pushed back again from independence this weekend, according to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Kanak pro-independence voters also took to the streets of Noumea to celebrate the unexpected closeness of the vote.

They are certain to carry this momentum into campaigning ahead of the next referendum, in just two years time.

SEE ALSO: Trump and China's Xi Jinping have led their nations into a dark new era of strategic competition — and no one on either side knows where the lights are

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Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Sunday's "The Walking Dead,""What Comes After."

Fans may be coping with the end of Rick Grimes' final episode of "The Walking Dead," but Andrew Lincoln isn't the only star who left the show. 

Showrunner Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter, Sunday's episode also marked Lauren Cohan's final episode as Maggie, for now.

"That's the last of her for this season," Kang told THR. 

"I would hope it's not the last you'll see of her for the show, but she is not in any immediately forthcoming episodes," AMC programming president David Madden confirmed. 

Cohan's departure was expected this season. The actress signed on for a new show, which will premiere on ABC next year, "Whiskey Cavalier." But it was thought we may have at least one more episode with Cohan. She had previously said she would appear on six episodes of season nine. Instead, her departure came on the season's fifth episode of the season. 

Cohan was among the last "Walking Dead" cast members signed on to return for season nine. According to THR, the actress was "not happy with the offers" she was receiving from AMC. Cohan has played Maggie Rhee on "TWD" since season two.

According to TV Guide, her decision to leave the zombie drama after eight seasons was due to money. 

"I took that, how baffled I was, and thought, 'Okay, well that's a sign. This is maybe just not a fit anymore,'" Cohan said. "To feel like we weren't lining up in so many ways I just thought, 'Okay, well, maybe that means something.'"

Many fans think the show did wrong by Cohan since her departure became overshadowed by that of Andrew Lincoln.

Instead, fans are showing their love for the actress on Twitter.

Will we see Maggie again?

Possibly.

When INSIDER spoke with executive producer and VFX supervisor Greg Nicotero ahead of the season premiere, he told us Maggie's storyline we'd probably be seeing more of Maggie than people think.

"You know, we really wanted to focus, and concentrate on a great story for Maggie, knowing that she was going to head off and do this show," executive producer and director Greg Nicotero told INSIDER. "But to be really honest, there, I think that it's safe to say that that could be left open-ended."

The show laid the foundation early on season nine to explain Maggie's absence. Georgie, who we first met last season, has been sending her a lot of letters to join her on the road. That roadtrip is an easy out for the show. 

"Angela and Lauren talk. They are actually friendly. And we would like to see her come back," added David Madden. "A lot of that is going have to do with Whiskey Cavalier [which premieres midseason on ABC] and what her availability then becomes, which we obviously don't control. But creatively, we would love to see her return to some degree. And we definitely feel there is more of Maggie's story to tell."

In addition to Cohan, Sunday's episode marked the end of the show for twins Chloe and Sophia Garcia-Frizzi who have played young Judith Grimes on the AMC drama since season six.

The show introduced an older Judith, now played by Caily Fleming. If Fleming looks familiar, it's because she played young Rey in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." 

This may have also been Pollyanna McIntosh's final episode as Jadis/Anne for some time. Rick Grimes was taken away on a mystery helicopter with Anne by his side before the show fast-forwarded several years into the future. 

You can follow along with our "Walking Dead" coverage here. 

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• The sons of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi spoke out for the first time since his murder on October 2, issuing an emotional plea for the return of their father's remains.
• Salah Khashoggi, 35, a dual US-Saudi citizen, and his brother Abdullah, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, spoke to CNN in an interview which aired Sunday and described the last few weeks of uncertainty.
• The brothers said they were disturbed by the depiction of their father following his death, and say their father has been misrepresented for political reasons.
• They described their father as "courageous, generous and very brave," and said they still have faith in the Saudi King to bring their father's killers to justice. 

The sons of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi spoke out for the first time since his murder at the Saudi consulate last month, calling their father "courageous, generous and very brave," and issuing an emotional plea for the return of their father's remains. 

Salah Khashoggi, 35, a dual US-Saudi citizen, and his brother Abdullah, 33, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, spoke to CNN in an interview which aired Sunday and described weeks of uncertainty following their father's disappearance on October 2. 

"I really hope that whatever happened wasn't painful for him, or it was quick. Or he had a peaceful death," Abdullah said. 

Read more: Staged photos show Khashoggi's son shaking hands with the Saudi crown prince, who many believe ordered his father's killing

Istanbul's chief prosecutor last week said for the first time publicly that Khashoggi was strangled shortly after he entered the consulate and that his body was later dismembered. They still have not recovered his remains.

Without his body, the family cannot conduct a proper burial or move past the horrific murder.

"All what we want right now is to bury him in Al-Baqi (cemetery) in Medina (Saudi Arabia) with the rest of his family," Salah said. "I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon."

Where is Khashoggi's body?

"Our source is the same source that you have. It is a mystery," he said. "This is putting a lot of burden on us -- all of us. That everybody is seeking for information just as we do. They think that we have answers, and unfortunately we don't," Salah said.

"It's confusing and difficult," Abdullah said. "It's not a normal situation and not a normal death."

Still, the brothers expressed confidence in the Saudi King. "The King has stressed that everybody involved will be brought to justice, Salah said. "And I have faith in that."

SEE ALSO: Saudi Arabia's crown prince reportedly told Jared Kushner and Trump's national security adviser that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a 'dangerous Islamist'

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