ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician. He was the United States Ambassador to China from May 24, 2017 to October 4, 2020. He was the 42nd Governor of Iowa from in January 14, 2011 until his resignation on May 24, 2017. Branstad was the 39th governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party and is the longest-serving governor in Iowa or American history. In 2010, he won a three-way primary election to run as the Republican candidate for governor. He ran against incumbent Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, and four third party candidates in the November 2, 2010 general election. He won the general election in November, defeating Culver by 52.9% to 43.1%. Branstad started the 2010 race with a lead in both the primary and general elections. He won the Republican primary with 50.4% of the vote, 9.5% ahead of the next candidate. On December 14, 2015, Branstad became the longest serving governor in American history. In December 2016, Branstad was nominated by President-elect of the United States Donald Trump to become the United States Ambassador to China. Branstad was confirmed by the Senate on May 22, 2017, and was succeeded as Governor of Iowa by Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds after he resigns to take up the ambassadorship. He resigned in October 2020. Early life. Branstad's family were Norwegian-American Lutheran farmers who lived in Leland, Iowa. Branstad graduated from the University of Iowa and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Drake University Law School. He served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 and earned the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. In 1989, he was named an honorary member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity at Iowa State University. Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from
The Ford Expedition is a full sized SUV that can carry up to nine people. This SUV debuted around 1997 as a replacement for Ford Bronco. The vehicle is used by EMS, by law enforcement and by fire department agencies. First Generation (1997-2002). The First generation Expedition, also known as the UN93 was manufactured on July 22, 1996 in Wayne, Michigan and Revealed on October 2 ,1996. Its front end is identical to the 10th gen Ford F-150. It has 3 variants, XLT, Eddie Bauer, and SVT (Which was discontinued days later). The engines can be a 4.6, 5.4, and 5.6.  Second Generation (2003-2006). The Second generation Expedition was manufactured on March 2002 under the U222 chassis code in Wayne, Michigan and revealed at the 2002 .
The 2010–11 Queensland floods were a series of floods in Australia which began in December 2010 and ended in January 2011. The majority of the floods were in Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The rain also caused floods further south in central and western Victoria. At least 90 towns flooded. A huge area of Queensland, the size of Texas and France combined, was flooded. The floods forced thousands of people to leave their homes. At least 70 towns and 200,000 people were affected in Queensland. Three-quarters of the state of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone. The 2010–2011 floods have killed 35 (not 30) people across Queensland since November and 14 are still missing. More than 20 people have died in flash floods between Brisbane and Toowoomba. The floods were caused by heavy rain from tropical cyclone "Tasha" that joined with a trough during a La Niña event. La Niña is an unusual weather pattern, which brings wet weather to eastern Australia. The 2010 La Niña was the strongest since 1973. This caused heavy rainfall across Queensland. December 2010 was the wettest on record, with 107 places getting their highest rainfalls ever. The state average rainfall level of 404.7mm was much bigger than the old record of 369mm set in 1975. 2010 was also recorded as the state's wettest spring since 1900 and Australia's third wettest year. Flooding started across parts of the state in early December. On 28 December a monsoonal trough crossed the coast from the Coral Sea, bringing very heavy rain from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Gold Coast. About 300 roads were closed, including nine major highways. Many places, including Condamine and Chinchilla were flooded several times. Coal railway lines were closed and many mine sites flooded. The floods have caused fruit and vegetable prices to rise as crops have been destroyed. The wet conditions have also led to a large number of snakes seeking safety on the higher ground or in houses with people. Saltwater crocodiles and sharks were seen in some flooded areas of
The Ford Flex was a full size crossover SUV, It was made by Ford Motor Company. Its styling was based on the concept of the Ford Fairlane. The vehicle was launched in 2007 at the New York International Auto Show.  In 2008, It replaced the Ford Taurus X.  In 2013 it was improved. It had a new bonnet, new grille, new headlights, new rear lights and new front and rear bumpers In 2019 Ford stopped making the automobile.
Rod R. Blagojevich (born December 10, 1956) was 40th Governor of Illinois beginning January 13, 2003 and ending January 29, 2009. He succeeded George Ryan, who would also be arrested for non-related charges. Blagojevich was the first Governor of Illinois to be impeached while in office and the first Democratic politician in over 25 years to face such charges. In February 2020, President Donald Trump ended Blagojevich's prison sentence four years earlier. Early life. Blagojevich was born in Chicago, Illinois, the second of four children. His father, Radislav, was an immigrant steel plant laborer from a village near Kragujevac, Serbia. Blagojevich graduated from Chicago's Foreman High School after transferring from Lane Technical High School. He began boxing at a young age. Governor of Illinois. During 2002, Blagojevich campaigned for his party's nomination to become governor. Blagojevich won a close primary campaign against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas, who ran well in the suburban collar counties of Chicago. Blagojevich finished strongly in Southern Illinois, winning 55% of the primary vote downstate, enough to win a primary victory by a thin margin. In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Topinka and the Green Party's Rich Whitney, outspending Topinka $27 million to $6 million. He attempted to tie Topinka to former Republican governor George Ryan's corruption. Blagojevich won re-election. Arrest and conviction. He was arrested in December 2008 on federal corruption charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Blagojevich was later impeached during January 2009, convicted and removed from office on January 29, 2009. On December 7, 2011, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. He is held at Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood in Jefferson County, Colorado. On May 31, 2018, President
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest in Queensland, Australia. At around 1200 square kilometres the Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian mainland. It is named after Richard Daintree, an Australian geologist and photographer. The Daintree Rainforest is a main part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. These are some of its ancient flora: * some of the earliest land plants: the whisk ferns and the club mosses; * seven ancient families of true ferns; * the ancient, fern-like cycad "Bowenia spectabilis" (zamia fern) and other cycads, including "Cycas", and the giant "Lepidozamia hopei" (zamia palm); * ancient conifers such as "Podocarpus" (plum pine or brown pine), "Prumnopitys" (brown pine or southern yew), "Araucaria" (hoop and bunya pines), and "Agathis" (kauri) which are living counterparts of Jurassic-age fossils (i.e., age of the dinosaurs); * 12 primitive angiosperm (flowering plant) families: relict angiosperm plant families that are known as fossils from the Cretaceous including Cunoniaceae, Proteaceae (banksia and macadamia family), Winteraceae, Myrtaceae (eucalypt and "Syzygium" or lilly pilly), Monimiaceae, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae, Aquifoliaceae (holly family), Chloranthaceae, Trimeniaceae, Epacridaceae (heath family), Olacaceae and families of angiosperms to represent the longest continuous history associated with the Gondwanan landmass. The Daintree Rainforest itself meets all four natural criteria on the "Criteria for Selection to be a World Heritage Site", though it is just part of the Wet Tropics site. The Wet Tropics are one of only twelve natural World
The Red City Hall () is the town hall of Berlin, in the Mitte borough on Rathausstraße near Alexanderplatz. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government (the Senate of Berlin) of the Federal state of Berlin. The landmark building got its name from the red clinker bricks with which it is covered. History. The Rathaus was built between 1861 and 1869 in the style of the north Italian High Renaissance by Hermann Friedrich Waesemann. It was modelled on the Old Town Hall of Toruń, now in Poland, while the architecture of the tower is reminiscent of the cathedral tower of Notre-Dame of Laon in France. It replaced several individual buildings dating from the Middle Ages and now fills an entire city block. The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II and rebuilt to the original plans between 1951 and 1956. The "Neues Stadthaus", which survived the bombing and had been the head office of the Berlin city fire insurance company in Parochialstraße was the temporary city hall for the post-war city government for all four sectors of Berlin until September 1948. Following that time, it housed only those of the Soviet sector. The reconstructed Rotes Rathaus, then in the Soviet sector, served as the town hall of East Berlin, while the Rathaus Schöneberg in Schöneberg borough was seat of the West Berlin Senate. After German reunification, the administration of reunified Berlin officially moved into the Rotes Rathaus on 1 October 1991.
The following list of mayors of Berlin shows all the mayors () of Berlin, Germany since 1809: 1809–1948. "" (generally "Lord Mayor") 1948–1991 (East Berlin). Mayors () of East Berlin, capital in the socialist state of German Democratic Republic. The Mayor of Berlin ("Regierender Bürgermeister von Berlin") was democratically elected in January 1991. 1948–1991 (West Berlin). Governing Mayors () of West Berlin (1949–90), and Berlin, capital of Germany since 1990.
The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly the 'Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves', are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area includes 50 separate reserves covering . It is around the New South Wales–Queensland border. The Gondwana Rainforests are so-called because the fossil record indicates that when Gondwana existed it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living today. The number of visitors to the reserve is about two million per year. National parks. The Queensland areas include the Main Range, at its most northern point; and extending south, the Lamington, Mount Chinghee, Springbrook and Mount Barney national parks. The New South Wales areas include the Barrington Tops, at its most southern point; and extending north, the Dorrigo, Mount Warning, New England, Mebbin, Nightcap, Border Ranges, Oxley Wild Rivers, Washpool, Willi Willi and Werrikimbe national parks. The most heavily visited parts are Dorrigo National Park and the Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park.
Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden (lime in British English) trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall in the middle of the road Unter den Linden runs east–west from the site of the former Stadtschloss royal palace at the Lustgarten park, where the demolished Palast der Republik used to be, to Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate. Eastward the boulevard crosses the river Spree near the Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and continues as Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. The western continuation behind Brandenburg Gate is Straße des 17. Juni. Major north–south streets crossing Unter den Linden are Friedrichstraße and Wilhelmstrasse.  Unter den Linden at the heart of the historic section of Berlin developed from a bridle path laid out by Elector John George of Brandenburg in the 16th century to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten. It was replaced by a boulevard of linden trees planted in 1647, stretching from the city palace to the gates of the city, by order of the “Great Elector” Frederick William. While the western part of the boulevard retained its character, the area around present-day Bebelplatz was changed after the Thirty Years' War and fortified. There are no trees. By the 19th century, as Berlin grew and expanded to the west, Unter den Linden became the best-known and grandest street in Berlin. In 1851 the famous equestrian (horse-riding) statue of King Frederick the Great, designed by Christian Daniel Rauch, was put up on the centre strip. In the course of the building of the Nord-Süd-Tunnel for the Berlin S-Bahn in 1934/35 most of the linden trees were cut down and during the last days of World War II the remaining trees were destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were replanted in the 1950s, they are affected by air pollution as well as by soil contamination. Since 1937, the numbering
Chihuahua is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat is the state capital, the city of Chihuahua. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 758,791, with 748,551 in the municipal seat. It covers an area of .
Frederick II (; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was a King in Prussia (1740–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. As a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV, Margrave of Brandenburg. He was also the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel. Victorious in war, he became known as Frederick the Great () and was nicknamed "der alte Fritz" ("Old Fritz"). When he was young, Frederick was mostly interested in music and philosophy and not military affairs. Frederick tried to escape from his strict father, Frederick William I, with childhood friend, Hans Hermann von Katte. When they were captured Frederick was forced to watch von Kattel's execution. Many historians consider him to be bisexual and perhaps possibly celibate in his later life. After the death of Frederick William I in 1740, Frederick the Great only attended his wife with formal visits once a year. Shortly after becoming King in Prussia, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars. Near the end of his life, Frederick united most of his separated parts of his kingdom through the First Partition of Poland. For years Frederick exchanged letters with Voltaire. He modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and promoted religious tolerance. Frederick patronized the arts and philosophers, and wrote flute music. Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II of Prussia, son of his brother, Prince Augustus William of Prussia. Crown Prince. In 1732, Queen Sophia Dorothea tried to arrange a dual marriage of Frederick and his sister Wilhelmina with Amelia and Frederick, the children of her brother, King George II of Great Britain. Fearing an alliance between Prussia and Great Britain, Field Marshal von Seckendorff, the Austrian ambassador in Berlin, bribed Field Marshal von Grumbkow, the Prussian Minister of War, and Benjamin Reichenbach, Prussian ambassador in London. They pair discreetly slandered the British
Gabrielle Giffords is an American politician. She was born on June 8, 1970. She is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. She was badly injured January 8, 2011, during a shooting in Tucson, Arizona after being shot in the head at very close range, but survived. She was holding a meeting around the parking lot of a supermarket when the shooting happened. Since 2007, she has been married to astronaut and United States Senator Mark Kelly. Dem. Gabrielle Giffords was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona's 8th district from January 1, 2001 - January 25, 2012. She made a living translating English medical terms into Spanish for the use in the ER to Pediatrics. In Tuscan, Arizona on January 8, 2011 at a Wal-Mart shopping plaza she was holding a meeting for herself and the public to share concerns about the current and future state of Arizona along with its role at the White House with newly elected President Barak Obama. At that time she was unaware of that day and what it would mean to her colleagues and constituents, as well as, other American citizens around the country. She made multiple appearances during her recovery on the floor of Congress during important laws trying to be passed to the Senate and President for approval. Dem. Giffords continuing resiliency to remember that 'change' is an important part of democracy to continue to stay relevant in a world connected with each other hand in hand in the blink of an eye across the globe. When someone's character or beliefs come into question by another person or imitator online, persons should be made aware of their surroundings and be able to feel safe in public.
King in Prussia was the title used by the rulers of Prussia from 1702 to 1772. The rulers, who were also Princes and Margraves of Brandenberg wanted to be Kings, but knew that the Holy Roman Emperor would not allow them the title.  In return for support in the War of the Spanish Succession Emperor Leopold I allowed Frederick to call himself King in Prussia. The Duchy of Prussia was outside the Empire, and he was only regarded as King outside the Empire. In 1772 Frederick II annexed most of Poland and decided to call himself King of Prussia. The Holy Roman Emperor was not as strong as they had been, and in 1806 the Empire ceased to exist.
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 made the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing the states to vote on whether slavery was legal or not. This law canceled the Missouri Compromise, which declared that slavery was not legal in those areas. It was passed on May 30, 1854. The Kansas-Nebraska Act angered many in the North who considered the Missouri Compromise to be a long-standing agreement. In the pro-slavery South, it was strongly supported.  After the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters rushed in to settle Kansas to affect the outcome of the first election held after the new law went into effect. Pro-slavery settlers carried the election but anti-slavery settlers claimed the results were fraudulent, and did not accept defeat. The resulting fighting in Kansas gave it the nickname "Bleeding Kansas".
The 2006–07 Chicago Blackhawks season was the Hawks' 81st season. Regular season. Season standings. "Final regular season standings for the 2006–07 NHL season." Transactions. Draft picks. Chicago's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia. Other websites. Goaltenders: Defensemen • • • • Forwards • • • • • • • • • •
Kathie Lee Gifford (born August 16, 1953) is an American talk show host, singer and actress. She is best known for hosting "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" from 1985-2000 with Regis Philbin. She later co-hosted the fourth hour of NBC's "Today" show. She has received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations. She won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010 as part of the cast in "The Today Show". Before she hosted talk shows, Gifford's first television appearance was Tom Kennedy's singer/sidekick on "Name That Tune", from 1974 to 1978.  She has also appeared in television advertisements for Carnival Cruise Lines since 1984. Early life. Kathie Lee Gifford was born in Paris, France. Her birth name is Kathryn Lee Epstein. She is the daughter of Joan (née Cuttell; January 20, 1930 – September 12, 2017), a singer, and Aaron Epstein (March 19, 1924 – November 19, 2002), a musician and former U.S. Navy officer. Aaron Epstein was stationed with his family in France when Gifford was born. Gifford grew up in Bowie, Maryland, and attended Bowie High School. When she was in high school, Gifford was a singer in a folk group, "Pennsylvania Next Right," which performed frequently at school assemblies. As a junior high school she dated and went to the prom with Michael Bray. After her graduation in high school, Gifford attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Oral Roberts University she studied drama and music. Gifford's paternal grandfather was of Russian Jewish descent and her paternal grandmother was of Native American ancestry. Her mother was a relative of Rudyard Kipling. She was of French Canadian, English and German descent and was raised in a snake handler family. After seeing the Billy Graham produced film, "The Restless Ones" at age 12, Gifford became a born-again Christian. She told Larry King, "I was raised with many Jewish traditions and raised to
In 1692 the Duke of Hanover was made an Elector of the Holy Roman Emperor. After then the Dukes were usually called Electors of Hanover, . Queen Anne of England and Great Britain had no children, Sophia-Dorothea was chosen as her protestant heir. When Anne died in 1714, Sophia Dorothea's son the Elector of Hanover became King George I of Great Britain.
Mantis shrimps are crustacean stomatopods.  They are not actually shrimps, but members of the order Stomatopoda. There are about 400 species. They are predators which kill their prey by hitting them at high speed.  They hold their body in a manner like that of a praying mantis, and have large, complex eyes. Some species can be 30 cm long.  They are highly coloured, and live in shallow tropical and subtropical habitats such as coral reefs. Attack methods. Each species has one of these two methods of attack Both types strike by rapidly unfolding and swinging their claws at the prey, and can cause serious damage on victims larger than themselves. In smashers, these two weapons are employed with blinding quickness, and hit their prey with the speed of a bullet. This is one of the fastest responses known to man.  Smashers use this ability to attack snails, crabs, molluscs and rock oysters; their blunt clubs enabling them to crack the shells of their prey into pieces. Spearers, on the other hand, prefer the meat of softer animals, like fish, which their barbed claws can more easily slice and snag. Cavitation shock waves. Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. The collapse of these bubbles hits their prey in addition to the impact of the appendage against the striking surface.  This means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey. Eyesight. Their eyes are mounted on mobile stalks and constantly move about independently of each other. They are considered to be the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. The mantis shrimp has such good eyes it can perceive both polarized light, and colour vision outside the normal visual spectrum. Some species have at least 16 different photoreceptor types, 12 of them for colour analysis in the different wavelengths (including four which are sensitive to ultraviolet light) and four of them for