title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Antihypertensives are a class of drugs that are used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Antihypertensive therapy seeks to prevent the complications of high blood pressure, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Evidence suggests that reduction of the blood pressure by 5 mmHg can decrease the risk of stroke by 34% and of ischaemic heart disease by 21%, and can reduce the likelihood of dementia, heart failure, and mortality from cardiovascular disease. There are many classes of antihypertensives, which lower blood pressure by different means. Among the most important and most widely used medications are thiazide diuretics, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARBs), and beta blockers.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Which type of medication to use initially for hypertension has been the subject of several large studies and resulting national guidelines. The fundamental goal of treatment should be the prevention of the important endpoints of hypertension, such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure. Patient age, associated clinical conditions and end-organ damage also play a part in determining dosage and type of medication administered. The several classes of antihypertensives differ in side effect profiles, ability to prevent endpoints, and cost. The choice of more expensive agents, where cheaper ones would be equally effective, may have negative impacts on national healthcare budgets. As of 2018, the best available evidence favors low-dose thiazide diuretics as the first-line treatment of choice for high blood pressure when drugs are necessary. Although clinical evidence shows calcium channel blockers and thiazide-type diuretics are preferred first-line treatments for most people (from both efficacy and cost points of view), an ACE inhibitor is recommended by NICE in the UK for those under 55 years old.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: In the United States, the JNC8 (Eighth Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure) recommends thiazide-type diuretics to be one of the first-line drug treatments for hypertension, either as monotherapy or in combination with calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, or angiotensin II receptor antagonists. There are fixed-dose combination drugs, such as ACE inhibitor and thiazide combinations. Despite thiazides being cheap and effective, they are not prescribed as often as some newer drugs. This is because they have been associated with increased risk of new-onset diabetes and as such are recommended for use in patients over 65, for whom the risk of new-onset diabetes is outweighed by the benefits of controlling systolic blood pressure. Another theory is that they are off-patent and thus rarely promoted by the drug industry.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: The 8th Joint National Committee (JNC-8) recommends calcium channel blockers to be a first-line treatment either as monotherapy or in combination with thiazide-type diuretics, ACE inhibitors, or angiotensin II receptor antagonists for all patients regardless of age or race.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: ACE inhibitors inhibit the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), an enzyme responsible for the conversion of angiotensin I into angiotensin II, a potent vasoconstrictor.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: A systematic review of 63 trials with over 35,000 participants indicated ACE inhibitors significantly reduced doubling of serum creatinine levels compared to other drugs (ARBs, α blockers, β blockers, etc.), and the authors suggested this as a first line of defense. The AASK trial showed that ACE inhibitors are more effective at slowing down the decline of kidney function compared to calcium channel blockers and beta blockers. As such, ACE inhibitors should be the drug treatment of choice for patients with chronic kidney disease regardless of race or diabetic status.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: However, ACE inhibitors (and angiotensin II receptor antagonists) should not be a first-line treatment for black hypertensives without chronic kidney disease. Results from the ALLHAT trial showed that thiazide-type diuretics and calcium channel blockers were both more effective as monotherapy in improving cardiovascular outcomes compared to ACE inhibitors for this subgroup. Furthermore, ACE inhibitors were less effective in reducing blood pressure and had a 51% higher risk of stroke in black hypertensives when used as initial therapy compared to a calcium channel blocker. There are fixed-dose combination drugs, such as ACE inhibitor and thiazide combinations.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Notable side effects of ACE inhibitors include dry cough, high blood levels of potassium, fatigue, dizziness, headaches, loss of taste and a risk for angioedema.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: In 2004, an article in the BMJ examined the evidence for and against the suggestion that angiotensin receptor blockers may increase the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack). The matter was debated in 2006 in the medical journal of the American Heart Association. There is no consensus on whether ARBs have a tendency to increase MI, but there is also no substantive evidence to indicate that ARBs are able to reduce MI.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: In the VALUE trial, the angiotensin II receptor blocker valsartan produced a statistically significant 19% (p=0.02) relative increase in the prespecified secondary end point of myocardial infarction (fatal and non-fatal) compared with amlodipine.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: The CHARM-alternative trial showed a significant +52% (p=0.025) increase in myocardial infarction with candesartan (versus placebo) despite a reduction in blood pressure.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Indeed, as a consequence of AT1 blockade, ARBs increase Angiotensin II levels several-fold above baseline by uncoupling a negative-feedback loop. Increased levels of circulating Angiotensin II result in unopposed stimulation of the AT2 receptors, which are, in addition upregulated. Unfortunately, recent data suggest that AT2 receptor stimulation may be less beneficial than previously proposed and may even be harmful under certain circumstances through mediation of growth promotion, fibrosis, and hypertrophy, as well as proatherogenic and proinflammatory effects.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: ARBs happens to be the favorable alternative to ACE inhibitors if the hypertensive patients with the heart failure type of reduced ejection fraction treated with ACEis was intolerant of cough, angioedema other than hyperkalemia or chronic kidney disease.<ref name="ACC/AHA/HFSA 2016"></ref>


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Although beta blockers lower blood pressure, they do not have a positive benefit on endpoints as some other antihypertensives. In particular, beta-blockers are no longer recommended as first-line treatment due to relative adverse risk of stroke and new-onset of type 2 diabetes when compared to other medications, while certain specific beta-blockers such as atenolol appear to be less useful in overall treatment of hypertension than several other agents. A systematic review of 63 trials with over 35,000 participants indicated β-blockers increased the risk of mortality, compared to other antihypertensive therapies. They do, however, have an important role in the prevention of heart attacks in people who have already had a heart attack. In the United Kingdom, the June 2006 "Hypertension: Management of Hypertension in Adults in Primary Care" guideline of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, downgraded the role of beta-blockers due to their risk of provoking type 2 diabetes.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Despite lowering blood pressure, alpha blockers have significantly poorer endpoint outcomes than other antihypertensives, and are no longer recommended as a first-line choice in the treatment of hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Vasodilators act directly on the smooth muscle of arteries to relax their walls so blood can move more easily through them; they are only used in hypertensive emergencies or when other drugs have failed, and even so are rarely given alone.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Sodium nitroprusside, a very potent, short-acting vasodilator, is most commonly used for the quick, temporary reduction of blood pressure in emergencies (such as malignant hypertension or aortic dissection). Hydralazine and its derivatives are also used in the treatment of severe hypertension, although they should be avoided in emergencies. They are no longer indicated as first-line therapy for high blood pressure due to side effects and safety concerns, but hydralazine remains a drug of choice in gestational hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Renin comes one level higher than angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in the renin–angiotensin system. Renin inhibitors can therefore effectively reduce hypertension. Aliskiren (developed by Novartis) is a renin inhibitor which has been approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Aldosterone receptor antagonists are not recommended as first-line agents for blood pressure, but spironolactone and eplerenone are both used in the treatment of heart failure and resistant hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Central alpha agonists lower blood pressure by stimulating alpha-receptors in the brain which open peripheral arteries easing blood flow. These alpha 2 receptors are known as autoreceptors which provide negative feedback in neurotransmission (in this case, the vasoconstriction effects of adrenaline).


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Central alpha agonists, such as clonidine, are usually prescribed when all other anti-hypertensive medications have failed. For treating hypertension, these drugs are usually administered in combination with a diuretic.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Adverse effects of this class of drugs include sedation, drying of the nasal mucosa and rebound hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: For the most resistant and severe disease, oral minoxidil (Loniten) in combination with diuretic and β-blocker or other sympathetic nervous system suppressants may be used.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Bosentan belongs to a new class of drugs and works by blocking endothelin receptors. It is specifically indicated only for the treatment of pulmonary artery hypertension in patients with moderate to severe heart failure.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: For mild blood pressure elevation, consensus guidelines call for medically supervised lifestyle changes and observation before recommending initiation of drug therapy. However, according to the American Hypertension Association, evidence of sustained damage to the body may be present even prior to observed elevation of blood pressure. Therefore, the use of hypertensive medications may be started in individuals with apparent normal blood pressures but who show evidence of hypertension-related nephropathy, proteinuria, atherosclerotic vascular disease, as well as other evidence of hypertension-related organ damage.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: If lifestyle changes are ineffective, then drug therapy is initiated, often requiring more than one agent to effectively lower hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Which type of many medications should be used initially for hypertension has been the subject of several large studies and various national guidelines. Considerations include factors such as age, race, and other medical conditions. In the United States, JNC8 (2014) recommends any drug from one of the four following classes to be a good choice as either initial therapy or as an add-on treatment: thiazide-type diuretics, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, or angiotensin II receptor antagonists.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: The first large study to show a mortality benefit from antihypertensive treatment was the VA-NHLBI study, which found that chlorthalidone was effective. The largest study, Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) in 2002, concluded that chlorthalidone, (a thiazide-like diuretic) was as effective as lisinopril (an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor) or amlodipine (a calcium channel blocker). (ALLHAT showed that doxazosin, an alpha-adrenergic receptor blocker, had a higher incidence of heart failure events, and the doxazosin arm of the study was stopped.)


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: A subsequent smaller study (ANBP2) did not show the slight advantages in thiazide diuretic outcomes observed in the ALLHAT study, and actually showed slightly better outcomes for ACE-inhibitors in older white male patients.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Thiazide diuretics are effective, recommended as the best first-line drug for hypertension, and are much more affordable than other therapies, yet they are not prescribed as often as some newer drugs. Chlorthalidone is the thiazide drug that is most strongly supported by the evidence as providing a mortality benefit; in the ALLHAT study, a chlorthalidone dose of 12.5 mg was used, with titration up to 25 mg for those subjects who did not achieve blood pressure control at 12.5 mg. Chlorthalidone has repeatedly been found to have a stronger effect on lowering blood pressure than hydrochlorothiazide, and hydrochlorothiazide and chlorthalidone have a similar risk of hypokalemia and other adverse effects at the usual doses prescribed in routine clinical practice. Patients with an exaggerated hypokalemic response to a low dose of a thiazide diuretic should be suspected to have hyperaldosteronism, a common cause of secondary hypertension.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Other medications have a role in treating hypertension. Adverse effects of thiazide diuretics include hypercholesterolemia, and impaired glucose tolerance with increased risk of developing Diabetes mellitus type 2. The thiazide diuretics also deplete circulating potassium unless combined with a potassium-sparing diuretic or supplemental potassium. Some authors have challenged thiazides as first line treatment. However, as the Merck Manual of Geriatrics notes, "thiazide-type diuretics are especially safe and effective in the elderly."


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Current UK guidelines suggest starting patients over the age of 55 years and all those of African/Afrocaribbean ethnicity firstly on calcium channel blockers or thiazide diuretics, whilst younger patients of other ethnic groups should be started on ACE-inhibitors. Subsequently, if dual therapy is required to use ACE-inhibitor in combination with either a calcium channel blocker or a (thiazide) diuretic. Triple therapy is then of all three groups and should the need arise then to add in a fourth agent, to consider either a further diuretic (e.g. spironolactone or furosemide), an alpha-blocker or a beta-blocker. Prior to the demotion of beta-blockers as first line agents, the UK sequence of combination therapy used the first letter of the drug classes and was known as the "ABCD rule".


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: The choice between the drugs is to a large degree determined by the characteristics of the patient being prescribed for, the drugs' side effects, and cost. Most drugs have other uses; sometimes the presence of other symptoms can warrant the use of one particular antihypertensive. Examples include:


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: The JNC8 guidelines indicate reasons to choose one drug over the others for certain individual patients.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy constitute a significant risk factor for maternal and fetal outcomes, necessitating antihypertensive treatment. However, current data concerning the safety of in utero exposure to antihypertensive medication are controversial. While some studies recommend the administration of certain agents, others underline the possible adverse effects on fetal development. In general, a-methyldopa, β-blockers and calcium channel blockers are the first or second treatment line for hypertension during pregnancy. However, ACEIs, ARBs and diuretics are mostly contraindicated, as the potential risk outweighs the benefits of their administration. Additionally, several drugs should be avoided, due to the lack of data regarding their safety.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Chlorothiazide was discovered in 1957, but the first known instance of an effective antihypertensive treatment was in 1947 using Primaquine, an antimalarial.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: Vaccinations are being trialed and may become a treatment option for high blood pressure in the future. CYT006-AngQb was only moderately successful in studies, but similar vaccines are being investigated.


title: Antihypertensive drug

text: The latest evidence does not have evidence of an effect due to discontinuing vs continuing medications used for treating elevated blood pressure or prevention of heart disease in older adults on all-case mortality and incidence of heart attack. The findings are based on low quality evidence suggesting it may be safe to stop anti-hypertensive medications. However, older adults should not stop any of their medications without talking to a healthcare professional.


title: Cosmicism

text: Cosmicism is the literary philosophy developed and used by the American writer H. P. Lovecraft in his fiction. Lovecraft was a writer of philosophically intense horror stories that involve occult phenomena like astral possession and alien miscegenation, and the themes of his fiction over time contributed to the development of this philosophy.


title: Cosmicism

text: The philosophy of cosmicism states that "there is no recognizable divine presence, such as a god, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence." The most prominent theme is humanity's fear of their insignificance in the face of an incomprehensibly large universe: a fear of the cosmic void.


title: Cosmicism

text: Cosmicism and human centric views of the universe are incompatible. Cosmicism shares many characteristics with nihilism, though one important difference is that cosmicism tends to emphasize the insignificance of humanity and its doings, rather than summarily rejecting the possible existence of some higher purpose (or purposes); e.g., in Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories, it is not the absence of meaning that causes terror for the protagonists, as it is their discovery that they have absolutely no power to change anything in the vast, indifferent universe that surrounds them. In Lovecraft's stories, whatever meaning or purpose may be invested in the actions of the cosmic beings is completely inaccessible to the human characters.


title: Cosmicism

text: Lovecraft's cosmicism was a result of his feeling of humanity's existential helplessness in the face of what he called the "infinite spaces" opened up by scientific thought, and his belief that humanity was fundamentally at the mercy of the vastness and emptiness of the cosmos. In his fictional works, these ideas are often explored humorously ("Herbert West–Reanimator," 1922), through fantastic dream-like narratives ("The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," 1927), or through his well-known Cthulhu Mythos ("The Call of Cthulhu," 1928, and others). Common themes related to cosmicism in Lovecraft's fiction are the insignificance of humanity in the universe and the search for knowledge ending in disaster.


title: Cosmicism

text: Lovecraftian characters notably become insane from the elimination of recognizable geometry. Lovecraft's work also tended to impress fear of the other onto the reader, such as in "The Dunwich Horror" and "Dagon", often portraying that which is unknown as a terrible threat to the rest of humanity. This is possibly a reflection of his own personal views, which were often insular and paranoid.


title: Cosmicism

text: Though cosmicism appears deeply pessimistic, H.P. Lovecraft thought of himself as neither a pessimist nor an optimist but rather a "scientific" or "cosmic" indifferentist, a theme expressed in his fiction. In Lovecraft's work, human beings are often subject to powerful beings and other cosmic forces, but these forces are not so much malevolent as they are indifferent toward humanity. This indifference is an important theme in cosmicism. The noted Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi asserts that "Lovecraft constantly engaged in (more or less) genial debates on religion with several colleagues, notably the pious writer and teacher Maurice W. Moe. Lovecraft was a strong and antireligious atheist; he considered religion not merely false but dangerous to social and political progress." As such, Lovecraft's cosmicism is not religious at all, but rather a version of his mechanistic materialism. Lovecraft thus embraced a philosophy of "cosmic indifferentism". He believed in a meaningless, mechanical, and uncaring universe that human beings, with their naturally limited faculties, could never fully understand. His viewpoint made no allowance for religious beliefs which could not be supported scientifically. The incomprehensible, cosmic forces of his tales have as little regard for humanity as humans have for insects.


title: Cosmicism

text: Though personally irreligious, Lovecraft used various "gods" in his stories, particularly the Cthulhu-related tales, to expound cosmicism. However, Lovecraft never conceived of them as supernatural, but extraterrestrials who understand and obey a set of natural laws which to human understanding seem magical. These beings (the Great Old Ones, Outer Gods and others) – though dangerous to humankind – are portrayed as neither good nor evil, and human notions of morality have no significance for these beings. Indeed, they exist in cosmic realms beyond human understanding. As a symbol, this is representative of the kind of universe that Lovecraft believed in. Though some of these beings have – and in some cases create – cults to honor them, to the vast majority of these beings the human race is so insignificant that they aren't given any consideration whatsoever.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: Hero of the Russian Federation (), also unofficially Hero of Russia (), is the highest honorary title of the Russian Federation. The title comes with a Gold Star medal, an insignia of honour that identifies recipients.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The title is awarded to persons for "service to the Russian state and nation, usually connected with a heroic feat of valour". The title is bestowed by decree of the president of the Russian Federation. Russian citizenship or being in the service of the Russian state is not obligatory.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The title was established in 1992 and, , was awarded more than 970 times, of which more than 440 were posthumously.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The title "Hero of Russia" is a successor to Hero of the Soviet Union (), which was established by Resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union of 5 May 1934. The corresponding Gold Star is derived from the Soviet design, created by architect Miron Merzhanov and approved by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of 1 August 1939.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian Federation under president Boris Yeltsin retained a modified award by Law of the Russian Federation No. 2553-1 20 March 1992. Article 71 of the Constitution of Russia permits titles, orders and medals to be presented by the government, and Article 89 gives the Russian president power to create state awards. This is the highest honour that can be presented by the Russian president to a citizen.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The title of Hero of the Russian Federation can be awarded for a heroic deed in the service of the state. It can be awarded to both civilian and military personnel. The title can also be awarded posthumously if the heroic act costs the recipient his or her life. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the award.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The insignia of the title of "Hero of the Russian Federation" is also called the "Gold Star" medal (), its design is similar to the Soviet variant.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The "Gold Star" medal is a gold five-pointed star with smooth 15mm dihedral rays on the obverse. The otherwise plain reverse bears the prominent relief inscription in 2mm high letters "HERO OF RUSSIA" () at its centre, in the upper portion, the award serial number in 1mm high numbers.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The insignia is secured to a standard Russian square mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The mount is covered by a silk moiré tricolour ribbon of white, blue, and red.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The insignia of Hero of the Russian Federation is worn on the left side of the chest above all other medals and decorations. It is always worn in full size; there is no ribbon bar or rosette that can be worn in lieu of the medal. When worn together with Soviet-era hero titles (Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labour), the Russian title has precedence.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The majority of the early recipients of the title fell into two categories: participants in the Chechnya conflicts or cosmonauts. On some occasions, the person who was awarded the title was killed while in the course of duty, such as Major Denis Vetchinov, who was killed early in the 2008 South Ossetia War. This includes those killed in battle as well as assassinated government officials. An example of such a recipient was Akhmad Kadyrov, the former governor of Chechnya. The pro-Moscow leader was killed in a bomb attack during the 2004 Victory Day parade in the Chechen capital of Grozny. Several days after Akhmad was killed, President Vladimir Putin awarded him the title. Some time after the incident, Putin awarded Kadyrov's son, Ramzan, the same title for his work in Chechnya.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: All Russian cosmonauts are awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation following their voyage into space; some may already have earned it, for example for long service as a test pilot. Cosmonauts are also awarded the title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation. Some recipients of the title, such as Sergei Krikalev, had also received the Soviet hero title, along with the Order of Lenin. Most of the cosmonaut double heroes were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Russia titles "for successful realization of flight and the courage and heroism shown."


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: Outside those two groups, athletes and other civilian and military officials have also received the title. Notable examples include:


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 16 August 2009, the Russian Air Force's aerobatics demonstration team, Russian Knights' commander, Guard Colonel Igor Tkachenko was killed when his Sukhoi Su-27 collided in mid-air with another Sukhoi Su-27 whilst practicing for the 2009 MAKS Airshow. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously on 22 August 2009.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: The medal has been awarded posthumously approximately 340 times, primarily to people involved in the first and second wars in Chechnya. In 2010 a posthumous award was made by President Dmitry Medvedev to Evgeny Chernyshov, the chief of the Moscow fire department on 24 March 2010. Chernyshov died on 20 March 2010 saving others' lives.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 28 March 2012, during a training exercise at a Far Eastern military base near the town of Belogorsk, Major Sergei Solnechnikov pushed a soldier away from an unsuccessfully thrown grenade and covered the grenade with his own body after it bounced back into the trench they were in with dozens of soldiers standing nearby. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously the following day on 29 March.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: In February 2014, Colonel who was commander of a detachment of Russian Spetsnaz took part in the 2014 Crimean crisis. On 4 April 2014 in a ("closed") decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for "courage and heroism displayed in the performance of military duty."


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 24 November 2015, a Turkish Air Force F-16 shot down a Sukhoi Su-24 which Turkey claimed had violated its airspace. Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov and Major ejected successfully from the aircraft but they were exposed to ground fire and Peshkov died as a result. Murakhtin was rescued safely later. On 25 November, President Vladimir Putin awarded the Hero of Russia posthumously to Peshkov and Murakhtin was awarded with the Order of Courage.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 10 July 2016, Police Lieutenant from Dagestan was captured by Islamic militants. With the whole incident videotaped by the militants, they demanded that Nurbagandov and his colleagues to resign from the police force but he defied them and said to the camera "Keep on working, brothers!" before being shot dead. On 22 September 2016, President Putin praised the officer as a model for others and awarded the Hero of Russia posthumously to Nurbagandov which was handed to his parents.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 10 May 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally awarded medals to four officers of the Special Operations Forces for showing extraordinary courage combating terrorists in Syria. They were part of a 16-man special forces detachment unit which managed to successfully repulse attacks conducted by over 300 jihadists without any losses. The commander of the unit, Lieutenant Colonel Danilo was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 3 February 2018, Major Roman Filipov was the pilot of a Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft shot down by Syrian militants belonging to Tahrir al-Sham using a portable air-defence (MANPAD) system. Major Filipov successfully ejected but landed in a rebel-controlled area and fought a gun battle against militants. Images posted online show that he emptied both his pistol magazines and just as the militants surrounded him, he set off a hand grenade shouting “This is for the boys!” On 6 February 2018, President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order awarding Major Roman Filipov the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: On 15 August 2019, Ural Airlines Flight 178 crash landed in a cornfield shortly after takeoff. With the successful emergency landing, the airline praised the professionalism of the pilots. The pilot in command and the first officer were awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation; the rest of the crew were decorated with the Order of Courage.


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: In December 2020, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, 1st Captain of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation "for the performance of special tasks associated with the risk to life during one of the long voyages."


title: Hero of the Russian Federation

text: In May 2021, by a "closed" decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Police Lieutenant Colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for courage and heroism shown in the line of duty.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Peräpohjola. The city centre is situated about south of the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the river Kemijoki and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. It is the second-largest city of Northern Finland after Oulu, and, together with the capital city Helsinki, it is one of Finland's most significant tourist cities in terms of foreign tourism.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The city and the surrounding (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on 1 January 2006. Rovaniemi municipality has an approximate population of . The urban area of Rovaniemi has a population of 53,361, in an area of about . Rovaniemi is a unilingual Finnish-speaking municipality and, uncommonly for larger Finnish towns, it is also known by its Finnish name and spelling in the Swedish language.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The coat of arms of Rovaniemi was designed by Toivo Vuorela. Its explanation is “in the green field, a silver pall with light-height upper branches; accompanied by a golden flame in the upper corner“. It was originally approved on 15 August 1956 by the Rovaniemi Rural Municipal Council and confirmed on October 26 at the Ministry of the Interior as the coat of arms of the Rovaniemi Rural Council.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The "rova" part in the name Rovaniemi has often been considered to be of Saami origin, as ' in Northern Saami denotes a forested ridge or hill or the site of an old forest fire. The "niemi" part of the name means "cape". The name of the town in the Saami languages spoken in Finland are , and ' and .


title: Rovaniemi

text: Periodic clearance of new land for agriculture and the practise of slash-and-burn cultivation began around 750–530 BC. Artifacts found in the area suggest that an increasing number of travellers from Karelia in the east, Häme in the south and the Arctic Ocean coast in the north must have come there from 500 AD onwards. The Sami are considered to be Lapland's most indigenous existing population.


title: Rovaniemi

text: It is first mentioned by name in official documents in 1453, existing effectively as a set of small villages whose inhabitants earned their living mainly in agriculture and animal husbandry—with fishing and hunting the most important offshoots.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The exploitation of Lapland's natural resources in the 1800s boosted Rovaniemi's growth. Extensive logging sites and gold fever attracted thousands of people to Lapland. As the mining of natural resources was increased, Rovaniemi became the business centre of the province of Lapland.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The township decree was promulgated on 27 June 1928, as a result of which Rovaniemi seceded from the old rural municipality as its own market town on 1 January 1929.


title: Rovaniemi

text: During the Second World War, Finland signed the Moscow Armistice and found itself involved in the Lapland War with its former German ally. Retreating German forces utilised scorched earth tactics, and though initially German General Lothar Rendulic ordered only the public buildings in Rovaniemi to be destroyed, on 13 October 1944 the German army received orders to destroy all the buildings in Rovaniemi, only excluding hospitals and houses where inhabitants were present.


title: Rovaniemi

text: While the German rearguard was going about the destruction, an ammunition train in Rovaniemi station exploded and set fire to the wooden houses of the town. The German troops suffered many casualties, mainly from glass splinters. A Finnish commando unit claimed to have blown up the ammunition train and may well have been the primary cause of the town's ruin. The cause was then unknown and generally assumed to be the deliberate intent of Rendulic. During these hostilities 90% of all the buildings in Rovaniemi were destroyed. There is a German cemetery 19 km from Rovaniemi where soldiers killed fighting in Lapland during the war are buried.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Although there has been continuous human settlement in the Rovaniemi area since at least the Stone Age, few of the buildings date back before 1944 since most of the city was destroyed during WWII. When the city was rebuilt, it was designed with input by famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, who planned the city's footprint in the shape of a reindeer's head, with the city roads forming the antlers, and the local sports stadium as the reindeer's eye.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Due to its location near the Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi has a subarctic climate (Köppen "Dfc") with short, pleasant summers, while the winters are long, cold and snowy. The city lies just south of the mean annual isotherm, but freezing in the soil is very limited even during the winter due to typical heavy snow cover. Its extreme northerly location combined with frequent overcast skies leads to very low levels of sunshine in the winter months; December averages just under six minutes of sunshine daily.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Winters are somewhat modified by marine air from the North Atlantic Current that ensures average temperatures are less extreme than expected for an inland area at such a northerly latitude.


title: Rovaniemi

text: From 1 to 6 July 2021, Rovaniemi recorded 122 hours of continuous sunshine, which is a new world record. The sun shone continuously from 02:00 on 1 July 2021 to 04:00 on 6 July 2021. The previous record was 112 hours and 10 minutes at Cape Evans, Antarctica from 16–21 November 1911.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The average annual temperature in Rovaniemi is . Snow stays on the ground 175 days a year on average. The lowest temperature ever recorded at the airport is , recorded on 28 January 1999. However, on the same day temperatures as cold as -47.5 C were recorded at nearby weather stations.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Despite the fact that Rovaniemi experiences polar day between 7 June and 6 July (30 days) it does not experience polar night. However, the sun barely gets above the horizon in the winter.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Of the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the city belongs to the Rovaniemi Parish.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Of the revival movements within the church, Conservative Laestadianism is particularly active in the locality, with three peace associations in the locality: the Rovaniemi Peace Association, the Rautionsaari Peace Association and the Viirinkylä Peace Association.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Other local communities include the Rovaniemi Pentecostal Church, a member of the Finnish Pentecostal Church, and the Rovaniemi Adventist Church, part of the Finnish Adventist Church.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Since Rovaniemi is the capital of the region of Lapland, many government institutions have their offices there. About 10,000 of the inhabitants are students. Rovaniemi is home to not only the University of Lapland but also the Lapland University of Applied Sciences (formerly known as the Rovaniemi Polytechnic), which comprises institutes of information and traditional technology, business, health and social care, culinary studies, forestry, rural studies, and sports. Local newspapers include the "Lapin Kansa", "Uusi Rovaniemi" and "Lappilainen".


title: Rovaniemi

text: Because of the unspoiled nature of the area and numerous recreational opportunities, tourism is an important industry in Rovaniemi. The city has a number of hotels and restaurants located both in the centre and on the outskirts of the town, hosting over 481,000 visitors in 2013. Tourism can be seen and heard in the city's streetscape, at the Arctic Circle and at Rovaniemi Airport, Finland's one of the busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi is also considered by Finns to be the official home town of Santa Claus. It is home to the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle and SantaPark Arctic World, which is located north of the centre.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Directly across the river from the town is the Ounasvaara ski centre. There have been recreational activities in the Ounasvaara area since 1927, when the first winter sports were also organized. The top of the Ounasvaara hill bears the site of some of the earliest known human settlements in the area.


title: Rovaniemi

text: A phenomenon also attracting numerous tourists is the Aurora Borealis or "Northern Lights". In Finnish Lapland, the number of auroral displays can be as high as 200 a year whereas in southern Finland the number is usually fewer than 20.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi's most prominent landmarks include the Jätkänkynttilä bridge with its eternal flame over the Kemijoki river, the Arktikum Science Museum which rises out of the bank of the Ounasjoki river, the Rovaniemi city hall, the Lappia Hall, which serves as a theatre, concert hall, and congress centre, and the library.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The last three mentioned buildings are designed by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The Arktikum Science Museum is a comprehensive museum of Finland's, and the world's, Arctic regions.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The city is home to the football clubs Rovaniemen Palloseura, or RoPS, part of the Veikkausliiga, the Finnish premier division, and FC Santa Claus, part of the third division; to the ice hockey team Rovaniemen Kiekko, or RoKi, whose home arena is Lappi Areena and which currently competes on Mestis, the second-highest league in Finland; and to the volleyball team called Team Lakkapää (formerly Rovaniemen Santasport and Perungan Pojat), which plays in the Finland Volleyball League and won the national championship in 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2011. The Rovaniemi Nordmen, an American Football team, was formed in 2013 and has played at various levels throughout the Finnish American Football Association.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi has hosted several international ski competition, including the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1984, several FIS Nordic Combined World Cup and FIS Ski Jumping Continental Cup events, the 2005 FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships, the 1970 Winter Universiade and the 2008 Winter Transplant Games.


title: Rovaniemi

text: VR Group, the Finnish state railway system, operates direct daytime and overnight passenger trains from Rovaniemi Station to Oulu, Tampere, Helsinki and Turku. Diesel-powered passenger trains operated northeast of Rovaniemi to Kemijärvi until March 2014, when electrification to Kemijärvi was completed. Rovaniemi Airport is located about north of the Rovaniemi city centre, and it is the third-busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Oulu Airport. The busiest time for the airport is in the Christmas season, when many people go on Santa Flights.


title: Rovaniemi

text: In March 2022, Rovaniemi suspended the agreement with Murmansk, Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Rovaniemi

text: The 1998 Spanish romantic film "Lovers of the Arctic Circle" "(Los amantes del Círculo Polar)", by director Julio Medem, partly takes place in Rovaniemi.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi appears in the video game "Tom Clancy's EndWar" as a possible battlefield. In the game, Rovaniemi houses military facilities critical to a missile shield for a European Federation.


title: Rovaniemi

text: TV-Star Bam Margera and his friends travelled to Rovaniemi in their film "" in order to find Santa Claus who is assumed to live in Rovaniemi.


title: Rovaniemi

text: A version of the music video for Lordi's song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was filmed near Rovaniemi for the opening of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. After winning the contest, a square called the Lordi's Square ("Lordin aukio") in the city center of Rovaniemi has been named after the band.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi used to have the northernmost location of any McDonald's in the world until the opening of a McDonald's in Murmansk in 2013, 23 years after it first opened in that country. However, the title of the northernmost in the world returned to Rovaniemi in 2022, when in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, all Russian McDonald's restaurants were closed, and rebranded to Vkusno i tochka.


title: Rovaniemi

text: Rovaniemi appears as one location of Gavin Lyall's 1963 book "The Most Dangerous Game", a spy-thriller set in Lapland and the northern USSR.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Julie d'Aubigny (; 1673–1707), better known as Mademoiselle Maupin or La Maupin, was a French opera singer. Little is known for certain about her life; her tumultuous career and flamboyant lifestyle were the subject of gossip, rumour, and colourful stories in her own time, and inspired numerous fictional and semi-fictional portrayals afterwards.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Her life loosely inspired the titular character of Théophile Gautier's 1835 novel, "Mademoiselle de Maupin," in which she employs multiple disguises to seduce a young man and his mistress. Due to her relationships with men and women, some modern-day sources refer to d'Aubigny as bisexual and/or queer.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Julie d'Aubigny was born in 1673 to Gaston d'Aubigny, a secretary to Louis de Lorraine-Guise, comte d'Armagnac, the Master of the Horse for King Louis XIV. Her father, who trained the court pages, took care of her education teaching her academic subjects of the type given to boys but also trained her in fencing in which she gained competence from the age of 12, competing successfully against men.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: By the age of 14, she became Louis de Lorraine's mistress. That year, in 1687, the Count d'Armagnac arranged for her to marry the Sieur de Maupin of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and she became Madame de Maupin (or simply "La Maupin" per French custom). Soon after the wedding, her husband received an administrative position in the south of France, but the Count kept her in Paris for his own purposes.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Also around 1687, d'Aubigny became involved with an assistant fencing master named Séranne. When Lieutenant-General of Police Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie tried to apprehend Sérannes for killing a man in an illegal duel, the pair fled the city to Marseille.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: On the road south, d'Aubigny and Sérannes made a living by giving fencing exhibitions and singing in taverns and at local fairs. While travelling and performing in these impromptu shows, La Maupin dressed in men's clothing but did not attempt to pass as male. On arrival in Marseille, she joined the opera company run by (1642–1696), singing under her maiden name.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Her performances on stage attracted the attention of a young woman — the daughter of a local merchant. When the girl's parents hid her away in a convent, possibly the Visitandines convent in Avignon, d'Aubigny followed, entering the convent as a postulant. In order to run away with her new love, she stole the body of a dead nun, placed it in the bed of her lover, and set the room on fire to cover their escape. Their affair lasted for three months before the young woman returned to her family. D'Aubigny was charged "in absentia" — as a male — with kidnapping, body snatching, arson, and failing to appear before the tribunal.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: D'Aubigny left for Paris and again earned her living by singing. In an inn in Villeperdue she met the young Comte d'Albert who mistook her for a man: they duelled, she won, he was wounded and she nursed him back to health. They became lovers briefly and lifelong friends. Near Poitiers, she met an old actor named Maréchal who gave her singing lessons. Together with a new lover, the singer Gabriel-Vinvent Thévenard, she went on to Paris where Thévenard was engaged with the Opéra on condition d'Aubigny should also be admitted. As a result, she began performing there when she was just 17.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: The Paris Opéra hired La Maupin in 1690, having initially refused her. She befriended an elderly singer, Bouvard, and he and Thévenard convinced Jean-Nicolas de Francine, master of the king's household, to accept her into the company. She debuted as Pallas Athena in "Cadmus et Hermione" by Jean-Baptiste Lully the same year. She performed regularly with the Opéra from 1690 to 1694, first singing in major productions as a soprano, and later in her more natural contralto range. The Marquis de Dangeau wrote in his journal of a performance by La Maupin given at Trianon of Destouches' "Omphale" in 1701 that hers was "the most beautiful voice in the world".


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: In Paris, and later in Brussels, she performed under the name Mademoiselle de Maupin: by tradition, women who sang or danced with the Opera were addressed as "mademoiselle" whether or not they were married. In Brussels, she performed at the Opéra du Quai au Foin.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: The many biographical accounts of her life, from the eighteenth century onwards, include stories of her winning several duels with the sword — on one occasion with three noblemen in the same evening, after she kissed a young woman at a ball — and beating the singer Louis Gaulard Dumesny after he insulted the other women at the Opera. She continued to wear men's clothes in public and had relationships with both men and women.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Until 1705, La Maupin sang in new operas by Pascal Collasse, André Cardinal Destouches, and André Campra. In 1702, André Campra composed the role of Clorinde in "Tancrède" specifically for her "bas-dessus" (contralto) range. She sang for the court and before the King at Versailles on a number of occasions, and again appeared in many of the Opéra's major productions. She appeared for the last time in "La Vénitienne" by Michel de La Barre (1705).


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: After the death of her lover in 1705, Madame la Marquise de Florensac, with whom she had "dwelt in such affection they believed to be perfect", La Maupin retired from the opera and took refuge in a convent where she is believed to have died in 1707 at the age of 33.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Théophile Gautier, when asked to write a story about d'Aubigny, instead produced the novel "Mademoiselle de Maupin", published in 1835, taking aspects of the real La Maupin as a starting point. Gautier named some of the characters after her and her acquaintances, although the plot and characters are invented, and it is set in the nineteenth century. The central character's life was viewed through a romantic lens as "all for love" and Gautier argues for "Art for art's sake" in its famous Preface. D'Albert and his mistress Rosette are both in love with the androgynous Théodore de Sérannes, whom neither of them knows is really Madeleine de Maupin. A performance of Shakespeare's "As You Like It", in which La Maupin, who is passing as Théodore, plays the part of Rosalind playing Ganymede, mirrors the cross-dressing of the heroine. The celebration of sensual love, regardless of gender, was radical, and the book was banned by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and authorities elsewhere.


title: Julie d'Aubigny

text: Apart from Gautier's "Mademoiselle de Maupin", La Maupin has been portrayed many times in print, stage and screen, including:


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Hassan Niam Whiteside (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd before being selected in the second round by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA draft. After joining the Miami Heat in 2014, Whiteside was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2016, when he also led the NBA in blocks. He led the league in rebounding in 2017. He was traded to Portland Trail Blazers and again led the league in blocks in his first season with Portland.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside grew up with six siblings and a single mother. Born and raised in Gastonia, North Carolina, he attended three high schools in two years: Hunter Huss High School, Ashbrook High School, and Forestview High School.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: For his junior year of high school in 2006–07, Whiteside moved in with his father in Newark, New Jersey, playing at East Side High School. After averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.5 blocked shots per game, Whiteside went back to North Carolina for the 2007–08 school year and attended Hope Christian Academy (Kings Mountain, North Carolina). In 2008–09, he played prep basketball at The Patterson School in Lenoir, North Carolina where he helped lead Patterson to a 34–2 record and a No. 1 national ranking with future Marshall teammate DeAndre Kane. At Patterson, he also played alongside Arsalan Kazemi.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside was rated as the No. 19 center in the Class of 2009 according to Scout.com, and ranked as the No. 87 recruit in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com. He played in the 2009 Reebok All-American preview game, and was a member of both the United Celtics (NC) AAU Team and the New Jersey Panthers AAU team as a high schooler.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside chose Marshall over UNC Charlotte, South Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn, and Mississippi State.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside came to Marshall University under the radar during the start of the 2009–10 season, but it did not take long for him to make national attention. He was spotlighted in the edition of December 28 of "ESPN The Magazine"'s College Basketball column after he amassed 14 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocked shots over 29 minutes in a 60–53 win over the Ohio University Bobcats on November 28. A few weeks later on December 12, Whiteside recorded the Thundering Herd's first triple-double in a 105–54 rout of the Brescia Bearcats, scoring 17 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 11 shots. Whiteside would go on to have two more triple-doubles on the year against the UCF Knights on January 13, and February 27. He finished the season as the nation's leader in blocked shots with 182, and he also broke the C-USA record held by Tulsa's Jerome Jordan for most blocked shots in a single season and the Marshall record for the most blocked shots in a single season and career all in his first year. The 182 blocks were also a national record for a freshman in a single season, topping 177 by BYU's Shawn Bradley in 1990–91.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On March 29, 2010, Whiteside declared himself eligible for the 2010 NBA draft, after Marshall head coach, Donnie Jones, accepted the head coaching job at Conference USA rival UCF Knights.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 33rd overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He played in the Kings' season opener, recording two fouls in two minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves, before failing to appear in another game for the Kings all season. He spent time with the Kings' D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, between November 29 and January 9, before being ruled out for four to six months on March 4 after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his left knee.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Between January 1 and February 3 of the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Whiteside was on assignment with the Reno Bighorns. Between February 15 and April 11, he played in 18 games for the Kings, including having a 10-rebound effort on April 8 against the Houston Rockets. On July 16, 2012, he was waived by the Kings.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On December 14, 2012, Whiteside was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On January 4, 2013, Whiteside was traded to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in exchange for Damian Saunders.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside left the Vipers prior to the playoffs and joined Lebanese club Amchit Club in late April 2013.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: After three games for Amchit in early May, Whiteside left Lebanon and joined the Chinese NBL team Sichuan Blue Whales. In his first game with the Blue Whales, Whiteside recorded 28 points and 21 rebounds in an 85–69 win over Hebei Xianglian. In 27 games, he averaged 25.7 points, 16.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 5.1 blocks per game.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: In April 2014, Whiteside was released by Tripoli and returned to China. He joined Chinese NBL team Jiangsu Tongxi, where in 17 games, he averaged 29.6 points, 16.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 4.3 blocks per game.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: After spending Summer League with the Toronto Raptors and preseason with the Memphis Grizzlies, Whiteside joined the Grizzlies' D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, in November 2014. On November 19, he was called up by the Grizzlies to fill out their roster against Toronto due to multiple injuries. He was waived the next day and re-joined Iowa.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On November 24, 2014, Whiteside signed with the Miami Heat. On December 13, he was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, but was recalled two days later. On January 4, 2015, he recorded his first career double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in an 88–84 win over the Brooklyn Nets.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On January 11, 2015, Whiteside recorded a then career-high 23 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a 104–90 win against the Los Angeles Clippers. On January 25, he recorded his first career triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and franchise record 12 blocks in a 96–84 win over the Chicago Bulls. In the process, Whiteside became just the fourth player in the previous 25 years with at least 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks in a game, and the first player since Manute Bol with 12 blocks off the bench in 25 minutes or less. Bol had 13 blocks in 23 minutes. On February 4, he scored a then career-high 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting along with 20 rebounds in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. His 90% field goal shooting and his 20/20 night made him one of only four players in NBA history to achieve such a feat.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On March 2, 2015, Whiteside got into a fight with Alex Len of the Phoenix Suns. The following day, the NBA fined Whiteside $15,000 for his role in the altercation. On March 10, he was suspended for one game without pay for striking Kelly Olynyk during the Heat's March 9 loss to the Boston Celtics. He went on to finish fourth in the NBA Most Improved Player Award voting. During his first season with the Heat, Whiteside averaged a double-double with 11.8 points and 10 rebounds per game.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On November 1, 2015, Whiteside scored a then career-high 25 points in a 109–89 win over the Houston Rockets. On November 17, he recorded his second career triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He became the seventh player in NBA history with multiple points-rebounds-blocks triple-doubles. On November 23, in a game against the New York Knicks, Whiteside blocked five shots, giving him 63 through 13 games. The previous Heat record for blocks at this point of the season belonged to Alonzo Mourning, who had 50 to open the 1998–99 season. On December 9, he recorded three blocks against the Charlotte Hornets, thus opening the season with two or more blocks in all 20 games, trailing only Mark Eaton (24, 1988–89 with Utah) and Shaquille O'Neal (23, 1992–93 with Orlando) for longest streaks to start a season. His streak ended at 21 after he failed to record a block on December 13 against the Memphis Grizzlies.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On January 15, 2016, Whiteside recorded his third career triple-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in a 98–95 win over the Denver Nuggets. Between January 22 and February 2, he missed six games with a left hip injury. He returned to action on February 3, recording 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in 17 minutes off the bench in a 93–90 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Two days later, he recorded his third triple-double of the season and fourth of his career with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in 27 minutes off the bench in a 98–95 win over the Charlotte Hornets. On February 20, he recorded 25 points and 23 rebounds off the bench in a 114–94 win over the Washington Wizards, marking just the 11th time in NBA history that a player has had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game off the bench. Whiteside also blocked two shots in that game, giving him 300 with the Heat in 94 games, which is the fastest a Heat player has reached the 300-block mark. Alonzo Mourning was the previous fastest as he needed 108 games to accomplish the feat. In the Heat's next game the following day against the Indiana Pacers, Whiteside grabbed his 1,000th career rebound in his 95th game, marking the fastest anyone has reached that milestone in Heat history, ahead of Alonzo Mourning (96), Kevin Willis (98) and Shaquille O'Neal (99). On March 1, he recorded a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 129–111 win over the Chicago Bulls. He topped that mark on March 28, scoring 27 points in a 110–99 win over the Brooklyn Nets.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: The Heat finished the regular season as the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48–34 record. Whiteside finished as the league's leading shot-blocker in 2015–16, and he earned selection to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In the first round of the playoffs, the Heat faced the sixth-seeded Charlotte Hornets, and in a Game 1 win on April 17, Whiteside made his postseason debut with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Heat went on to lose to the Toronto Raptors in the second round.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On July 7, 2016, Whiteside re-signed with the Heat on a four-year, $98 million contract. Whiteside became the first player in NBA history to go from a league minimum salary to a max level contract. In the Heat's season opener on October 26, Whiteside recorded 18 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in a 108–96 win over the Orlando Magic. On October 30, he tied his career high with 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a 106–99 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. With 21 points and 16 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors on November 4, Whiteside recorded his fifth straight double-double, a franchise record streak to open a season. On November 10, he recorded 20 points and 20 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls for his third career 20–20 game. The only player to have more in a Heat uniform is Rony Seikaly, with 12. Five days later, he scored 19 points and grabbed an NBA season-high 25 rebounds in a 93–90 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. On November 21, in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Whiteside set a career high with 32 points while reaching double digits in rebounds for the 13th consecutive game to start the season. On December 14, he recorded 26 points and 22 rebounds in a 95–89 win over the Indiana Pacers, marking his fourth career 20–20 game. Whiteside went on to miss four games in early January with a right retinal contusion. On February 1, 2017, Whiteside grabbed his 2,000th rebound in a 116–93 win over Atlanta; he finished the game with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Three days later, he scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in just 27 minutes in a 125–102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, extending Miami's winning streak to 10. The 30–20 game was the first of his career, and the ninth in Heat history including playoffs. He joined Bill Laimbeer as the only players in NBA history to post a 30-point, 20-rebound game in no more than 27 minutes—Laimbeer did it in the 1984–85 season. On March 12, he had 26 points and 21 rebounds in a 102–98 loss to Indiana. It was Whiteside's fifth 20/20 game this season. He also tied his career high with 10 offensive rebounds in the game. On March 21, he had a 23-point, 14-rebound performance in a 112–97 win over the Phoenix Suns. He reached 936 rebounds for the season during the game, setting a single-season franchise record by going two above Seikaly's 1991–92 total (934). Whiteside also recorded his 57th double-digit rebound game of the season, a Heat record—one more than Seikaly in 1991–92. On April 2 against Denver, Whiteside became the first Heat player to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a season. Whiteside finished the season as the league's leading rebounder.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: In the Heat's season opener against the Orlando Magic on October 18, 2017, Whiteside had 26 points and 22 rebounds in a 116–109 loss, becoming the first player since Kevin Garnett in 2007 to score at least 20 points and grab at least 20 rebounds on opening night. On November 1, 2017, he returned from a five-game absence with a bruised knee and scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 97–91 win over the Chicago Bulls. On December 26, 2017, he returned from an 11-game absence with a bone bruise in his left knee and had seven points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes in a 107–89 win over the Orlando Magic. On January 17, 2018, he had a season-high 27 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks to lead the Heat to a 106–101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Whiteside missed nine games in March with a hip injury.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On October 29, 2018, Whiteside had an NBA season-high 24 rebounds to go with 16 points and five blocked shots in a 123–113 loss to the Sacramento Kings. On November 7, he had 29 points, 20 rebounds and an NBA season-high nine blocked shots in a 95–88 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Whiteside had eight blocked shots in the first half, setting a Heat record for any half; the previous first-half mark was seven by Alonzo Mourning in 1999, while the second-half mark is seven by Whiteside. On November 20, he had 21 points and 23 rebounds in a 104–92 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. In March 2019, he was relegated to a reserve role after coming off a hip injury.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On July 6, 2019, Whiteside was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a four-team trade also involving the Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia 76ers. On November 29, 2019, Whiteside scored 8 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and recorded a season-high 10 blocks. His 10 blocks set a Trail Blazers' franchise record for blocks in a single game. The previous record holder was Bill Walton who recorded 9 blocks in two different occasions.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On November 27, 2020, the Sacramento Kings announced that they had signed Whiteside to a one-year contract.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: On August 6, 2021, Whiteside signed with the Utah Jazz. He spent the season as backup to Rudy Gobert. Despite playing only 17.9 minutes per game, Whiteside averaged 1.6 blocks per game, ranking 8th in the league in that category.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: Whiteside is the son of Hasson Arbubakrr and Debbie Whiteside. His father played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1983 to 1984. Whiteside has a younger brother named Nassan, who has autism. In 2012, Nassan's Place was incorporated in the state of New Jersey as a non-profit organization. Nassan's Place provides low to moderate income families the opportunity to receive quality and affordable care for their children in a safe and carefree environment.


title: Hassan Whiteside

text: In January 2017, Whiteside wired $2.75 million to attorney Michael Avenatti as the first payment in a $3 million-settlement with ex-girlfriend Alexis Gardner, who was represented by Avenatti in the settlement. Avenatti allegedly embezzled all but $194,000 of the $3 million that Whiteside paid in total, even though he was legally entitled to only a little more than $1 million in legal fees. This news came to light during an April 10, 2019 indictment of Avenatti by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California. "We entered into a mutually agreed upon settlement more than two years ago following the end of our relationship; a settlement that reflected Alexis’ investment of time and support over a number of years as Hassan pursued a career in the NBA," Whiteside and Gardner told "The Los Angeles Times" in a statement released by his agent.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language comedy mystery film directed by Swaroop R. S. J., who co-wrote the film with Naveen Polishetty. The film stars Naveen Polishetty as the title character alongside Shruti Sharma in her Telugu debut. It follows a Nellore-based detective whose life runs into danger when he starts investigating the case of a dead body abandoned near a railway track.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: The film was released theatrically on 21 June 2019 and received critical acclaim from the critics, where it became a commercial success at the box office. The film won three awards at Zee Cine Awards Telugu.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Athreya wakes up in the middle of the night and learn about his mother Mahalakshmi's death, where he leaves for home to Nellore from his college in Bhopal, only to see Mahalakshmi has already been cremated by his uncle. 3 years later, Athreya is now becomes a detective in Nellore under the name of "Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya", where he sets up an agency named FBI (Fatima Bureau of Investigation). His assistant Sneha who earlier was his junior in college helps him in cases. Athreya is mostly involved in solving petty cases. One day, his writer friend Sirish informs him of an unidentified body in Venkatachalam. When Athreya goes there, an arrogant CI Gautham Krishna arrests him on suspicion of murder.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: In prison that night, Athreya meets a man who acknowledges himself as Maruthi Rao and tells him the story of his daughter Divya, who went missing after going to Ongole. He gives him 3 phone numbers of three people who were the last who had contacted Divya before she was supposedly murdered. Ajay, Harsha, and Vasudha. Athreya and Sneha, upon investigation based on the phone numbers, confirm that Ajay and Harsha were in Ongole the day Divya was murdered, while Vasudha cannot be traced. They follow them both all day, who go to a car rental agency, mortuary, and railroad. At the end of the day, Athreya recognizes Divya somewhere along a highway, who doesn't speak Telugu, ignoring him. Upon checking at the police station at Nellore, they find that no Maruthi Rao was transferred from the rural station in the last three days.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Upon checking at the rural station, they find that the person who had called himself Maruthi Rao is actually Gopalam. Further inquiry with the station in Ongole reveals that on the day the body found was male not female. Later, at a Dhaba, Athreya discovers Ajay was brutally murdered and he is promptly arrested as the prime suspect by the Sub-Inspector Vamsi later cops finds Drugs in his Office and starts investigation deeply. Later further investigation of Sneha and Sirish they found that even Harsha also brutally murdered leaving evidences of Athreya. Then Athreya understands that Maruthi Rao's information is a trap to set him in the murder case which is related to the unidentified body found in Venkatachalam.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Athreya gets out on bail due to CCTV footage evidence that he was in Nellore sub-Jail asking for Maruthi Rao, but he only has five more days to prove his innocence due to the overwhelming evidence against him. While Athreya and Sneha investigate for clues at Harsha's house, someone tries to kill Athreya. later he explains his theory to Vamsi who is observing his investigation from the beginning, and it's discovered that Ajay and Harsha wanted the details of Athreya after he saw him being arrested in Venkatachalam. Meanwhile, a father registers a complaint about his missing daughter, and the missing daughter is Vasudha who turns out to be dead. A frustrated Athreya shows his anguish on Gautham by addressing his carelessness, where Gautham decided to cancel Athreya's bail to present him in the court soon.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Later, Athreya catches a man nicknamed "Bobby" who has been following Athreya around, however, Bobby reveals himself as an "Agent Bala Venkata Subramanya Swamy" like him who runs FBI (Friends Bureau of Investigation) in Hassan, Karnataka fed with false information that Athreya is the real murderer. Athreya figures out that there is a huge conspiracy, and sees that various bodies have been dumped next to the railway track between Kakinada and Tada railway stations then Athreya understands a loop hole that Regarding of Railway rules within 72 hours no one claims the dead body the dead bodies is cremated by the Railway Authorities. He deduces that the bodies are loading in a Chennai to Delhi goods train. Using this information, Athreya sees that the bodies are loaded into the goods train at Arambakkam in Tamil Nadu.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: With the help of Vamsi, Bobby, and Sneha, he goes to Arambakkam after faking his death to mislead the people following him. In Arambakkam, he catches Gopalam a former stage artist, who reveals the whole plot: someone has been taking dead bodies from Hindu families on the pretext that they are taking the bodies to Kashi, a holy place to cremate the dead, for money, and then dump them next to railroads. He also finds out that Mahalakshmi's corpse has been dumped like this too since his uncle sent Mahalakshmi's body for Kashi. After an emotional breakdown, Athreya finds out that the fingerprints of the dead man in Venkatachalam have the same fingerprints of a murderer in Gujarat, and deduces that they are stealing the fingerprints of dead bodies as well to use them in crimes. Athreya and Bobby find that the people behind this wanted to set them up so that they wouldn't find the Bethaballi Amman's (a religious NGO) talismans on the dead bodies that were supposed to be removed before the bodies are disposed.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Meanwhile, Sneha and Vamsi find that Ajay, Harsha, and Vasudha collaborated on a college project about religious crimes in India and collect the material along with their photos. Looking at the photos, Athreya realises that the dead body of Vasudha had a tattoo from childhood, while Vasudha in a picture does not. Then Athreya reveals that Vasudha and her dad are running the whole operation. Being criminology graduates Ajay, and Harsha are investigating about the unidentified dead bodies. They started their investigation from Ongole and reaches to Nellore they found the Talisman in the dead body and at the same time Athreya came across the body to investigate and got arrested, where Ajay and Harsha wants to approach Athreya for taking his service, but was too late.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Vasudha wanted to kill Ajay and Harsha and set up Athreya in a narcotics case so that nobody could trace the dead body to her, but their plan failed when Athreya proved himself innocent in court by showing the CCTV footage in prison and received bail. Vasudha comes with a new plan by killing Athreya and sets up Bobby and to divert the cops. Her father lodges a false complaint and later declares to believe she was missing and found dead like the unidentified bodies. After going to Bethaballi Amman NGO's office to find it empty, Athreya deduces that Vasudha went to Rajasthan to set up there new hideout in Karni Mata Temple where the team catches her and her father there and hands them over to the Nellore police. Athreya bids his goodbye to Bobby and he along with Sneha, visits the crematory to pay their respects to Mahalakshmi. Finally, Athreya continues his petty cases and logs heads with local police again which hints towards a sequel.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: The lead actor Naveen Polishetty explained that when he was looking for some good scripts, the director Swaroop contacted him on Facebook and told him the film's title and about the protagonist. When he narrated the whole story, Polishetty agreed to do the film if they got to work together on the final version. Swaroop agreed and they met at Hyderabad, where Polishetty's 4-years of experience as a writer helped him and they together worked on the script for eight months.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: The soundtrack was composed by Mark K Robin and the cinematography was handled by Sunny Kurapati. The film was produced by the "Malli Raava" fame Rahul Yadav Nakka.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: The film's only song is "Sherlock Holmes", composed by Mark K Robin. It has two versions: one sung by Anurag Kulkarni, and another by Harika Narayan.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: "Film Companion" Karthik Keramulu called it the best comedy thriller of the decade. "Times of India" critic Neehitha Nyayapati gave it 4 stars out of 5, praising Polishetty's performance and the execution. A reviewer from "The Hans India" gave the film 4 stars out of 5, praising the performances, music and screenplay while criticising the slow-paced narration in the first half. A "Deccan Chronicle" critic similarly gave it 4 stars out of 5, calling it a "Telugu Sherlock Holmes" while praising the performances, background score and the cinematography. Krishna Sripada of "The News Minute" gave it 4 stars out of 5, and calling it a "textbook crime drama", praised the plot and cinematography but criticised some dubbing mismatches, Sharma's "undermined" character in the second half and editing towards the end.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: The film also received appreciation from several Telugu film celebrities like director K. Raghavendra Rao and actors Allu Arjun and Varun Tej.


title: Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

text: Following the film's success, the makers announced the film's extension into a trilogy. The film was remade in Tamil as "Agent Kannayiram", and a Malayalam remake is in development.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: "Anadolu" (L-400) is an amphibious assault ship of the Turkish Navy that can be configured as a V/STOL aircraft carrier. It is named after the peninsula of Anatolia (Turkish: "Anadolu") which forms the majority of the land mass of Turkey. The construction works began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in Istanbul, with the keel being laid on 7 February 2018, and is expected to be commissioned in 2022. The vessel is intended to meet the various needs and requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces, such as sustaining long-endurance, long-distance military combat or humanitarian relief operations; while acting as a command center and flagship for the Turkish Navy.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: The Sedef–Navantia consortium won the tender for the amphibious assault ship project of the Turkish Navy and "Anadolu" will use the same design as that of the Spanish ship . All of the ship's weapons system will be procured by Turkish firms Aselsan and Havelsan. The ship will feature a Turkish combat management system, namely the GENESIS-ADVENT, which will be integrated by Aselsan and Havelsan. Aircraft landing is assisted in all weather condition by Leonardo SPN-720 Precision Approach Radar.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: Navantia will provide design, technology transfer, equipment and technical assistance to Sedef Shipyard of Turkey for the design and development of "Anadolu".


title: TCG Anadolu

text: In December 2013, the Turkish LPD/LHD program was originally estimated to cost €375 million ($500 million). According to the original plan, the Turkish Navy wanted a slightly shorter flight deck without the ski-jump ramp in front, to be optimized for use with only helicopters.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: However, the Turkish Navy later changed its plan and opted for a fully equipped flight deck with the ski-jump ramp in front, after deciding to purchase F-35B STOVL aircraft. Turkey was a Level 3 partner in the Joint Strike Fighter program that led to the F-35 Lightning II, and the Turkish Air Force was intending to get the F-35A CTOL version until the U.S. Senate blocked the export of the fighter jet to Turkey due to its purchase of the S-400 missile system from Russia, which is subjected to CAATSA sanctions. Instead of the F-35B STOVL version, in the short term the Turkish Navy will operate domestically-produced UCAVs such as the Bayraktar TB3.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: According to the official specifications, TCG "Anadolu" will be capable of operating up to 10 F-35Bs (if Turkey will purchase the aircraft in the future) and 12 medium-sized helicopters in the "V/STOL aircraft carrier" configuration.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: The dimensions of the final design are in length, a beam, a draft, and in height. Its displacement will be 24,660 tons in "V/STOL aircraft carrier" mission configuration; or 27,079 tons in "amphibious assault ship" mission configuration. Its maximum speed will be in "STOVL aircraft carrier" configuration; or in "amphibious assault ship" configuration. Its maximum range will be at economical speed.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: The ship has a flight deck and a aviation hangar which can accommodate either 12 medium-sized helicopters or 8 Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. When the aviation hangar and the light cargo garage are unified, the ship can carry up to 25 medium-sized helicopters. Alternatively, the ship can carry up to 10 F-35B STOVL fighter jets and 12 medium-sized helicopters, with the possibility of hosting six more helicopters on the flight deck of the ship.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: The ship has a light cargo garage for TEU containers and 27 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV); a dock which can host four Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) or two Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), or two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP); and a garage for heavy loads, which can host 29 main battle tanks (MBT), Amphibious Assault Vehicles, and TEU containers. The ship will be protected by the ARAS-2023 diver detection sonar (DDS), and will have a crew consisting of 261 personnel: 30 officers, 49 NCOs, 59 leading seamen, and 123 ratings.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: The final contract for the construction of the ship was signed with the Navantia-Sedef consortium on 7 May 2015. The commissioning of the ship was scheduled for 2021, and the estimated cost of the ship according to the final specifications was declared as $1 billion in 2015. The construction works began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in Istanbul.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: A small area in the forward of the ship caught fire whilst in dry dock on the evening of 29 April 2019, but the fire was quickly extinguished and the minor damage on the coating paint (stains of smoke and flames) was subsequently repaired with a fresh repainting. On 27 February 2022, TCG "Anadolu" has officially started sea trials.


title: TCG Anadolu

text: The construction of a sister ship, to be named TCG "Trakya", is being planned by the Turkish Navy. "Trakya" means Thrace in Turkish.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: Gennifer Flowers (born January 24, 1950) is an American author, singer, model, actress, former State of Arkansas employee, and former TV journalist. In January 1998, President Bill Clinton testified under oath that he had a sexual encounter with Flowers.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: During Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election campaign, Flowers came forward to say that she had had a 12-year extramarital relationship with Clinton, and that he had assisted her in securing a job as an administrative assistant with the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal. The State of Arkansas fired Flowers in early 1992 for failing to show up to work.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: After Clinton denied having a relationship with Flowers on "60 Minutes", she held a press conference in which she played tape recordings she had secretly made of phone calls with Clinton. Clinton subsequently apologized publicly to Mario Cuomo for remarks he made about the then-Governor of New York on the tapes, in which he had said that Cuomo acted like a mafioso. During the press conference, Flowers was asked several questions by "Stuttering John" Melendez of the "Howard Stern Show": if she was planning to sleep with any other candidates before the election, if Clinton used a condom and if there ever was a threesome. She responded by laughing at Stuttering John's prank, whereas her advisor wanted to ignore him by trying to answer other questions. News reports at the time speculated that the taped phone conversations between Flowers and Clinton could have been doctored; Flowers had sold the original tapes to "Star" and they were never lab-tested. Clinton aides James Carville and George Stephanopoulos backed the claim the tapes were doctored as well. Stephanopoulos later claimed in a 2000 interview with journalist Tim Russert that "Oh, it was absolutely his voice, but they were selectively edited in a way to – to create some – some impression."


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: In December 1996, Flowers talked about her sexual relationship with Clinton on "The Richard Bey Show". The show was canceled the following day. Bey later attributed a direct connection between the two consecutive events.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: In a deposition in January 1998, while denying Kathleen Willey's sexual accusations against him, Clinton admitted that he had a sexual encounter with Flowers. In his 2004 autobiography "My Life", Clinton acknowledged testifying under oath that he had a sexual encounter with Flowers. He stated it was only on one occasion in 1977.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: Flowers sued Stephanopoulos, Carville, and others in 1999 for defamation (later amending the suit in 2000 to include Hillary Clinton as a defendant), claiming that they orchestrated a campaign to discredit her. Judicial Watch represented her in her defamation lawsuit against Bill Clinton's former aides, Stephanopoulos and Carville. In her case, Flowers argued that the defendants ignored obvious signs that the television news reports did not conclusively determine that someone had interfered with the tapes. Summary judgment dismissing the case was given by a US district court in 2004. The dismissal was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in 2006.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: Flowers published her memoir "Gennifer Flowers: Passion and Betrayal" in 1995. In it, she stated she was a sexual naïf at the time of her alleged relationship with Clinton; "The Baltimore Sun"'s book reviewer credited Flowers with breaking the formerly existing taboo regarding the sexual exploits of sitting politicians. The book's initial print run was 100,000 copies.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: After acting in an Australian film in 1987, she played in another independent Australian film in 1992 and in the same year guest starred in the adult-themed television comedy "Dream On". She then played herself in "Play It to the Bone" and various TV shows. In 1998 Flowers participated in Wrestlemania XIV, interviewing The Rock in a backstage segment.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: Until Hurricane Katrina, she ran a cabaret called the Kelsto Club in a former bordello in New Orleans' French Quarter. Flowers made her New York theatre debut in 2004, briefly as a replacement in the Off-Broadway hit "Boobs! The Musical".


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: As of 2007, she lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she occasionally wrote a column. During this time, she was broadly supportive of the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, saying that she wanted to "support my own gender". Flowers also denied that she had "any interest whatsoever in getting back out there and bashing Hillary Clinton."


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: In 2008, she put what she said were the answering machine tapes of her conversations with Clinton up for auction.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: In November 2012, Flowers claimed that Clinton contacted her as recently as 2005. During an interview with Susan Roesgen, Flowers alleged to Roesgen that during her prior sojourn in New Orleans, President Clinton telephoned Flowers while visiting the city and asked for a meeting, which Flowers claims that she declined.


title: Gennifer Flowers

text: In 2016, Flowers tweeted her support for the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, and was scheduled to attend a televised debate between him and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, whom Flowers had supported in 2007. However, the campaign for Donald Trump cancelled the invitation after his initial offer.


title: Buick Skylark

text: The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over the years. It was named for the species of bird called "skylark".


title: Buick Skylark

text: The Skylark name first appeared on a limited production luxury convertible using the Buick Roadmaster's chassis for two years, then was reintroduced in 1961 as a higher luxury content alternative to the entry-level Buick Special on which the Skylark was based upon. It was then positioned as Buick's luxury performance model when the Buick GSX was offered. As GM began downsizing during the late 1970's, the Skylark became the entry-level model when the Special nameplate was used as a trim package designation, then in the 1980s was offered as a front-wheel-drive vehicle where it was both a coupe and sedan for three different generations.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Created to mark Buick's 50th anniversary, the Roadmaster Skylark joined the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado as top-of-the-line, limited-production specialty convertibles introduced in 1953 by General Motors to promote its design leadership. Of the three, the Skylark's run of 1,690 units proved the most successful, and an amazing sales feat considering the car's 1953 list price of slightly in excess of US$5,000 ($ in dollars ) was over 50% more than the well-equipped US$3,200 Roadmaster convertible on which it was based ($ in dollars ). It was comparable in price to the 1953 Packard Caribbean with a similar retail price.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Production ran for two years. Based on the model 76R two-door Roadmaster convertible, the 1953 Skylark (designated model 76X) had identical dimensions (except height), almost identical appearance, shared its drive train, and had all its standard equipment, plus its few remaining options, including power windows, power brakes, full carpeting, and a "Selectronic" AM radio. Only air conditioning was not offered, unnecessary in either convertible.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Importantly, the new Skylark featured Buick's new 322 in (5.3 L) Fireball V8 in place of the automaker's longstanding straight 8, and a 12-volt electrical system, both division firsts. It debuted full-cutout wheel openings, a styling cue that spread to the main 1954 Buick line. Accenting its lowered, notched beltline was a new "Sweepspear" running almost the entire length of the vehicle, a styling cue that was to appear in various forms on many Buick models over the years.


title: Buick Skylark

text: The 1953 Skylark was handmade in many respects. Only stampings for the hood, trunk lid, and a portion of the convertible tub were shared with the Roadmaster and Super convertibles. All Skylark tubs were finished with various amounts of lead filler. The inner doors were made by cutting the 2-door Roadmaster's in two then welding the pieces back together at an angle to produce the rakish door dip. An overall more streamlined look was reinforced by cutting the windshield almost shorter and lowering the side windows and convertible top frame proportionately. Seat frames and steering column were then dropped to provide proper headroom and driving position. Front legroom was . Authentic wire wheels were produced by Kelsey-Hayes, chromed everywhere except the plated and painted "Skylark" center emblem.


title: Buick Skylark

text: The Skylark returned in 1954 with radically restyled styling unique to the Buick line, which included wheel cutouts that could be painted in a contrasting color to the body's. The trunk was sloped into a semi-barrel, and tail lights moved to large chromed fins projecting atop the rear fenders.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Re-designated model 100, the car was based on the all-new shorter Century/Special series 40 chassis and not the larger series 60 Roadmaster/Super chassis, also all-new for 1954. Once again, all Skylarks were built as 2-door convertibles and carried the same luxury equipment as before, but front leg room dropped . While smaller and lighter, the Skylark received a performance boost by retaining the big Buicks' powertrain, an evolutionary improvement of 1953's with the highest output in the division's lineup.


title: Buick Skylark

text: The 1954 Skylark once again had unique sheet metal stampings for its elongated wheel cutouts and new semi-barrel trunk, though fabrication was done without hand labor. The hood ornament was unique, adopted the following year across the Buick product line.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Sales proved to be poor, reflecting the Skylark's continued high price of US$4,843 ($ in dollars ) coupled with a perceived step-down from the Roadmaster/Super series using the Century's chassis, slumping far enough to cause the model's cancellation at the end of the 1954 model year, with only 836 being manufactured.


title: Buick Skylark

text: In the fall of 1960, General Motors introduced a trio of new compact cars for the 1961 model year that shared the same chassis, engines, and basic sheet metal: the Buick Special, Pontiac Tempest, and Oldsmobile F-85. The Special's styling was strongly influenced by the new corporate look shared with the larger LeSabre, Invicta, and Electra also introduced in 1961.


title: Buick Skylark

text: In the middle of the 1961 model year the Buick Special Skylark made its debut. Effectively a luxury trim level, it was based on a two-door sedan (also referred to as a coupe), it featured unique Skylark emblems, taillight housings, lower-body side moldings, turbine wheel covers, and a vinyl-covered roof. 1961 Skylarks featured three Ventiports on each fender. A plush "Cordaveen" all-vinyl interior was standard, with bucket seats available as an option. Instrumentation was minimal, consisting of only a speedometer and fuel gauge.


title: Buick Skylark

text: The Skylark replaced the Special's standard aluminum block two-barrel carburetor V8 with a higher compression ratio four-barrel version that boosted power from at 4600 rpm to .


title: Buick Skylark

text: For the 1962 model year, the Skylark became a model in its own right. It used the previous year's basic sheet metal but was available in two new body styles: a two-door convertible coupe (shared with the Special and Special Deluxe models) and a two-door (pillarless) hardtop unique to it. Tuning of the 215-cubic-inch V8 increased power to at 4800 rpm. In 1962, the Skylark Special was also the first American car to use a V6 engine in volume production; it earned "Motor Trend"s Car of the Year for 1962. This 198 cid Fireball V6 was engineered down from the 215 and used many of the same design parameters, but was cast in iron. Output was 135 hp (gross) at 4600 rpm and at 2400 rpm. In their test that year, "Road & Track" was impressed with Buick's "practical" new V6, saying it "sounds and performs exactly like the aluminum V8 in most respects."


title: Buick Skylark

text: In 1963, the Special's body was restyled and minor changes made to the interior, particularly to the dash and instrument cluster. The 1963 Special was available as a two-door pillared hardtop coupe, a four dour sedan, a convertible, and a station wagon. Engine choices were a standard V6 with a twin-barrel carburetor and an optional V8 with (two-barrel) or more powerful four-barrel ( in 1962, in 1963). Transmission choices were a 'three on the tree' manual transmission, a floor shift Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual, or a two-speed Turbine Drive automatic. The two speed "Dual Path Turbine Drive" automatic was a Buick design and shared no common parts with the better known Chevrolet Power-Glide transmission.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Two prototypes were made for 1962, each with a unique body. One a convertible and the other a hardtop. The prototypes came directly from Buick Engineering, both had been given two 4-barrel carburetors by the engineers thus increasing the prototype's horsepower a little more than 80 hp. They had features from the '61, '62, and the '63 production models. Some features, such as the two 4-barrel carburetors, were left out of the production-line Skylarks. The prototypes were also were longer, and wider than the production models. Of the two prototypes, only the hardtop still exists and resides with its owner in Michigan. It is possible the convertible prototype still exists in the Sloan Museum collection.


title: Buick Skylark

text: The 1963 Skylarks used the same chassis and wheelbase as the previous 1961 and 1962 models, but adopted new sheet metal that featured boxier styling. Length was increased by to , and the 215-cubic-inch V8 generated at 5,000 rpm. The 1963 Skylark was available as a two-door convertible coupe or a two-door (pillarless) hardtop coupe. The 1963 Special shared most sheet metal with the Skylark, but was available as a convertible, station wagon as well as two- and four-door sedans. Engine choices included a V6 with two-barrel carburetor, the V8 with two-barrel or a four-barrel carburetor. Transmission choices were a "three on the tree" manual transmission, a floor-shifted Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual, or a two-speed automatic. The two-speed "Dual Path Turbine Drive" automatic was a Buick design and shared no common parts with the Chevrolet Power-Glide transmission. Instrument panel padding and a cigarette lighter was standard.


title: Buick Skylark

text: Beginning with the 1964 model year, the dressed-up compact Skylark trim level had enough sales to merit its own separate line. Along with the lower-priced Special from which it was derived, the model would move to a new wheelbase intermediate-size chassis shared with the Oldsmobile F-85, Pontiac Tempest, and new Chevrolet Chevelle. Both Buicks had a length of .


title: Buick Skylark

text: The standard 215-cubic-inch-displacement, aluminum-block V8 engine was discontinued, and the associated tooling eventually was sold to the British manufacturer, Rover. They produced the Rover V8 engine, manufacturing several additional versions for use in its sedans, Land Rover sport utility vehicles, and trucks until 2006.