title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman was born Bryan Christopher Brooks on February 15, 1969, at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Johnnie Williams and Gladys Brooks. Williams did not sign the birth certificate, which led to Bryan initially taking his mother's surname. For almost a month after his birth, he did not have a given first name and was simply referred to as "Baby", a nickname he retains to this day. As a small child, Brooks and his family lived on top of a bar owned by his father. His mother, Gladys, became ill and died in 1975 when Bryan was five years old. After their mother's death, Birdman and his siblings Kim, Ronald and Ray were taken in by their uncle and spent two years living in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, followed by two years in foster care upon their return to New Orleans. After Johnnie learned that they were in the foster home, a long legal battle took place in the mid-'70s which eventually ended with Johnnie and his wife Patricia gaining full custody of the children and Bryan's name changing to Bryan Williams. He and his siblings moved in with Johnnie and Patricia and lived in the Magnolia Projects in Central City in the 3rd ward of Uptown New Orleans, where Bryan developed a close friendship with his step-brother, Eldrick Wise. While living in the Magnolia, Williams and Wise soon began committing robberies and sold heroin together before both getting arrested at the age of 16. At 18, both were again arrested for drug possession and sentenced to three years in Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. Williams served 18 months before he was acquitted of all charges.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: After Bryan was released from prison, he and Slim both began paying attention to the emerging bounce sub-genre of hip-hop, a sound that was quickly becoming popular in nightclubs all over New Orleans. In 1992, Bryan came up with the idea to form their own record label, and wanted to name it "Cash Money Records". Bryan and Slim would then travel to nightclubs all over Louisiana to see who was playing and try and recruit artists to the fledgling label. Their first signed artist was a local rapper named Kilo G, who released the label's first ever project, a horrorcore album titled "The Sleepwalker" in 1992. Bryan and Slim continued to recruit more and more artists, and Bryan was able to convince his friend and local DJ Mannie Fresh to become Cash Money's in-house producer. By the mid-1990s, Cash Money had grown to a popular independent label in the south, with most of their fanbase located in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. In 1995, Cash Money artist Lil' Slim was introduced to 12-year-old Dwayne Carter at a local block party, and after hearing him rap, brought him to Baby's attention, and soon after Carter was signed to Cash Money as the youngest artist on the label. Carter was placed into a group with another young rapper, 14-year-old Christopher Dorsey, and the two would be known as "Baby D" and "Lil Doogie" respectively; The B.G.'z. During this time, Baby himself also began to rap as a member of the group 32 Golds, going by the name B-32. Despite their regional popularity, the label suffered many setbacks in the mid-1990s, with a number of the "first generation" of Cash Money artists leaving the label citing financial issues as the main reason. In addition to this, Kilo G, Pimp Daddy and Yella Boy were all murdered in the mid-90s. The only two artists to remain were Baby D and Lil Doogie, who renamed themselves Lil Wayne and B.G. respectively in 1997. The same year, Baby and Slim recruited two new artists, Turk and Juvenile, and the four were placed together in a new group, known as the Hot Boys. The Hot Boys soon took Cash Money to new heights, and the label was able to sign a $30 million deal with Universal Records in 1998.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: After Cash Money's nationwide success, Baby and Mannie Fresh formed their own group, dubbing themselves the Big Tymers. Big Tymers debuted in 1998 with the album "How Ya Luv That?" and went on to release "I Got That Work" in 2000 and "Hood Rich" in 2002. "I Got That Work" contained the popular singles "Get Your Roll On" and "#1 Stunna". Although the singles failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, I Got That Work was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 1 million copies in the United States. "Hood Rich" contained the hit single "Still Fly", which was nominated for a Grammy award and peaked at #11 on the Hot 100. Hood Rich was also certified platinum in the US. Big Money Heavyweight followed in 2003, and was again successful, being certified Gold in the US. The group went on hiatus soon after and remained inactive following Mannie Fresh's departure from Cash Money Records, though they've since reunited for live performances, most recently in 2017.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: After the departure of Juvenile and B.G. from Cash Money, Baby was forced to focus on his solo career and began marketing himself as the new public face of Cash Money Records. He released his major label debut, "Birdman" on November 26, 2002, and by January 15, 2003, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for the shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200, and featured guest appearances from Jazze Pha, Mannie Fresh, Lil' Wayne, Toni Braxton, Clipse, Jermaine Dupri, Cam'ron, T.I., Keith Murray and Puff Daddy among others. Due to the album's success, Baby became more widely known to the public as "Birdman", and soon after changed his stage name to reflect this.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: After Lil Wayne achieved worldwide success with his critically acclaimed and commercially successful album "Tha Carter" in 2004, on which Birdman was featured numerous times, Wayne became the flagship artist of Cash Money, with Birdman and Lil Wayne being viewed as the two public faces of the label. Birdman's second album, Fast Money, was released in 2005 and was once again a success, debuting at number 9 on the "Billboard" 200, with first-week sales of 65,000 copies in the United States.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Lil Wayne and Birdman released their first collaborative album, "Like Father, Like Son", on October 31, 2006. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, was certified gold and spawned two singles, "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" and "Leather So Soft". The former peaked at number twenty-one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the United States, won the 2007 BET Viewer's Choice Award, and was named the 94th best song of 2006 by "Rolling Stone" magazine. Birdman's third solo studio album, 5 * Stunna, was released on December 11, 2007, and debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200, selling 80,000 copies in the first week. It spawned the hit single "Pop Bottles" which features Lil Wayne and peaked at number 38 on the Hot 100. To date, the album has sold 372,000 copies in the United States.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman released his fourth studio album Priceless on November 23, 2009. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number thirty-three, selling 34,000 copies in its first week. The album's first single, was "Always Strapped", featuring Lil Wayne, and the second was "Written on Her", featuring British singer Jay Sean. "Southside", featuring Lil Wayne, was the third single. "Money to Blow" featuring Drake and Lil Wayne was the fourth single. "4 My Town (Play Ball)" featuring Drake and Lil Wayne was the fifth single. "Written on Her" also became Birdman's first UK release in December 2009.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: In 2010, Birdman announced plans to release an album titled "Priceless 2", a sequel to his previous album, but changed the title to "Bigga Than Life". The first promotional single was titled "Loyalty" and featured Lil Wayne and Tyga. Other collaborations will come from Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Bun B and Drake. The album was scheduled to be released in early 2011. He released a music video for a possible future single, "My Jewel", which featured Bun B and Young Jeezy. On November 22, 2010, he released the first official single, "Fire Flame", which featured Lil Wayne. Birdman released another single called "I Get Money" featuring T-Pain, Young Money artist Mack Maine and Lil Wayne. On September 13, 2011, Birdman released "Y.U. MAD", featuring Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. He collaborated with Mack Maine as a duo named White Boys to release a mixtape titled "Billionaire Minds" on November 2, 2011. On May 22, 2012, he released "Born Stunna", featuring Rick Ross. The remix, featuring Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, was released July 10, 2012. The most recent single, "Shout Out" featuring Gudda Gudda and French Montana, was released October 16, 2012.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: During 2008, it was announced Birdman was set to release a mixtape with his long-time friend Rick Ross titled "The H". On May 16, 2013 Birdman and Rick Ross announced that "" would be released as a mixtape hosted by DJ Khaled on May 23, 2013. The project was recorded during a couple days in 2008. A new compilation album, titled "Rich Gang: Flashy Lifestyle", hosted by Birdman, was previously set to be released June 25, 2013. The album would feature appearances from the many members of Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment among others such as Meek Mill, French Montana and Future. A mixtape titled "Rich Gang: Allstars" was released prior to the release of that album. This mixtape included singles from artists of Rich Gang, such as "Started From the Bottom" by Drake, "Bugatti" by Ace Hood featuring Rick Ross and Future, "Karate Chop" (Remix) by Future, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne featuring Drake and Future, "Freaks" by French Montana featuring Nicki Minaj, "Rich As Fuck" by Lil Wayne featuring 2 Chainz, and "Champions" by Kevin Rudolf featuring Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Birdman, and Lil Wayne.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: In 2014, Birdman began promoting Atlanta-based rappers Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. The two had already collaborated extensively with each other. Birdman released a single titled "Lifestyle" featuring Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan from a Rich Gang album. He also released a second Rich Gang mixtape titled featuring new music from Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. The mix-tape featured no music from Young Money or Cash Money artists except Birdman himself, and instead had guest features from artists such as PeeWee Longway, Nipsey Hu$$le, Jacquees and Yung Ralph. Birdman, Young Thug, and Rich Homie Quan had a joint tour planned.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: "Forbes" magazine estimated his personal fortune at US$125 million in 2012. In 2013 he was listed by Forbes.com as the fifth highest-earning star in hip hop, taking in $21 million in the year to September 2013.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman and Lil Wayne had supposedly reconciled from their beef in 2016 after being seen at Drake's NYE Party, at Miami's Club Liv, and in studio. However, a contract dispute still exists between them, with the latter trying to get out of the contract; in 2016, Birdman called off the negotiations to settle their lawsuit.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman announced the release date of his mixtape with his protege Jacquees on April 26, 2016. This went on to be released on May 27, 2016.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman's mother, Gladys Brooks (August 29, 1935 – January 21, 1975), whom he exclusively refers to as Ms. Gladys, became ill and died when he was 5 years old. Birdman has made numerous references to her in his music, including releasing a song named after her. His father, Johnnie Williams (September 20, 1920 – July 13, 1996), owned a number of small businesses in the New Orleans area, including multiple bars and a laundrette. Johnnie was killed in a car accident in 1996.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman has ten brothers and twelve sisters, including Ronald "Slim" Williams. Ronald is the co-founder of Cash Money Records, alongside Birdman. One of Birdman's younger sisters, Tamara, was killed in a car accident in 2006. Due to their mother passing away at a young age, Birdman primarily raised his younger sister and referred to her as his daughter. Birdman also had a close relationship with his step-brother Eldrick Wise, who was killed in an unsolved murder in 1991.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman has two children, Bryan Jr. (born 1997) and Bria (born 1998). In addition to his biological children, he formed a close parental-like bond with protégée Lil Wayne, whom he has often referred to as his other son, despite no familial connection between the two.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: Birdman began dating singer Toni Braxton in May 2016, and the couple announced their engagement in February 2018. In January 2019, the couple called off the engagement. However, in April 2019, both Braxton and Birdman confirmed that they were still together.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: In November 2007, Birdman was arrested in Kingsport, Tennessee and charged with possession of nearly a pound of marijuana.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: In October 2009, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Cash Money Records and various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims his voice was used without permission. Both rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers' collaboration album "Like Father, Like Son" and Birdman's "5 * Stunna".


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: On December 4, 2014, just five days before "Tha Carter V" was scheduled to be released, Wayne issued a statement saying the album would not be released due to his displeasure with Birdman refusing to release the album, although it had been completed. Wayne also expressed his feelings by stating he felt he and his creative partner were being held "prisoner". Lil Wayne filed a lawsuit. On January 20, 2015, Wayne self-released "Sorry 4 the Wait 2", a sequel to his 2011 mixtape, to compensate for the continued delay of "Tha Carter V". Upon the release of "Sorry 4 the Wait 2", it was noted that Wayne dissed Birdman and Cash Money Records several times throughout. Birdman was reportedly upset with this. In late January 2015, Lil Wayne filed a $51 million lawsuit against Birdman and Cash Money over the delay of "Tha Carter V".


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: In January 2015, Wayne also stated that when he left Cash Money, he would take Drake and Nicki Minaj with him. On June 22, TMZ reported new details on the lawsuit. According to documents filed by Lil Wayne, Birdman and Cash Money had mismanaged Young Money, including Drake and Minaj. The documents alleged that Birdman and Cash Money hadn't paid people. "Free C5" became the mantra to get money to the unpaid artist. In June 2015, Wayne joined Jay-Z's Tidal as an artist owner and exclusively released a single on the service titled "Glory". On July 4, 2015, Wayne released "Free Weezy Album" exclusively through Tidal under Young Money and Republic Records. Prosecutors alleged on July 15 that Birdman and Young Thug conspired to murder Lil Wayne and were involved in a April 26 shooting.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: On July 16, Birdman filed a $50-million lawsuit against Jay Z's Tidal streaming service over Lil Wayne's "Free Weezy Album", alleging that Cash Money Records exclusively owned the rights to Lil Wayne's music. Due to frustration with the situation, Lil Wayne tweeted in 2016 that he planned to retire because he felt "mentally defeated". Many rappers rushed to his defense and pleaded with him not to retire, including Kendrick Lamar, one of the delayed album's featured performers.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: In early 2010, Birdman formed an oil and gas exploration company, Bronald Oil and Gas, LLC. The company was a joint venture founded by Birdman and his brother Slim, and the name was a combination of the brothers' first names, Bryan and Ronald. Evidence of the company's actual business operations was scant, limited mostly to a website and the appearance of a "pumpjack" tattoo on the side of Birdman's head. The website indicated that the company's strategy would be to first develop existing land holdings and seek out new oil and gas leases. In February 2010, Birdman told "Ozone" magazine that he had been in the oil business for "4 or 5 years" and was "making very good money off that".


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: However, by March 2010, Birdman had almost completely covered the pumpjack tattoo, which sparked speculation that the Bronald Oil project had stalled. An investigative report from Bloomberg revealed that official regulators in charge of oil and gas permits had never heard of Bronald.


title: Birdman (rapper)

text: On April 22, 2016, Birdman disparaged the hosts of hip-hop radio show "The Breakfast Club" during a live interview, telling them to "stop playing with my fucking name". He later issued an apology for his outburst after being awarded the "Donkey of the Day" appellation from one of the hosts, Charlamagne Tha God. The video went viral, and on April 27, 2016, Birdman launched a merchandise line, "Respek", featuring catchphrases from the interview.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region, and as the member for Glasgow Southside (formerly Glasgow Govan) from 2007.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Born in Ayrshire, Sturgeon is a law graduate of the University of Glasgow, having worked as a solicitor in Glasgow before her election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. She served successively as the SNP's shadow minister for education, health, and justice. In 2004, Sturgeon announced she would stand as a candidate for the leadership of the SNP, however, she later withdrew from the contest in favour of Alex Salmond, standing instead as depute (deputy) leader on a joint ticket with Salmond. Both were subsequently elected, and as Salmond was still an MP in the British House of Commons, Sturgeon led the SNP in the Scottish Parliament as Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2007. The SNP won the highest number of seats in the Scottish Parliament in the 2007 election and Salmond was subsequently appointed first minister. He appointed Sturgeon as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. As Health Secretary, she scrapped prescription charges and was widely recognised for her handling of the 2009 swine flu pandemic. The SNP won a landslide majority in 2011 and a year later Salmond appointed her as Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Capital Investment and Cities. In her new role Sturgeon oversaw the legislative process for the 2014 referendum on Scottish Independence and she was in charge of the SNP's referendum campaign.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Following the defeat of the Yes Scotland campaign in the referendum, Salmond resigned and Sturgeon was elected unopposed as SNP leader in November 2014 and appointed as first minister. Sturgeon led the SNP through the 2015 general election when it enjoyed a surge in support, recording a number of swings of over 30% from Labour, as it won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats and replaced the Liberal Democrats as the third-largest party in the British House of Commons. In the 2016 election, the SNP was returned as the largest single party in the Scottish Parliament but fell two seats short of a majority. Sturgeon secured a second term as first minister, forming an SNP minority government. In her second term, she oversaw more taxation powers, including the introduction of the Scottish National Investment Bank and Social Security Scotland. Sturgeon led the Scottish Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland, implementing a series of restrictions on social gatherings and rolling out the vaccine programme. The SNP gained a seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, winning 64 seats, but fell one seat short of a majority. Sturgeon's government subsequently entered a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. On 25 May 2022, Sturgeon became the longest-serving First Minister of Scotland, surpassing the previous record held by her predecessor.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Politically, Sturgeon has campaigned in favour for Scottish Independence. In the 2016 UK referendum on European Union membership, voters in Scotland voted by 62% to remain in the European Union, despite Brexit receiving 52% of the vote across the UK. Both before and after the vote to leave the EU, Sturgeon's government has repeatedly advocated for a second referendum on independence. She has made several demands for a Section 30 order, however, they have been declined by both Theresa May and Boris Johnson, with Liz Truss stating she would "ignore" Sturgeon's future requests. In June 2022, Sturgeon launched her government's campaign for a second referendum to be held on 19 October 2023, subject to UK Supreme Court ruling. On November 23, 2022, the UK Supreme Court ruled the Scottish government cannot hold an independence referendum without the UK government's consent.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon was born in Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine, on 19 July 1970. She is the eldest of two daughters born to Joan Kerr Sturgeon ("née" Ferguson, born 23 October 1952), a dental nurse, and Robin Sturgeon (born 28 September 1948), an electrician. Her younger sister, Gillian Sturgeon, is an NHS worker. Her family has some roots in North East England; her paternal grandmother, Margaret Sturgeon ("née" Mill) was from Ryhope in what is now the City of Sunderland. Her grandmother married Robert Sturgeon, a gardener from Ayr, at St Paul's Parish Church in 1943, and they both eventually moved back to the south west of Scotland. Sturgeon grew up in Prestwick and in the village of Dreghorn, in a terraced council house, which her parents bought through the right-to-buy scheme.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon was a quiet child and has been described by her younger sister as "the sensible one" of the two. Sturgeon was shy and has said that she "much preferred to sit with my head in a book than talking to people". She developed a passion for books and reading which continued into adult life. She has described herself as being an “austere” teen who's style tended towards goth, adding that “if you see pictures of me back then, you would struggle to know whether I was a boy or a girl”. Sturgeon was a fan of Wham! and Duran Duran, and enjoyed spending Saturday nights at Frosty’s Ice Disco in Irvine.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: She attended Dreghorn Primary School from 1975 to 1982 and Greenwood Academy from 1982 to 1988. She later studied law at the University of Glasgow School of Law, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 1992 and a Diploma in Legal Practice the following year. During her time at the University of Glasgow she was active as a member of the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association and the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Following her graduation, Sturgeon completed her legal traineeship at McClure Naismith, a Glasgow firm of solicitors, in 1995. After qualifying as a solicitor, she worked for Bell & Craig, a firm of solicitors in Stirling, and later at the Drumchapel Law Centre in and a Money Advice Centre in Glasgow from 1997 until her election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In her early teens, Sturgeon joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and in 1986, at the age of 16, she became a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), quickly becoming the party's Youth Affairs Vice Convener and Publicity Vice Convener. She joined the SNP following an assumption by her English teacher, who was a Labour councillor, she would be a Labour supporter. In the 1987 UK General election, Sturgeon got her first taste of campaigning, going door-to-door to get her local SNP candidate, Kay Ullrich, elected to Westminster. Despite Ullrich failing to win the seat, Sturgeon ploughed her political energy to the Young Scottish Nationalists (now the Young Scots For Independence), joining its national executive when she was 17.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In an interview with the BBC's "Woman's Hour", Sturgeon revealed that it was Margaret Thatcher who inspired her to enter politics, because, due to rising unemployment in Scotland at the time, she developed "a strong feeling that it was wrong for Scotland to be governed by a Tory government that we hadn't elected".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: She became the youngest ever parliamentary candidate in Scotland in the 1992 general election. Aged 21, Sturgeon was selected as the SNP candidate in the Glasgow Shettleston constituency. She was unsuccessful, having been beaten by almost 15,000 votes by Labour. Sturgeon also stood unsuccessfully as the SNP candidate for the Irvine North ward on Cunninghame District Council in May 1992, for the Baillieston/Mount Vernon ward on Strathclyde Regional Council in 1994, and for the Bridgeton ward on Glasgow City Council in 1995.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The 1997 general election saw Sturgeon selected to fight the Glasgow Govan seat for the SNP. Boundary changes meant that the notional Labour majority in the seat had increased substantially. However, infighting between the two rival candidates for the Labour nomination, Mohammed Sarwar and Mike Watson, along with an energetic local campaign, resulted in Glasgow Govan being the only Scottish seat to see a swing away from Labour in the midst of a Labour landslide nationwide. Sarwar did, however, win the seat with a majority of 2,914 votes. Shortly after this, Sturgeon was appointed as the SNP's spokesperson for energy and education matters.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999 as the SNP candidate for Glasgow Govan. Although she failed to win the seat, she was placed first in the SNP's regional list for the Glasgow region, and was thus elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament. The SNP emerged as the second largest party and sat in opposition to the Labour-Lib Dem coalition. In Alex Salmond's shadow cabinet, she served as Shadow Minister for Children and Education from 1999 to 2000.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: As Shadow Education minister, Sturgeon backed Labour's efforts to repeal Section 28 – a law that banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools. There was however significant public opposition to repeal and an unscientific postal vote on the issue – organised by SNP donor Brian Souter – suggested most Scots wanted to keep the clause. Acknowledging this, Sturgeon suggested: "That is why the SNP have urged a policy for many months that we believe can provide people with the necessary reassurance, by providing a statutory underpinning to the guidelines, and resolve this difficult debate. We believe that the value of marriage should be clearly referred to in the guidelines, without denigrating other relationships or children brought up in other kinds of relationship." The compromise had the support of Souter but an amendment to that effect was voted down by MSPs who expressed concerns it would stigmatise children from single parent and unmarried families.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: She also served as Shadow Minister for Health and Community Care from 2000 to 2003, and Shadow Minister for Justice from 2003 to 2004. She also served as a member of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee and the Health and Community Care Committee.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 22 June 2004, John Swinney resigned as Leader of the SNP following poor results in the European Parliament election. His then-depute, Roseanna Cunningham, immediately announced her intention to stand for the leadership. The previous leader, Alex Salmond, announced at the time that he would not stand. On 24 June 2004, Sturgeon announced that she would also be a candidate in the forthcoming election for the leadership, with Kenny MacAskill as her running mate. The political columnist Iain Macwhirter declared that while she "didn't inspire great warmth", she was "quick on her feet, lacks any ideological baggage and has real determination – unlike... Roseanna Cunningham".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: However, once Cunningham emerged as the favourite to win, Salmond announced that his intention to stand for the leadership; Sturgeon subsequently withdrew from the contest and declared her support for Salmond, standing instead as his running mate for the depute leadership. It was reported that Salmond had privately supported Sturgeon in her leadership bid, but decided to run for the position himself as it became apparent she was unlikely to beat Cunningham. The majority of the SNP hierarchy lent their support to the Salmond–Sturgeon bid for the leadership, although MSP Alex Neil backed Salmond as leader, but refused to endorse Sturgeon as depute.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The results of the leadership contest were announced on 3 September 2004, with Salmond and Sturgeon elected as Leader and Depute Leader respectively. As Salmond was still an MP in the House of Commons, Sturgeon led the SNP at the Scottish Parliament until the 2007 election, when Salmond was elected as an MSP.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: As leader of the SNP in the Scottish Parliament, she served as the Leader of the Opposition in Holyrood. Sturgeon became a high-profile figure in Scottish politics and often clashed with First Minister Jack McConnell at First Minister's Questions. This included rows over the House of Commons' decision to replace the Trident nuclear weapon system, and the SNP's plans to replace council tax in Scotland with a local income tax. Sturgeon quickly grew a reputation in Holyrood as opposition leader, becoming known as "nippy sweetie" – Scottish slang for the "sharp-tongued and strong-minded".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Sturgeon defeated Gordon Jackson QC with a 4.7% swing to the SNP in the Glasgow Govan constituency. This was one of many swings to the SNP, as the party emerged as the largest party, one seat more than the governing Scottish Labour Party. Although the SNP was recognised as the winners of the election, it failed to obtain a majority and Labour was not willing to allow the SNP to enter government. Sturgeon led coalition negotiation talks between the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens, but these talks failed to reach an agreement, with the Lib Dems backing out and the Greens instead supporting a 'confidence and supply' agreement. Ultimately, Salmond formed a minority government and he was appointed First Minister of Scotland. He appointed Sturgeon as Deputy First Minister and tasked her with the Cabinet position of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon served as Health Secretary in Salmond's first, and for a year, in his second cabinet. She was supported in her role as Health Secretary by Shona Robison, the Minister for Public Health and Sport, and by Alex Neil, the Minister for Housing and Communities. She launched her programme for government, the "Better Health, Better Care: Action Plan," which settled a new vision for NHS Scotland. She reversed the decision to close casualty units at University Hospital Ayr and University Hospital Monklands. Sturgeon oversaw the scrapping of prescription charges In Scotland, an election pledge by the SNP originally for the chronically ill and those with cancer.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon also outlined a guaranteed 18-week wait for patients after they had seen their GP and vowed to do away with deferred or "hidden" waiting lists. She ordered a review of the thorny issue of hospital car parking charges - as high as £7 in some areas - and, after years of campaigning in opposition, found herself in a position to announce an inquiry into the infection of NHS patients with Hepatitis C and HIV from tainted blood products.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: As Health Secretary, Sturgeon became more widely known internationally for her handling of the 2009 flu pandemic.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 26 April 2009, the Scottish Government announced two people, who had returned from Mexico, had been admitted to Monklands Hospital in Airdrie after experiencing "mild flu-like symptoms". Sturgeon stated there was "no immediate threat to public health in Scotland", but added, "monitoring of those who have been in close contact with the two people is also being carried out as an additional precaution." The following day, she confirmed that these were cases of the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus. Authorities in both Scotland and England stated that there were no plans to trace the fellow airline passengers who may have travelled alongside the couple, since the authorities do not classify them as "close contacts".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 11 June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the influenza virus a pandemic. Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament the containment of the virus had failed and the Scottish Government was taking steps to mitigate the spread of virus. "We have seen a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in Scotland over the past 10 days," she told Parliament. "Based on this experience, Health Protection Scotland has expressed the view that sustained community transmission appears to be taking place." Four days later, a Scottish woman, with underlying health conditions, died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. This marked the first death in Scotland and Europe.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: To tackle Scotland's poor relationship with alcohol, Sturgeon passed legislation to increase the price of alcohol per units to help reduce sales, in particular, for those addicted. In June 2012, the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 was passed after receiving support from the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Greens. Labour refused to support the bill as they claimed it failed to tackle windfall profit from alcohol retailers.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: At the 2011 election, the SNP won a large overall majority. Sturgeon was retained as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing until a reshuffle one year later, when she was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Capital Investment and Cities and an additional role overseeing the referendum on Scottish independence, essentially putting her in charge of the SNP's referendum campaign.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In 2012 she pledged to build a high-speed railway line between Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2024, cutting journey times between the two cities to under 30 minutes. Sturgeon said the Scottish Government would "not wait" for Westminster to build a high-speed line to Scotland. However, in 2016 the plan was abandoned and the Scottish Government blamed Westminster.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Salmond put Sturgeon in charge of the Scottish Government's legislative process for a referendum on Scottish Independence and she was essentially in charge of the SNP's referendum campaign.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In December 2012, Sturgeon said that she believed that independence would allow Scotland to build a stronger and more competitive country, and would change spending priorities to address "the scandal of soaring poverty in a country as rich as Scotland".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: While campaigning for a Yes vote in August 2013, she told "The Guardian" that if Scots voted for the Union: "Will there be another referendum round the corner? No. We can't bind our successors, but we've made very clear our belief that constitutional referenda are once-in-a-generation events."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In November 2013, Sturgeon joined Salmond to launch Scotland's Future - the Scottish Government's prospectus for independence. Sturgeon was one of the white paper's most high-profile media champions and frequently debated its contents with opposition politicians and sceptical Scots. When the British Government turned down the Scottish Government's idea of a formal currency union - on the grounds that the rationale for sharing a currency with a foreign country was "not clear" - Sturgeon accused Westminster of trying to "bully Scotland" and said it would "cost their own businesses hundreds of millions in transaction costs".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: During the campaign, the European Commission said that if Scots decided to leave the United Kingdom, it would also mean leaving the European Union. Scotland would then have to reapply for EU membership and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso predicted this would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible". In July 2014 Sturgeon said this would put at risk the right of EU citizens to continue living in Scotland: "There are 160,000 EU nationals from other states living in Scotland, including some in the Commonwealth Games city of Glasgow. If Scotland was outside Europe, they would lose the right to stay here."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 19 September 2014, independence was rejected in the Scottish independence referendum, with 55.3% of the voters voting no and 44.7% voting yes. Following the defeat of the Yes Scotland campaign, Salmond announced his resignation as First Minister and Leader of the SNP. Sturgeon immediately announced that she would be a candidate in the election to replace him, and received huge support from the SNP hierarchy. Sturgeon said that there would be "no greater privilege" than to lead the SNP. On Salmond's resignation, Sturgeon said:


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The personal debt of gratitude I owe Alex is immeasurable. He has been my friend, mentor and colleague for more than 20 years. Quite simply, I would not have been able to do what I have in politics without his constant advice, guidance and support through all these years. [...] I can think of no greater privilege than to seek to lead the party I joined when I was just 16. However, that decision is not for today.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Following the referendum defeat, Sturgeon said that "further devolution is the route to independence". She also opined that Scottish independence was a matter of "when, not if".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 24 September 2014, Sturgeon officially launched her campaign bid to succeed Salmond as Leader of the Scottish National Party at the November leadership election. It quickly became apparent that no other candidate would be able to receive enough required nominations to run a credible leadership campaign. During the speech launching her campaign, Sturgeon announced that she would resign as Depute Leader, triggering a concurrent depute leadership election; the MSPs Angela Constance and Keith Brown and the MP Stewart Hosie all nominated themselves to succeed Sturgeon as Depute Leader.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Nominations for the SNP leadership closed on 15 October, with Sturgeon confirmed as the only candidate. SNP convener Derek Mackay publicly congratulated Sturgeon as de facto leader in waiting, saying that she would be "a fantastic new leader" for both the SNP and for Scotland. On this date, Sturgeon also came out on top in a trust rating opinion poll, conducted for the SNP, which indicated that 54% of the Scottish population trusted her to "stand up for Scotland's interests".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: At a speech in Dundee's Caird Hall on 7 November, Sturgeon pledged to be "the most accessible First Minister ever" when she took over. She also promised to hold a monthly Facebook question and answer session with members of the public, regular town hall meetings and that the Scottish Cabinet would meet outside Edinburgh once every two months.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon was formally acclaimed as the first female Leader of the SNP on 14 November 2014 at the Autumn Conference in Perth, with Hosie as her depute. This also made her First Minister-Designate, given the SNP's absolute majority in the Scottish Parliament. In her first speech as leader, Sturgeon said that it was "the privilege of her life" to lead the party she joined as a teenager.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Although, Salmond did not officially tender his resignation as First Minister until 18 November 2014, Sturgeon was not sworn in until two days later. From 18 November until her officially appointment on 20 November, she served as the acting First Minister, essentially the First Minister-elect.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 18 November 2014, Salmond formally resigned as First Minister of Scotland and the election for the new first minister took place the following day. Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, stood for election. The SNP's absolute majority made Sturgeon's election all but certain, and she received 66 votes, Davidson received 15 and there were 39 abstentions.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 20 November 2014, Sturgeon was formally sworn into office. The same day, she was appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and therefore granted the style 'The Right Honourable'. On 21 November, she unveiled her Cabinet with a 50/50 gender balance, promoting Finance Secretary John Swinney to become her Deputy First Minister.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon led the Scottish National Party through a landslide victory in the 2015 UK general election, winning 56 out of 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, the party's best ever performance. The party received 50% of the vote share in Scotland and replaced the Liberal Democrats as the third largest party in the British House of Commons. Sturgeon had stated that the party's success in the election was not a mandate for another independence, but primarily for a stronger voice for Scotland in London.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In the run up to the elections, Sturgeon took part in several Scottish and UK-wide TV election debates and according to opinion polls was regarded to have had a successful performance. As part of the election campaign, Sturgeon indicated that the SNP would hold another independence referendum if it won the upcoming 2016 Scottish Parliament election.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP lost its overall majority, but remained the largest party with Sturgeon seeking a second term in office as a minority government. She was formally nominated for a second term on 17 May, defeating Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie by a vote of 63 to 5, with 59 members abstaining. She formed her second cabinet and re-appointed Swinney as her deputy.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The UK Government held the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum to decide the future of the United Kingdom's European Union membership, in which all 32 council areas in Scotland voted by a majority for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the EU. Across Scotland, 62% of voters backed the UK remaining a member of the EU, with 38% voting for the UK to leave. Overall 52% of voters in the United Kingdom voted for Brexit (leaving the EU), with 48% voting to remain.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In response to the result, on 24 June 2016, Sturgeon said that Scottish Government officials would begin planning for a second independence referendum. Sturgeon claimed that it was "clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union" and that Scotland had "spoken decisively" with a "strong, unequivocal" vote to remain in the European Union. Sturgeon said it was "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland could be taken out of the EU "against its will".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 24 June, Sturgeon said she would communicate to all EU member states that Scotland had voted to stay in the EU. An emergency Scottish cabinet meeting on 25 June agreed that the Scottish Government would seek to enter negotiations with the EU and its member states, to explore options to protect Scotland's place in the EU." Sturgeon later said that while she believed in Scottish independence, her starting point in these discussions was to protect Scotland's relationship with the EU. May's comments confirmed that the PM wanted the Scottish government to be "fully engaged" in the process.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon confirmed in June 2016 that the Scottish government had formally agreed to draft legislation to allow a second independence referendum to take place. As the constitution is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998, for a future referendum on Scottish independence to be legal under UK law, it would need to receive the consent of the British Parliament to take place.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Prior to the day the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, formally allowing the process of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the Scottish Parliament voted 69 to 59 in favour of another independence referendum. By the end of that week, on 30 March 2017, Sturgeon wrote to the Prime Minister requesting a Section 30 order, formally devolving the responsibility and power to the Scottish Government to plan for and hold another referendum on Scottish Independence. Previously, May and David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, have both highlighted that as the negotiations begin with the European Union on the United Kingdom's withdraw, it is important for Scotland to work with the UK Government to get the best exit deal for both the United Kingdom and Scotland, stating that "now is not the time for another referendum".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Following the 2017 UK general election, Nicola Sturgeon announced that the Scottish Government would postpone legislation pertaining to the proposed second referendum on Scottish independence until at least autumn 2018. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, all plans for another referendum have been put on hold.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon kicked off her election campaign pledging that a strong result for the SNP would "reinforce" her mandate for a second independence referendum. However, the SNP lost 21 seats in the 2017 United Kingdom general election in Scotland and the party's vote dropped by 13%, although they remained the biggest party in Scotland. Sturgeon admitted that these results were "bitterly disappointing" and acknowledged that her party's plans for a second referendum were 'undoubtedly' a factor in the election results. It was the best result for the Scottish Conservatives since Margaret Thatcher and the party's campaign slogan, "We said No to independence. We meant it", resonated in areas that had voted strongly for the Union in 2014. Observers also concluded that opposition to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy in coastal communities was a factor behind large swings to the Tories in North East seats previously held by nationalists for decades.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Several weeks later Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that she would "reset" and delay her plans for a second independence referendum; the SNP losses in that month's election had led her to conclude that many Scots "just want a break from making big political decisions".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In January 2019, Sturgeon referred herself to an independent ministerial ethics body, which will lead to an investigation into her actions with respect to a sexual harassment case concerning allegations against Salmond. This followed her admitting that she had a secret meeting and subsequent phone call with Salmond about the Scottish government's allegations against him. She raised these with the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, Leslie Evans, two months later, rather than reporting them immediately, as she should if they constitute government matters (as per the ministerial code). Sturgeon argued that the meetings were SNP party matters, and thus not covered. The investigating panel consisted of Dame Elish Angiolini, a former Solicitor General for Scotland and lord advocate, and James Hamilton, a former director of public prosecutions in the Republic of Ireland.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 15 January 2019, the Scottish Parliament agreed to hold its own inquiry into the matter, the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, to investigate how the Government breached its own guidelines in its original investigation into the harassment claims against Salmond, and then lost a judicial review into their actions and had to pay over £500,000 to Salmond for legal expenses. Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell, was called to this inquiry to give evidence on 8 December 2020. Opposition parties criticised Sturgeon on disparity and contradictions between the narratives of Murrell and herself.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon initially told parliament that she had first heard of the complaints against Salmond when he told her of them at a meeting on 2 April 2018. However, 18 months later, she revised her account, saying she had forgotten about an earlier meeting, on 29 March 2018, in which Salmond's former chief of staff Geoff Aberdein told her about the complaints. Critics have described this as a possible breach of the ministerial code, which states that any minister who deliberately misleads parliament should resign. The 29 March meeting was not recorded: meetings on government business are meant to be recorded, but Sturgeon has said this is because it was an SNP meeting. In his evidence to the committee, Salmond said there was "no doubt" that Sturgeon had broken the ministerial code in not revealing the 29 March meeting sooner and in not recording what was really a meeting about government business. Sturgeon denied any wrongdoing. Documents and emails published on 2 March 2021 showed that two people supported Salmond's assertion that the meeting was convened as a government, not party, matter. The publication also backed up Salmond's allegation that the identity of one of his accusers had been passed to his former chief of staff, contradicting Sturgeon's statement that "to the very best of my knowledge I do not think that happened".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 4 March 2021, Sturgeon answered questions over a period of eight hours from members of the committee. She was challenged on her Government's unlawful handling of the probe against Salmond and Labour's Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie asked her: "You have described these errors as 'catastrophic'. That's a strong word, tell me why then nobody has resigned? Nobody has taken responsibility of this, because at the heart of this two women have been let down." Sturgeon said she "deeply regretted" the mistakes her Government had made, while denying the existence of a conspiracy against Salmond. On 19 March 2021, it was reported that a majority of MSPs on the committee had voted to affirm that Nicola Sturgeon misled the inquiry. The MSPs concluded that it was "hard to believe" Sturgeon when she told Parliament she had not known about concerns of inappropriate behaviour against Salmond before November 2017. It also determined that Sturgeon gave an "inaccurate account" of what happened when she met Salmond at her home on 2 April 2018 and as such had misled the committee. Subsequently, a representative for Sturgeon claimed that the committee were simply "smearing" the First Minister and being party-political.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The following week James Hamilton's report cleared Sturgeon of breaking the ministerial code in a number of areas relating to her dealings with Salmond; while caveating that, "It is for the Scottish parliament to decide whether they were in fact misled." The Scottish Conservatives tabled a motion of no confidence in her as First Minister, a decision Sturgeon described as "bullying". Holyrood Tory leader, Ruth Davidson, said that, "By misleading this Scottish Parliament, she misled the people of Scotland too. No First Minister who truly wanted to live up to the ideals of this parliament should feel able to continue in post after having been judged guilty of misleading it." The motion was defeated by 65 votes to 31, with Greens MSPs voting with the Government, while Labour and the Liberal Democrats opted to abstain.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Two of the civil servants who made complaints about Salmond later said they felt they had been "dropped" by the Scottish Government after it lost the judicial review against him, adding they feared their experiences would make it less likely people would make complaints in the future. Labour MP Jess Phillips, a former employee of Women's Aid, accused Sturgeon of being "unprofessional with those women's lives" and said there had been a "litany of failures in professionalism and decency."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon led her party to a landslide victory in the 2019 United Kingdom general election in Scotland. The SNP won 48 seats, and came second place in the 11 others; their 45% of the vote yielded 80% of the seats in Scotland. Among the election casualties was Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson, who lost her seat in East Dunbartonshire. Sturgeon was branded as "ungracious" when she was filmed by Sky News celebrating Swinson's defeat. Sturgeon apologised for being overexcited although expressed that she was celebrating Amy Callaghan's win. In the wake of the results, Sturgeon said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has "no right" to stand in the way of another Scottish independence referendum after an "overwhelming" SNP election victory. She also said that the result "renews, reinforces and strengthens" the mandate for Indyref2.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 began during Sturgeon's second term as First Minister. The first confirmed case of the virus in Scotland was announced on 1 March 2020, when a resident in Tayside had tested positive.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Initially, the Scottish Government resisted banning public events and on 12 March allowed 47,000 fans to attend a Rangers match at Ibrox, insisting that, "stopping mass gatherings [is] not the best way to contain this virus." However, on 18 March Sturgeon announced to the Scottish Parliament that all schools and nurseries in Scotland would close on 20 March to try and limit the spread of the virus. On 23 March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sturgeon ordered Scotland into "lockdown", limiting the reasons as to why people may leave their homes in an increase attempt to limit the spread of the virus, to protect the health of the population, as well as to ease the pressure the virus places on NHS Scotland services and workforce. Since then restrictions have been frequently tightened, loosened and adapted in parts or all of Scotland to respond to developments in the situation.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: During the early stages of the pandemic 1,300 elderly hospital patients were transferred into care homes without receiving a negative coronavirus test result. Many had been infected with the virus and ended up passing it on to other care home residents. Over three thousand care home residents died from coronavirus and Gary Smith, Scotland Secretary of the GMB, said the policy had turned "care homes into morgues". When asked by the BBC if the policy had been a mistake, Sturgeon said: "Looking back on that now, with the knowledge we have now and with the benefit of hindsight, yes." In April 2020 whistle-blowers in the NHS came forward to reveal that staff were being made to reuse dirty personal protective equipment (PPE) while at work. One nurse told STV, "[When we hear the government say supplies are fine] it's not frustrating, it's crushing. It is absolutely crushing. We feel we are being lied to." Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament in July, "At no point within this crisis has Scotland run out of any aspect of PPE. We have worked hard to make sure that supplies are there, we’ve worked hard overcoming challenges that we have faced along the way."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In July 2020, Sturgeon advocated that the leaders of the four UK nations adopt a coordinated Zero-COVID strategy.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In February 2021 Audit Scotland published a report that concluded the Scottish Government had not prepared adequately for a pandemic. While it commended the authorities for preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed during the crisis, the watchdog also noted that recommendations from pandemic planning exercises in 2015, 2016 and 2018 had not been fully implemented. One particular problem it highlighted was that not enough had been done to ensure Scottish hospitals and care homes had enough personal protective equipment. Overall, it concluded that ministers "could have been better prepared to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic". Sturgeon said there were "lots of lessons to learn".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In March 2021, the Court of Session declared that the Scottish Government's prohibition on communal worship, imposed during the pandemic, was unlawful. This followed an open letter two months earlier, written by 200 church leaders to Sturgeon, warning her that the prohibition could be unlawful.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: At a session of First Minister's Questions in June 2021, Sturgeon was asked about mistakes made early on in the pandemic and she replied: "If I could turn the clock back, would we go into lockdown earlier than we did? Yes, I think that is true."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In April 2022 Sturgeon demanded that Prime Minister Boris Johnson resign after police fined him for breaking lockdown rules in 2020. "The basic values of integrity and decency - essential to the proper working of any parliamentary democracy - demand that he go," she tweeted. The following week Sturgeon received an official reprimand from Police Scotland after a video emerged of her campaigning in a barber shop without a mask. Sturgeon - who had previously apologised to the Scottish Parliament after she was caught breaking the same law in December 2020 - apologised once more and said the police had been "absolutely right to treat me no differently to any other citizen."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In 2016 the Scottish Government cut direct funding to drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes from £69.2 million to £53.8 million – a drop of 22%. At the time, Scottish Drugs Forum Chief Executive David Liddell said he was concerned that the cuts had "the potential to increase harm and drug-related deaths." That year 867 Scots lost their lives to drugs – an increase of 23% on the previous year's figures – and the SNP insisted it was part of a trend seen across much Europe. In December 2020 figures were released revealing that 1,264 people in Scotland had died from drug overdoses in 2019 – the highest number in Europe per head and more than double the number in 2014. Sturgeon sacked her Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick and in April 2021 said of the crisis: "I think we took our eye off the ball."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The crisis has particularly impacted the homeless in Scotland; 216 homeless people died in Scotland in 2019 – an increase of 11% on the previous year and of which over half (54%) were drug related. Per head, Scotland's death rate among the homeless is the highest in Britain.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In August 2021 the Scottish Government announced there had been 1,339 drug deaths in the previous year – a new record high. Sturgeon tweeted that the figures were "unacceptable, each one a human tragedy", while the Scottish Liberal Democrats said: "It was Nicola Sturgeon's choice to ignore this unfolding epidemic. Issuing apologies now is too late for thousands of people. The victims of drugs and their families were failed. It is a scar on the conscience of this Scottish Government."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In July 2022 the figures for 2021 were released, revealing that 1,330 had died - nine fewer than in 2020. Annemarie Ward, chief executive at the FAVOR Scotland charity, said: "Nicola Sturgeon said she would make it her national mission to save lives - but we’re still losing more than 1000 people a year. The national mission is failing."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In 2015, Sturgeon said that she planned to make education her "defining priority" while in office. In particular, she said she hoped to focus on closing the attainment gap between the richest and poorest children in Scottish schools, telling journalists: "Let me be clear – I want to be judged on this. If you are not, as First Minister, prepared to put your neck on the line on the education of our young people then what are you prepared to. It really matters."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In 2021, Audit Scotland concluded that, "Progress on closing the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least deprived school pupils has been limited" and fell short of the Government's aims. In some local authorities the attainment gap between the richest and poorest students had widened.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Sturgeon pledged to review and reform the way that trans people change their legal gender. However, proposed changes to Scotland's Gender Recognition Act that would have allowed people to change their identity through self-identification, rather than a medical process, were paused in June 2019. Critics of the changes within the SNP had accused Sturgeon of being "out of step" on the issue, and expressed concerns that the reforms would be open to abuse and allow predatory men into women's spaces. The Scottish Government said it had paused the legislation in order to find "maximum consensus" on the issue and commentators described the issue as having divided the SNP like no other, with many dubbing the debate a "civil war".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In January 2021, a former trans officer in the SNP's LGBT wing, Teddy Hope, quit the party, claiming it was one of the "core hubs of transphobia in Scotland". Large numbers of LGBT activists followed suit and Sturgeon released a video message in which she said that transphobia is "not acceptable" and said she hoped they would re-join the party.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In the 2021 SNP manifesto, Sturgeon committed the party once again to reform the Gender Recognition Act


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: and in August that year included the commitment in her agreement with the Scottish Greens on power sharing.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In September 2021, Sturgeon was accused of shutting down debate about gender reforms after she described concerns about gender recognition reform as "not valid" and campaign groups and analysts complained that their concerns were being ignored.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon led the SNP into the 2021 Scottish Parliament election on a manifesto promise to hold a second independence referendum after the COVID-19 pandemic was over. In the election, the SNP won 64 of the 129 seats contested. The SNP won a fourth consecutive election, albeit short of an overall majority, with a record number of votes on both the constituency and regional vote as well as increasing their share of the constituency vote and making a net gain of one seat.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon was nominated for the post of First Minister by a vote of the Scottish Parliament on 18 May, defeating Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Willie Rennie by 64 votes to 31 and 4 respectively. This win resulted in Sturgeon becoming the first First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament to form a third government. Shortly after being elected, Sturgeon appointed John Swinney to the newly created position of Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On 10 September 2022, Sturgeon became the first First Minister to sign a royal proclamation, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In August 2021, Sturgeon and Scottish Green Party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater announced a power-sharing agreement between their parties. There was no agreement on oil and gas exploration, but the government now argued that it had a stronger case for a national independence referendum. As part of the agreement, the Green Party co-leaders would be nominated to serve as ministers.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In August 2021, Sturgeon wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, asking him whether the development of the Cambo oil field west of Shetland should be "reassessed in light of the severity of the climate emergency". The letter represented a significant shift in policy for the SNP, which had historically been a strong supporter of the oil and gas industry; the party's blueprint for an independent Scotland in 2013 was predicated on tax revenue earned from domestic oil production, while Sturgeon had predicted in the run up to the referendum that, "We’re on the verge of another North Sea bonanza".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The announcement was welcomed by the Scottish Green party but Greenpeace criticised Sturgeon for not coming out more strongly against the oil field. "The First Minister must stop hiding behind Boris Johnson," a spokesperson for the organisation said. "If she wants to show leadership on climate she must clearly say: stop Cambo." In November 2021, although no assessment had taken place, Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament she believed the oilfield "should not get the green light".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In the late 2010s, Scottish islanders began to complain that the ageing ferry fleet that connected them to the mainland had become increasingly unreliable. During the winter of 2022 only one in three sailings to the island of Coll went ahead; Hebridean shopkeepers kept receiving deliveries of rotten food;


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: while other islanders said they had missed doctors’ appointments, funerals and even the chance to say goodbye to dying loved ones because of cancelled sailings.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: The Scottish Government had commissioned two new ferries for £97m from Ferguson's shipyard in 2015 but the construction of the two vessels was beset by delays and complications. In 2022 Audit Scotland concluded that the final price tag for the vessels would be somewhere between £250m and £400m once the ships are finished in 2023. Furthermore, they concluded that the Scottish Government had awarded the contracts without normal financial safeguards and presided over a "multitude of failings".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament of her "deep regret" that islanders were enduring such chaos and said that the Government was "learning lessons from this experience". Key documentation, which might have explained why ministers signed the contracts without appropriate safeguards to protect taxpayers' money, was lost and Sturgeon later said this too was "regrettable" and that "the Government will learn lessons."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In June 2022, Sturgeon officially announced her plan for Scottish independence once again. She argued that her government had an "indisputable mandate" for a second Scottish independence referendum. She unveiled her new plan arguing that it will allow Scotland to set out "a different and better vision" and claimed that there is a legally secure path to get a referendum without permission from the cabinet. This plan has been met with condemnation from various opposing parties, with the Prime Minister rejecting her plan.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon officially announced that the referendum would be held on 19 October 2023. She sought the Prime Minister to consent to the vote by signing a section 30 order, a move that Downing Street has refused to comply. She asked Scotland's Lord Advocate to consider referring the matter to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to rule if the Scottish Government has the power to host a referendum without the Government of the United Kingdom's approval, this request has since been granted.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In October 2022, Sturgeon launched her government's third independence paper, which outlines the currency in an independent Scotland and joining the EU. She proposed the Scottish Government would use the pound sterling for a brief period before transitioning to a new currency known as the 'Scottish Pound'. She argued independence would be "essential" for economic prosperity for Scotland as she claimed the economic climate throughout the UK does not offer strength, stability or security.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: On the day the Supreme Court ruled the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate a referendum on independence, Sturgeon announced the next democratic election in Scotland, in this case a UK general election expected to be held in 2024, would be campaigned by the SNP as a "de facto" referendum. Unionist parties have rejected this characterisation. Some SNP members have urged Sturgeon to call an early election at Holyrood to speed up the process for a "de facto" referendum.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: While foreign policy remains a reserved matter, Sturgeon has undertaken a number of visits to Europe, North America and Asia to promote Scotland as a place of investment and Scottish businesses to trade and do business with. Sturgeon has committed to strengthening links between Scotland and Africa.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In response to the Brexit vote, to discuss Scotland's interests, Sturgeon travelled to Brussels to meet with both Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission as well as Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament. In response to the UK-wide vote for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, the Scottish Government, headed by Sturgeon, launched the "Scotland's Place in Europe" document, a white paper setting out the Scottish Government's aims and wishes of Scotland's role in Europe post-Brexit. The paper was sent to the central British Government to be read by Prime Minister Theresa May.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In June 2017, Sturgeon criticised the approaches taken by both Theresa May and the British Government towards the Brexit approach, claiming that May "will struggle" as she is a "difficult person to build a rapport with". In the same interview, Sturgeon committed to no independence referendum being held prior to the terms of a UK wide Brexit deal being agreed and presented.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: With a view towards Brexit, Sturgeon demanded greater powers for the Scottish Parliament, arguing that Brexit is threatening Scotland's devolution settlement. With London seeking to restrict immigration to the United Kingdom, she asserted that Scotland should be able to set its own immigration policy, as well as policies relating to employment and trade.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon was highly critical of Donald Trump and his policies during the 2016 United States presidential election and had publicly backed his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Sturgeon highlighted her disapproval of his language and views relating to sexism and misogyny, and stated upon Trump's victory that she hopes "Trump turns out to be a president different to the one he was during his campaign and reaches out to those who felt vilified by his campaign".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon had previously stripped Trump of his ambassadorial role for Scottish businesses with the Scottish Government in the aftermath of Trump's views of an outright ban of Muslims from entering the United States. Sturgeon claimed following comments made by Trump in relation to Muslims entering the United States that he was "not fit" for the ambassadorial role with the Scottish Government.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In May 2022, Sturgeon made a trip to the United States and met with controversial Republican member of Congress Robert Aderholt, a prominent Anti-abortion supporter.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In the run up to the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, Nicola Sturgeon offered her own personal backing and that of the Scottish Government to Catalonia in the holding of a referendum. The Government of Spain criticised Sturgeon, claiming she had "totally misunderstood" the situation in Spain and Catalonia. Sturgeon highlighted that Spain should follow "the shining example" that was created as part of the Edinburgh Agreement between the Scottish and British Governments that allowed Scotland to hold a legally binding referendum.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: An advocate for Scottish independence, Sturgeon has campaigned for independence from the United Kingdom since her late teens. She was categorised in 2015 as part of the SNP's gradualist wing, which believed in achieving independence through accumulating the Scottish Parliament's powers from the UK Parliament over time. In recent years, following the defeat of the Yes Scotland campaign in 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, Sturgeon has aligned herself with the new gradualist wing, who believe in only holding a second referendum if there is clear public support, such as polling being over 60%, or if there is a material change in circumstances.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon is a constitutional monarchist, telling journalists that it is "a model that has many merits". On the day Queen Elizabeth II became Britain's longest reigning monarch, Sturgeon travelled with her to open the Borders Railway and told a crowd of well-wishers: "She [The Queen] has carried out Her duties with dedication, wisdom and an exemplary sense of public service. The reception She has received today, demonstrates that that admiration and affection is certainly felt here in Scotland."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Following the death of the Queen Elizabeth II, Sturgeon led tributes to the Queen. She described the Queen as the "greatest constant in our national life" and added her death was “a day for reflection and remembrance" and "a day for giving thanks to The Queen for her devotion to duty and the decades of public service she gave to the people of Scotland.”


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: She has at times been a critic of austerity, saying that the UK government's "austerity economics" is "morally unjustifiable and economically unsustainable". However, in 2018 she endorsed her party's Growth Commission report that pledged to reduce an independent Scotland's budget deficit as a percentage of GDP – something the Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded meant "continued austerity".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon has also campaigned on women's rights and gender equality, and is a self-described feminist; she has argued that Scotland's feminist movement is not simply symbolic, but "sends a powerful signal about equality". She has hailed Scottish feminist economist Ailsa McKay as one of her inspirations. She has at various points commented on the behaviour or attitudes of men towards women; publicly condemning Donald Trump, Tony Abbott and former Labour MSP Neil Findlay. She has also defended men from allegations of sexism too; in 2015, after Alex Salmond told Tory MP Anna Soubry, "Behave yourself, woman", Sturgeon said: "The fundamental question, 'does that language indicate that Alex Salmond is sexist?' Absolutely not, there's no man I know who is less sexist." Commenting on the need for men to challenge their friends’ misogynistic behaviour, Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament in 2021: "I would say to all men in this chamber and all men across the country — challenge it [misogyny] if it’s on the part of other men you may know, challenge your own behaviour and then let’s collectively, as a society, turn the page and turn the corner so that women can live free of the fear of harassment, abuse, intimidation, violence and, in the worst cases, death."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: At the SNP's 2022 annual party conference in Aberdeen, Sturgeon stated "I detest the Tories and everything they stand for" in an interview on the BBC. She was accused of using "dangerous language" and when asked if she regretted the comments, Sturgeon simply replied "No" and emphasised the point she detested Tory policies and not supporters or voters.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon has been highly critical towards the leadership of Boris Johnson's government. Following Johnson's appointment as British prime minister, she claimed he "rambled" in his first speech outside 10 Downing Street and suggested he was "blame shifting". In July 2019, the prime minister met Sturgeon at her official residence, Bute House, where Johnson was "booed and heckled" by protesters. This was the only occasion when he made a formal visit to Edinburgh as he declined future invites by the first minister. Sturgeon claimed Johnson's "fragile male ego" stopped him from meeting her.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon's attempts to request approval for a second referendum on Scottish independence were declined by the Johnson administration.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Speaking after Johnson had resigned in 2022, Sturgeon said that he was the only prime minister she had worked with who was “a disgrace to the office".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: At the beginning of Sturgeon's political career, she was often regarded as a "nippy sweetie", Scottish slang for the "sharp-tongued and strong-minded". The term was used to describe Sturgeon's "fierce" attitude.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon was elected leader of the SNP at a time the party enjoyed a surge in membership. In 2015, Sturgeon was questioned as, and in some cases branded as, the 'most dangerous woman in Britain'. It followed her party's unprecedented landslide victory in the 2015 general election, which questioned the future of the union.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: "Forbes" magazine ranked Sturgeon as the 50th most powerful woman in the world in 2016 and 2nd in the United Kingdom. She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2014. In 2015, BBC Radio 4's "Woman's Hour" assessed Sturgeon to be the most powerful and influential woman in the United Kingdom.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon lives in Glasgow with her husband, Peter Murrell, who is the chief executive officer of the SNP. The couple have been in a relationship since 2003. They announced their engagement on 29 January 2010, and were married on 16 July 2010 at Òran Mór in Glasgow. Reflecting on her marriage in 2012, Sturgeon told "The Daily Record": "Being in the same kind of line of work has its up sides and its down sides. The up side is that Peter understands what's going on and why I am late home all the time. The down side is that you just end up talking about it all the time and you never leave it outside."


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Sturgeon is known for her love of fiction and says reading, "gives me a lot of joy and helps with the stresses and strains of work".


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: Her mother Joan was the SNP Provost of North Ayrshire council, where she was councillor for the Irvine East ward from 2007 until 2016.


title: Nicola Sturgeon

text: In May 2022, Sturgeon tested positive for COVID-19. In line with Government guidance, she completed a self-isolation period.


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: Frederick Christopher Klein (born March 14, 1979) is an American actor who is best known for playing Paul Metzler in "Election", Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the "American Pie" comedy teen films, the serial killer Cicada on "The Flash" and most recently as Bill Townsend in the Netflix series "Sweet Magnolias".


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: Klein was raised in Brookfield, Illinois. He is of German, Irish, and English descent. His mother, Terese (née Bergen), is a kindergarten teacher, and his father, Fred Klein, is an engineer. Klein was the second of three children. His older sister, Debbie, was born in 1978 and his younger brother, Timothy, was born in 1982. As a child, Klein had his first on stage experience by singing "This Little Light of Mine" in a community theater at the Sheraton Convention Center in Chicago. He lived in the town for thirteen years before his family moved to Omaha, Nebraska. At Millard West High School in Omaha, Klein acted in his high school's performance of "West Side Story", played cornerback and linebacker for the football team, and swam on the Millard West Swim Team. In his senior year, Klein was offered his first professional acting job by director Alexander Payne, who was scouting Omaha, his hometown, as a potential filming location for the film "Election". He attended Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas.


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: After auditioning for "Election", Payne chose Klein and they began filming. The film was released in April 1999 to positive reviews. Soon after, Klein found steady work in the film industry while briefly attending TCU, where he studied theater and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was next seen in "American Pie", acting as Christopher Russell Ostreicher, which opened on July 9, 1999, and was a box office success. The following year Klein starred in "Here on Earth" alongside LeeLee Sobieski and Josh Hartnett (2000). Klein reprised his role in "American Pie 2" (2001) and "American Reunion" (2012), but was not in "American Wedding" reportedly due to scheduling conflicts. In 2002, Klein had a role in the Mel Gibson Vietnam War film "We Were Soldiers". Klein starred in the 2002 remake of the film "Rollerball", but the film was a massive critical and financial failure. Klein has also appeared in several teen movies, including "Just Friends" (2005) and "American Dreamz" (2006).


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: In 2014, Klein was cast as an American pilot in the Damien Lay film "The Uberkanone". He co-starred in the 2014 comedy indie film "Authors Anonymous" with Kaley Cuoco. In 2018, Klein was cast as Cicada, the main villain of the fifth season of superhero television series "The Flash".


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: In January 2000, Klein and actress Katie Holmes began dating. The couple became engaged around Christmas of 2003. The couple called off the engagement and ended their relationship in March 2005.


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: Klein met Laina Rose Thyfault, a travel agent, in 2011 at a mutual friend's wedding. They got engaged in December 2014 after three years of dating and married eight months later on August 9, 2015, in Montana. In March 2016, Klein announced in a tweet that he and his wife were expecting their first child together. Their son Frederick Easton was born July 23, 2016. The couple also have a daughter Isla Rose, who was born May 26, 2018.


title: Chris Klein (actor)

text: Klein was arrested for drunk driving on February 5, 2005, in San Diego County and again in Los Angeles on June 16, 2010. On June 21, 2010, it was announced that Klein had checked into the Cirque Lodge to begin a 30-day alcohol addiction program. Klein's publicist explained that "after recent events, Chris was forced to take a clear look at a problem he has been trying to deal with himself for years. He understands now that he cannot beat this addiction alone."


title: Taco

text: A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, beans, vegetables, and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety. They are often garnished with various condiments, such as salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, and vegetables, such as lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Tacos are a common form of antojitos, or Mexican street food, which have spread around the world.


title: Taco

text: Tacos can be contrasted with similar foods such as burritos, which are often much larger and rolled rather than folded; taquitos, which are rolled and fried; or chalupas/tostadas, in which the tortilla is fried before filling.


title: Taco

text: The origins of the taco are not precisely known, and etymologies for the culinary usage of the word are generally theoretical. "Taco" in the sense of a typical Mexican dish comprising a maize tortilla folded around food is just one of the meanings connoted by the word, according to the Real Academia Española, publisher of "Diccionario de la Lengua Española." This meaning of the Spanish word "taco" is a Mexican innovation, but the word "taco" is used in other contexts to mean "wedge; wad, plug; billiard cue; blowpipe; ramrod; short, stocky person; [or] short, thick piece of wood." The etymological origin of this sense of the word is Germanic and has cognates in other European languages, including the French word "tache" and the English word "tack."


title: Taco

text: In Spain, the word "taco" can also be used in the context of ': these are diced pieces of ham, or sometimes bits and shavings of ham leftover after a larger piece is sliced. They can be served on their own as tapas or street food, or can be added to other dishes such as salmorejo, omelettes, stews, empanadas, or '.


title: Taco

text: According to one etymological theory, the culinary origin of the term "taco" in Mexico can be traced to its employment, among Mexican silver miners, as a term signifying "plug." The miners used explosive charges in plug form, consisting of a paper wrapper and gunpowder filling.


title: Taco

text: Indigenous origins are also proposed. One possibility is that the word derives from the Nahuatl word "tlahco", meaning "half" or "in the middle," in the sense that food would be placed in the middle of a tortilla. Furthermore, dishes analogous to the taco were known to have existed in Pre-Columbian society—for example, the Nahuatl word "tlaxcalli" (a type of corn tortilla).


title: Taco

text: There is significant debate about the origins of the Taco in Mexico, with some arguing that the taco predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, since there is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which Hernán Cortés arranged for his captains in Coyoacán.


title: Taco

text: Others argue that the advent of the taco is much more recent, with one of the more popular theories being that the taco was invented by silver miners in the 18th century, however the first mention of the word "taco" in Mexico was in the 1891 novel Los bandidos de Río Frío by Manuel Payno.


title: Taco

text: As an accompaniment to tacos, many taco stands will serve whole or sliced red radishes, lime slices, salt, pickled or grilled chilis (hot peppers), and occasionally cucumber slices, or grilled cambray onions.


title: Taco

text: The hard-shell or crispy taco is a tradition that developed in the United States. The most common type of taco in the US is the hard-shell, U-shaped version, first described in a cookbook in 1949. This type of taco is typically served as a crisp-fried corn tortilla filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sometimes tomato, onion, salsa, sour cream, and avocado or guacamole. Such tacos are sold by restaurants and by fast food chains, while kits are readily available in most supermarkets. Hard shell tacos are sometimes known as "tacos dorados" ("golden tacos") in Spanish, a name that they share with taquitos.


title: Taco

text: Various sources credit different individuals with the invention of the hard-shell taco, but some form of the dish likely predates all of them. Beginning from the early part of the twentieth century, various types of tacos became popular in the country, especially in Texas and California but also elsewhere. By the late 1930s, companies like Ashley Mexican Food and Absolute Mexican Foods were selling appliances and ingredients for cooking hard shell tacos, and the first patents for hard-shell taco cooking appliances were filed in the 1940s.


title: Taco

text: In the mid-1950s, Glen Bell opened Taco Tia, and began selling a simplified version of the tacos being sold by Mexican restaurants in San Bernardino, particularly the "tacos dorados" being sold at the Mitla Cafe, owned by Lucia and Salvador Rodriguez across the street from another of Bell's restaurants. Over the next few years, Bell owned and operated a number of restaurants in southern California including four called El Taco. At this time, Los Angeles was racially-segregated, and the tacos sold at Bell's restaurants were many white Americans' first introduction to Mexican food. Bell sold the El Tacos to his partner and built the first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962. Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police officer, bought the first Taco Bell franchise from Glen Bell in 1964, and located it in Torrance. The company grew rapidly, and by 1967, the 100th restaurant opened at 400 South Brookhurst in Anaheim. In 1968, its first franchise location east of the Mississippi River opened in Springfield, Ohio.


title: Taco

text: Traditionally, soft-shelled tacos referred to corn tortillas that were cooked to a softer state than a hard taco – usually by grilling or steaming. More recently, the term has come to include flour-tortilla-based tacos mostly from large manufacturers and restaurant chains. In this context, "soft tacos" are tacos made with wheat flour tortillas and filled with the same ingredients as a hard taco.


title: Taco

text: The breakfast taco, found in Tex-Mex cuisine, is a soft corn or flour tortilla filled with meat, eggs, or cheese, which can also contain other ingredients. Some have claimed that Austin, Texas, is the home of the breakfast taco. However, food writer and "OC Weekly" editor Gustavo Arellano responded that such a statement reflects a common trend of "whitewashed" foodways reporting, noting that predominantly Hispanic San Antonio, Texas, "never had to brag about its breakfast taco love—folks there just call it 'breakfast'.


title: Taco

text: Indian tacos, or "Navajo tacos", are made using frybread instead of tortillas. They are commonly eaten at pow-wows, festivals, and other gatherings by and for indigenous people in the United States and Canada.


title: Taco

text: This kind of taco is not known to have been present before the arrival of Europeans in what is now the Southwestern United States. Navajo tradition indicates that frybread came into use in the 1860s when the government forced the tribe to relocate from their homeland in Arizona in a journey known as the Long Walk of the Navajo. It was made from ingredients given to them by the government to supplement their diet since the region could not support growing the agricultural commodities that had been previously used.


title: Taco

text: Since at least 1978, a variation called the "puffy taco" has been popular. "Henry's Puffy Tacos", opened by Henry Lopez in San Antonio, Texas, claims to have invented the variation, in which uncooked corn tortillas (flattened balls of masa dough) are quickly fried in hot oil until they expand and become "puffy". Fillings are similar to hard-shell versions. Restaurants offering this style of taco have since appeared in other Texas cities, as well as in California, where Henry's brother, Arturo Lopez, opened "Arturo's Puffy Taco" in Whittier, not long after Henry's opened. Henry's continues to thrive, managed by the family's second generation.


title: Taco

text: Kits are available at grocery and convenience stores and usually consist of taco shells (corn tortillas already fried in a U-shape), seasoning mix and taco sauce. Commercial vendors for the home market also market soft taco kits with tortillas instead of taco shells.


title: Taco

text: The tacodilla contains melted cheese in between the two folded tortillas, thus resembling a quesadilla.


title: Pasadena, California

text: Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.


title: Pasadena, California

text: Its population was 138,699 at the 2020 census, making it the 44th largest city in California and the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County. Pasadena was incorporated on June 19, 1886, becoming one of the first cities to be incorporated in what is now Los Angeles County, following the city of Los Angeles (April 4, 1850).


title: Pasadena, California

text: Pasadena is known for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade. It is also home to many scientific, educational, and cultural institutions, including Caltech, Pasadena City College, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Fuller Theological Seminary, ArtCenter College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Ambassador Auditorium, the Norton Simon Museum, and the USC Pacific Asia Museum.


title: Pasadena, California

text: The original inhabitants of Pasadena (from the Tongva language name "Pasakeg-na") and surrounding areas were members of the Native American Hahamog-na tribe, a branch of the Tongva Nation. They spoke the Tongva language (part of the Uto-Aztecan languages group). Native Americans had lived in the Los Angeles Basin for thousands of years. Tongva dwellings lined the Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) in present day Pasadena and south to where it joins the Los Angeles River and along other natural waterways in the city.


title: Pasadena, California

text: The native people lived in thatched, dome-shape lodges and lived on a diet of acorn meal, seeds and herbs, venison, and other small animals as well as trading for ocean fish with the coastal Tongva. They made cooking vessels from steatite soapstone from Catalina Island. The oldest transportation route still in existence in Pasadena is the old Tongva foot trail, also known as the Gabrielino Trail, that follows the west side of the Rose Bowl and the Arroyo Seco past the Jet Propulsion Laboratory into the San Gabriel Mountains. The trail has been in continuous use for thousands of years. An arm of the trail is also still in use in what is now known as the Salvia Canyon.


title: Pasadena, California

text: The Spanish first colonized the Los Angeles Basin in the 1770s as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, building the San Gabriel Mission and renaming the local Tongva people "Gabrielino Indians", after the name of the mission. Today, several bands of Tongva people live in the Los Angeles area.


title: Pasadena, California

text: In 1821, Mexico became independent of Spain and California came under control of the Mexican government. In 1833, the mission lands were secularized and most of the lands in California were granted to private Mexican citizens in the form of ranchos. Present-day Pasadena was divided between Rancho San Rafael (lands west of the Arroyo Seco extending to present-day Burbank in the northwest to Glassell Park in the southwest), Rancho del Rincon de San Pascual, (present-day central Pasadena, Altadena, and South Pasadena), and Rancho Santa Anita (present-day east Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia). Rancho del Rincon de San Pascual was so named because it was deeded on Easter Sunday to Eulalia Perez de Guillén Mariné of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.


title: Pasadena, California

text: Before the annexation of California in 1848 by the United States at the end of the Mexican-American war, the last of the Mexican owners of Rancho del Rincon de San Pascual was Manuel Garfias who retained title to the property after statehood in 1850. Garfias sold sections of the property to the first Anglo settlers to come into the area: Dr. Benjamin Eaton, the father of Fred Eaton; and Dr. S. Griffin. Much of the property was purchased by Benjamin Wilson, who established his Lake Vineyard property in the vicinity. Wilson, known as Don Benito to the local Indians, also owned the Rancho Jurupa (Riverside, California) and was mayor of Los Angeles. He was the grandfather of WWII General George S. Patton, Jr. and the namesake of Mount Wilson.


title: Pasadena, California

text: In 1873, Wilson was visited by Dr. Daniel M. Berry of Indiana who was looking for a place in the country that could offer a mild climate for his patients, most of whom suffered from respiratory ailments. Berry was an asthmatic and claimed that he had his best three night's sleep at Rancho San Pascual. To keep the find a secret, Berry code-named the area "Muscat" after the grape that Wilson grew. To raise funds to bring the company of people to San Pascual, Berry formed the Southern California Orange and Citrus Growers Association and sold stock in it. The newcomers were able to purchase a large portion of the property along the Arroyo Seco and on January 31, 1874, they incorporated the Indiana Colony. As a gesture of good will, Wilson added of then-useless highland property, part of which would become Altadena. Colonel Jabez Banbury opened the first school on South Orange Grove Avenue. Banbury had twin daughters, named Jennie and Jessie. The two became the first students to attend Pasadena's first school on Orange Grove.


title: Pasadena, California

text: At the time, the Indiana Colony was a narrow strip of land between the Arroyo Seco and Fair Oaks Avenue. On the other side of the street was Wilson's Lake Vineyard development. After more than a decade of parallel development on both sides, the two settlements merged into the City of Pasadena.


title: Pasadena, California

text: The popularity of the region drew people from across the country, and Pasadena eventually became a stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which led to an explosion in growth. From the real estate boom of the 1880s until the Great Depression, as great tourist hotels were developed in the city, Pasadena became a winter resort for wealthy Easterners, spurring the development of new neighborhoods and business districts, and increased road and transit connections with Los Angeles, culminating with the opening of the Arroyo Seco Parkway, California's first freeway. By 1940, Pasadena had become the eighth-largest city in California and was widely considered a twin city to Los Angeles.