title: Genesis G70

text: The Genesis G70 was under development for several years and was previewed by the Genesis New York Concept shown at the 2016 New York International Auto Show. The design was penned by German auto designer Peter Schreyer, who is also responsible for designing the related Kia Stinger. Development of the G70 took place at Hyundai Namyang R&D Center in Hwasung, South Korea.


title: Genesis G70

text: The exterior design shares cues from the other two Genesis models, the G80 and the G90. The grille features Genesis' corporate design, with functional air intakes along the bottom and side. The LED headlights operate with separate daytime running lights. The rear has an athletic stance framed by LED taillights and dual-exhausts.


title: Genesis G70

text: The interior's center console is constructed out of soft-touch plastics, leather & genuine metal accents that are angled slightly towards the driver. The layout has three large knobs for the climate controls, an eight-inch touch screen, and a small electronic shifter. Technology features include a 15-speaker 660W Lexicon audio system, 8-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto support and a heads-up display. The interior appointments on the G70 include quilted leather seating surfaces, along with brushed aluminum and stainless steel trim.


title: Genesis G70

text: For 2019, the electronic parking brake was made standard, and an optional electric power trunk was made available to buyers. A 12.3-inch (31.2cm) 3D gauge cluster was also made an option for South Korean-market 3.3T-equipped G70s.


title: Genesis G70

text: Changes include offering the 12.3-inch 3D gauge cluster as an option to the 2.0T model, as well as making it an option to export markets. For 2020, the 3D gauge cluster was made available to export markets, and became an option for 2.0T-equipped G70s. A carbon fiber package was made optional in South Korea, which includes carbon fiber-appointed outside mirrors and interior trim.


title: Genesis G70

text: On September 8, 2020, Genesis announced a facelift G70, which went on sale in the South Korean market on October 20th. The facelift incorporates new corporate design cues from the GV80 crossover SUV and second generation G80 sedan, including new front and rear bumpers, headlights, taillights, and a new grille design. Interior changes include an optional 10.25 inch (26cm) infotainment screen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capabilities. Whereas the changes were generally well-received in the North American market, the changes were polarizing in the Korean market. There were many evaluations that the design of the previous model was better, and in particular, the tail lights were criticized for looking forcibly inserted.


title: Genesis G70

text: The facelift G70 was released as a 2022 model in the United States, where the optional manual transmission was also discontinued.


title: Genesis G70

text: In May 2021, Genesis introduced a station wagon version of the G70 specifically for European markets, called the Shooting Brake. The rear end has undergone the biggest changes, where the roof is longer and slightly sloping. The trunk space is slightly larger than the sedan. Powertrain options are either a 2.0L turbocharged Theta II gasoline engine or a 2.2L R II diesel engine, both of which are mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Interior and exterior images of the G70 Shooting Brake were unveiled on May 12, 2021.


title: Genesis G70

text: The G70 Shooting Brake went on sale in Europe in the second half of 2021. In South Korea, it was officially released on June 27, 2022. The models are included in the Gasoline 2.0 Turbo Premium and Gasoline 2.0 Turbo Sport Package. It expands the open area by moving the trunk junction forward based on the appearance of the existing G70 model. 4:2:4 seats and 465 liters of basic trunk space were applied, securing a maximum loading space of 1,535 liters. It is equipped with 10 airbag systems, front collision prevention assistance, rear-seat passenger notification, and lane maintenance assistance. In addition 10.25-inch display, Genesis Carpay, and voice recognition vehicle control technology are applied.


title: Genesis G70

text: The Genesis G70 is offered with a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with and of torque, a 3.3 litre twin-turbocharged V-6 engine with and of torque, and a 2.2 litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with and of torque. Genesis estimates that acceleration from will take 4.7 seconds with the LSD equipped 3.3 litre V-6 RWD model. The transmission is either an 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual, which is only available on the 2.0 litre 4-cylinder model. Buyers are able to choose between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with the manual transmission coming only with rear-wheel drive.


title: Exurb

text: An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It shapes an interface between urban and rural landscapes holding a limited urban nature for its functional, economic, and social interaction with the urban center, due to its dominant residential character. They consist of "agglomerations of housing and jobs outside the municipal boundaries of a primary city" and beyond the surrounding suburbs.


title: Exurb

text: The word "exurb" (a portmanteau of "extra (outside)" and "urban") was coined by Auguste Comte Spectorsky, in his 1955 book "The Exurbanites", to describe the ring of prosperous communities beyond the suburbs, that are commuter towns for an urban area. In other uses the term has expanded to include popular extraurban districts which nonetheless may have poor transportation and underdeveloped economies due to distance from the urban center. Exurbs can be defined in terms of population density across the extended urban area, for example "the urban core (old urban areas including Siming and Huli, where the population density is greater than 51 persons per ha), the suburban zone (old urban and new urban transitional zones including Haicang and Jimei, where the population density is greater than 8 persons per ha), and the exurban areas (newly urbanized areas including Tong'an and Xiang'an, where the population density is less than 8 persons per ha)". The mixture of urban and rural environments raises ecological issues.


title: Exurb

text: Since the "Finding Exurbia" report by the Brookings Institution in 2006, the term is generally used for areas beyond suburbs and specifically less densely built and populated than the suburbs to which the exurbs' residents commute. To qualify as exurban, a census tract must meet three criteria:


title: Exurb

text: These are based on published datasets. Alternative approaches include working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory LandScan data and GIS.


title: Exurb

text: Exurban areas incorporate a mix of rural development (e.g., farms and open space) and in places, suburban-style development (e.g., tracts of single-family homes, though usually on large lots). In long-settled areas, such as the U.S. Northeast megalopolis, exurban areas incorporate pre-existing towns, villages and smaller cities, as well as strips of older single-family homes built along pre-existing roads that connected the older population centers of what was once a rural area.


title: Exurb

text: The Brookings Institution listed exurban counties, defined as having at least 20% of their residents in exurban Census tracts.


title: Francis Crozier

text: Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier (17 October 1796 – disappeared 26 April 1848) was an Irish officer of the Royal Navy and polar explorer who participated in six expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. In May 1845, he was second-in-command to Sir John Franklin and captain of during the Franklin expedition to discover the Northwest Passage, which ended with the loss of all 129 crewmen in mysterious circumstances.


title: Francis Crozier

text: Francis Crozier was born in Banbridge, County Down, in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. He was the eleventh of thirteen children, and the fifth son of solicitor George Crozier, who named him after his friend Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira. Crozier attended school locally in Banbridge, with his brothers William and Thomas, and lived with his family in Avonmore House which his father had built in 1792, in the centre of Banbridge.


title: Francis Crozier

text: At the age of 13, Crozier volunteered for the Royal Navy and joined HMS "Hamadryad" in June 1810. In 1812, he served on and visited Pitcairn Island in 1814, where he met the last surviving mutineers from . In 1817, he received his certificate as mate; in 1818, he served on during a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.


title: Francis Crozier

text: Crozier joined Captain William Parry's second Arctic expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1821. He served as midshipman on Parry's , which was accompanied by Captain Lyon's . He returned to the North with Parry a second time in 1824, this time on "Hecla". The journey resulted in the sinking of "Fury" off Somerset Island. Crozier was promoted to lieutenant in 1826, and a year later, he once more joined Parry in his attempt to reach the North Pole; ultimately a futile endeavour.


title: Francis Crozier

text: During his voyages, Crozier became a close friend and confidant of the explorer James Clark Ross. He was elected to become a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1827, after conducting valuable astronomical and magnetic studies on his three expeditions with Parry.


title: Francis Crozier

text: He was appointed to the frigate in 1831, and served off the coast of Portugal during the Liberal Wars, the country's civil war. Crozier joined Clark Ross as second-in-command of HMS "Cove" in 1835, to assist in the search for 12 lost British whaling ships in the Arctic. Crozier was appointed to the rank of commander in 1837.


title: Francis Crozier

text: In 1839, Crozier again joined James Clark Ross on the Ross expedition, as second-in-command of a four-year voyage to explore the Antarctic continent in the ships and . Crozier commanded "Terror", and was appointed to the rank of captain in 1841. "Erebus" and "Terror" returned in 1843, having made the most significant penetration of the Antarctic pack ice and discovered large parts of the continent—including the Ross Sea and Ross Island, Mount Erebus and the Ross Ice Shelf.


title: Francis Crozier

text: Crozier was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1843, in recognition of his outstanding work on magnetism.


title: Francis Crozier

text: In 1845, Crozier joined Captain Sir John Franklin as captain of the on the Franklin expedition to traverse the last unnavigated section of the Northwest Passage. Crozier was considered to lead this expedition, but his Irish ancestry and humble birth counted against him. The privilege of selecting subordinating officers, almost always given to the second-in-command, was given to James Fitzjames. After Franklin's death in June 1847, he took command of the expedition, and his fate and those of the other expedition members remained a mystery until 1859, when a note written by Crozier and James Fitzjames, captain of the "Erebus", was discovered on King William Island during an expedition led by Francis McClintock. Dated 25 April 1848, the note indicated that the ships—stuck in thick pack ice—had been abandoned. Nine officers, including Sir John Franklin, and 15 crewmen had died. Also stated was their intention, on 26 April, to set out on foot for Back's Great Fish River on the Canadian mainland.


title: Francis Crozier

text: Unverified Inuit reports collected between 1852 and 1858 indicate that Crozier and one other expedition member might have been seen in the Baker Lake area, about to the south, where, in 1948, Farley Mowat found "a very ancient cairn, not of normal Eskimo construction," inside which were fragments of a hardwood box with dovetail joints. McClintock and later searchers found relics, graves, and human remains of the Franklin crew on Beechey Island, King William Island, and the northern coast of the Canadian mainland.


title: Francis Crozier

text: In 2014, the Victoria Strait Expedition found two items on Hat Island, in the Queen Maud Gulf, near King William Island; part of a boat-launching davit bearing the stamps of two Royal Navy broad arrows, and a wooden object, possibly a plug for a deck hawse, the iron pipe through which the ship's chain cable would descend into the chain locker below. The expedition located one of Franklin's two ships, preserved in reasonably good condition. The wreck lies at the bottom of the eastern portion of Queen Maud Gulf, west of O'Reilly Island and has been confirmed to be that of the "Erebus". In 2016, a well-preserved ship matching "Terror"s description was located in Terror Bay, off the southern coast of King William Island. The exploration of the wrecks continues.


title: Francis Crozier

text: In January 2008, Crozier's home town of Banbridge hosted a memorial event, which included a service of remembrance and thanksgiving at the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was attended by more than a hundred descendants of Crozier and other officers of Franklin's lost expedition and those who searched for it, along with the chairman of Banbridge Council, and several Arctic historians, including Michael Smith and Russell Potter.


title: Francis Crozier

text: A memorial to Sir John Franklin and his men was erected by order of Parliament in 1858, in the Painted Hall of London's Greenwich Hospital. It was moved to Greenwich Royal Naval College's chapel in 1937, and was re-erected in the entrance of the former college in late 2009. At the service of thanksgiving on 29 October 2009, polar travellers and descendants of the expedition's crew celebrated their contributions.


title: Francis Crozier

text: Francis Crozier appears as a character and the primary narrator of the 2007 best-selling novel, "The Terror" by Dan Simmons, a fictionalized account of Franklin's lost expedition, as well as the 2018 television adaptation, where Crozier is portrayed by Jared Harris. Both the novel and the television adaptation depict Crozier as the sole survivor of the expedition and joining an Inuit tribe instead of seeking to return to his homeland.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( "") were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid and Hasanid dynasty, descended from Muhammad. The Idrisids are traditionally considered to be the founders of the first Moroccan Muslim state, setting the stage for subsequent dynasties and states centered in this region. Their reign played an important role in the early Islamization of Morocco and also presided over an increase in Arab immigration and Arabization in major urban centers.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: Fleeing the Abbasid Caliphate to the east in the aftermath of the Battle of Fakhkh, Idris I first established himself in 788 at Volubilis in present-day Morocco with the help of local Berber allies. He and his son, Idris II, subsequently founded what became the city of Fez further east. Fez became the capital of an Idrisid state which ruled most of present-day Morocco and part of western Algeria. After Idris II's death, the realm was divided between his rival sons. After a period of conflict, the dynasty's authority resumed and remained relatively stable between 836 and 863. In the late 9th century, however, they faced repeated challenges and local opposition. In the 10th century the region came under the political domination of Zenata tribes who fought proxy battles on behalf of two rival powers in the region, the Fatimid Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. The Idrisids were definitively expelled from Fez in 927, but held onto to a reduced territory in the north of Morocco from their base at Hajar an-Nasr. They were finally defeated and removed from power in 974, and a brief attempt to regain power in 985 also failed.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: By the second half of the 8th century the westernmost regions of the Maghreb, including present-day Morocco, had been effectively independent of the Umayyad Caliphate since the Khariji-led Berber revolts that started in 739–40. The Abbasid Caliphate after 750 had no more success in re-establishing control over Morocco. The overthrow of eastern authority meant that Morocco was controlled by various local Berber tribes and principalities which emerged around this time, such as the Barghwata Confederacy on the Atlantic coast and the Midrarid Emirate in Sijilmasa.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: The founder of the Idrisid dynasty was Idris ibn Abdallah (788–791), who traced his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib (died 661) and his wife Fatimah, daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He was the great grandchild of Hasan ibn Ali. After the Battle of Fakhkh, near Mecca, between the Abbasids and supporters of the descendants of the prophet Muhammad, Idris ibn Abdallah fled to the Maghreb. He first arrived in Tangier, the most important city of Morocco at the time, and by 788 he had settled in Volubilis (known as Walili in Arabic).


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: The powerful Awraba Berbers of Volubilis took in Idris and made him their 'imam' (religious leader). The Awraba tribe had supported Kusayla in his struggle against the Ummayad armies in the 670s and 680s. By the second half of the 8th century they had settled in northern Morocco, where their leader Ishak had his base in the Roman town of Volubilis. By this time the Awraba were already Muslim, but lived in an area where most tribes were either Christian, Jewish, Khariji or pagan. The Awraba seem to have welcomed a Sharifi imam as a way to strengthen their political position. Idris I, who was very active in the political organization of the Awraba, began by asserting his authority and working toward the subjugation of the Christian and Jewish tribes. In 789 he founded a settlement south east of Volubilis, called "Medinat Fas". In 791 Idris I was poisoned and killed by an Abbasid agent. Even though he left no male heir, shortly after his death, his wife Lalla Kanza bint Uqba al-Awrabi, bore him his only son and successor, Idris II. Idris' loyal Arab ex-slave and companion Rashid brought up the boy and took on himself the regency of the state, on behalf of the Awraba. In 801 Rashid was killed by the Abbasids. In the following year, at the age of 11 years, Idris II was proclaimed imam by the Awraba.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: Even though he had spread his authority across much of northern Morocco, as far west as Tlemcen, Idris I had been completely dependent on the Awraba leadership. Idris II began his rule with the weakening of Awraba power by welcoming Arab settlers in Walili and by appointing two Arabs as his "vizier" and "qadi". Thus he transformed himself from a protégé of the Awraba into their sovereign. The Awraba leader Ishak responded by plotting against his life with the Aghlabids of Tunisia. Idris reacted by having his former protector Ishak killed, and in 809 moved his seat of government from the Awraba dominated Walili to Fes, where he founded a new settlement named Al-'Aliya. Idris II (791–828) developed the city of Fez, established earlier by his father as a Berber market town. Here he welcomed two waves of Arab immigration: one in 818 from Cordoba and another in 824 from Aghlabid Tunisia, giving Fes a more Arab character than other Maghrebi cities. When Idris II died in 828, the Idrisid state spanned from western Algeria to the Sous in southern Morocco and had become the leading state of Morocco, ahead of the principalities of Sijilmasa, Barghawata and Nekor which remained outside their control.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: The dynasty's power would slowly decline following Idris II's death. Under his son and successor Muhammad (828–836) the kingdom was divided amongst seven of his brothers, whereby eight Idrisid statelets formed in Morocco and western Algeria. Muhammad himself came to rule Fes, with only nominal power over his brothers. His brother Al-Qasim ruled Tangier and its surroundings. 'Umar ruled over the Sanhaja and the Ghumara in the Rif region. Isa was given control of the coastal Tamesna regions near the Bou Regreg, including Shallah (Chellah), and was based at Wazeqqūr (a town near modern-day Khenifra). Yahya was given Hiṣn Daī (a site probably near modern Beni Mellal). Hamza was given Walili. 'Ubayd Allah (or 'Abd Allah) was given the south, including the territory of the Lamta tribes and a town named Tamdult. Agadir (later Tlemcen) was left under the control of Muhammad Ibn Sulayman, Idris II's cousin and the son of Sulayman, the brother of Idris I whom the latter had left in charge of the city, constituting the Sulaymanid dynasty.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: Soon after this territorial division Isa revolted against his brother Muhammad. Muhammad entrusted his other brother Umar to punish him. Umar successfully drove Isa from power, who was forced to take refuge in Chellah. Umar then turned north to punish his other brother, al-Qasim, because the latter had refused to join him and Muhammad against Isa. Al-Qasim fled to Asilah and settled nearby, while Muhammad gave Umar governorship of Tangier as a reward. Upon Umar's death in September or October 835 his son Ali ibn Umar was granted all of his father's domains in turn. Muhammad himself died seven months later in the March or April 836. His son Ali ibn Muhammad inherited his position and ruled for 13 years (836–849) in a competent manner, ensuring the stability of the state. After his death in 849 he was succeeded by his brother Yahya ibn Muhammad (or Yahya I), who also enjoyed a peaceful reign.During this time Islamic and Arabic culture gained a stronghold in the towns and Morocco profited from the trans-Saharan trade, which came to be dominated by Muslim (mostly Berber) traders. The city of Fes also flourished and became an important religious center. During Yahya's reign more Arab immigrants arrived and the famous mosques of al-Qarawiyyin and al-Andalusiyyin were founded. Even so, the Islamic and Arabic culture only made its influence felt in the towns, with the vast majority of Morocco's population still using the Berber languages and often adhering to Islamic heterodox and heretical doctrines. The Idrisids were principally rulers of the towns and had little power over the majority of the country's population.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: After the death of Yahya I in 863 he was succeeded by his less competent son, Yahya II, who divided up the Idrisid realm yet again among the extended families. Yahya II died in uncertain circumstances in 866 after fleeing his palace. After an episode of disorder in Fes his cousin Ali ibn Umar took over power. In 868, under the leadership of the Abd al-Razzaq the Berber Khariji Sufri tribes of Madyuna, Ghayata and Miknasa of the Fes region formed a common front against the Idrisids. From their base in Sefrou they were able to defeat Ali ibn Umar and occupy Fes. Fes refused to submit, however, and another Yahya, the son of al-Qasim, was able to retake the city and establish himself as the new ruler, Yahya III. Thus the ruling line had passed from the sons of Muhammad to the son of Umar and now the sons of al-Qasim.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: Yahya III ruled over the entire Idrisid realm and continued to attack the Sufris. In 905 however he died in battle against another family member, Yahya ibn Idris ibn Umar (a grandson of Umar), who then took power as Yahya IV. At this point, however, the Fatimids in the east began to intervene in Morocco, hoping to expand their influence. In 917 the Miknasa and its leader Masala ibn Habus, acting on behalf of their Fatimid allies, attacked Fes and forced Yahya IV to recognize Fatimid suzerainty, before deposing him in 919 or 921. He was succeeded by his cousin Musa ibn Abul 'Afiya, who had already been given charge over the rest of the country. The Idrisid Hassan I al-Hajam, a grandson of al-Qasim, managed to wrest control of Fez from 925 but in 927 Musa returned, captured Hassan and killed him, marking the last time the Idrisids held power in Fes.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: From Fes, the Miknasa began pursuing the Idrisid family across Morocco. The family took refuge at the fortress of Hajar an-Nasr in northern Morocco, where the Miknasa besieged them. Soon after, however, civil war broke out among the Miknasa when Musa switched allegiance to the Umayyads of Cordoba in 931 in an attempt to gain more independence. The Fatimids sent Humayd ibn Yasal (or Hamid), the nephew of Masala ibn Habus, to confront Musa, defeating him in 933 and forcing him to fall back into line. The Idrisids took advantage of the situation to break the siege of their fortress and defeat the Mikanasa Zenata troops. Once the Fatimids were gone, however, Musa once again threw off their authority and recognized the Umayyad caliph. The Fatimids sent their general Maysur to confront him again, and this time he fled. He was pursued and killed by the Idrisids.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: After this Idrisids settled among the Jbala tribes in the Rif region of north-west Morocco where they partially rebuilt their power base from Hajar an-Nasr, alternately acknowledging either the Umayyads of Cordoba (under Abd ar-Rahman III) or the Fatimids as overlords. Al-Qasim al-Gannoun ibn Muhammad ruled here from 938 until 948 in the name of the Fatimids. His son and successor, Ahmad, known as Abul-'Aysh, recognized the Umayyads instead but ran afoul of them when he refused to let them occupy Tangier. He was besieged there and forced to retreat, retaining only the areas around al-Basra and Asilah while the Umayyads occupied the rest of northern Morocco. He eventually left for Al-Andalus, leaving his brother Hasan ibn al-Qasim al-Gannoun as the new leader in 954. In 958 the Fatimids sent a new general, Jawhar, to invade Morocco. His success forced the Idrisids to again accept Fatimid overlordship. Soon afterwards, however, when Jawhar and the Fatimids were busy taking control of Egypt, the Umayyads made a comeback. In 973 their general, Ghalib, invaded Morocco. The Idrisids were expelled from their territories and al-Hasan, along with many other Idrisids or their sons, were taken as hostages to Cordoba in 974. The remaining Idrisids in Morocco acknowledged Umayyad rule. Al-Hasan was later expelled from Cordoba and fled to Egypt, which was now under Fatimid rule. In 979 Buluggin ibn Ziri, the Fatimid governor of Ifriqiya (after the Fatimid Caliphs had their capital to Cairo), returned to defeat the Umayyads and impose Fatimid overlordship in the western Maghreb again. In 985 he returned to Morocco with Fatimid support, but that same year he was defeated by another Umayyad general sent by al-Mansur and then assassinated on the way to Cordoba. This brought a final end to the Idrisid dynasty. The Umayyads kept control over northern Morocco until their caliphate's collapse in the early 11th century. Following this, Morocco was dominated by various Zenata Berber tribes. Until the rise of the Sanhaja Almoravids later in the century, the Maghrawa controlled Fes, Sijilmasa and Aghmat while the Banu Ifran ruled over Tlemcen, Salé (Chellah), and the Tadla region.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: Despite having fallen from power, the Idrisids nonetheless spawned many sharifian families which continued to be present for centuries to come. Some Moroccans today still claim descent from them. In the 11th century an Idrisid family descended from Umar (son of Idris II), the Hammudids were able to gain power in several cities of northern Morocco and southern Spain. In Fes and in the town of Moulay Idriss (near Volubilis), the tombs of Idris II and Idris I, respectively, eventually developed into important religious complexes and pilgrimage sites (e.g. the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II). Several prominent sharifian families in Fez traced their lineages to Idris I, and some of these played a role in maintaining or rebuilding the Zawiya of Idris II in the city.


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "although Idrīs I had Shīʿite sympathies, the state founded by his son was Sunni in matters of religious doctrine." Primary source material and contemporary scholars have described them as a Sunni Muslim dynasty. Certain contemporary academics have described them as Shi'a or Zaydi Shi'a to one extent or another, most likely because of their political affiliation. The Idrisids were political opponents of the Abbasid Caliphate. Others have criticized this claim for conflating Shia theology with a political movement in a historical period where there was no Shia theology distinct from Sunni theology in this area as of yet. Amira Bennison argues that Idrisid coinage suggests that Idris I portrayed himself as a religious leader whose legitimacy was based on his descent from Muhammad, which Bennison describes as a "proto-Shi'i or 'Alid position."


title: Idrisid dynasty

text: The Awraba Berbers who welcomed Idris I in Volubilis were Muʿtazila and Idris relied widely on the support of Muʿtazila Berber tribes to found his state. He is also likely to have had ties to Muʿtazila figures in the Hijaz and further east, as he was accompanied on his journey to the Maghreb by a Muʿtazila "khatib" from Basra who aided him in gaining the support of the tribes. It is unclear, however, to what extent the community he established was Muʿtazila in character.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: The Shankill Butchers were an Ulster loyalist gang—many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)—that was active between 1975 and 1982 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was based in the Shankill area and was responsible for the deaths of at least 23 people, most of whom were killed in sectarian attacks. The gang was notorious for kidnapping, torturing and murdering random or suspected Catholic civilians; each was beaten ferociously and had their throat hacked with a butcher's knife. Some were also tortured and attacked with a hatchet. The gang also killed six Ulster Protestants over personal disputes, and two other Protestants mistaken for Catholics.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Most of the gang were eventually caught and, in February 1979, received the longest combined prison sentences in United Kingdom legal history. However, gang leader Lenny Murphy and his two chief "lieutenants" escaped prosecution. Murphy was murdered in November 1982 by the Provisional IRA, likely acting with loyalist paramilitaries who perceived him as a threat. The Butchers brought a new level of paramilitary violence to a country already hardened by death and destruction. The judge who oversaw the 1979 trial described their crimes as "a lasting monument to blind sectarian bigotry".


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Much of what is known about the Butchers came first from Martin Dillon's "The Shankill Butchers: A Case Study of Mass Murder" (1989 and 1998). In compiling this detailed work, Dillon was reportedly given unlimited access to the case files of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), who eventually caught the gang. The commander of the Shankill Butchers gang was Lenny Murphy. Murphy was the youngest of three sons of Joyce (née Thompson) and William Murphy from the loyalist Shankill Road area of Belfast. At school he was known as a bully and would threaten other boys with a knife or with retribution from his two older brothers. Soon after leaving school at 16, he joined the UVF. Murphy often attended the trials of people accused of paramilitary crimes, to become well acquainted with the laws of evidence and police procedure.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: On 28 September 1972, Murphy (aged 20), shot and killed William Edward "Ted" Pavis (32) at the latter's home in East Belfast. Pavis was a Protestant whom the UVF said had been selling weapons to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Murphy and an accomplice, Mervyn Connor, were arrested shortly afterwards and held on remand in Belfast's Crumlin Road prison. After a visit by police to Connor, fellow inmates suspected that he might cut a deal with the authorities with regard to the Pavis killing. On 22 April 1973, Connor died by ingesting a large dose of cyanide. Before he died he wrote a confession to the Pavis murder, reportedly under duress from Murphy. Murphy was brought to trial for the Pavis murder in June 1973. The court heard evidence from two witnesses who had seen Murphy pull the trigger and had later picked him out of an identification parade. The jury acquitted him due in part to Murphy's disruption of the line-up. Murphy's freedom was short-lived: he was re-arrested immediately for a number of escape attempts and imprisoned, then interned, for three years.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: In May 1975, Murphy was released from prison, where he had married Margaret Gillespie. During his imprisonment a daughter had been born to the couple. He spent much of his time frequenting pubs on the Shankill Road and assembling a paramilitary team that would enable him to act with some freedom at a remove from the UVF leadership (Brigade Staff). Murphy's inner circle consisted of two people whom Dillon was unable to name for legal reasons but whom he called Murphy's "personal friends". These were a "Mr A" and John Murphy, one of Lenny's brothers (referred to as "Mr B"). Further down the chain of command were Lenny Murphy's "sergeants" William Moore and Bobby "Basher" Bates, a UVF man and former prisoner.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Moore, formerly a worker in a meat-processing factory, had stolen several large knives and meat-cleavers from his old workplace, tools that would later be used in more murders. Another prominent figure was Sam McAllister, who used his physical presence to intimidate others. On 2 October 1975, the gang raided a drinks premises in nearby Millfield. On finding that its four employees (two females and two males) were Catholics, Murphy shot three of them dead and ordered an accomplice to kill the fourth. By now Murphy was using the upper floor of the Brown Bear pub, at the corner of Mountjoy Street and the Shankill Road near his home, as an occasional meeting-place for his unit.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: On 24–25 November 1975, using the city's sectarian geography to identify likely targets, Murphy roamed the areas nearest the Catholic New Lodge in the hope of finding someone likely to be Catholic to abduct. Francis Crossen (34), a Catholic man and father of two, was walking towards the city centre at approximately 12:40 when four of the Butchers, in Moore's taxi, spotted him. As the taxi pulled alongside Crossen, Murphy jumped out and hit him with a wheel brace to disorient him. He was dragged into the taxi by Benjamin Edwards and Archie Waller, two of Murphy's gang. As the taxi returned to the safety of the nearby Shankill area, Crossen suffered a ferocious beating. He was subjected to a high level of violence, including a beer glass being shoved into his head. Murphy repeatedly told Crossen: "I'm going to kill you, you bastard", before the taxi stopped at an entry off Wimbledon Street. Crossen was dragged into an alleyway and Murphy, brandishing a butcher's knife, cut his throat almost through to the spine. The gang dispersed. Crossen, whose body was found the next morning by an elderly woman, was the first of three Catholics to be killed by Murphy in this "horrific and brutal manner". "Slaughter in back alley" was the headline in the city's major afternoon newspaper that day. A relative of Crossen said that his family was unable to have an open coffin at his wake because the body was so badly mutilated.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: A few days later, on 30 November 1975, an internal feud led to the deaths of two members of a rival UVF company on the Shankill and to that of Archibald Waller, who had been involved in the Crossen murder. On 14 October of that year, Waller had killed Stewart Robinson in a punishment shooting gone wrong. With the sanction of the UVF Brigade Staff, he in turn was gunned down by one of Robinson's comrades in the UVF team based in the Windsor Bar, a quarter of a mile from the Brown Bear pub. Enraged, Murphy had the gunman, former loyalist prisoner Noel "Nogi" Shaw, brought before a kangaroo court in the Lawnbrook Club, one of his Shankill drinking dens. After pistol whipping Shaw, Murphy shot him in front of his whole unit of about twenty men and returned to finish his drink at the bar. John Murphy and William Moore put Shaw's body in a laundry basket, and Moore dumped it half a mile away.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Murphy's other cut-throat victims were Thomas Quinn (55) and Francis Rice (24). Both were abducted late at night, on the weekend, in the same area as Crossen. Quinn was murdered in the Glencairn district of the Upper Shankill in the early hours of 7 February 1976 and Rice a few streets from Murphy's home at about 1:30 on 22 February 1976, after a butcher's knife had been collected from a loyalist club. Quinn's body was not found until mid-evening, after a phone call to a Belfast newspaper, while Rice's was found about six hours after his murder. Murphy's main accomplices on both occasions were Moore and Bates, while Edwards was party to the killing of Quinn. Another man and two women, whom Dillon did not name, were accessories to Murphy in the murder of Rice.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: By this time the expression "the Butchers" had appeared in media coverage of these killings, and many Catholics lived in fear of the gang. Detective Chief Inspector Jimmy Nesbitt, head of the CID Murder Squad in Tennent Street RUC base and the man charged with tracking down the Butchers, was in no doubt that the murders of Crossen, Quinn and Rice were the work of the same people. Other than that he had little information, although a lead was provided by the woman who found Rice's body. The previous night she had heard voices in the entry where the body was later found and what she thought might have been a local taxi (those in Belfast being ex-London type black cabs). This had led to William Moore's taxi being examined for evidence, as were all other Shankill taxis; however, the Butchers had cleaned the vehicle thoroughly and nothing incriminating was found. Under Murphy's orders, Moore destroyed the taxi and bought a yellow Ford Cortina, which was to be used in subsequent murders.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Early on 11 March 1976, Murphy tried to kill a Catholic woman in a drive-by shooting; arrested later that day, he was put on remand on an attempted murder charge. Shortly after Murphy's arrest, he began to receive visits from "Mr A" and "Mr B". He told "Mr A" that the cut-throat murders should continue in due course, partly to divert suspicion from himself. In a subsequent plea bargain, Murphy pleaded guilty to a firearms charge and was sentenced on 11 October 1977 to twelve years' imprisonment. Another Catholic man killed by the gang was Cornelius "Con" Neeson (49), attacked with a hatchet by Moore and McAllister on the Cliftonville Road late on 1 August 1976. He died a few hours later. One of Neeson's brothers, speaking in 1994, declared: "I saw the state of my brother's body after he was butchered on the street. I said, 'That is not my brother'. Even our mother would not have recognised him".


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Later that year "Mr A" informed Moore, now the Butchers' "de facto" commander, of Murphy's orders to resume the throat-slashings. Three more Catholic men from North Belfast were subsequently kidnapped, tortured and hacked to death in the same way as before. The victims were Stephen McCann (21), a Queen's University student murdered on 30 October 1976; Joseph Morrissey (52), killed on 3 February 1977; and Francis Cassidy (43), a dock-worker who was killed on 30 March 1977. Moore proved himself an able deputy to Murphy, committing the throat-cuttings himself and encouraging the gang to use extreme violence on the victims beforehand. In particular, Arthur McClay attacked Morrissey with a hatchet; Moore had promoted McClay after Murphy had been jailed. The three victims were dumped in various parts of the greater Shankill area. The other gang members involved in one or more of these cut-throat murders were McAllister, John Townsley, David Bell and Norman Waugh. "Mr A" played a prominent part in the planning of Moore's activities.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: After his arrest in 1977, William Moore was portrayed in subsequent police accounts as having been in effective control of the Butchers gang during Murphy's incarceration. However, a 2017 book on the UVF, citing an unnamed source, argued that John, an older brother of Murphy who escaped prosecution, had been directing the activities of the Butchers during that time.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Late on Tuesday, 10 May 1977, Gerard McLaverty, a young Belfast man whose family had recently left the city, was walking down the Cliftonville Road. Two members of the Butchers approached him and, posing as policemen, forced him into a car where two of their comrades were seated. The gang, who had spent the day drinking, drove McLaverty to a disused doctor's surgery on the corner of Emerson Street and the Shankill Road where he was beaten with sticks. He was stabbed, had his wrists slashed a number of times by Moore and McAllister, using a smallish knife, and was dumped in a back entry. Uncharacteristically, he had been left for dead by the gang but survived until early morning, when a woman heard his cries for help and called the police. In compliance with previous orders, news of the assault was given to Inspector Nesbitt. At first he did not attribute particular significance to this message, as the Butchers had left no one alive before; but on discovering the nature of the assault and the use of a knife, he came up with an idea that was to permanently change the course of his inquiries.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Taking advantage of the aftermath of a loyalist paramilitary strike and local elections, Nesbitt had the recovered McLaverty disguised and driven by police around the Shankill area on Wednesday 18 May to see if he could spot the men who had abducted or attacked him. Within a short time he identified McAllister and Edwards, and Nesbitt had a breakthrough that enabled him to widen his net. The next morning he initiated a large arrest operation and many of McAllister's associates, including Moore, were taken into custody. At first under intense interrogation, the suspects admitted only to their involvement in the McLaverty abduction but Nesbitt, seizing on McAllister's references to the size of a knife used on McLaverty, had his team of detectives press the case, and eventually most of the gang admitted their part in the activities of the Butchers. Further arrests followed and the overall picture became clearer. The salient point emerging was that Murphy, the commander of the unit, was the driving force behind the cut-throat murders and other criminal activities. A number of the Butchers implicated him and his close associates "Mr A" and "Mr B" (John Murphy) in numerous paramilitary activities but later retracted these claims for fear of retribution from the UVF Brigade Staff. Lenny Murphy, in prison, and Messrs "A" and "B" were interviewed several times in connection with the Butchers' inquiry but revealed nothing during interviews. Without corroborative or forensic evidence, the state prosecution service decided that they would not face charges.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: The rest of the Butchers came to trial during 1978 and early 1979. On 20 February 1979, eleven men were convicted of a total of 19 murders, and the 42 life sentences handed out were the most ever in a single trial in British criminal history. Moore pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder and Bates to 10. The trial judge, Lord Justice O'Donnell, said that he did not wish to be cast as "public avenger" but felt obliged to sentence the two to life imprisonment with no chance of release. However, Bates was freed two years after the paramilitary ceasefires of 1994, and Moore released under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Martin Dillon's own investigations suggest that a number of other individuals (whom he was unable to name for legal reasons) escaped prosecution for participation in the crimes of the Butchers and that the gang were responsible for a total of at least 30 murders. In summing-up, O'Donnell LJ stated that their crimes, "a catalogue of horror", were "a lasting monument to blind sectarian bigotry". After the trial, Jimmy Nesbitt's comment was: "The big fish got away", a reference to Murphy (referred to in court as "Mr X" or the "Master Butcher") and to Messrs "A" and "B". At this time McLaverty lived under police protection in Dublin, where he had been given a covername.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: His sentence for the firearms conviction complete, Murphy was released from prison on 16 July 1982. One day later, his killing spree resumed when he beat to death a local Protestant man with a learning disability in the Loyalist Club in Rumford Street. His body was dumped in a back alley over a mile away. Murphy began to assemble a new gang. On 29 August 1982, Murphy killed Jim Galway (33), a part-time Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier from the Lower Shankill area, who had been passing information to the UVF and was involved with its Ballymena units. When suspicions of being an informer fell upon Galway, Murphy decided to kill him. Galway was shot in the head at a building site in the village of Broughshane near Ballymena and buried on the spot. His decayed body was not found until November 1983. The location of the body was pointed out in 1983 by a person in custody for other charges. On 5 September, Murphy killed a former UVF prisoner, Brian Smyth (30), in a dispute over money owed for a car. Murphy poisoned the man in a Shankill club before shooting him from the rear of a passing motorcycle as he sat in a car driven by Murphy's friend, and leading Red Hand Commando member, Sam "Mambo" Carroll.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Early on Friday 22 October, UDR soldier Thomas Cochrane was kidnapped by the IRA. The next evening, although he had been warned by the UVF Brigade Staff against abducting anyone, Murphy decided to kidnap a Catholic, ostensibly to demand Cochrane's release in exchange for the Catholic hostage. He hijacked a black taxi, which one of his men drove to the Falls Road. Joseph Donegan, a middle-aged Catholic on his way home, hailed the vehicle and got in. Murphy immediately attacked the man as the taxi was driven back to the safety of the Shankill area. At a house owned by Murphy in Brookmount Street, Donegan was tortured sadistically by Murphy, who according to Dillon, pulled out all but three of his teeth with pliers. Murphy's associate, Tommy Stewart, battered Donegan to death with a shovel. "Mr A" was party to these events. Murphy telephoned a prominent Catholic politician, Cormac Boomer, to demand that Cochrane be set free. Murphy ordered that Donegan's body be removed from his house, but the plan was disturbed by passers-by and the victim had to be dumped in an entry behind the house. After discovery of the body on the morning of Monday 25 October, Murphy and two others were arrested; but without evidence that Murphy had been party to this crime, it was not possible to charge him. Cochrane's body was found a week later.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Murphy was assassinated by a Provisional IRA hit squad early in the evening of Tuesday 16 November 1982 outside the back of his girlfriend's house in the Glencairn estate (where four of the Butchers' cut-throat victims had been dumped). No sooner had he parked his car than two gunmen emerged from a van that had been following him and fired a hail of more than twenty bullets, killing him instantly. After several days' speculation as to those responsible for the shooting, the IRA issued a statement claiming responsibility for what it termed Murphy's "execution":


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Lenny Murphy (master butcher) has been responsible for the horrific murders of over 20 innocent Nationalists in the Belfast area and a number of Protestants. The IRA has been aware for some time that since his release recently from prison, Murphy was attempting to re-establish a similar murder gang to that which he led in the mid-1970s and, in fact, he was responsible for a number of the recent sectarian murders in the Belfast area. The IRA takes this opportunity to restate its policy of non-sectarian attacks, while retaining its right to take unequivocal action against those who direct or motivate sectarian slaughter against the Nationalist population.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: The location of the murder, in a loyalist stronghold, and the timing of the shooting to coincide with Murphy's movements suggested the IRA received help from UVF members who deemed Murphy "out of control" or, equally plausibly, that information had been given by an enemy of Murphy. Dillon suggests that Jim Craig, a leading Ulster Defence Association (UDA) commander whose protection rackets had made him rich and feared in equal measure, fit the description. He was known to have clashed with Murphy on the latter's release from prison earlier that year and may have wanted him out of the picture. In support of this theory, Craig was later executed by his UDA colleagues for "treason", an inquiry having found some evidence of his part in the murder of other top loyalists by republicans.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Murphy's family denied he had had a violent nature or was involved with the Butchers: "My Lenny could not have killed a fly", said his mother Joyce. She accused the police of continual harassment of her son since his recent release from prison and said that he was planning to leave the country as soon as his divorce came through. The UVF gave Murphy a paramilitary funeral attended by thousands of loyalists and several unionist politicians, at which "Mr A" and John Murphy played leading roles. On his gravestone in Carnmoney cemetery were inscribed the words: "Here Lies a Soldier". Baroness Blood, a Shankill Road community representative, said: "My father was a soldier. My father fought in two World Wars. They were real heroes. Lenny Murphy wasn't a hero; he was a murdering thug". Murphy's headstone was smashed in 1989 and had to be replaced.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Moore, Bates and McAllister shot and wounded a member of the Windsor Bar UVF unit a few hours after the murder of Noel Shaw in November 1975. Murphy and Moore shot dead Edward McQuaid, a Catholic man, on the Cliftonville Road on 10 January 1976. On 9 February 1976, Murphy and three of his gang shot and killed two Protestant men, Archibald Hanna and Raymond Carlisle, wrongly believing that they were Catholics on their way to work across the Shankill. Bates was involved in a gun attack on a bar in Smithfield, not far from the Shankill, that killed several people, both Catholics and Protestants, on 5 June 1976. Other Protestants who met their deaths at the hands of the gang included two UDA men. The first was Thomas Easton, who made the mistake of becoming involved in an argument with McAllister, and was ambushed by McAllister at the end of the evening and killed with a breeze block to the head on 21 December 1976. McAllister's guilty plea to a manslaughter charge was accepted by the Crown. The second was James Moorehead, a former police reservist, beaten to death by McAllister, Bates and Moore in the toilets of the Windsor Bar on 29 January 1977. McAllister received a minor punishment shooting for the murder of Easton.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Members of the gang also carried out a bombing mission on the Falls Road that killed a 10-year-old Catholic boy on 10 April 1977. Murphy's brother John was heavily involved in the latter incident, along with "Mr A". The gang used the services of the UVF's leading bomb expert James "Tonto" Watt to plant the device, although Watt was not a member of the Brown Bear platoon. Several of the Butchers, including John Murphy, were questioned about a serious assault in April 1977 in Union Street, near Belfast city centre, on a man they believed wrongly was a Catholic. John Murphy received three years' imprisonment for his part in this incident.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Several sources indicate that Mid-Ulster UVF's brigadier, Robin "The Jackal" Jackson from Donaghcloney contacted members of the gang in the Shankill, "Mr A" in particular, and had them make an attempt on the life of journalist Jim Campbell, northern editor of the "Sunday World" newspaper, in May 1984. Campbell, whose investigations put the spotlight on Jackson's activities, was seriously wounded but survived.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: All members of the Butchers gang were released a number of years ago. The first to be freed was John Townsley, who had been only 14 when he became involved with the gang and 16 when arrested. In October 1996, Bates was released; he had reportedly "found religion" behind bars. Bates was shot and killed in the upper Shankill area on 11 June 1997 by the son of the UDA man he had killed in the Windsor Bar. "Mr B", John Murphy, died in a car accident in Belfast in August 1998. In July 2000, Sam McAllister was injured in an attack during a loyalist feud.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: William Moore was the final member of the gang to be released from prison in August 1998, after over twenty-one years behind bars. He died on 17 May 2009, from a suspected heart attack at his home and was given a paramilitary funeral by the UVF. With Moore now deceased, the only senior figure still alive is "Mr A".


title: Shankill Butchers

text: In November 2004, the Serious Crime Review Team in Belfast said they were looking into the unsolved death of Rosaleen O'Kane, aged 33 at the time of her death, who was found dead in her home in September 1976. Her family and authorities believe the Shankill Butchers may have been involved in her death.


title: Shankill Butchers

text: Colin Meloy, lead singer and guitarist for the indie folk rock band The Decemberists, wrote a song titled "Shankill Butchers" recounting the faction's grisly exploits. The song appeared on the group's fourth album "The Crane Wife", which was released by Capitol Records in 2006. The song was also covered by singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz on her debut album Song Up in Her Head on the Sugar Hill Records label in 2009.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: On August 24, 2016, the body of 10-year-old Victoria Martens (August 23, 2006 – August 23, 2016) was found in an apartment building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After responding to a 9-1-1 call regarding a domestic dispute, officers discovered Martens' dismembered remains partially wrapped in a burning blanket in her mother's apartment. The victim's mother, 35-year-old Michelle Martens; her boyfriend, 31-year-old Fabian Gonzales; and Gonzales' cousin, 31-year-old Jessica Kelley, were arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in grievous bodily harm or death, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. All three suspects pled not guilty in the state's court. On June 29, 2018, Michelle Martens pled guilty to one count of child abuse resulting in death. The same day, the Albuquerque Police Department announced a fourth unidentified male suspect was being sought in connection to the case based on DNA evidence recovered from the scene.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: Victoria Martens was born on August 23, 2006, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was a student at Petroglyph Elementary School in Albuquerque. Her mother, Michelle Martens, did not have a criminal record in New Mexico, but later told investigators she would seek men online to engage in sexual acts with her two children, including Victoria, while she allegedly watched for pleasure. The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD), located in the state capital, Santa Fe, had previously received five phone calls regarding the Martens' household, mostly from Michelle Martens herself, beginning in 2015. Michelle Martens allegedly met Fabian Gonzales on an internet dating service, PlentyOfFish, about a month prior to the killing. Jessica Kelley had been released from prison only four days before the murder.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: According to investigators, witnesses saw Jessica Kelley carrying Victoria Martens to the apartment at around 10 p.m. MDT on August 23. Later that night, neighbors reported hearing screaming coming from the apartment. Shortly after, at approximately 4:30 a.m. on August 24, Michelle Martens and Fabian Gonzales left the apartment and reported to neighbors that Kelley had attacked them with an iron. After responding to the 9-1-1 call, police entered the second-story apartment building where they saw smoke coming from behind the closed bathroom door. Upon opening the door, the responding officers discovered the dismembered body of Victoria Martens partially wrapped in a burning blanket. She was then pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, strangled to death, and then stabbed and dismembered. Her body was then set on fire. Martens had been given alcohol and methamphetamine prior to her death, according to her mother, in order "to calm her down so [Fabian Gonzales and Jessica Kelley] could have sex with her." Investigators determined Victoria Martens died between 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. on August 23, her 10th birthday.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzales, and Jessica Kelley were arrested and charged with the murder of Victoria Martens. The three suspects were held on a USD$1 million cash-only bond. Martens, Gonzales and Kelley were arraigned on September 16, 2016. Initially co-defendants, prosecutors asked the court to try Martens, Gonzales, and Kelley in separate criminal trials. The motion was granted in June 2017. They each pled not guilty. On August 14, 2017, Judge Charles Brown decided that Michelle Martens would be tried first on July 30, 2018. Gonzales would be second in October 2018 and then Kelley would go on trial in January 2019. The trials of Gonzales and Kelly were postponed until 2022.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: On June 29, 2018, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez announced that Michelle Martens accepted a plea bargain to one count of child abuse resulting in death. Torrez said in a press conference that most of the details regarding the case were "simply not true." During the conference, the Albuquerque Police Department announced that a fourth unidentified male suspect was sought in relation to the death of Victoria Martens based on unknown DNA evidence recovered from the scene. According to Torrez:


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: Torrez said this proves Martens and Gonzales were not present when the murder and rape occurred. Subsequently, Torrez announced nine of the charges against Fabian Gonzales including second-degree murder and criminal sexual penetration were dropped. Gonzales faced a series of charges including child abuse resulting in death and tampering with evidence of which he was found guilty. Michelle Martens is believed to have falsely confessed to actively participating in the murder. The plea bargain guarantees Martens will face 12–15 years in prison; however it is possible she could have her sentence cut in half since the charge is not classified as a serious violent offense. Michelle Martens will be sentenced after the conclusion of Gonzales' and Kelley's trials.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: On August 4, 2017, the "Albuquerque Journal" reported that an investigation by the Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA) found that a spokesperson from the Albuquerque Police Department "did lie" to the newspaper about the police department's response to a CYFD referral concerning Victoria Martens prior to her death. In December 2016, a sergeant and a commander of the Crimes Against Children Unit told police command staff, including Chief of Police Gorden Eden and a department spokesman officer, that the Albuquerque Police had received referrals from the CYFD about Martens but did not investigate.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: In late January 2017, two police spokespersons told the "Albuquerque Journal" that officers did investigate the referrals and stated that interviews with Victoria Martens and her mother had been conducted; however, this was revealed by the investigation to be false. In July 2017, the CPOA investigation discovered that one of the police spokespersons held correct information about the case but fabricated details in the January statements given to the "Albuquerque Journal". Albuquerque's Citizen Police Oversight Agency voted for the officer, since removed from spokesperson duties, to be suspended for two weeks. However, Eden modified this to a one-day suspension arguing that there was no evidence the officer "intentionally lied". Due to the disagreement, the case will next be reviewed by an independent monitor overseeing the Albuquerque Police Department's reform.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: Eden called Victoria Martens's killing "the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career". Governor Susana Martinez called for a federal investigation. Then-Mayor Richard J. Berry tweeted: "We are heartbroken as we mourn the murder of beautiful 10yr old Victoria Martens. Give your kids an extra hug tonight. #justiceForVictoria".


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: A birthday memorial was held for Victoria Martens on August 29, 2016. Two months later, on October 29, a public funeral was held for her.


title: Death of Victoria Martens

text: In August 2017, Martens's maternal grandparents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the 2nd District Court against the City of Albuquerque and several named police officers. The lawsuit alleged that their failure to investigate a report that one of Michelle Martens' boyfriends tried to kiss Victoria was negligence that led to her murder and that Albuquerque "had in effect policies, practices and customs that condoned and fostered the unlawful conduct of the [Albuquerque Police Department] Individual Defendants, and were a direct and proximate cause" of Martens's death. The lawsuit seeks policy changes and compensation for the Martens family.


title: Carajillo

text: A carajillo () is a hot coffee drink to which a hard liquor is added. It is typical of Spain and several Latin American countries, such as Colombia, where it is usually made with brandy, Cuba, where it is usually made with rum, and some areas of Mexico, mezcal or a coffee liqueur such as Kahlúa or Tía María. Carajillo is usually served in a small glass.


title: Carajillo

text: According to folk etymology, its origin dates to the times when Cuba was a Spanish province. The troops combined coffee with rum to give them courage. Spanish means courage, and its diminutive form is , later changing to "carajillo", while is an expletive in Latin American Spanish. In Catalan, the "carajillo" is called . A similar Italian drink is known as "caffè corretto".


title: Carajillo

text: There are many different ways of making a "carajillo", ranging from an espresso with the spirit simply poured in, to heating the spirit with lemon, sugar and cinnamon and adding the coffee last.


title: Carajillo

text: Although the carajillo is known throughout Spain, the exact way to prepare a carajillo varies slightly in each region of the Spanish country. In Catalonia, for example, it is usually presented in its most simplistic form of coffee with brandy (unburned) and with the sugar on the side, so that the consumer can add it to his or her taste. In the province of Castellón, on the other hand, the preparation is usually a little more elaborate, because it is normal to heat and partially burn the alcohol in the glass, along with the sugar, cinnamon, coffee beans and a piece of lemon rind. This version is also often preferred by cocktail bars and high-class restaurants when a more luxurious (and more expensive) version is required.


title: Carajillo

text: A Spanish 'typical recipe' might involve combining three parts of coffee with one part brandy (or other distillate). First, the liquor is heated, to which a few coffee beans, a lemon rind and the sugar are added. Some people also include a small piece of cinnamon stick. The whole is then set on fire and stirred until the alcohol has been reduced a little and the aromas have been enhanced and mixed. It is then extinguished by covering it with a small saucer of coffee. In the meantime, prepare a glass of coffee. The last step is to put everything together in this glass and serve it very hot. If the alcohol is poured first and the coffee is poured not directly but first over the back of a spoon, the liquids are not mixed since they have different densities.


title: Carajillo

text: The American version uses a heated sugar-rimmed Spanish coffee mug with rum and triple sec. The drink is then flamed to caramelize the sugar. coffee liqueur is then added which puts out the flame, and then it is topped off with of coffee, and whipped cream.


title: Carajillo

text: In Mexico "carajillos" are usually made with espresso (or some other type of strong coffee) and "Licor 43" – a sweet vanilla-citrus flavored liquor – and poured over ice on a short glass. It is commonly drunk as a digestive after meals.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: The Badwater Ultramarathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a course starting at below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet (2548 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July, when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures can reach . Consequently, very few people—even among ultramarathoners—are capable of finishing the race.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Originally, the run was conceived as being between the lowest and the highest points in the contiguous United States: Badwater, Death Valley [] and Mt. Whitney's summit []. The two are only eighty miles apart on the map, but the land route between the two points is substantially longer, , because of detours around lake beds and over mountain ranges. Additionally, since the finish-line is from the nearest trailhead, anyone who competes over the race-distance must be capable of a total physical effort of . Due to the two mountain ranges that must be crossed between Badwater and Whitney, the course's cumulative elevation gain exceeds 19,000 feet (5,800 m).


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In later years, as the United States Forest Service required summit permits to climb Mt. Whitney, the official course was shortened to end at Whitney Portal. The Badwater-to-Portal course is long, with 13,000 feet (4,000 m) of cumulative elevation gain. Forest Service regulations do not allow competitive events in the John Muir Wilderness.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: The first hikes across Death Valley of more than 100 miles took place in 1966, starting with Jean Pierre Marquant of France. Hikes between Badwater and Mount Whitney (via the treacherous salt flats in Death Valley) were first made in 1969 by Stan Rodefer and Jim Burnworth of San Diego.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Al Arnold first attempted running the route in 1974 but was pulled off the course after eighteen miles (29 km) with severe dehydration. After vigorous sauna-training and desert-acclimatization, he attempted the run again in 1975. This time, a knee injury aborted the run at fifty miles. In 1976, training injuries kept him from even beginning his annual attempt on the course.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 1977 he successfully pioneered running the course, summiting Whitney 84 hours after his start at Badwater. Arnold never returned to the course, except to receive the Badwater Hall of Fame Award.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 1980, Gary Morris of Marina Del Rey California attempted to beat Arnold's record. When temps hit 120 degrees F, he pulled out and didn't plan to run in 1981. He worked out with Jay Birmingham and Jon Griffin in Marina Del Rey before the attempt, and Jay's run from Los Angeles to New York City.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 1987, the crossing became an official, organized footrace. Five runners competed the first year. During the early years of the race, no particular route between Badwater and Whitney was specified and runners attempted various "shortcuts" between the start and finish. Adrian Crane, one of the competitors in the inaugural race, even used cross-country skis to cross the salt-flats at Badwater. In 1988 the race was called the Badwater 146 because the finish line was the summit of Mt. Whitney. Later it became Badwater 135 since it was not permissible to have an organized competition on national park land.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Currently, AdventureCORPS manages the competitive race from Badwater to Whitney Portal. The course route is specified, and the race is held annually. The field is invitation-only and limited in size. Demand to participate in the race usually far exceeds available spots. Rules have changed somewhat over the years: afternoon starts have been discontinued; the use of intravenous fluids now disqualifies a runner.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Course support is not provided. Each runner must arrange for his or her own support crew and vehicle. The crew provides their runner with his or her needs, including water, ice, food, gear, pacing, and first aid.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In the past, runners were allowed sixty hours to complete the course, but this has been changed to a 48-hour course limit and a 28 hours cutoff at Panamint Springs Resort. Finishers receive a belt buckle and medal but no prize money is awarded.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: The record for the race was set in 1991 by Marshall Ulrich: 33 hours and 54 minutes. Records for the current course are 21 hours 33 minutes 01 seconds (men), set by Yoshihiko Ishikawa, and 24 hours 9 minutes 34 seconds (women), set by Ashley Paulson in 2022.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 2002, Pam Reed was the first woman to become the overall winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon. She subsequently repeated as overall winner of the race in 2003. In 2002, her win also set the women's course record at the time.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In the last few years, about 90 people have competed in each race, with 20–40% failing to reach the finish line. There have been no fatalities.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all 102 confirmed participants guaranteed entry in 2021.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 1989, Tom Crawford and Richard Benyo completed the first double crossing (which became known as the "Death Valley 300"), running from Badwater to Mount Whitney's summit and back to Badwater again.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 1994, Scott Weber completed the first Triple Crossing going from the Mount Whitney Summit to Badwater, then returning from Badwater to the Mount Whitney summit, then going from the Mount Whitney summit back to Badwater in 10 days. The first leg of the Triple was also done solo unassisted with Weber pushing an unmodified 'baby jogger' cart with his supplies from oasis to oasis spaced from 20 to apart. Weber completed the majority of the triple unassisted and solo, being met once or twice a day by Ben on the second leg and for of the third leg. Faced with the necessity of completing the Triple before August ended, Weber abandoned his cart at mile 390 to be fully crewed by Denise Jones. Completing this Triple and adding the Badwater race from the previous month made Weber the first runner to complete four full crossings of the Badwater-Mount Whitney summit course in a single July–August window. He remains the only runner to have done a multiple crossing with a solo unassisted section of or greater.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 2001, Marshall Ulrich was the first runner to complete the "Badwater Quad", consisting of two back-to-back Death Valley 300s for a total of four consecutive Badwater/Whitney transits. He completed the course, a distance in excess of twenty-two marathons, in ten days.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 2012, Terry Abrams (54) became the first woman to complete a solo Triple 146 crossing, 438 miles, which includes two summits of Mt. Whitney. She is also the oldest woman to complete the Double, 292 miles.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 2014, Lisa Smith-Batchen (54) became the first woman to complete the "Badwater Quad", 584 miles in 15 days.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 1994, Scott Weber became the first runner to cross from the summit of Mount Whitney to Badwater course solo without a crew. He did so by pushing a 'baby-jogger' cart with his supplies going oasis to oasis (20- apart). Weber then continued on to complete 2 additional crossing with minimal support until being crewed full-time for the final of this 438+ mile journey.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In July 1999, Marshall Ulrich became the first runner to complete the Badwater-to-Summit course without a crew or resupply, denying himself the use of artificial shade or outside aid of any kind. Starting with of gear and water loaded in a modified baby jogger, he pushed and pulled the cart to the Whitney trail head, then continued on to the summit with a pack. He reached Whitney's summit in seventy seven hours and forty six minutes.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In July 2004, Jeff Sauter became the second person to attempt a solo self-contained crossing under Marshall Ulrich's rules, and completed the 135 mile course to Whitney Portal in 72 hours, but succumbed to hypothermia on the way to the summit and failed to finish the 146 mile course.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Ben "Badwater" Jones, the reference authority and person who documents Badwater crossings, documented the following attempts on his website. http://www.badwaterbenjones.com -> Badwater/Mt. Whitney 146.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In July 2011, Lisa Bliss became the first woman and second person to complete the 146 mile Badwater-to-Summit course totally self-contained (without crew or resupply of any kind, abiding by the rules set forth in Marshall Ulrich's 1999 unassisted "self-contained" solo crossing). She pushed and pulled a custom-built 3-wheeled cart filled with water and gear that weighed 240 pounds at the start from Badwater to the Whitney trail head, and then continued the remaining 11 miles to the summit with a pack that she carried from the start. She reached the Mt. Whitney summit in 89 hours and 38 minutes.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In July 2012, "Bogie" Bogdan Dumitrescu made an unsuccessful attempt. In August 2012, Croix Sather got to the Whitney Portal in 64:55 and summited Whitney in 72:55, setting a new record. A subsequent attempt was made by "Bogie" Bogdan Dumitrescu who got to the Whitney Portal in 56:50 and summited Whitney in 70:40. Bogie started on July 8, 2013, at 7:45am, got to the portal at 12:03pm(52:18) and summited Whitney on 7/10/13 at 20:03 in the evening, setting a new time of 60 hours 18 minutes. In 2014 Bogie started on July 1 and had to stop after Townes Pass due to severe dizziness and breathing problems. But he returned two weeks later, and finished with a time of 57 hours 18 minutes.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Through the years, runners of all abilities have completed individual Badwater to Mt. Whitney crossings in the spirit of the early crossings, usually aided by crew. In 2005, Hugh Murphy initiated an informal gathering known as the Badwater Solo Ultra 135/146. Runners could finish at Whitney Portal (135 mi.), but were encouraged to continue to the summit of Mt. Whitney (146 mi.) Finishers of either distance were presented with a bronze belt buckle. Among the finishers of the 135 mile Badwater Solo in 2005, listed in order of finish time, were Shane Sampson, Juli Aistars, Steve James, Marcia Rassmussen, Jim Hamilton, Maureen Moran, Bo Pheffer, Dharam (Paul) Piplani Barbara Szeprethy and Dave Remington. In 2007, the informal group start was dissolved due to National Park Service permitting regulations. Solo runners continue to complete the course on an individual basis during the months of July and August. The word "solo" is used to designate runners who are not part of the official race. These Solos should not be confused with the unassisted crossings of Ulrich or Weber. In compliance with National Park and Forest Service permitting rules, the Badwater Solo is not a competitive race or an organized event of any kind. In general there are three types of recognized "solos". "Solo badwater" where the runner has a crew. "Solo self supported" or "Solo Oasis to oasis", where the runner does not have a crew but can use/buy/stash water and food. "Solo self contained" where the runner cannot get help and has to carry all food and water (see exact rules established by Marshall Ulrich). Since 2007, Marcia Rasmussen has attempted to award each Solo crossing a buckle for their finish. "Badwater" Ben Jones used to maintain a "Master List" of all Badwater-to-Whitney crossings, including finishers of the official Badwater Ultramarathon and the Badwater Solo.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 2007, then 19-year-old Ben Eakin – son of Laura Weber and coached and crewed by Scott Weber – completed his first solo crossing, having only finished 2 marathons and 1 50K prior to doing so. Eakin completed the 146 mile solo from Badwater to the summit of Mount Whitney, to become the youngest person to complete the lowest to highest course, as well as the first type-1 diabetic.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: In 2005, Barbara Szeprethy, then 24, is the youngest woman to finish the course, 3 times total, in consecutive years.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Any competitor who completes both the Badwater Ultramarathon and the Furnace Creek 508 bicycle race (also held in Death Valley) during the same calendar year is awarded the Death Valley Cup. In 1996, Marshall Ulrich became the first ever to finish the Death Valley Cup.


title: Badwater Ultramarathon

text: Charlie Engle currently holds the Death Valley Cup record, setting it in 2009. That year, he ran Badwater, 25:45:11 (4th place) and Furnace Creek, 33:19:25,


title: Kanaka (actress)

text: Kanaka is the daughter of Tamil actress Devika. She is also the great-granddaughter of Telugu cinema's first sound film's producer Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu.


title: Kanaka (actress)

text: She started her career as a heroine in the Tamil movie "Karagatakaran", directed by Gangai Amaran, a blockbuster movie which ran more than a year. Kanaka acted in many Tamil movies, including "Periya Veetu Pannakkaran" (1990), "Athisaya Piravi" (1990), "Samundi" (1992), "Periya Kudumbam" (1995) and "Viralukketha Veekkam" (1999). She also starred in a few Telugu and Malayalam movies with major stars like Mukesh, Mammootty and Mohanlal. She has acted in more than 50 films in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu in a span of 10 years. Her last Tamil film was "Sillunu Oru Kaadhal" (2006).


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: WCW Monday Nitro, also known as WCW Nitro or simply Nitro, is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United States from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Created by Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner, the show's premiere was notable for sparking a period of television known as the "Monday Night Wars". For the entirety of the show's run, "Nitro" went head-to-head in the ratings with the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF; now WWE) "Monday Night Raw". Although comparable to "Raw" in popularity from the beginning, "Nitro" began to dominate in ratings, based largely on the strength of the New World Order (nWo), a rebellious group of wrestlers that wanted to take over WCW. Beginning in June 1996, "Nitro" beat "Raw" in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks, forcing WWF owner Vince McMahon to usher in the more adult-oriented "Attitude Era". In April 1998, "Raw" beat "Nitro" in the ratings for the first time in almost two years. The shows would continue to trade ratings wins back and forth until November 1998 when "Raw" pulled ahead of "Nitro" for good.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Besides broadcasting from various arenas and locations across the United States and Canada, such as Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota (from which the very first episode was broadcast), "Nitro" also organized special broadcasts from the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando in 1996; aired annual "Spring Break-Out" episodes from Panama City Beach, Florida or South Padre Island, Texas starting in March 1997; and filmed some episodes in Australia and the United Kingdom during the Fall of 2000.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: As of June 30, 2016, all episodes are available for streaming on the WWE Network (and NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service). WWE has also released three "Best of WCW Monday Nitro" DVD sets.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The first episode of "Nitro" was broadcast from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota on September 4, 1995. The featured matches on the one-hour broadcast were Brian Pillman versus Jushin Thunder Liger, Ric Flair versus WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Sting, and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan taking on Big Bubba Rogers. The show was also highlighted by the return of Lex Luger to WCW after having spent the previous two plus years wrestling for the WWF, where he had been one of the promotion's top stars. Luger had just wrestled a match for the WWF the previous evening; the match was his final contractual obligation with the company, and Luger signed with WCW the morning of his appearance. The event prefigured the similar defections of WWF wrestlers Scott Hall and Kevin Nash the following year.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The title video for the debut episode of "Nitro" featured multiple shots of Big Van Vader (one of four wrestlers featured, along with Hulk Hogan, Sting and Macho Man Randy Savage), who parted ways with WCW following a backstage altercation with Paul Orndorff. Absent from the first episode, he had been scheduled to face Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the September 11 edition, but was replaced by Lex Luger, who issued a challenge to Hogan on the debut show. Vader would never perform on "Nitro", and embarked on a WWF career in January 1996.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The advent of "Nitro" brought with it a television ratings rivalry with the WWF's "Monday Night Raw", known to wrestling fans as the "Monday Night Wars". Throughout this period, "Nitro" would grow in popularity and eventually surpass "Raw" in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Since "Nitro" was live, the show was seen as far less predictable than its WWF counterpart. Initially only sixty minutes in length (as was "Raw" at the time), "Nitro" was expanded to two hours following the 1996 NBA Playoffs ("Raw" would later extend to two hours in February 1997). In January 1998, the show was extend to three hours. At its peak, the rivalry resulted in performers on either show trading verbal insults and challenges. In retaliation for a segment of "Raw" in which D-Generation X (D-X) travelled to the Norfolk Scope arena in Norfolk where "Nitro" was being broadcast (WWF was nearby in Hampton, Virginia the same night), Eric Bischoff challenged Vince McMahon to face him in a match to be held at Slamboree 1998; McMahon never formally recognized the challenge and did not appear.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The July 6, 1998, episode of "Nitro" from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta saw Goldberg defeat Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: "Nitro" is best remembered for the New World Order (nWo), with former WWF wrestlers Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan as rebellious heels plotting to take over the WCW. Despite ratings success, both the angle and stable would later be criticized for the heel wrestlers almost never losing, and for what was seen as overexposure. As the nWo expanded, the stable would ultimately split into several warring factions within itself, while most WCW-branded wrestlers would eventually become neutral.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: As "Raw" began to overtake "Nitro" in the ratings in 1998 thanks to WWF's Attitude Era programming, WCW was frequently criticized for several faults, including an inability to create new stars while over-relying on established stars to support ratings.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: On January 4, 1999 Mick Foley, who had wrestled for WCW during the early 1990s as Cactus Jack, won the WWF Championship as Mankind on a pre-taped episode of "Raw". "Nitro" announcer Tony Schiavone sarcastically commented on the match, which unexpectedly resulted in "Nitro" losing in the ratings battle when several hundred thousand viewers switched over to "Raw" to see the title change. That night's episode of "Nitro" would be notorious for the "Fingerpoke of Doom", in which a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Kevin Nash and Hollywood Hogan was quickly revealed to be a rouse that reunited the core members of the nWo as the "nWo Elite". The match was universally panned and was considered to have damaged WCW's credibility and begin their decline.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: In October 1999, former WWF writers Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara were hired by WCW. Both men attempted to bring their WWF-style writing to "Nitro", including edgier storylines, lengthier non-wrestling segments, and an increased amount of sexuality. Many WCW fans greatly resented Russo and Ferrara for changing their programming to be like the WWF, as they preferred the traditional method of wrestling over long skits, screwjobs, and risque innuendo that were widely popular among WWF audiences.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: "Nitro" would be reduced to two hours in January 2000, returning the program to an 8-10 p.m. timeslot, with the first hour running unopposed and the second hour competing with the first hour of "Raw". Eric Bischoff would be brought back to "Nitro" and was paired with Russo to "reboot" WCW on April 10, 2000. None of these changes were able to help recover "Nitro"'s ratings and Bischoff eventually left the company in July 2000 after an incident involving Hogan and Russo at the Bash at the Beach event. Russo would later suffer a severe concussion after being speared through a cage by Goldberg, later leaving WCW on extended leave to recover.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: In an attempt to save WCW and "Nitro", Bischoff attempted to purchase the company with a group of investors. However, although Bischoff's offer had been accepted, recently appointed Turner Broadcasting executive Jamie Kellner announced shortly after his arrival that "Nitro" and all WCW programming was immediately canceled on both TNT and TBS. Bischoff's group then withdrew their deal, as it was contingent on keeping WCW programming on some outlet. Instead, WCW's trademarks and certain assets (such as its video library and the contracts of 24 wrestlers), though not the company itself (which existed as a Time Warner-owned legal entity under the name Universal Wrestling Corporation until late 2017), were bought by Vince McMahon's WWF (now WWE), its long-time competitor.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Around the time of the cancellation, WCW was preparing to make its yearly trip to Panama City, Florida for spring break. Since the premiere of "Nitro", WCW had gone to Club La Vela or South Padre Island every March to try to gain favor with adolescent and young adult viewers who might not otherwise be tuning into the program. It was announced that the upcoming March 26, 2001, episode of "Nitro" from Panama City (which was actually held at the nearby Boardwalk Beach Resort) was to be the finale and the show was dubbed "The Night of Champions." The show began with McMahon appearing via satellite from Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of that Monday's "Raw is War" broadcast on TNN. McMahon announced his purchase of WCW to the crowd and appeared in vignettes throughout the show, including one where he terminated WCW's Jeff Jarrett on air due to bad blood the two had in the past.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The show was unique in that all five of WCW's major championships (excluding the WCW Hardcore Championship) were defended that night and in six of the seven matches contested on the show, the faces won. (Traditionally WCW was seen as the promotion where heels were often the top stars as opposed to the WWF, where faces were often the top stars. Shawn Stasiak was the only heel to emerge victorious on the final episode of "Nitro".) In addition, various WCW wrestlers were interviewed giving their honest, out-of-character responses to the selling of WCW. The co-main event of the evening was WCW World Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner taking on WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Booker T in a match with both belts on the line; Booker defeated Steiner for his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship while retaining the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Just as it had been on the initial "Nitro", the final match of the final "Nitro" and the final match in WCW as a whole was between long-time WCW rivals Ric Flair and Sting, a match that was more informal than their usual encounters (Sting and Flair were seen smiling and nodding respectfully towards each other throughout the match). Sting won using his finishing move, the Scorpion Deathlock. After the match, the two competitors stood in the middle of the ring and embraced to show respect for one another.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: In a closing segment, simulcast between both "Nitro" and "Raw", Vince addressed the audience in Cleveland and gloated about the purchase, stating that he wanted Turner to personally deliver the sale contract to him so he could sign it at WrestleMania X-Seven that weekend. However, the speech was interrupted by Vince's son Shane McMahon, who announced (in kayfabe) from "Nitro" that he had already signed the sale contract himself, and that the WCW would continue to compete against the WWF. The twist came as part of the set up of their match at WrestleMania X-Seven, and of what would later become WWF's "Invasion" storyline.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: In addition to the tape library and other intellectual properties, WWF also purchased several contracts of WCW talent, keeping many of the younger stars. Four of WCW's championships found their way into the WWF; in addition to Booker T carrying both the WCW Championship (as it was renamed) and United States Championship with him into the WWF, McMahon also signed then-WCW Cruiserweight Champion Shane Helms and then-WCW Tag Team Champions Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire to contracts. Palumbo and O'Haire would defeat Team Canada (Mike Awesome and Lance Storm) on the final episode of "Nitro". (The WWF scrapped the WCW Hardcore Championship, as it was officially retired immediately following the final "Nitro" despite no one holding it since Meng departed for the WWF in early 2001, and the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship for undisclosed reasons; Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio were the last champions and McMahon was only able to sign Kidman to a contract at the time.)


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: "The Night of Champions" was the penultimate WCW broadcast, prior to the final episode of "WorldWide" in 5 days later on March 31, 2001. "WCW Monday Nitro" was the last professional wrestling program to air on TNT until the first episode of "AEW Dynamite" on October 2, 2019.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: When then-WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze signed with WCW in 1995 (going back to her old name of "Madusa"), she brought the WWF Women's title belt with her and threw it in a trash can on the December 18, 1995 episode of "Nitro" (the third week that "Nitro" started before the top of the hour), and the title itself would become inactive for the next three years. Many cite this incident as one of the causes of the infamous Montreal Screwjob. This infamous event would be parodied by WCW on a 2000 episode of "Nitro", when Scott Hall threw the WCW World Television Championship in the trash and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan found and claimed the belt weeks later on an episode of "Saturday Night".


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The only wrestler to appear on both "Nitro" and "Raw" on the same night was Rick Rude. Rude was able to appear on both shows because he was not under contract with the WWF at the time, appearing on a handshake deal with McMahon on "Raw" – which was still pre-recorded at the time while "Nitro" was broadcast live. To emphasize that only "Nitro" was live, Rude had a full beard on the "Raw" broadcast but only a mustache on "Nitro".


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The January 13, 1997 episode of "Nitro" ended with the first two minutes of the Hollywood Hogan vs. The Giant main event. Before the show went off the air, commentator Tony Schiavone announced the match was to continue during the commercial breaks of "The New Adventures of Robin Hood", which premiered that night after "Nitro". This resulted in the premiere episode of "Robin Hood" receiving high ratings due to WCW fans being lured in to watch the show for the Hogan/Giant match.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: On the May 24, 1999 broadcast Bret Hart eulogizes his brother Owen who was killed in an in-ring accident at the WWF pay-per-view event Over the Edge the night before.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: The rock band KISS appeared in August 1999, and debuted a wrestler named The Demon while performing "God of Thunder". According to Dean Malenko, it was the lowest rated "Nitro" ever.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Throughout the late summer and early fall of 1999, in an attempt to boost the show's declining ratings, WCW organized a competition to find a new member of the Nitro Girls. Over the course of eight weeks, 300 women took part in the competition; two women who successfully passed the regional auditions were subject to Internet voting by home viewers. Eight women were selected to participate in the final round of the competition, which was held on the November 8, 1999 episode of "Nitro". Stacy Keibler was declared the winner of the competition after receiving the most internet votes among the eight finalists, and received a spot on the dance troupe along with a cash prize of $10,000.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: Since buying the WCW video library, WWE Home Video has included many "Nitro" matches and segments on some of their Superstar biography DVD sets. Episodes were also streamed on WWE Classics on Demand, as part of "The Monday Night Wars" feature.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: While the service did show episodes of "Nitro", they are often edited. Some WCW entrance theme music tracks are replaced with stock WWE music. A lot of the crowd noise is also removed on most episodes and pay-per-views. Beginning in July 2007, WWE Classics on Demand began deleting content from episodes of "Nitro", as matches and some references to Chris Benoit are removed. Benoit is sometimes shown in segments where he is not the main issue of the segment. This was in light of the controversy surrounding the deaths of Benoit and his family on June 24 of that year.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: In April 2009, WWE Classics went back to the first episodes that aired in September 1995. These shows alternate with the current "Nitro" airings (December 1997 and onwards).


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: A 3-disc DVD entitled "The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro" was produced and released by WWE on June 7, 2011. The set is narrated by former three time WCW champion Diamond Dallas Page and highlights some of the biggest matches and moments in the history of "WCW Monday Nitro". The sequel, "The Best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 2" was released on DVD and Blu-ray February 12, 2013. Followed by the final set titled, "The Very best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 3", which was released on August 11, 2015.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: As of 2016, all 288 episodes of "Nitro" (September 4, 1995 – March 26, 2001) are available on demand on the WWE Network.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: (*) – Starting with the May 27, 1996 episode of "Nitro", which came after a week off due to the NBA Playoffs on TNT, "Nitro" started using two broadcast teams for the show. Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko would call the first hour of "Nitro" from ringside, and Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan would take over from their booth near the set at the top of the second hour. Starting in September 1996, Mike Tenay became a color commentator for both hours of "Nitro", calling the first hour with Schiavone and Zbyszko and the second hour with Bischoff and Heenan. Usually Tenay would call the first hour from the broadcast booth separate from Schiavone and Zbyzsko's table at ringside, while he called the second hour with Bischoff and Heenan in the booth.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: (**) – After Eric Bischoff joined the nWo and took on a more prominent on-screen authority figure role, Schiavone replaced Bischoff in the second hour of "Nitro", thus making him the lone play-by-play commentator for the show. Unlike Tenay, Schiavone called the first hour from ringside and would call the second hour in the booth alongside Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay. Schiavone did that until the broadcast table at ringside was done away with on the December 9, 1996 edition of "Nitro". WCW, though, would eventually move the announcers back to ringside when the new "Nitro" set was debuted on April 5, 1999.


title: WCW Monday Nitro

text: (***) – At the end of match between Sting and Flair, the program was simulcasted with TNN for the closing segment and Shane McMahon announces the immediate purchase of World Championship Wrestling from his father, Vince.