title: Soft power

text: The UK has strong diplomatic relations with countries around the world, particularly countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and many others in Europe, Asia, the Middle-east, Africa and the United States. Diplomatic missions between Commonwealth countries are known as High Commissions rather than Embassies to indicate the closeness of the relationship. The UK exerts influence on countries within the European Union, and has the eleventh largest global network of diplomatic missions as of 2019. Many countries around the world use the British form of democracy and government known as the Westminster system.


title: Soft power

text: The influence of British culture and sports are widespread and celebrated during the periods of the British Invasion, Cool Britannia and the Diamond and Platinum Jubilees of Elizabeth II. London was the first city to host the modern Olympics three times. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, the opening and closing ceremonies celebrated British culture and achievements with the world. The GREAT campaign of 2012 was one of the most ambitious national promotion efforts ever undertaken by any major nation. It was scheduled take maximum advantage of the worldwide attention to the Summer Olympics in London. The goals were to make British culture more visible in order to stimulate trade, investment and tourism. The government partnered with key leaders in culture, business, diplomacy and education. The campaign unified many themes and targets, including business meetings; scholarly conventions; recreational vehicle dealers; parks and campgrounds; convention and visitors bureaus; hotels; bed and breakfast inns; casinos; and hotels.


title: Soft power

text: British media is broadcast internationally, notably the "BBC World Service", "BBC World News" and "The Economist" magazine. British film and literature have international appeal, and British theatre helps make London one of the most visited cities in the world. Schools and universities in Britain are popular destinations for students of other nations and have educated many current world leaders.


title: Soft power

text: Alongside the English language, English contract law is the most important and most used contract law in international business. London is the headquarters for four of the world's six largest law firms, and the Big Four accounting and professional service firms. The UK and more specifically London is a centre of international finance where foreign participants in financial markets come to deal with one another. It is headquarters for major international corporations, many of which choose to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.


title: Soft power

text: Following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018, the UK responded with bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts that led to nations around the world expelling one hundred and fifty Russian diplomats, described by CNN as a "remarkable diplomatic coup for Britain". British prime minister Theresa May stated in parliament that the coordinated global response was the "largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history."


title: Soft power

text: The foreign relations of the United States has long had a great deal of soft power. Examples of the impact include Franklin D. Roosevelt's four freedoms in Europe to motivate the Allies in World War II; people behind the Iron Curtain listening to the government's foreign propaganda arm Radio Free Europe; newly liberated Afghans in 2001 asking for a copy of the Bill of Rights and young Iranians today surreptitiously watching banned American videos and satellite television broadcasts in the privacy of their homes. America's early commitment to religious toleration, for example, was a powerful element of its overall appeal to potential immigrants; and American aid in the reconstruction of Europe after World War II was a propaganda victory to show off the prosperity and the generosity of the people of the United States.


title: Soft power

text: American culture has been embraced around the world for many decades. Due to America's superpower status, American culture is often seen as "hegemonic". American dominance and the popularization of American media largely contributed to the English language (particularly American English) becoming the global lingua franca. American music has had a wide influence over the development of music around the globe. American architecture and urban planning, American political and economic philosophy, and American film and television have played strong roles in shaping both western and non-western culture. American cuisine, fashion trends, literature, theatre, and dance have also widely influenced global culture of the modern era, and various subcultures that were born in the United States, such as the Hippy, Hip-hop, Punk rock, Rock 'n' roll, Greaser, Grunge, and Beatnik movements (among others) have influenced mainstream culture of the 20th and 21st centuries. American technology and social media companies hold a monopoly over the world's digital space.


title: Soft power

text: Studies of American broadcasting into the Soviet bloc, and testimonials from Czech President Václav Havel, Polish President Lech Wałęsa, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin support that soft power efforts of the United States and its allies during the Cold War were ultimately successful in creating the favorable conditions that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.


title: Von Erich family

text: The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich (Jack Adkisson). Jack took on the name as part of his wrestling gimmick (i.e. in-ring persona) as he originally portrayed a villainous (heel in wrestling terminology) German Nazi, hence using a German sounding name.


title: Von Erich family

text: When Fritz died of cancer in his Denton County home in 1997 at the age of 68, five of his six sons had predeceased him. His firstborn, Jack Jr., was accidentally shocked and drowned in a puddle at the age of 6 in 1959, outside his Niagara Falls home. In 1984, David Von Erich died in a Tokyo hotel from enteritis at the age of 25. Mike, Chris, and Kerry all committed suicide; Mike took an overdose of Placidyl near Lewisville Lake in 1987 at the age of 23, Chris shot himself in the head with a 9mm handgun in 1991 at the age of 21, and Kerry shot himself in the chest in the family yard in 1993 at the age of 33. Kevin Von Erich is the last surviving son.


title: Von Erich family

text: These deaths are the main basis for a widespread myth about a family curse. The term "Von Erich curse" is also used colloquially to refer to the chain of events. The origin or purpose of the curse is not generally agreed and rarely discussed. More often, the story is presented as a cautionary tale about parental influence, sibling rivalry and various dangers of the professional wrestling business.


title: Von Erich family

text: Kevin's sons Marshall and Ross began wrestling in 2012, and Kerry's daughter Lacey wrestled from 2007 until her retirement in 2010.


title: Von Erich family

text: Fritz Von Erich was born Jack Barton Adkisson on August 16, 1929 in Jewett, Texas. Originally trained by Stu Hart, Fritz became a top star in many National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promotions, most notably in St. Louis and in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). He held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship at one time in the 1960s. Despite never winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, he maintained his presence within the NWA, holding many other major belts. Fritz also served shortly as NWA President in the 1970s, as well as President of WCCW when it moved to Dallas, Texas. Fritz was also a major part of Japanese wrestling, where he was known as "Tetsu no Tsume" (in English, "The Iron Claw"), and helped rebuild the business after the death of Rikidōzan.


title: Von Erich family

text: Fritz married Doris on June 23, 1950. Together, they had six sons before divorcing on July 21, 1992. On September 10, 1997, Fritz died of lung cancer that had spread to his brain.


title: Von Erich family

text: Fritz Von Erich's first son was born Jack Barton Adkisson, Jr. on September 21, 1952. He died at the age of six in Niagara Falls, New York, on March 7, 1959.


title: Von Erich family

text: Born Kevin Ross Adkisson on May 15, 1957 in Belleville, Illinois, "The Golden Warrior" Kevin Von Erich is the second oldest and last surviving son of Fritz Von Erich.


title: Von Erich family

text: The majority of Kevin's career was spent working in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he had feuds against wrestlers such as Chris Adams, The Fabulous Freebirds, and Ric Flair. It was there that Kevin became known for utilizing trademark maneuvers like the body scissors and the iron claw, as well as for wrestling barefoot.


title: Von Erich family

text: Kevin has been married since August 1, 1980 to Pamela J. May. Together they have four children, including two daughters: Kristen Rain (born February 3, 1981) and Jillian Lindsey (born February 10, 1985) as well as two sons: David Michael "Ross" (born June 1, 1988) and Kevin Marshall (born November 10, 1992). Kevin is also a grandfather to Adeline Claire (born September 22, 2004) and six others.


title: Von Erich family

text: In May 2006, Kevin sold the WCCW footage to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). At WrestleMania XXV, Kevin represented the Von Erich family during their induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. In 2015, Kevin appeared in an ESPN "30 for 30" short film titled "Wrestling the Curse".


title: Von Erich family

text: "The Yellow Rose of Texas" David Von Erich was the third son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born David Alan Adkisson on July 22, 1958 in Dallas, Texas.


title: Von Erich family

text: David worked in the World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. It was there that he faced off with Harley Race and later Ric Flair several times for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (never winning), as well as teamed with brothers Kevin and Kerry against The Fabulous Freebirds. David also wrestled in Missouri, winning the Missouri Heavyweight Championship on a couple of occasions. From late 1981 to mid-1982, David wrestled in the Florida territory to show that he could work as a heel. This run was successful, with David enjoying brief reigns as both as singles and tag team champion.


title: Von Erich family

text: David was married on June 26, 1978 to Candy L. McLeod. Together, they had a daughter Natosha Zoeanna (born October 19, 1978) The baby died in infancy and David's marriage soon ended in divorce on July 12, 1979. He married again on June 8, 1982 to Patricia A. Matter. They remained together until David's death.


title: Von Erich family

text: David died on February 10, 1984 in Tokyo, Japan. The US Embassy's death report says he died of acute enteritis. Ric Flair wrote in his autobiography, "To Be the Man", that "everyone in wrestling believes" that it was a drug overdose that really killed him and that Bruiser Brody (a fellow wrestler who found David) disposed of the narcotics by flushing them down a toilet before the police arrived. Mick Foley also claims that he died from an apparent drug overdose. A tribute show was held a couple of months later in his honor, during which his younger brother, Kerry Von Erich, won the NWA World Title from Ric Flair.


title: Von Erich family

text: Kerry Von Erich was the fourth son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born Kerry Gene Adkisson on February 3, 1960 in Niagara Falls, New York. Known as "The Modern Day Warrior" and "The Texas Tornado", Kerry was by far the best-known of the Von Erich Family.


title: Von Erich family

text: Much like his brothers, Kerry spent the majority of his career wrestling in World Class Championship Wrestling. Amongst the many major feuds he had were those against Gino Hernandez, Iceman Parsons, Chris Adams and The Fabulous Freebirds. Kerry became the most successful of the Von Erich family when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, a tribute show to his deceased older brother. Kerry lost the belt three weeks later to Flair. Kerry also wrestled for several months under the ring name "The Texas Tornado" in both the World Wrestling Federation (where he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam on August 27, 1990) and Global Wrestling Federation.


title: Von Erich family

text: Kerry was married on June 18, 1983 to Catherine "Cathy" Murray. Together they have two daughters: Hollie Brooke (born September 19, 1984) and Lacey Dawn (born July 17, 1986). The couple later separated, before divorcing on April 22, 1992. Lacey wrestled for several years, most notably with TNA as Lacey Von Erich, before leaving the wrestling business in 2010.


title: Von Erich family

text: Kerry shot a .44 caliber bullet through his heart on February 18, 1993, on his father's ranch in Denton County, Texas. There is a marker placed by his father Fritz of an angel on the spot Kerry had shot himself. Bret Hart states in his biography, "", that Kerry had told him months before about his plans, that he had wanted to follow his late brothers, that they were calling him. His marriage had fallen apart as well and he thought his death was inevitable.


title: Von Erich family

text: Mike Von Erich was the fifth son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born Michael Brett Adkisson on March 2, 1964 in Dallas, Texas. Known as the "Inspirational Warrior".


title: Von Erich family

text: Mike replaced David in the feud the Von Erichs had with The Fabulous Freebirds following David's death. According to the DVD "Heroes of World Class", Mike wanted to work for World Class as a cameraman and had no interest in being in the ring full-time. His only previous involvement on-screen was being involved in an angle where Ric Flair insulted him and wrestled him as a run-up, to what was planned, as David winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but Fritz pressured him into the ring after David's death.


title: Von Erich family

text: Mike was married on February 14, 1985, to Shani Danette Garza. Shortly after his wedding, he injured his shoulder on a tour of Israel and had surgery, leading to toxic shock syndrome.


title: Von Erich family

text: He tried returning to wrestling after partial recovery, but retired for lack of strength. He took a fatal dose of tranquilizers on April 12, 1987, in Denton County, Texas.


title: Von Erich family

text: Born Chris Barton Adkisson on September 30, 1969, in Dallas, Texas, Chris Von Erich was the youngest of the Von Erich family. Due to his short stature (5'4"), asthma, and extremely brittle bones that were prone to breaking, Chris was never able to reach the success his father and brothers reached. He made many attempts to succeed in the squared circle due to an incredible love of wrestling that kept him going despite numerous injuries. He managed one major feud with Percy Pringle in the USWA/World Class, but his career didn't take off like the rest of the family's. On occasion, he and his brothers Kerry and Kevin, and also Chris Adams wrestled tag-team matches against Percy Pringle and Steve Austin, but Chris only wrestled Pringle, while the much more athletic Adams, Kerry or Kevin wrestled Austin.


title: Von Erich family

text: After several years of not being able to succeed in the wrestling business, Chris became depressed and frustrated. He was also heartbroken over the loss of his brother, Mike. In 1991, aged 21, he shot himself in the head.


title: Von Erich family

text: David Michael Ross Adkisson (born June 1, 1988), better known as Ross Von Erich, is the son of Kevin Von Erich. He is named after David and Mike. He was trained by Kevin, Harley Race and the Pro Wrestling Noah dojo. Ross returned to Texas to attend college in 2008, according to the family website, and reportedly has wrestled a couple of times. In a 2010 interview, Ross stated that he and his brother Marshall are also training to become professional wrestlers. They debuted as a tag team for Pro Wrestling Noah on July 22, 2012. Ross and Marshall made their national television debut as part of the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) Slammiversary XII PPV on June 15, 2014 in a tag match defeating The BroMans via disqualification. In July 2017 Ross, along with his brother Marshall and father Kevin, wrestled at the "Rage Megashow" in Israel. In May 2019, Ross and Marshall signed a multi-year contract with Major League Wrestling (MLW).


title: Von Erich family

text: Kevin Marshall Adkisson (born November 10, 1992), better known as Marshall Von Erich, is the son of Kevin Von Erich. He is named after his father. He was trained by Kevin, Harley Race and at the Noah dojo. He debuted in 2012, with his brother Ross in Pro Wrestling Noah. He adapted his father's trademark of wrestling barefoot. Marshall and Ross made their national television debut at Slammiversary XII on June 15, 2014, where they defeated The BroMans. On May 29, 2015 the brothers debuted at Imperial Wrestling Revolution, their new home promotion. They won the IWR Tag Team Championships from the Arrow Club in 2017. In July 2017 Marshall, along with his brother Ross and father Kevin, wrestled at the "Rage Megashow" in Israel. In May 2019, Marshall and Ross signed a multi-year contract with Major League Wrestling (MLW).


title: Von Erich family

text: Lacey Dawn Adkisson (born July 17, 1986), better known as Lacey Von Erich is the daughter of Kerry Von Erich. She was previously with World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) where she was a former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She retired in 2010.


title: Von Erich family

text: Waldo Von Erich was the stage name of Canadian professional wrestler Walter Sieber. Though billed as the brother of Fritz Von Erich when they teamed, he is not related to the Adkisson family. Waldo died in July 2009.


title: Von Erich family

text: Lance Von Erich was the stage name of Dallas-born professional wrestler William Kevin "Ricky" Vaughn. He was billed for a brief period of time in the 1980s as the son of Waldo Von Erich, but there was no biological relation between the two. Lance also has no biological relation to the Adkisson family.


title: Von Erich family

text: On two episodes of MLW Fusion, Tom Lawlor who was involved in a feud with the Von Erichs after turning his back on them recently, mercilessly beat and then aligned himself with a wrestler he called "Rip Von Erich" who was played by a wrestler who had previously gone under the name Kit Osbourne in other promotions.


title: Von Erich family

text: On March 16, 2009, it was announced that the Von Erich family would be inducted (as a group) into the WWE Hall of Fame. They were inducted by longtime Von Erich rival Michael "P.S." Hayes, with Kevin Von Erich accepting the induction.


title: Von Erich family

text: In 2022, it was announced that A24 would be making a film centered around the Von Erich family. Titled "The Iron Claw", which is based on the famous wrestling move done by the Von Erich family, the film will be directed by Sean Durkin, and will star Zac Efron, Lily James, Harris Dickinson, and Holt McCallany.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Thomas Hawley Tuberville ( ; born September 18, 1954) is an American retired college football coach and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Alabama since 2021. Before entering politics, Tuberville was the head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He was also the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 1995 to 1998, Texas Tech University from 2010 to 2012, and the University of Cincinnati from 2013 to 2016.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville received the 2004 Walter Camp and Bear Bryant Coach of the Year awards after Auburn's 13–0 season, in which Auburn won the Southeastern Conference title and the Sugar Bowl, but was left out of the BCS National Championship Game. He earned his 100th career win in 2007. Tuberville is the only coach in Auburn football history to beat in-state rival Alabama six consecutive times. In 2015, he was the president of the American Football Coaches Association. He worked for ESPN as a color analyst for its college football coverage during 2017.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In his first political campaign, Tuberville won the Republican nomination for the 2020 Senate election in Alabama and defeated Democratic incumbent Doug Jones by over 20 points. Establishing himself as an ally of President Donald Trump, he was among a group of Republican senators who attempted to overturn Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville was born and raised in Camden, Arkansas, one of three children of Olive Nell (née Chambliss) and Charles R. Tuberville Jr. He graduated from Harmony Grove High School in Camden in 1972. He attended Southern Arkansas University, where he lettered in football as a safety for the Muleriders and played two years on the golf team. He received a B.S. in physical education from SAU in 1976. In 2008, he was inducted into the Southern Arkansas University Sports Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville first coached at Hermitage High School in Hermitage, Arkansas. He was an assistant coach at Arkansas State University. He then went through the ranks at the University of Miami, beginning as graduate assistant and ending as defensive coordinator in 1993, winning the national championship three times during his tenure there (1986–1994). In 1994, Tuberville replaced Bob Davie as defensive coordinator under R. C. Slocum at Texas A&M University. The Aggies went 10–0–1 that season.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville got his first collegiate head coaching job in 1994 at the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"). Despite taking over a Rebels team under severe NCAA scholarship sanctions, he was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 1997 by the AP.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: At Ole Miss, Tuberville became involved in the movement to ban Confederate flags from the football stadium by requesting that the students quit waving them during the home football games. "We can't recruit against the Confederate flag", he said. Ole Miss's chancellor ultimately placed a ban on sticks at football games, which effectively banned spectators from waving flags.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: During his tenure, Tuberville was known as the "Riverboat Gambler" for his aggressive play-calling, especially on fourth down. His teams went 1-3 versus the Arkansas Razorbacks, and 2-2 versus in-state arch-rival Mississippi State Bulldogs in the annual Egg Bowl game. After the 1998 regular season ended, Tuberville said, "They'll have to carry me out of here in a pine box", in reference to not leaving to coach at another school. Less than a week later, it was announced that he was departing for Auburn.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville left Ole Miss after the 1998 season to take the head coaching job at Auburn University in Alabama. At Auburn, he guided the Tigers to the top of the SEC standings, leading them to an SEC championship and the Western Division title in 2004. Under his direction, the Tigers made eight consecutive bowl appearances, including five New Year's Day bowl berths.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: During the 1999 off-season, wide receiver Clifton Robinson was charged with statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. Robinson was suspended from the team for five months. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. After the plea deal, Tuberville suspended Robinson for the season opener before allowing him to rejoin the team.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In 2004, Auburn went 13–0, including the SEC title and a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Tuberville received the Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award, the American Football Coaches Association, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In 2005, despite losing the entire starting backfield from the unbeaten 2004 team to the first round of the NFL draft, Tuberville led Auburn to a 9–3 record, finishing the regular season with victories over rivals Georgia and Alabama.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Under Tuberville, Auburn had a winning record against its biggest rival, Alabama (7–3), and was tied with its next two most significant rivals, Georgia (5–5) and LSU (5–5). He was also 5-5 versus the Arkansas Razorbacks. He led Auburn to six straight victories over in-state rival Alabama, the longest win streak in this rivalry since 1982, the year Auburn broke Alabama's nine-year winning streak.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville established himself as one of the best big-game coaches in college football, winning nine of his last 15 games against top-10 opponents since the start of the 2004 season. In 2006, his Tigers beat two top-5 teams who later played in BCS bowls, including eventual BCS Champion Florida. Tuberville had a 5–2 career record versus top-5 teams, including three wins versus Florida. But he developed a reputation for losing games when he clearly had the better team. Examples include a humbling 24-point loss to a 4–5 Alabama team in 2001 and a loss to Vanderbilt—the first time Auburn lost to the Commodores in over 50 years. In fact, after dropping three straight SEC games in 2003, Auburn booster Bobby Lowder and Auburn's president and athletic director contacted then Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino to gauge his interest in taking the Auburn job if Tuberville was fired. The press found out about the meeting, which occurred just before the 2003 Alabama game, and the episode has since been known as JetGate.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville coached 19 players who were selected in the NFL draft, including four first-round picks in 2004, with several others signing as free agents. He coached eight All-Americans and a Thorpe Award winner (Carlos Rogers). Thirty-four players under Tuberville were named to All-SEC (First Team). Eighteen were named All-SEC freshman. His players were named SEC player of the week 46 times. He also had two SEC players of the year and one SEC Championship game MVP.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on October 8, 2008. After the 2008 season, with a 5–7 record including losses to Vanderbilt, West Virginia, and a final 36–0 loss to Alabama, Tuberville resigned. Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said, "To say the least, I was a little shocked. But after three times of asking him would he change his mind, he convinced me that the best thing for him and his family and for this football program was for him to possibly take a year off and take a step back." With his departure, Tuberville was paid a prorated buyout of $5.1 million. The payments included $3 million within 30 days of his resignation date and the remainder within a year.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: After his departure from Auburn, during the 2009 football season, Tuberville worked as an analyst for Buster Sports and ESPN, discussing the SEC and the Top 25 on various television shows and podcasts. He also made a cameo appearance in the Academy Award-winning feature film "The Blind Side".


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On December 31, 2009, Tuberville expressed interest in becoming head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The position was left open after the university fired Mike Leach. On January 9, 2010, Tuberville was named head coach and was introduced at a press conference on Sunday, January 10, 2010. On January 1, 2011, Tuberville became the second head coach in Texas Tech football history to win a bowl game in his first season—an accomplishment unmatched since DeWitt Weaver's first season in 1951–52. This was a 45–38 victory over Northwestern in the inaugural TicketCity Bowl.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On January 18, 2011, Texas Tech announced that Tuberville received a one-year contract extension and a $500,000 per year raise. The extension and raise gave Tuberville a $2 million salary through the 2015 season. Tuberville is responsible for the highest-rated recruiting class in Texas Tech history, securing the 18th-ranked recruiting class in 2011 according to Rivals.com and the 14th-ranked class in the country according to Scout.com.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On November 10, 2012, during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Tuberville became involved in a dispute with graduate assistant Kevin Oliver. Tuberville appeared to slap him and knocked off both Oliver's hat and his headset. After the game, Tuberville initially explained the incident by stating that he was aiming for Oliver's shirt in an attempt to pull him off the field. Two days later, in his weekly press conference, he apologized, citing his desire to set a better example for his two sons, one of whom was on the team.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Although Tuberville continued to run Leach's wide-open "Air Raid" spread offense, he was never really embraced by a fan base still smarting over Leach's ouster. According to a student on a recruiting trip to Texas Tech, Tuberville departed a recruiting dinner mid-meal and the next day accepted an offer to become Cincinnati's head coach. He left Texas Tech with an overall record of 20–17 and 9–17 in Big 12 conference play.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On December 8, 2012, Tuberville resigned as head coach at Texas Tech in order to become the 38th head coach at the University of Cincinnati. He signed a $2.2 million contract to coach the team. Cincinnati's athletic director, Whit Babcock, had previously worked with Tuberville at Auburn; the two had been friends for several years. On December 9, a "Lubbock Avalanche-Journal" article pointed out that Cincinnati is only 30 miles from Guilford, Indiana, home of Tuberville's wife, Suzanne.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In 2013, his first season with Cincinnati, Tuberville led the Bearcats to an overall record of 9–4 and a 6–2 conference record. His 2014 team was also 9–4 overall, but this time earned an American Athletic Conference co-championship by virtue of their 7–1 league mark. Both years also saw bowl losses, in 2013 to the North Carolina Tar Heels and 2014 to the Virginia Tech Hokies.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On December 4, 2016, after a 4–8 season, Tuberville resigned as head coach of Cincinnati. He left Cincinnati with an overall record of 29–22 and 18–14 in AAC conference play.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: After resigning from Auburn in December 2008, Tuberville formed a 50-50 partnership with former Lehman Brothers broker John David Stroud, creating TS Capital Management and TS Capital Partners, where he had an office and helped find investors. In February 2012, seven investors sued Tuberville and Stroud, saying they were defrauded of more than $1.7 million that they invested from 2008 to 2011. Tuberville's attorneys denied the allegations.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In May 2012, Stroud was indicted for fraudulent use of $5.2 million from various Auburn investment companies, including his partnerships with Tuberville; Tuberville was not charged. Tuberville said in court filings that he was also a victim, and had lost $450,000; he settled the investor lawsuit in October 2013 on undisclosed terms. In November 2013, Stroud pleaded guilty and received a 10-year sentence.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In 2014, Tuberville founded the Tommy Tuberville Foundation, which aimed to help American veterans. In 2020, the Associated Press reported that tax records showed the foundation gave away only about one-third of the money it raised. Tax filings from the organization have been accused of not reflecting volunteer labor and donated materials used to refurbish veterans' homes.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In August 2018, Tuberville moved from Florida to Alabama with the intention to run for the U.S. Senate in 2020. In April 2019, he announced he would enter the 2020 Republican primary for the Senate seat held by Democrat Doug Jones. Tuberville's campaign was described as "low-profile,” with few pre-scheduled campaign appearances or press conferences. He closely allied himself with President Donald Trump. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was a member of Tuberville's campaign staff.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville opposes abortion and favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). He supports Trump's proposal to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Tuberville supports reducing the national debt through cuts to social programs, but opposes cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. He dismisses the science of climate change, saying that the global climate "won't change enough in the next 400 years to affect anybody."


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On March 3, 2020, Tuberville received 33.4% of the vote in the Republican primary, ahead of former United States senator and former attorney general Jeff Sessions, who received 31.6%. Because neither candidate won over 50% of the vote, a runoff election ensued.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On March 10, ahead of the runoff election, Trump endorsed Tuberville. Trump had been angered by Sessions's decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections when Sessions was U.S. attorney general. In May 2020, Trump called Sessions "slime" for this decision. In campaign ads, Tuberville attacked Sessions for not being "man enough to stand with President Trump when things got tough." In the July 14 runoff, Tuberville defeated Sessions with 60.7% of the vote.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: As the Republican nominee, Tuberville was heavily favored to win the election. He was endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee, America's largest anti-abortion organization. On November 3, he defeated Jones with 60.1% of the vote.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In an "Alabama Daily News" interview after the election, Tuberville said that the European theater of World War II was fought "to free Europe of socialism" and erroneously that the three branches of the U.S. federal government were "the House, the Senate, and the executive." He also said that he was looking forward to raising money from his Senate office, a violation of federal law. Tuberville's comments attracted criticism.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville was one of six Republican senators to vote against expanding the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which would allow the U.S. Justice Department to review hate crimes related to COVID-19 and establish an online database. In February 2022, Tuberville dismissed "ridiculous" proposals to ban lawmakers from trading stocks. According to "Business Insider", Tuberville violated the STOCK Act 132 times in 2021.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In May 2022, Tuberville introduced the Financial Freedom Act of 2022, which would allow for the inclusion of cryptocurrency in individual retirement accounts.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Speaking at a Trump rally in Nevada on October 8, 2022, Tuberville claimed that Democrats are "pro-crime", "want to take over what you've got", and "want because they think the people that do the crime are owed that". These remarks were widely condemned as inaccurate and racist; for example, the NAACP called them "flat out racist, ignorant and utterly sickening".


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: After taking office in January 2021, Tuberville joined a group of Republican senators who announced they would formally object to counting electoral votes won by Democratic president-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. The objections were part of a continued effort by Trump and his allies to overturn his defeat in the election.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: When the Electoral College count was held on January 6, pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, forcing officials to evacuate their chambers before the count was completed. Trump contacted Tuberville during the riot through the cell phone of Utah senator Mike Lee, whom Trump misdialed. The count resumed that evening once the Capitol was secured.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville voted in support of an objection to Arizona's electoral votes and an objection to Pennsylvania's electoral votes, both of which were won by Biden. He was one of six Republican senators to support the former objection and one of seven to support the latter; the remainder of the Senate defeated the objections. No further objections to the electoral votes were debated and the count concluded on the morning of January 7, certifying Biden's victory over Trump.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: On May 28, 2021, Tuberville voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the 2021 United States Capitol attack.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: When "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization" came before the Supreme Court in 2022, Tuberville signed an amicus brief supporting the overturning "Roe v. Wade" and its federal protection of the right to abortion. After "Roe v. Wade" was overturned in June 2022, Tuberville called it a "victory for life."


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: In 2022, Tuberville responded to a question about the Respect for Marriage Act, which would federally codify same-sex marriage, by saying there was "no need for legislating on gay marriage". He also said, "I’m all about live life the way you want to. It’s a free country." He voted against the bill, which passed and was signed into law.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville married Vicki Lynn Harris, also from Camden, Arkansas, and a graduate of Harmony Grove High School, on December 19, 1976. They later divorced. In 1991, Tuberville married Suzanne (née Fette) of Guilford, Indiana; they have two sons.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville invested $1.9 million in GLC Enterprises, which the Securities and Exchange Commission called an $80 million Ponzi scheme. He lost about $150,000 when the business closed in 2011.


title: Tommy Tuberville

text: Tuberville's interests include "NASCAR, golf, football, hunting and fishing, [and] America's military". He enjoys country and western music.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. 33 of the 100 seats were contested in regular elections while two others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The winners were elected to six-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. Senate Democrats had 26 seats up for election (including the seats of two independents who caucus with them), while Senate Republicans had nine seats up for election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: To maintain their working majority of 50 senators and their party's vice president's tie-breaking vote, Republicans could only afford a net loss of one seat in these elections. The Republicans had a 52-48 majority after the 2016 elections, but they lost a seat in Alabama in December 2017 after Jeff Sessions resigned to become U.S. attorney general and Doug Jones, a Democrat, won in the subsequent special election. Three Republican-held seats were open as a result of retirements in Tennessee, Utah and Arizona. Although every Democratic incumbent ran for re-election, Democrats faced an extremely unfavorable map, defending 26 seats, of which 10 were in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, and five of those where Trump had won by more than ten percent. Republicans, however, only had to defend nine seats, of which only one was in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The Republicans increased their majority by defeating Democratic incumbents in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota; and holding the open seats in Tennessee and Utah. In contrast, Democrats won two Republican-held seats, defeating an incumbent in Nevada and winning the open seat in Arizona.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The results for this election cycle were the only significant gains made by the Republicans in what was otherwise characterized as a "blue wave" election. The Republican gains in the Senate and the Democratic gains in the House marked the first mid-term election cycle since 1970 in which the president's party made net gains in one chamber of Congress while suffering net losses in the other, which also occurred in 1914, 1962, and 2022. The 2018 election cycle was the first mid-term election cycle since 2002 in which any incumbents of the non-presidential party lost re-election. The number of defeated non-presidential party incumbents (4) was the most since the 1934 mid-terms. As of 2022, this remains the last election cycle in which the Republican Party won control of the Senate, as well as the last time that the Democrats did not make gains in the chamber.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Among the 33 Class 1 Senate seats up for regular election in 2018, twenty-three were held by Democrats, two by independents who caucused with the Senate Democrats and eight by Republicans. Class Two seats in Minnesota and Mississippi held by interim appointees were also up for election; both incumbent appointees sought election to finish their unexpired terms.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Democrats targeted Republican-held Senate seats in Arizona (open seat) and Nevada. Seats in Texas, Mississippi (at least one of the two seats) and Tennessee (open seat) were also competitive for the Democrats. Republicans targeted Democratic-held seats in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia, all of which were won by Republicans in both the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. Seats in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, all of which were won by Obama in 2008 and 2012 but by Trump in 2016, were also targeted by Republicans. The Democratic-held seat in New Jersey was also considered unexpectedly competitive due to corruption allegations surrounding the Democratic incumbent.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The map was widely characterized as extremely unfavorable to Democrats, as Democrats were defending 26 states while Republicans were defending nine. Of these seats, Democrats were defending ten in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, while Republicans were only defending one seat in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. According to "FiveThirtyEight", Democrats faced the most unfavorable Senate map in 2018 that any party has ever faced in any election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Each block represents one of the one hundred seats in the Senate. "D#" is a Democratic senator, "I#" is an Independent senator and "R#" is a Republican senator. Arranged so parties are separated and a majority is clear by crossing the middle.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Each block indicates an incumbent senator's actions going into the election. Some "Ran" for re-election, some "Retired," and those without a note were not up for election this cycle. Before the elections, Republicans held 51 seats, Democrats held 47, and Independents held 2.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: After the 2017 Senate special election in Alabama on the start of the second session in the 115th Congress.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Some senators were "Re-elected," some were a "Gain" in the seat from the other party (either by beating an incumbent or by winning an open seat), some were a "Hold" by the same party but with a different senator, and those without a note were not up for election this year.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: In these special elections, the winners will be seated before January 3, 2019, when elected and qualified. They are ordered by election date, then by state and by class.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Republican Jeff Flake was elected with 49% of the vote in 2012. He chose not to run for re-election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: U.S. Representative Martha McSally won the Republican nomination in a three-way primary on August 28, 2018, against Joe Arpaio and Kelli Ward.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Sinema defeated McSally by a slim margin; her victory became official only after six days of counting ballots.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Four-term Democrat Dianne Feinstein won a special election in 1992 and was elected to full terms in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. She ran for re-election and advanced to the general election after securing the top spot in the June 5 jungle primary.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The June 5 primary ballot listed 32 candidates (Feinstein plus 31 challengers) in addition to 3 write-in candidates. There were 10 Democratic candidates, 11 Republican candidates, one Libertarian, one Peace and Freedom candidate, and 9 independent candidates. There was also a Green Party candidate who ran as a write-in.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: President pro tempore of the California State Senate Kevin de León advanced to the general election for the right to challenge Feinstein after securing the second spot in the primary.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The 11 Republican candidates who ran in the primary combined for 33.2% of the vote. The top Republican candidate, James P. Bradley, received 8.3% of the vote, which put him in 3rd place at 3.8% behind the second-place finisher, Kevin DeLeon.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Three-term Democrat Tom Carper won re-election with 66% of the vote in 2012. He announced he was running for re-election during an interview on MSNBC on July 24, 2017. He defeated Dover community activist Kerri Evelyn Harris for the Democratic nomination. Sussex County Councilman Robert Arlett won the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Three-term Democrat Bill Nelson was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2012. He sought re-election to a fourth term in office.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Florida Governor Rick Scott won the Republican nomination. First elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, Scott's term as Governor of Florida was set to end by January 2019, due to term limits.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Scott led among ballots tallied on election night, but given the close margins of the race recounts were ordered. Final recount numbers were released following a machine and hand recount with Rick Scott maintaining a lead. On November 18, Nelson conceded to Scott. Two days later, election results were certified by the state, cementing Scott's win.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Joe Donnelly was elected with 50.04% of the vote in 2012. He ran. He won the Democratic primary unopposed.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: State Representative Mike Braun won the May 8 Republican primary. U.S. Representatives Luke Messer and Todd Rokita also ran for the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Independent Senator Angus King was elected in a three-way race with 53% of the vote in 2012. King has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2013, but he has left open the possibility of caucusing with the Republican Party in the future.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Public school teacher and founder of UClass Zak Ringelstein ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: The election was conducted with ranked choice voting, as opposed to "First-past-the-post voting", after Maine voters passed a citizen referendum approving the change in 2016 and a June 2018 referendum sustaining the change.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Democrat Ben Cardin was re-elected with 56% of the vote in 2012. He won the Democratic primary.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Tony Campbell, Evan Cronhardt, Nnabu Eze, Gerald Smith, and Blaine Taylor were seeking the Republican nomination, with Campbell winning.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Arvin Vohra, vice chairman of the Libertarian National Committee, sought the Libertarian Party nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Elizabeth Warren was elected with 54% of the vote in 2012. She ran for re-election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: State Representative Geoff Diehl, attorney and founder of Better for America, John Kingston and former Romney aide Beth Lindstrom, ran for the Republican nomination. Diehl won the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Shiva Ayyadurai ran as an independent. Shiva started as in early 2017 as the first Republican in the race, but went independent in November 2017.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Three-term Democrat Debbie Stabenow was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012. She was renominated without Democratic opposition. On the Republican side, businessman John James won the nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: In the final months of the election, polls showed the race was beginning to narrow. Ultimately, Stabenow was re-elected, defeating James, with a majority of the vote.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Democrat Amy Klobuchar was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. She ran for re-election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Democrat Al Franken announced that he would resign in December 2017, following allegations of sexual harassment. Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota, appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on January 2, 2018, as an interim Senator until the November 2018 election. She defeated primary challenger Richard Painter in the Democratic primary held on August 14.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Incumbent Tina Smith defeated Republican Karin Housley in the general election to finish the term ending January 3, 2021.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Republican Roger Wicker won re-election with 57% of the vote in 2012. He was appointed in 2007 and won a special election in 2008 to serve the remainder of Trent Lott's term. He ran.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Seven-term Republican Thad Cochran, who won re-election with 59.9% of the vote in 2014, announced that he would resign since April 1, 2018 due to health reasons. Phil Bryant, Governor of Mississippi, announced on March 21, 2018, that he would appoint Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the vacancy. She ran in the special election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: On November 6, a nonpartisan jungle primary took place on the same day as the regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election for the seat currently held by Roger Wicker. Party affiliations were not printed on the ballot. As no candidate gained 50% of the votes, a runoff special election between the top two candidates - Hyde-Smith and former United States Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy - was held on November 27, 2018. Hyde-Smith won the runoff election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Attorney General Josh Hawley won the Republican nomination. Japheth Campbell declared his candidacy for the Libertarian nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Polls showed a close race for months leading up to the election. Hawley defeated McCaskill in the general election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Democrat Jon Tester was re-elected with 49% of the vote in 2012. He won the Democratic nomination in the June 5 primary with no opposition.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: State Auditor Matthew Rosendale won the Republican nomination in the June 5 primary. State Senator Albert Olszewski, former judge Russell Fagg, and Troy Downing also ran for the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Republican Deb Fischer was elected with 58% of the vote in 2012. She ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 15 primary. Other Republicans who ran include retired professor Jack Heidel, Todd Watson, and Dennis Frank Macek.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Lincoln Councilwoman Jane Raybould ran for and won the Democratic nomination in the May 15 primary. Other Democrats who ran include Frank Svoboda, Chris Janicek, and Larry Marvin, who was a candidate in 2008, 2012, and 2014.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Incumbent Republican Dean Heller was the Republican nominee. He was appointed to the seat in 2011 and then elected with 46% of the vote in 2012. Heller considered running for governor, but chose to seek re-election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Nevada was the only state in the mid-term elections that had an incumbent Republican Senator in a state that Hillary Clinton had won in 2016.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Rosen defeated Heller in the general election, making Heller the only Republican incumbent to lose re-election in 2018.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Republican Bob Hugin was nominated to face two-term Democrat Bob Menendez, who was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012. Menendez was originally appointed to the seat in January 2006. He ran for re-election, despite recent scandals that plagued his campaign.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Hugin self-funded most of his campaign. Ultimately, Menendez was re-elected with nearly 54% of the vote.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Martin Heinrich was elected with 51% of the vote in 2012. He ran. Mick Rich won the Republican nomination unopposed.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Aubrey Dunn Jr., New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands and otherwise the first Libertarian to ever hold statewide elected office in history, announced his run for the seat, but stepped aside in August to allow former Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson's candidacy.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was elected with 72% of the vote in 2012. She had previously been appointed to the seat in 2009 and won a special election to remain in office in 2010. She ran.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Private equity executive Chele Chiavacci Farley has been nominated for U.S. Senate by the Republican and Conservative Parties.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Heidi Heitkamp was elected with 50% of the vote in 2012. She won the Democratic nomination unopposed.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Representative Kevin Cramer won the Republican nomination in the June 12 primary. Former Niagara, North Dakota Mayor Thomas O'Neill also ran for the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Heitkamp was continuously behind in the polls leading up to the election, and Heitkamp ended up losing to Cramer by 11%.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Democrat Sherrod Brown was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2012. He ran and was unopposed in Democratic primary.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: U.S. Representative Jim Renacci ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 8 primary. Other Republicans who ran include investment banker Michael Gibbons, businesswoman Melissa Ackison, Dan Kiley, and Don Elijah Eckhart.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Brown won re-election, defeating Renacci. Brown was the only non-judicial statewide Democrat in Ohio to win in 2018.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Democrat Bob Casey Jr. was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2012. He ran and won the Democratic primary unopposed.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: U.S. Representative Lou Barletta ran for and won the Republican nomination in the May 15 primary. Jim Christiana also ran for the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Republican Bob Corker was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. Senator Corker filed his Statement of Candidacy with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate to run for re-election, but on September 26, 2017, Senator Corker announced his intent to retire.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Aaron Pettigrew and Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn ran for the Republican nomination. Marsha Blackburn became the Republican nominee.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Republican Ted Cruz was elected with 57% of the vote in 2012. He overwhelmingly won the Republican primary on March 6, 2018.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Television producer Bruce Jacobson, Houston energy attorney Stefano de Stefano, former mayor of La Marque Geraldine Sam, Mary Miller, and Thomas Dillingham were Cruz's opponents.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke won the Democratic nomination on March 6, 2018. Other Democrats who ran include Irasema Ramirez Hernandez and Edward Kimbrough.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Nurse Carl Bible ran as an independent. Bob McNeil ran as the candidate of the American Citizen Party. Neal Dikeman was the Libertarian nominee.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: O'Rourke ran a strong campaign, creating a close race in what has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. Nevertheless, Cruz was narrowly re-elected to a second term.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Seven-term Republican Orrin Hatch was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012. Hatch was the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, as well as the second most-senior Senator. Before the 2012 election, Hatch said that he would retire at the end of his seventh term if he was re-elected. Hatch initially announced his re-election campaign on March 9, 2017, but later announced his plans to retire on January 2, 2018. Former 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was running for the seat.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Professor James Singer was running for the Democratic nomination, but he dropped out and endorsed Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, who made her Senate bid official on July 17, 2017. Danny Drew also was running, but dropped out and endorsed Jenny Wilson. Mitchell Kent Vice was defeated for the Democratic nomination by Wilson.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Two-term Independent Senator Bernie Sanders was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2012. Sanders, one of two independent members of Congress, has caucused with the Democratic Party since taking office in 2007. In November 2015, Sanders announced his plans to run as a Democrat, rather than an Independent, in all future elections. He won the nomination easily.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Tim Kaine was elected with 53% of the vote in 2012. He was re-nominated unopposed. Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart was the Republican nominee. Matt Waters was the Libertarian nominee. Kaine defeated Stewart with 57% of the vote. Stewart received 41% of the vote.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Washington holds non-partisan blanket primaries, in which the top two finishers advance to the general election regardless of party. Cantwell and former state Republican Party chair Susan Hutchison faced each other in November.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Democrat Joe Manchin was elected with 61% of the vote in 2012. He originally won the seat in a 2010 special election. Manchin ran for re-election and won the May 8 Democratic primary. Environmental activist Paula Jean Swearengin, also ran for the Democratic nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey received the Republican nomination in the May 8 primary. Representative Evan Jenkins, coal miner Bo Copley, Jack Newbrough, Don Blankenship, and Tom Willis ran for the Republican nomination.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Despite recent Republican successes in West Virginia, Manchin was able to win re-election to a second term.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: State Senator Leah Vukmir and businessman and member of Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs Kevin Nicholson ran for the Republican nomination, with Vukmir proceeding to the general election.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: One-term Republican John Barrasso was elected with 76% of the vote in 2012. Barrasso was appointed to the seat in 2007 and won a special election in 2008. He ran.


title: 2018 United States Senate elections

text: Gary Trauner, a Jackson Hole businessman and U.S. House candidate in 2006 and 2008, was the Democratic nominee.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint (Mentha" × "piperita) is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. It is occasionally found in the wild with its parent species.


title: Peppermint

text: Although the genus "Mentha" comprises more than 25 species, the one in most common use is peppermint. While Western peppermint is derived from "Mentha × piperita", Chinese peppermint, or "bohe", is derived from the fresh leaves of "M. haplocalyx". "M. × piperita" and "M. haplocalyx" are both recognized as plant sources of menthol and menthone, and are among the oldest herbs used for both culinary and medicinal products.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus from specimens that had been collected in England; he treated it as a species, but it is now universally agreed to be a hybrid.


title: Peppermint

text: It is a herbaceous, rhizomatous, perennial plant that grows to be tall, with smooth stems, square in cross section. The rhizomes are wide-spreading and fleshy, and bear fibrous roots. The leaves can be long and broad. They are dark green with reddish veins, with an acute apex and coarsely toothed margins. The leaves and stems are usually slightly fuzzy. The flowers are purple, long, with a four-lobed corolla about diameter; they are produced in whorls (verticillasters) around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. Flowering season lasts from mid- to late summer. The chromosome number is variable, with 2n counts of 66, 72, 84, and 120 recorded. Peppermint is a fast-growing plant; once it sprouts, it spreads very quickly.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint typically occurs in moist habitats, including stream sides and drainage ditches. Being a hybrid, it is usually sterile, producing no seeds and reproducing only vegetatively, spreading by its runners.


title: Peppermint

text: Outside of its native range, areas where peppermint was formerly grown for oil often have an abundance of feral plants, and it is considered invasive in Australia, the Galápagos Islands, New Zealand, and the United States in the Great Lakes region, noted since 1843.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint generally grows best in moist, shaded locations, and expands by underground rhizomes. Young shoots are taken from old stocks and dibbled into the ground about 0.5 m (1.5 ft) apart. They grow quickly and cover the ground with runners if it is permanently moist. For the home gardener, it is often grown in containers to restrict rapid spreading. It grows best with a good supply of water, without being water-logged, and planted in areas with partial sun to shade.


title: Peppermint

text: The leaves and flowering tops are used; they are collected as soon as the flowers begin to open and can be dried. The wild form of the plant is less suitable for this purpose, with cultivated plants having been selected for more and better oil content. They may be allowed to lie and wilt a little before distillation, or they may be taken directly to the still.


title: Peppermint

text: Verticillium wilt is a major constraint in peppermint cultivation. 'Todd's Mitcham', 'Refined Murray', 'Roberts Mitcham' (see above), and a few other cultivars have some degree of resistance.


title: Peppermint

text: In 2020, world production of peppermint was 48,437 tonnes, led by Morocco with 83% of the world total and Argentina with 14% (table).


title: Peppermint

text: In the United States, Oregon and Washington produce most of the country's peppermint, the leaves of which are processed for the essential oil to produce flavorings mainly for chewing gum and toothpaste.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint has a high menthol content. The essential oil also contains menthone and carboxyl esters, particularly menthyl acetate. Dried peppermint typically has 0.3–0.4% of volatile oil containing menthol (7–48%), menthone (20–46%), menthyl acetate (3–10%), menthofuran (1–17%), and 1,8-cineol (3–6%). Peppermint oil also contains small amounts of many additional compounds, including limonene, pulegone, caryophyllene, and pinene.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint contains terpenoids and flavonoids such as eriocitrin, hesperidin, and kaempferol 7-O-rutinoside.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint oil has a high concentration of natural pesticides, mainly pulegone (found mainly in "M. arvensis" var. "piperascens" (cornmint, field mint, or Japanese mint), and to a lesser extent (6,530 ppm) in "Mentha" × "piperita" subsp. "notho") and menthone. It is known to repel some pest insects, including mosquitos, and has uses in organic gardening. It is also widely used to repel rodents.


title: Peppermint

text: The chemical composition of the essential oil from peppermint ("Mentha" × "piperita" L.) was analyzed by GC/FID and GC-MS. The main constituents were menthol (40.7%) and menthone (23.4%). Further components were (±)-menthyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, limonene, beta-pinene, and beta-caryophyllene.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint oil is under preliminary research for its potential as a short-term treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, and has supposed uses in traditional medicine for minor ailments. Peppermint oil and leaves have a cooling effect when used topically for muscle pain, nerve pain, relief from itching, or as a fragrance. High oral doses of peppermint oil (500 mg) can cause mucosal irritation and mimic heartburn.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint roots bioaccumulate radium, so the plant may be effective for phytoremediation of radioactively contaminated soil.


title: Peppermint

text: Fresh or dried peppermint leaves are often used alone in peppermint tea or with other herbs in herbal teas (tisanes, infusions). Peppermint is used for flavouring ice cream, candy, fruit preserves, alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, toothpaste, and some shampoos, soaps, and skin care products.


title: Peppermint

text: Menthol activates cold-sensitive TRPM8 receptors in the skin and mucosal tissues, and is the primary source of the cooling sensation that follows the topical application of peppermint oil.


title: Peppermint

text: Peppermint oil is also used in construction and plumbing to test for the tightness of pipes and disclose leaks by its odor.


title: Peppermint

text: Medicinal uses of peppermint have not been approved as effective or safe by the US Food and Drug Administration. With caution that the concentration of the peppermint constituent pulegone should not exceed 1% (140 mg), peppermint preparations are considered safe by the European Medicines Agency when used in topical formulations for adult subjects. Diluted peppermint essential oil is safe for oral intake when only a few drops are used.


title: Peppermint

text: Although peppermint is commonly available as a herbal supplement, no established, consistent manufacturing standards exist for it, and some peppermint products may be contaminated with toxic metals or other substituted compounds. Skin rashes, irritation, or allergic reactions may result from applying peppermint oil to the skin, and its use on the face or chest of young children may cause side effects if the oil menthol is inhaled. A common side effect from oral intake of peppermint oil or capsules is heartburn. Oral use of peppermint products may have adverse effects when used with iron supplements, cyclosporine, medicines for heart conditions or high blood pressure, or medicines to decrease stomach acid.


title: Javier Bardem filmography

text: Javier Bardem is a Spanish actor and producer who made his acting debut as a child in an episode of the Spanish television series "El Pícaro" (1974). Bardem made his feature film debut with a minor role in the 1990 Spanish erotic film "Las edades de Lulú". The film's director Bigas Luna was impressed by Bardem, giving him his first leading role in the romantic-comedy "Jamón Jamón" (1992), alongside future wife Penélope Cruz. In 1993, Bardem starred in another Luna film, "Huevos de Oro", and in the Vicente Aranda-directed "El Amante Bilingüe". The following year he appeared in "Días contados" (1994) and "El detective y la muerte" (1994). For both films he was nominated for the San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor.


title: Javier Bardem filmography

text: His first role in an English-language film was as the jailed Cuban dissident Reinaldo Arenas in "Before Night Falls" (2000), for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2002, he appeared in the John Malkovich-directed "The Dancer Upstairs" and the Fernando León de Aranoa-directed "Mondays in the Sun". In 2004, he starred alongside Tom Cruise in the Michael Mann-directed "Collateral". He won a second Volpi Cup for Best Actor in 2004, for portraying euthanasia activist Ramón Sampedro in "The Sea Inside". His next role was as psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in the Coen brothers film "No Country for Old Men" (2007), for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was the first Spanish actor to win an Oscar. Bardem next appeared in the 2008 Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He then starred in "Biutiful" (2010), garnering Bardem the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor.


title: Javier Bardem filmography

text: In 2012, Bardem narrated the Spanish documentary "Sons of the Clouds, The Last Colony", which received a Goya Award for Best Documentary. That year he also portrayed the Bond villain Raoul Silva in "Skyfall" (2012), which earned him a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. The following year he starred in the Ridley Scott-directed "The Counselor" (2013). Bardem then collaborated with Sean Penn on "The Gunman" (2015) and "The Last Face" (2016). In 2017, he played the antagonist in "" and starred in "Mother!" He was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for both performances. That year he also portrayed Pablo Escobar in "Loving Pablo" opposite his wife Penélope Cruz. Bardem portrayed Stilgar in "Dune" (2021), his first science fiction film since "Autómata" (2014). That same year, Bardem portrayed Desi Arnez in "Being the Ricardos" and his performance earned him another nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.


title: Determinism

text: Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and considerations. The opposite of determinism is some kind of indeterminism (otherwise called nondeterminism) or randomness. Determinism is often contrasted with free will, although some philosophers claim that the two are compatible.


title: Determinism

text: Determinism is often used to mean "causal determinism", which in physics is known as cause-and-effect. This is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state of an object or event is completely determined by its prior states. This meaning can be distinguished from other varieties of determinism mentioned below.


title: Determinism

text: Debates about determinism often concern the scope of determined systems; some maintain that the entire universe is a single determinate system, and others identifying more limited determinate systems (or multiverse). Historical debates involve many philosophical positions and varieties of determinism. They include debates concerning determinism and free will, technically denoted as compatibilistic (allowing the two to coexist) and incompatibilistic (denying their coexistence is a possibility).


title: Determinism

text: Determinism should not be confused with the self-determination of human actions by reasons, motives, and desires. Determinism is about interactions which affect our cognitive processes in our life. It is about the cause and the result of what we have done. Cause and result are always bounded together in cognitive processes. It assumes that if an observer has sufficient information about an object or human being, that such an observer might be able to predict every consequent move of that object or human being. Determinism rarely requires that perfect prediction be practically possible.


title: Determinism

text: Causal determinism, sometimes synonymous with historical determinism (a sort of path dependence), is "the idea that every event is necessitated by antecedent events and conditions together with the laws of nature." However, it is a broad enough term to consider that:...One's deliberations, choices, and actions will often be necessary links in the causal chain that brings something about. In other words, even though our deliberations, choices, and actions are themselves determined like everything else, it is still the case, according to causal determinism, that the occurrence or existence of yet other things depends upon our deliberating, choosing and acting in a certain way.Causal determinism proposes that there is an unbroken chain of prior occurrences stretching back to the origin of the universe. The relation between events may not be specified, nor the origin of that universe. Causal determinists believe that there is nothing in the universe that has no cause or is self-caused.


title: Determinism

text: Causal determinism has also been considered more generally as the idea that everything that happens or exists is caused by antecedent conditions. In the case of nomological determinism, these conditions are considered events also, implying that the future is determined completely by preceding events—a combination of prior states of the universe and the laws of nature. Yet they can also be considered metaphysical of origin (such as in the case of theological determinism).


title: Determinism

text: Nomological determinism, generally synonymous with physical determinism (its opposite being physical indeterminism), the most common form of causal determinism, is the notion that the past and the present dictate the future entirely and necessarily by rigid natural laws, that every occurrence results inevitably from prior events. Nomological determinism is sometimes illustrated by the thought experiment of Laplace's demon. Nomological determinism is sometimes called "scientific determinism", although that is a misnomer.


title: Determinism

text: Necessitarianism is closely related to the causal determinism described above. It is a metaphysical principle that denies all mere possibility; there is exactly one way for the world to be. Leucippus claimed there were no uncaused events, and that everything occurs for a reason and by necessity.


title: Determinism

text: Predeterminism is the idea that all events are determined in advance. The concept is often argued by invoking causal determinism, implying that there is an unbroken chain of prior occurrences stretching back to the origin of the universe. In the case of predeterminism, this chain of events has been pre-established, and human actions cannot interfere with the outcomes of this pre-established chain.


title: Determinism

text: Predeterminism can be used to mean such pre-established causal determinism, in which case it is categorized as a specific type of determinism. It can also be used interchangeably with causal determinism—in the context of its capacity to determine future events. Despite this, predeterminism is often considered as independent of causal determinism.


title: Determinism

text: The term "predeterminism" is also frequently used in the context of biology and heredity, in which case it represents a form of biological determinism, sometimes called "genetic determinism". Biological determinism is the idea that each of human behaviors, beliefs, and desires are fixed by human genetic nature.


title: Determinism

text: Friedrich Nietzsche explained that a human being is "determined" by his/her body, since he/she is subject to passions, impulsions and instincts.


title: Determinism

text: Fatalism is normally distinguished from "determinism", as a form of teleological determinism. Fatalism is the idea that everything is fated to happen, so that humans have no control over their future. Fate has arbitrary power, and need not follow any causal or otherwise deterministic laws. Types of fatalism include hard theological determinism and the idea of predestination, where there is a God who determines all that humans will do. This may be accomplished either by knowing their actions in advance, via some form of omniscience or by decreeing their actions in advance.


title: Determinism

text: Theological determinism is a form of determinism that holds that all events that happen are either preordained (i.e., predestined) to happen by a monotheistic deity, or are destined to occur given its omniscience. Two forms of theological determinism exist, referred to as "strong" and "weak" theological determinism.


title: Determinism

text: Strong theological determinism is based on the concept of a creator deity dictating all events in history: "everything that happens has been predestined to happen by an omniscient, omnipotent divinity."


title: Determinism

text: Weak theological determinism is based on the concept of divine foreknowledge—"because God's omniscience is perfect, what God knows about the future will inevitably happen, which means, consequently, that the future is already fixed." There exist slight variations on this categorisation, however. Some claim either that theological determinism requires predestination of all events and outcomes by the divinity—i.e., they do not classify the weaker version as "theological determinism" unless libertarian free will is assumed to be denied as a consequence—or that the weaker version does not constitute "theological determinism" at all.


title: Determinism

text: With respect to free will, "theological determinism is the thesis that God exists and has infallible knowledge of all true propositions including propositions about our future actions," more minimal criteria designed to encapsulate all forms of theological determinism.


title: Determinism

text: Theological determinism can also be seen as a form of causal determinism, in which the antecedent conditions are the nature and will of God. Some have asserted that Augustine of Hippo introduced theological determinism into Christianity in 412 CE, whereas all prior Christian authors supported free will against Stoic and Gnostic determinism. However, there are many Biblical passages that seem to support the idea of some kind of theological determinism.


title: Determinism

text: Adequate determinism is the idea, because of quantum decoherence, that quantum indeterminacy can be ignored for most macroscopic events. Random quantum events "average out" in the limit of large numbers of particles (where the laws of quantum mechanics asymptotically approach the laws of classical mechanics). Stephen Hawking explains a similar idea: he says that the microscopic world of quantum mechanics is one of determined probabilities. That is, quantum effects rarely alter the predictions of classical mechanics, which are quite accurate (albeit still not perfectly certain) at larger scales. Something as large as an animal cell, then, would be "adequately determined" (even in light of quantum indeterminacy).


title: Determinism

text: The many-worlds interpretation accepts the linear causal sets of sequential events with adequate consistency yet also suggests constant forking of causal chains creating "multiple universes" to account for multiple outcomes from single events. Meaning the causal set of events leading to the present are all valid yet appear as a singular linear time stream within a much broader unseen conic probability field of other outcomes that "split off" from the locally observed timeline. Under this model causal sets are still "consistent" yet not exclusive to singular iterated outcomes.


title: Determinism

text: The interpretation sidesteps the exclusive retrospective causal chain problem of "could not have done otherwise" by suggesting "the other outcome does exist" in a set of parallel universe time streams that split off when the action occurred. This theory is sometimes described with the example of agent based choices but more involved models argue that recursive causal splitting occurs with all particle wave functions at play. This model is highly contested with multiple objections from the scientific community.


title: Determinism

text: Although some of the above forms of determinism concern human behaviors and cognition, others frame themselves as an answer to the debate on nature and nurture. They will suggest that one factor will entirely determine behavior. As scientific understanding has grown, however, the strongest versions of these theories have been widely rejected as a single-cause fallacy. In other words, the modern deterministic theories attempt to explain how the interaction of both nature "and" nurture is entirely predictable. The concept of heritability has been helpful in making this distinction.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Party (NCP) from 1994 to 2001, Minister of Justice from 1995 to 1996, Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2003, Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 2001 and the NCP candidate in the 2006 presidential election. He served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland from 2007 to 2011 and has been the honorary president of the European People's Party (EPP) since 2002.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö was the NCP candidate in the 2012 presidential election, defeating Pekka Haavisto of the Green League (VIHR) with 62.6% of the vote in the decisive second round. Niinistö assumed office on 1 March 2012; he is the first NCP president since Juho Kusti Paasikivi, who left office in 1956. In May 2017, Niinistö announced that he would seek reelection in the 2018 presidential election, running as an Independent candidate. The NCP and Christian Democrats (KD) supported his candidacy. He won reelection in the first round on 28 January 2018 with 62.7% of the vote and his second term began on 1 February 2018.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö was born in Salo in 1948. His parents were the circulation manager of "Salon Seudun Sanomat" Väinö Niinistö (1911–1991) and nurse Hilkka Niinistö, née Heimo (1916–2014). Niinistö's godfather was , founder of Salora.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö graduated from the "Salon normaalilyseo" high school in 1967, after which he went to study at the University of Turku. From there he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1974. Although born in a Finnish-speaking family, Niinistö speaks fluently in the country's other official language of Swedish in public. He is also fluent in English.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö served on the municipal council of Salo from 1977 to 1992 and was elected a Member of the Parliament of Finland from the district of Finland Proper in 1987. In 1994 he was chosen to lead the NCP as party chairman and subsequently became Justice Minister in Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's first cabinet in 1995.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Switching portfolios, Niinistö became Finance Minister in 1996, continuing in Lipponen's second cabinet from 1999 to 2003. In both administrations, Niinistö was Deputy Prime Minister under social democrat Lipponen. As Finance Minister, Niinistö was known for his strict fiscal policy. He was the first Finn to make a purchase with euros on 1 January 2002. Niinistö was urged by his party to stand as a candidate in the 2000 presidential election, but he refused the candidacy for completely related to his private life reasons. He announced his gradual retirement from politics in 2001, and he was succeeded that year by Ville Itälä as party leader. After the end of his term as a cabinet minister in 2003, Niinistö became vice-chairman of the board of directors at the European Investment Bank.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In March 2005, Niinistö announced his candidacy for the 2006 presidential election. He represented the NCP, challenging the incumbent President Tarja Halonen. He qualified for the second round runoff (as one of the top two candidates in the first round), held on 29 January 2006, but lost to Halonen. The costs of Niinistö's campaign were circa 2,225,000 euros, including 492,864 euros and 717,191 euros contributions from NCP. His financial declaration in 2006 was made more detailed in 2009 because of controversies.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In 2006, Niinistö announced that he was standing again for the 2007 parliamentary election. He said, however, that he had no plans to take any high-ranking political job such as the prime ministership in the future. He received 60,563 votes in the 2007 elections, a record in a Finnish parliamentary election; it was about 21% more than the 1948 record of Hertta Kuusinen. After the 2007 election, Niinistö decided to accept the position of the Speaker of the Parliament. Niinistö negotiated the merger of the European Democrat Union (EDU) into the EPP in 2002 and became its Honorary President.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö was elected as the president of the Football Association of Finland on 8 November 2009, replacing Pekka Hämäläinen.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö was the NCP candidate for a second time in the 2012 presidential election. With 37.0% of the vote, he won the election's first round and faced off against Haavisto of the Green League in the decisive second round. He carried the second round with around 62.6% against Haavisto's 37.4%. Niinistö's margin of victory was larger than that of any previous directly elected president. He won a majority in 14 of 15 electoral districts. Niinistö's election budget was circa 1.2 million euros.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: After becoming the President, Niinistö pledged to establish a special task force aiming at preventing alienation among the country's youth and expressed concern about the problems of sparsely populated rural areas. Niinistö stressed the significance of mutual understanding with the cabinet and Parliament. His acceptance speech thanked those who backed him in the campaign and those who disagreed with him. Niinistö said that the differing views expressed should be taken into consideration.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In May 2017, Niinistö announced that he would seek re-election in the 2018 presidential election, running as an independent candidate. His candidacy was soon supported by the National Coalition Party and Christian Democrats. In the election, Niinistö received 62.7% of the votes, becoming the first president in Finland to get elected on the first round of popular vote.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: During Niinistö's presidency, neighbouring military cooperation ties between Finland and Sweden got further strengthened, culminating in the NATO accession bids for the countries being joint rather than separate. Amid threats of a veto from the Turkish government over Sweden's accession, Niinistö was steadfastily committed that the application was joint and that also would mean that Finland would decline an invitation. Finland and Sweden agreed a deal in principle that would allow the countries to join NATO with the Turkish government on 28 June 2022 in the wake of the veto threat.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: As President, Niinistö visited Russia and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2013 to promote bilateral trade (e.g. Shell, Cargotec, YIT). He discussed ice hockey and business, but not human rights issues or the selling of Russian military equipment to Syria and its transport through Finland.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: At the same time as the sanctions against Russia, mainly caused by the Russian invasion in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Niinistö said that the focus should be on easing tensions and increasing understanding between Europe and Russia. He stated that Finland should serve as a broker between Russia and Europe. He also stated that "Russia understands that the conflict in Ukraine has generated debate in Finland over this country's own security policy. It's important that President Putin understands Finland's position on NATO membership in this debate. Finland accepts that Russia is working to find a solution to the acute conflict in Ukraine, but it needs to do more." In an interview with "The Washington Post" in January 2022, Niinistö stated that he could not speak to Putin's intentions regarding the frozen relations between Russia and the West, but cited what he described as Finnish "wisdom" on experiences in dealing with Moscow. "Finns certainly learned the wisdom that a Cossack, that means a Russian soldier, takes all that is loose. You have to be very, very, clear, where the fixed line is." When he was asked to shed light on his thoughts about Putin after the Russian attack to Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Niinistö replied: "The masks have now been taken off, showing only the face of war."


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: The Foreign minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov used a statement of Niinistö in his arguments about future choices for the next Prime Minister of Finland, saying, "'Does Northern Europe need this? How Russia will react?' President Niinistö asked these questions with the subtext. He knows that the answer is negative: nobody needs this"; Lavrov added "President Niinistö realizes that what happened in Ukraine is impossible in Finland."


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In his New Years Speech 2015 Niinistö stated: "We condemned Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea as soon as it happened and then condemned Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine. We have done this in the EU context but have also made this clear in our direct contacts with Russia. We condemn any illegal occupations, illegal use of force or attempts to limit the sovereignty of independent nations. Such actions never achieve anything but danger and increased tension. While power may have once grown out of the barrel of a gun, these days it leads to nothing but chaos." On 16 July 2018, Niinistö officially hosted U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Putin for the US-Russia Summit in Helsinki. Niinistö was involved 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York on 25 September 2018. President Niinistö spoke about Russia and Baltic nations affairs at the UNGA 2018.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 26 October 2016 in Tehran, Iran. He also met Iranan President Hassan Rouhani. They discussed closer economic cooperation, human rights in Iran, the situation in the Middle East and the threat of terrorism. Niinistö said: "Iran was one of the first countries to recognise Finland’s independence, and now our countries will further deepen their cooperation."


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In April 2017, Niinistö supported One-China policy. Niinistö visited China on 13–14 January 2019 and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, they went through common issues between Finland-China to raise friendship and partnership. Xi Jinping and Niinistö jointly launched the 2019 China-Finland Year of Winter Sports.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In 2018, Niinistö said during the election campaign that he would block arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, due to their involvement in the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In October 2019, Niinistö condemned Turkey’s military campaign in Kurdish–controlled areas of northern Syria. He said that two NATO member states are "quite involved" in Syria.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: On 24 February 2022, the Russian president Putin ordered the Russian Armed Forces to begin an invasion of Ukraine.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: On 4 March 2022, Niinistö did a one day visit to Washington DC to meet President Joe Biden and number of other US politicians and security personnel. The meetings was initiated by Niinistö's office earlier the same week. In a press conference with Finnish media, Niinistö told that in the meeting the presidents discussed about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on European and Finnish security. Furthermore they agreed on deepening Finnish-US security co-operation and bilateral relations.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: On 12 May 2022, ten weeks after the beginning of the invasion, president Niinistö and prime minister Sanna Marin advocated in a joint statement for a 'NATO membership without delay'. On 29 May 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Niinistö that "overlooking threatening terrorist organisations that pose a threat to a NATO member is not in the spirit of the alliance." On 8 June 2022, Niinistö said he was surprised by Turkey's opposition to Finland's NATO membership.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: As the President of Finland, Niinistö holds the power of pardon for individual criminal sentences and related sanctions. In 2019 and 2020, he did not pardon anyone, and has pardoned on average only three people per year. In comparison, his predecessor Tarja Halonen reached a figure of 20 pardons per year on average. Niinistö has explained that he is in good agreement with the policy of the Supreme Court of Finland, which has always processed the case first before the President sees it. Niinistö has supported the abolition of the presidential pardon in his presidential campaigns, calling the institution an outdated "royal tradition".


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö married his first wife, Marja-Leena (née Alanko), in 1974 and they had two sons. Marja-Leena was killed in a car crash in January 1995. Niinistö wrote about the time after the death of his first wife in his book "Viiden vuoden yksinäisyys" (translation: "Five years of loneliness").


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: While a cabinet minister, Niinistö, as a widower, was romantically involved with MP Tanja Karpela, a former beauty queen and later Minister of Culture. Karpela's Centre Party was in opposition and Niinistö was considered the second-most influential man in government. In 2003 Karpela and Niinistö announced their engagement, which they ended in 2004.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: In 2005, Niinistö met Jenni Haukio, who at the time worked for the National Coalition Party and interviewed Niinistö for the "Nykypäivä" magazine. They later became romantically involved but kept the relationship secret from the public until the wedding on 3 January 2009. In October 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting a child, and they subsequently had a son, who was born in February 2018. In 2017 Niinistö and Haukio's dog Lennu went viral across the world.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö is the uncle of Ville Niinistö, a Green League MP from Turku, former leader of the Green League and former Minister of the Environment. Whereas, ex-Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö is not related, and their family names have different origins.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö is a survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. He escaped the ensuing tsunami by climbing a utility pole with his son in Khao Lak, Thailand.


title: Sauli Niinistö

text: Niinistö opposes the president's right to pardon prisoners and only pardoned one prisoner during his first year as president. He opposes same-sex marriage but thinks that same-sex couples should have the right to adoption and a common surname. He supports euthanasia under certain circumstances. In December 2017, Niinistö stated that Finland should not apply for NATO membership in the current circumstances. According to Niinistö, as a member of NATO, Finland would lose the opportunity to stay out of the crisis. However, Niinistö wondered that in the event of a crisis between Russia and the EU, Finland should consider membership very seriously.


title: In the Air Tonight

text: "In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, "Face Value", in January 1981.