title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Although effective, the B-52 was not ideal for the low-level role. This led to a number of aircraft designs known as penetrators, which were tuned specifically for long-range low-altitude flight. The first of these designs to see operation was the supersonic F-111 fighter-bomber, which used variable-sweep wings for tactical missions. A number of studies on a strategic-range counterpart followed.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The first post-B-70 strategic penetrator study was known as the Subsonic Low-Altitude Bomber (SLAB), which was completed in 1961. This produced a design that looked more like an airliner than a bomber, with a large swept wing, T-tail, and large high-bypass engines. This was followed by the similar Extended Range Strike Aircraft (ERSA), which added a variable-sweep wing, then en vogue in the aviation industry. ERSA envisioned a relatively small aircraft with a payload and a range of including flown at low altitudes. In August 1963, the similar Low-Altitude Manned Penetrator design was completed, which called for an aircraft with a bomb load and somewhat shorter range of .


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: These all culminated in the October 1963 Advanced Manned Precision Strike System (AMPSS), which led to industry studies at Boeing, General Dynamics, and North American. In mid-1964, the USAF had revised its requirements and retitled the project as Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft (AMSA), which differed from AMPSS primarily in that it also demanded a high-speed high-altitude capability, similar to that of the existing Mach 2-class F-111. Given the lengthy series of design studies, Rockwell engineers joked that the new name actually stood for "America's Most Studied Aircraft".


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The arguments that led to the cancellation of the B-70 program had led some to question the need for a new strategic bomber of any sort. The USAF was adamant about retaining bombers as part of the nuclear triad concept that included bombers, ICBMs, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) in a combined package that complicated any potential defense. They argued that the bomber was needed to attack hardened military targets and to provide a safe counterforce option because the bombers could be quickly launched into safe loitering areas where they could not be attacked. However, the introduction of the SLBM made moot the mobility and survivability argument, and a newer generation of ICBMs, such as the Minuteman III, had the accuracy and speed needed to attack point targets. During this time, ICBMs were seen as a less costly option based on their lower unit cost, but development costs were much higher. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara preferred ICBMs over bombers for the Air Force portion of the deterrent force and felt a new expensive bomber was not needed. McNamara limited the AMSA program to studies and component development beginning in 1964.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Program studies continued; IBM and Autonetics were awarded AMSA advanced avionics study contracts in 1968. McNamara remained opposed to the program in favor of upgrading the existing B-52 fleet and adding nearly 300 FB-111s for shorter range roles then being filled by the B-58. He again vetoed funding for AMSA aircraft development in 1968.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: President Richard Nixon reestablished the AMSA program after taking office, keeping with his administration's flexible response strategy that required a broad range of options short of general nuclear war. Nixon's Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, reviewed the programs and decided to lower the numbers of FB-111s, since they lacked the desired range, and recommended that the AMSA design studies be accelerated. In April 1969, the program officially became the "B-1A". This was the first entry in the new bomber designation series, created in 1962. The Air Force issued a request for proposals in November 1969.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Proposals were submitted by Boeing, General Dynamics and North American Rockwell in January 1970. In June 1970, North American Rockwell was awarded the development contract. The original program called for two test airframes, five flyable aircraft, and 40 engines. This was cut in 1971 to one ground and three flight test aircraft. The company changed its name to Rockwell International and named its aircraft division North American Aircraft Operations in 1973. A fourth prototype, built to production standards, was ordered in the fiscal year 1976 budget. Plans called for 240 B-1As to be built, with initial operational capability set for 1979.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Rockwell's design had features common to the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark and North American XB-70 Valkyrie. It used a crew escape capsule, that ejected as a unit to improve crew survivability if the crew had to abandon the aircraft at high speed. Additionally, the design featured large variable-sweep wings in order to provide both more lift during takeoff and landing, and lower drag during a high-speed dash phase. With the wings set to their widest position the aircraft had a much better airfield performance than the B-52, allowing it to operate from a wider variety of bases. Penetration of the Soviet Union's defenses would take place at supersonic speed, crossing them as quickly as possible before entering the more sparsely defended interior of the country where speeds could be reduced again. The large size and fuel capacity of the design would allow the "dash" portion of the flight to be relatively long.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In order to achieve the required Mach 2 performance at high altitudes, the exhaust nozzles and air intake ramps were variable. Initially, it had been expected that a Mach 1.2 performance could be achieved at low altitude, which required that titanium be used in critical areas in the fuselage and wing structure. The low altitude performance requirement was later lowered to Mach 0.85, reducing the amount of titanium and therefore cost. A pair of small vanes mounted near the nose are part of an active vibration damping system that smooths out the otherwise bumpy low-altitude ride. The first three B-1As featured the escape capsule that ejected the cockpit with all four crew members inside. The fourth B-1A was equipped with a conventional ejection seat for each crew member.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1A mockup review occurred in late October 1971; this resulted in 297 requests for alteration to the design due to failures to meet specifications and desired improvements for ease of maintenance and operation. The first B-1A prototype (Air Force serial no. 74–0158) flew on 23 December 1974. As the program continued the per-unit cost continued to rise in part because of high inflation during that period. In 1970, the estimated unit cost was $40 million, and by 1975, this figure had climbed to $70 million.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to Japan with his MiG-25 "Foxbat". During debriefing he described a new "super-Foxbat" (almost certainly referring to the MiG-31) that had look-down/shoot-down radar in order to attack cruise missiles. This would also make any low-level penetration aircraft "visible" and easy to attack. Given that the B-1's armament suite was similar to the B-52, and it now appeared no more likely to survive Soviet airspace than the B-52, the program was increasingly questioned. In particular, Senator William Proxmire continually derided the B-1 in public, arguing it was an outlandishly expensive dinosaur. During the 1976 federal election campaign, Jimmy Carter made it one of the Democratic Party's platforms, saying "The B-1 bomber is an example of a proposed system which should not be funded and would be wasteful of taxpayers' dollars."


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: When Carter took office in 1977 he ordered a review of the entire program. By this point the projected cost of the program had risen to over $100 million per aircraft, although this was lifetime cost over 20 years. He was informed of the relatively new work on stealth aircraft that had started in 1975, and he decided that this was a better approach than the B-1. Pentagon officials also stated that the AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) launched from the existing B-52 fleet would give the USAF equal capability of penetrating Soviet airspace. With a range of , the ALCM could be launched well outside the range of any Soviet defenses and penetrate at low altitude like a bomber (with a much lower radar cross-section due to smaller size), and in much greater numbers at a lower cost. A small number of B-52s could launch hundreds of ALCMs, saturating the defense. A program to improve the B-52 and develop and deploy the ALCM would cost at least 20% less than the planned 244 B-1As.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: On 30 June 1977, Carter announced that the B-1A would be canceled in favor of ICBMs, SLBMs, and a fleet of modernized B-52s armed with ALCMs. Carter called it "one of the most difficult decisions that I've made since I've been in office." No mention of the stealth work was made public with the program being top secret, but it is now known that in early 1978 he authorized the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project, which eventually led to the B-2 Spirit.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Domestically, the reaction to the cancellation was split along partisan lines. The Department of Defense was surprised by the announcement; it expected that the number of B-1s ordered would be reduced to around 150. Congressman Robert Dornan (R-CA) claimed, "They're breaking out the vodka and caviar in Moscow." However, it appears the Soviets were more concerned by large numbers of ALCMs representing a much greater threat than a smaller number of B-1s. Soviet news agency TASS commented that "the implementation of these militaristic plans has seriously complicated efforts for the limitation of the strategic arms race." Western military leaders were generally happy with the decision. NATO commander Alexander Haig described the ALCM as an "attractive alternative" to the B-1. French General Georges Buis stated "The B-1 is a formidable weapon, but not terribly useful. For the price of one bomber, you can have 200 cruise missiles."


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Flight tests of the four B-1A prototypes for the B-1A program continued through April 1981. The program included 70 flights totaling 378 hours. A top speed of Mach 2.22 was reached by the second B-1A. Engine testing also continued during this time with the YF101 engines totaling almost 7,600 hours.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: It was during this period that the Soviets started to assert themselves in several new theaters of action, in particular through Cuban proxies during the Angolan Civil War starting in 1975 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. U.S. strategy to this point had been focused on containing Communism and preparation for war in Europe. The new Soviet actions revealed that the military lacked capability outside these narrow confines.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The U.S. Department of Defense responded by accelerating its Rapid Deployment Forces concept but suffered from major problems with airlift and sealift capability. In order to slow an enemy invasion of other countries, air power was critical; however the key Iran-Afghanistan border was outside the range of the U.S. Navy's carrier-based attack aircraft, leaving this role to the U.S. Air Force.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: During the 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan campaigned heavily on the platform that Carter was weak on defense, citing the cancellation of the B-1 program as an example, a theme he continued using into the 1980s. During this time Carter's defense secretary, Harold Brown, announced the stealth bomber project, apparently implying that this was the reason for the B-1 cancellation.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: On taking office, Reagan was faced with the same decision as Carter before: whether to continue with the B-1 for the short term, or to wait for the development of the ATB, a much more advanced aircraft. Studies suggested that the existing B-52 fleet with ALCM would remain a credible threat until 1985. It was predicted that 75% of the B-52 force would survive to attack its targets. After 1985, the introduction of the SA-10 missile, the MiG-31 interceptor and the first effective Soviet Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) systems would make the B-52 increasingly vulnerable. During 1981, funds were allocated to a new study for a bomber for the 1990s time-frame which led to developing the "Long-Range Combat Aircraft" (LRCA) project. The LRCA evaluated the B-1, F-111, and ATB as possible solutions; an emphasis was placed on multi-role capabilities, as opposed to purely strategic operations.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In 1981, it was believed the B-1 could be in operation before the ATB, covering the transitional period between the B-52's increasing vulnerability and the ATB's introduction. Reagan decided the best solution was to procure both the B-1 and ATB, and on 2 October 1981 he announced that 100 B-1s were to be ordered to fill the LRCA role.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In January 1982, the U.S. Air Force awarded two contracts to Rockwell worth a combined $2.2 billion for the development and production of 100 new B-1 bombers. Numerous changes were made to the design to make it better suited to the now expected missions, resulting in the "B-1B". These changes included a reduction in maximum speed, which allowed the variable-aspect intake ramps to be replaced by simpler fixed geometry intake ramps. This reduced the B-1B's radar cross-section which was seen as a good trade off for the speed decrease. High subsonic speeds at low altitude became a focus area for the revised design, and low-level speeds were increased from about Mach 0.85 to 0.92. The B-1B has a maximum speed of Mach 1.25 at higher altitudes.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1B's maximum takeoff weight was increased to from the B-1A's . The weight increase was to allow for takeoff with a full internal fuel load and for external weapons to be carried. Rockwell engineers were able to reinforce critical areas and lighten non-critical areas of the airframe, so the increase in empty weight was minimal. To deal with the introduction of the MiG-31 equipped with the new Zaslon radar system, and other aircraft with look-down capability, the B-1B's electronic warfare suite was significantly upgraded.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Opposition to the plan was widespread within Congress. Critics pointed out that many of the original problems remained in both areas of performance and expense. In particular it seemed the B-52 fitted with electronics similar to the B-1B would be equally able to avoid interception, as the speed advantage of the B-1 was now minimal. It also appeared that the "interim" time frame served by the B-1B would be less than a decade, being rendered obsolete shortly after the introduction of a much more capable ATB design. The primary argument in favor of the B-1 was its large conventional weapon payload, and that its takeoff performance allowed it to operate with a credible bomb load from a much wider variety of airfields. Production subcontracts were spread across many congressional districts, making the aircraft more popular on Capitol Hill.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: B-1A No. 1 was disassembled and used for radar testing at the Rome Air Development Center at the former Griffiss Air Force Base, New York. B-1As No. 2 and No. 4 were then modified to include B-1B systems. The first B-1B was completed and began flight testing in March 1983. The first production B-1B was rolled out on 4 September 1984 and first flew on 18 October 1984. The 100th and final B-1B was delivered on 2 May 1988; before the last B-1B was delivered, the USAF had determined that the aircraft was vulnerable to Soviet air defenses.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1 has a blended wing body configuration, with variable-sweep wing, four turbofan engines, triangular ride-control fins and cruciform tail. The wings can sweep from 15 degrees to 67.5 degrees (full forward to full sweep). Forward-swept wing settings are used for takeoff, landings and high-altitude economical cruise. Aft-swept wing settings are used in high subsonic and supersonic flight. The B-1's variable-sweep wings and thrust-to-weight ratio provide it with improved takeoff performance, allowing it to use shorter runways than previous bombers. The length of the aircraft presented a flexing problem due to air turbulence at low altitude. To alleviate this, Rockwell included small triangular fin control surfaces or vanes near the nose on the B-1. The B-1's Structural Mode Control System moves the vanes, and lower rudder, to counteract the effects of turbulence and smooth out the ride.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Unlike the B-1A, the B-1B cannot reach Mach 2+ speeds; its maximum speed is Mach 1.25 (about 950 mph or 1,530 km/h at altitude), but its low-level speed increased to Mach 0.92 (700 mph, 1,130 km/h). The speed of the current version of the aircraft is limited by the need to avoid damage to its structure and air intakes. To help lower its RCS, the B-1B uses serpentine air intake ducts (see S-duct) and fixed intake ramps, which limit its speed compared to the B-1A. Vanes in the intake ducts serve to deflect and shield radar returns from the highly reflective engine compressor blades.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1A's engine was modified slightly to produce the GE F101-102 for the B-1B, with an emphasis on durability, and increased efficiency. The core from this engine was subsequently used in several other engines, including the GE F110 used in the F-14 Tomcat, F-15K/SG variants and later versions of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is also the basis for the non-afterburning GE F118 used in the B-2 Spirit and the U-2S. The F101 engine core is also used in the CFM56 civil engine.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The nose-gear door is the location for ground-crew control of the auxiliary power unit (APU) which can be used during a scramble for quick-starting the APU.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1's main computer is the IBM AP-101, which was also used on the Space Shuttle orbiter and the B-52 bomber. The computer is programmed with the JOVIAL programming language. The Lancer's offensive avionics include the Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) AN/APQ-164 forward-looking offensive passive electronically scanned array radar set with electronic beam steering (and a fixed antenna pointed downward for reduced radar observability), synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indication (GMTI), and terrain-following radar modes, Doppler navigation, radar altimeter, and an inertial navigation suite. The B-1B Block D upgrade added a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver beginning in 1995.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1's defensive electronics include the Eaton AN/ALQ-161A radar warning and defensive jamming equipment, which has three sets of antennas; one at the front base of each wing and the third rear-facing in the tail radome. Also in the tail radome is the AN/ALQ-153 missile approach warning system (pulse-Doppler radar). The ALQ-161 is linked to a total of eight AN/ALE-49 flare dispensers located on top behind the canopy, which are handled by the AN/ASQ-184 avionics management system. Each AN/ALE-49 dispenser has a capacity of 12 MJU-23A/B flares. The MJU-23A/B flare is one of the world's largest infrared countermeasure flares at a weight of over . The B-1 has also been equipped to carry the ALE-50 towed decoy system.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Also aiding the B-1's survivability is its relatively low RCS. Although not technically a stealth aircraft, thanks to the aircraft's structure, serpentine intake paths and use of radar-absorbent material its RCS is about 1/50th that of the similar sized B-52. This is approximately 26 ft or 2.4 m, comparable to that of a small fighter aircraft.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1 holds 61 FAI world records for speed, payload, distance, and time-to-climb in different aircraft weight classes. In November 1993, three B-1Bs set a long-distance record for the aircraft, which demonstrated its ability to conduct extended mission lengths to strike anywhere in the world and return to base without any stops. The National Aeronautic Association recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1994.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1 has been upgraded since production, beginning with the "Conventional Mission Upgrade Program" (CMUP), which added a new MIL-STD-1760 smart-weapons interface to enable the use of precision-guided conventional weapons. CMUP was delivered through a series of upgrades:


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In 2007, the Sniper XR targeting pod was integrated on the B-1 fleet. The pod is mounted on an external hardpoint at the aircraft's chin near the forward bomb bay. Following accelerated testing, the Sniper pod was fielded in summer 2008. Future precision munitions include the Small Diameter Bomb.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The USAF commenced the Integrated Battle Station (IBS) modification in 2012 as a combination of three separate upgrades when it realised the benefits of completing them concurrently; the Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL), Vertical Situational Display Unit (ASDU) and Central Integrated Test System (CITS). FIDL enables electronic data sharing, eliminating the need to enter information between systems by hand. VSDU replaces existing flight instruments with multifunction color displays, a second display aids with threat evasion and targeting, and acts as a back-up display. CITS saw a new diagnostic system installed that allows crew to monitor over 9,000 parameters on the aircraft. Other additions are to replace the two spinning mass gyroscopic inertial navigation system with ring laser gyroscopic systems and a GPS antenna, replacement of the APQ-164 radar with the Scalable Agile Beam Radar – Global Strike (SABR-GS) active electronically scanned array, and a new attitude indicator. The IBS upgrades were completed in 2020.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In August 2019, the Air Force unveiled a modification to the B-1B to allow it to carry more weapons internally and externally. Using the moveable forward bulkhead, space in the intermediate bay was increased from 180 to 269 in (457 to 683 cm). Expanding the internal bay to make use of the Common Strategic Rotary Launcher (CSRL), as well as utilizing six of the eight external hardpoints that had been previously out of use to keep in line with the New START Treaty, would increase the B-1B's weapon load from 24 to 40. The configuration also enables it to carry heavier weapons in the 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) range, such as hypersonic missiles; the AGM-183 ARRW is planned for integration onto the bomber. In the future the HAWC could be used by the bomber which, combining both internal and external weapon carriage, could conceivably bring the total number of hypersonic weapons to 31.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The second B-1B, "The Star of Abilene", was the first B-1B delivered to SAC in June 1985. Initial operational capability was reached on 1 October 1986 and the B-1B was placed on nuclear alert status. The B-1 received the official name "Lancer" on 15 March 1990. However, the bomber has been commonly called the "Bone"; a nickname that appears to stem from an early newspaper article on the aircraft wherein its name was phonetically spelled out as "B-ONE" with the hyphen inadvertently omitted.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In late 1990, engine fires in two Lancers led to a grounding of the fleet. The cause was traced back to problems in the first-stage fan, and the aircraft were placed on "limited alert"; in other words, they were grounded unless a nuclear war broke out. Following inspections and repairs they were returned to duty beginning on 6 February 1991. By 1991, the B-1 had a fledgling conventional capability, forty of them able to drop the Mk-82 General Purpose (GP) bomb, although mostly from low altitude. Despite being cleared for this role, the problems with the engines prevented their use in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. B-1s were primarily reserved for strategic nuclear strike missions at this time, providing the role of airborne nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union. The B-52 was more suited to the role of conventional warfare and it was used by coalition forces instead.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Originally designed strictly for nuclear war, the B-1's development as an effective conventional bomber was delayed. The collapse of the Soviet Union had brought the B-1's nuclear role into question, leading to President George H. W. Bush ordering a $3 billion conventional refit.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: After the inactivation of SAC and the establishment of the Air Combat Command (ACC) in 1992, the B-1 developed a greater conventional weapons capability. Part of this development was the start-up of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School B-1 Division. In 1994, two additional B-1 bomb wings were also created in the Air National Guard, with former fighter wings in the Kansas Air National Guard and the Georgia Air National Guard converting to the aircraft. By the mid-1990s, the B-1 could employ GP weapons as well as various CBUs. By the end of the 1990s, with the advent of the "Block D" upgrade, the B-1 boasted a full array of guided and unguided munitions.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1B no longer carries nuclear weapons; its nuclear capability was disabled by 1995 with the removal of nuclear arming and fuzing hardware. Under provisions of the New START treaty with Russia, further conversions were performed. These included modification of aircraft hardpoints to prevent nuclear weapon pylons from being attached, removal of weapons bay wiring bundles for arming nuclear weapons, and destruction of nuclear weapon pylons. The conversion process was completed in 2011, and Russian officials inspect the aircraft every year to verify compliance.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1 was first used in combat in support of operations in Iraq during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998, employing unguided GP weapons. B-1s have been subsequently used in Operation Allied Force (Kosovo) and, most notably, in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The B-1 has deployed an array of conventional weapons in war zones, most notably the GBU-31, JDAM. In the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom, eight B-1s dropped almost 40 percent of aerial ordnance, including some 3,900 JDAMs. JDAM munitions were heavily used by the B-1 over Iraq, notably on 7 April 2003 in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Saddam Hussein and his two sons. During Operation Enduring Freedom, the B-1 was able to raise its mission capable rate to 79%.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Of the 100 B-1Bs built, 93 remained in 2000 after losses in accidents. In June 2001, the Pentagon sought to place one-third of its then fleet into storage; this proposal resulted in several U.S. Air National Guard officers and members of Congress lobbying against the proposal, including the drafting of an amendment to prevent such cuts. The 2001 proposal was intended to allow money to be diverted to further upgrades to the remaining B-1Bs, such as computer modernization. In 2003, accompanied by the removal of B-1Bs from the two bomb wings in the Air National Guard, the USAF decided to retire 33 aircraft to concentrate its budget on maintaining availability of remaining B-1Bs. In 2004, a new appropriation bill called for some retired aircraft to return to service, and the USAF returned seven mothballed bombers to service to increase the fleet to 67 aircraft.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: On 14 July 2007, the Associated Press reported on the growing USAF presence in Iraq, including reintroduction of B-1Bs as a close-at-hand platform to support Coalition ground forces. Beginning in 2008, B-1s were used in Iraq and Afghanistan in an "armed overwatch" role, loitering for surveillance purposes while ready to deliver guided bombs in support of ground troops as required.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: The B-1B underwent a series of flight tests using a 50/50 mix of synthetic and petroleum fuel; on 19 March 2008, a B-1B from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, became the first USAF aircraft to fly at supersonic speed using a synthetic fuel during a flight over Texas and New Mexico. This was conducted as part of an USAF testing and certification program to reduce reliance on traditional oil sources. On 4 August 2008, a B-1B flew the first Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod equipped combat sortie where the crew successfully targeted enemy ground forces and dropped a GBU-38 guided bomb in Afghanistan.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In March 2011, B-1Bs from Ellsworth Air Force Base attacked undisclosed targets in Libya as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: With upgrades to keep the B-1 viable, the USAF may keep it in service until approximately 2038. Despite upgrades, a single flight hour needs 48.4 hours of repair. The fuel, repairs, and other needs for a 12-hour mission cost $720,000 as of 2010. The $63,000 cost per flight hour is, however, less than the $72,000 for the B-52 and the $135,000 of the B-2. In June 2010, senior USAF officials met to consider retiring the entire fleet to meet budget cuts. The Pentagon plans to begin replacing the aircraft with the B-21 Raider after 2025. In the meantime, its "capabilities are particularly well-suited to the vast distances and unique challenges of the Pacific region, and we'll continue to invest in, and rely on, the B-1 in support of the focus on the Pacific" as part of President Obama's "Pivot to East Asia".


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In August 2012, the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron returned from a six-month tour in Afghanistan. Its 9 B-1Bs flew 770 sorties, the most of any B-1B squadron on a single deployment. The squadron spent 9,500 hours airborne, keeping one of its bombers in the air at all times. They accounted for a quarter of all combat aircraft sorties over the country during that time and fulfilled an average of two to three air support requests per day. On 4 September 2013, a B-1B participated in a maritime evaluation exercise, deploying munitions such as laser-guided 500 lb GBU-54 bombs, 500 lb and 2,000 lb JDAM, and Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM). The aim was to detect and engage several small craft using existing weapons and tactics developed from conventional warfare against ground targets; the B-1 is seen as a useful asset for maritime duties such as patrolling shipping lanes.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: Beginning in 2014, the B-1 was used against the Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian Civil War. From August 2014 to January 2015, the B-1 accounted for eight percent of USAF sorties during Operation Inherent Resolve. The 9th Bomb Squadron was deployed to Qatar in July 2014 to support missions in Afghanistan, but when the air campaign against IS began on 8 August, the aircraft were employed in Iraq. During the Battle of Kobane in Syria, the squadron's B-1s dropped 660 bombs over 5 months in support of Kurdish forces defending the city. This amounted to one-third of all bombs used during OIR during the period, and they killed some 1,000 ISIL fighters. The 9th Bomb Squadron's B-1s went "Winchester"–dropping all weapons on board–31 times during their deployment. They dropped over 2,000 JDAMs during the 6-month rotation. B-1s from the 28th Bomb Wing flew 490 sorties where they dropped 3,800 munitions on 3,700 targets during a six-month deployment. In February 2016, the B-1s were sent back to the U.S. for cockpit upgrades.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: As part of a USAF reorganization announced in April 2015, all B-1s were reassigned from Air Combat Command to Global Strike Command (GSC) in October 2015.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: On 8 July 2017, the USAF flew two B-1s near the North Korean border in a show of force amid increasing tensions, particularly in response to North Korea's 4 July test of an ICBM capable of reaching Alaska.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: On 14 April 2018, B-1s launched 19 JASSM missiles as part of the 2018 bombing of Damascus and Homs in Syria. In August 2019, six B-1Bs met full mission capablity; 15 were undergoing depot maintenance and 39 under repair and inspection.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In February 2021, the USAF announced it will retire 17 B-1s, leaving 45 aircraft in service. Four of these will be stored in a condition that will allow their return to service if required.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: In March 2021, B-1s deployed to Norway's Ørland Main Air Station for the first time. During the deployment, they conducted bombing training with Norwegian and Swedish ground force Joint terminal attack controllers. One B-1 also conducted a "warm-pit refuel" at Bodø Main Air Station, marking the first landing inside Norway's Arctic Circle, and integrated with four Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighters.


title: Rockwell B-1 Lancer

text: From 1984 to 2001, ten B-1s were lost due to accidents with 17 crew members or people on board killed.


title: Truth Social

text: Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH Social) is an alt-tech social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group, an American media and technology company founded in October 2021 by former U.S. president Donald Trump. The platform has been described as a competitor in the alt-tech field that includes Parler and Gab in attempting to provide an uncensored alternative to Twitter and Facebook.


title: Truth Social

text: The service was launched on February 21, 2022. , it was number 25 in Apple's App Store rankings for social media apps, and SimilarWeb ranked its website as number 133 in their "News & Media Publishers" category, behind Gab at number 110, but ahead of Parler at number 873.


title: Truth Social

text: From mid-2022, Truth Social was reported to be facing financial and regulatory issues. The Truth Social app was originally not available on Google Play because of violations of Google policies prohibiting content with physical threats and incitement to violence, but was approved for Google Play in October 2022 after agreeing to enforce policies against incitement.


title: Truth Social

text: Former U.S. president Donald Trump raised the prospect of building a new social media platform after he was banned from Facebook and Twitter in 2021, following the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In May 2021, Trump launched "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump", a web page where he posted short tweet-like announcements; it was shut down after less than a month, with Trump's senior aide Jason Miller confirming it would not be coming back.


title: Truth Social

text: According to Reuters, two members of the cast of Trump's TV show "The Apprentice", Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, were "central" to the founding of Truth Social's parent company, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), having allegedly pitched the idea of a social network to Trump in January 2021.


title: Truth Social

text: To facilitate becoming a publicly traded company, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) was created with the help of ARC Capital, a Shanghai-based firm specializing in listing Chinese companies on American stock markets that has been a target of SEC investigations for misrepresenting shell corporations. Led by former Mexican government official and China-based banker Abraham Cinta, ARC Capital's global links included offices in Shanghai, Wuhan, Mexico City, and Jakarta, which "Bloomberg News" described as "surprising", due to Trump's comments on various foreign countries in office. Some investors were surprised to learn their investment money was being used to finance a Trump company. The DWAC chief executive Patrick Orlando, a Florida-based financier and former Deutsche Bank trader, was also the chief executive of the Wuhan-based Yunhong Holdings/Yunhong International, registered in the offshore tax haven of the Cayman Islands. In an October 2021 SEC filing, the special-purpose acquisition company Yunhong International stated its goal was to "capitalize on growing opportunities created by consumer/lifestyle businesses that have their primary operations in Asia." An additional backer of the Trump social media venture, becoming the CFO of Digital World Acquisition, was Brazilian parliamentarian Luiz Philippe of Orléans-Braganza, a monarchist allied with Jair Bolsonaro.


title: Truth Social

text: In October 2021, TMTG published a document outlining the Truth Social platform, citing a poll saying one-third of the U.S. population polled had stated they would use a social media platform endorsed by Trump. On October 20, TMTG issued a press release announcing the platform would have its public launch in "the first quarter of 2022." It was slated to enter limited beta for Apple iOS in November 2021, and though it did not meet this schedule for its beta testing, Trump claimed in December 2021 "invited guests" were already using the beta system.


title: Truth Social

text: Hours after the press release, a person identifying themselves as a part of the hacker collective Anonymous used Shodan to discover domains related to the company, eventually locating what appeared to be a publicly-accessible mobile beta of the service. The URL, which permitted users to sign up and use the platform, was leaked across social media. Users began trolling, creating parody accounts, and posting rants and memes. Users were able to sign up with usernames of high-profile individuals including Trump, Mike Pence, and Jack Dorsey. The link was later taken offline.


title: Truth Social

text: "The New York Times" described Truth Social as an addition to the field of already-existing alt-tech platforms. BBC journalist James Clayton stated the platform could be a more successful version of other alt-tech social media platforms like Parler and Gab and is an attempt by Trump to gain his "megaphone" back. Gettr CEO Jason Miller, a former Trump advisor, praised Truth Social and said the platform will cause Facebook and Twitter to "lose even more market share". Gab said in a statement it supports Truth Social and users of Gab can follow Trump on his reserved Gab account.


title: Truth Social

text: Among critical reactions, Chris Cillizza of CNN wrote that the platform was doomed to fail. Noah Berlatsky, writing for "The Independent", described it as a potential threat to democracy. "The Forward" raised concerns of antisemitism becoming prominent on the platform, noting similar platforms have become known for hosting antisemitic content, such as Parler, Gab, and Telegram. "Rolling Stone" observed that while Truth Social promises to be an open and free platform, Truth Social's terms of service include a clause stating users cannot disparage the service. "The New York Times" expressed skepticism about whether Truth Social would be able to compete effectively against rival services.


title: Truth Social

text: Truth Social is run by Trump Media & Technology Group, and headed by Devin Nunes. In 2022, "Talking Points Memo" stated Nunes' remuneration was $750,000 per year. Other senior employees included chief of technology Josh Adams and chief of product development Billy Boozer, who both subsequently left the company.


title: Truth Social

text: The company's headquarters are in Sarasota, Florida. The company was reported to have about 40 employees in March 2022.


title: Truth Social

text: Truth Social is modeled heavily after Twitter; users are able to make posts ("Truths", similar to "tweets") and share other users' posts ("ReTruths", similar to "retweets"). The Truth Social platform uses a custom version of the free and open-source social network hosting software Mastodon as its backend, which omits several features, including polls and post visibility options.


title: Truth Social

text: The platform uses the Soapbox frontend, usually used with the Pleroma system, instead of Mastodon's native frontend. TMTG has advertised for developers with skills in using Elixir, the programming language used to build Pleroma.


title: Truth Social

text: On October 21, 2021, the Software Freedom Conservancy group stated they suspected Truth Social had violated Mastodon's AGPLv3 license by not offering its source code to all users. The Mastodon developers then formally requested that Truth Social comply with the terms of the software license, with Truth Social publishing its source code as a ZIP file on the website on November 12, 2021. On February 22, 2022, the source code download was moved to the website's legal section. A mirror of the source code is available at GitHub, where it was uploaded by uninvolved individuals.


title: Truth Social

text: The Truth Social service was originally hosted on RightForge, a company aimed at providing internet hosting for conservative causes that describes itself as "The first global Internet infrastructure company committed to American principles online".


title: Truth Social

text: On December 14, 2021, TMTG said it had partnered with the Canadian online video platform Rumble, which was already providing cloud services to the Truth Social beta service. On April 21, 2022, TMTG announced Truth Social would be moving to Rumble's cloud platform and announced they would be performing infrastructure upgrades to increase the platform's performance.


title: Truth Social

text: TMTG engaged the services of Hive, a content moderation company that uses machine learning to filter postings for unacceptable content.


title: Truth Social

text: , Truth Social uses Cloudflare as its CDN for both mobile and web traffic. Reuters reported Fastly had refused to take Truth Social on as a customer.


title: Truth Social

text: Truth Social was launched proclaiming itself as a "big tent" platform without political censorship, allowing for "free expression".


title: Truth Social

text: When the company was first announced in October 2021, its terms of service said the company would not be legally responsible for "the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions [or] reliability" of anything users might post to the service. Some commentators noted that this self-declared immunity appeared to rely on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law Trump firmly opposed during his presidency.


title: Truth Social

text: The original terms of service further added that users would be forbidden to "disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site". Truth Social said it had the right to "suspend or terminate your account" and "take appropriate legal action". The anti-disparagement section of the terms of service was removed in late 2022. Sexual content remains forbidden by the terms of service.


title: Truth Social

text: Truth Social has blocked accounts for behavior it considers harmful or inappropriate, including accounts with parody names and death threats.


title: Truth Social

text: The platform has been widely accused of censorship. In June 2022, several accounts were reportedly banned after posting about investigations into the 2021 United States Capitol attack and the publicly televised January 6 hearings that detailed events leading up to the mob violence on that day, in which Trump supporters breached the United States Congress, seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election.


title: Truth Social

text: According to an August 2022 report from progressive consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen, Truth Social was found to shadowban liberal and progressive users that disagree with the site's narrative, as well as a swathe of other content, including some conservative content. Truth Social has banned content mentioning abortion and the January 6 hearings. Public Citizen concluded that Truth Social's content moderation was substantially more limiting than Twitter, and said Truth Social's policies were creating an echo chamber of violent views.


title: Truth Social

text: Trump made the platform's first post on February 16, 2022. That day, TMTG CEO Devin Nunes said he expected the platform would not completely open to the public until late March. A beta test with 500 users was in operation during February 2022.


title: Truth Social

text: On February 21, 2022, Truth Social was released on Apple iOS, reaching number one on the App Store's top charts. Due to an extensive backlog of applicants, upon downloading the app, about 500,000 people who initially attempted to register as users were automatically waitlisted.


title: Truth Social

text: The app was installed 872,000 times during its first week, but a month later, new user signup had fallen to 60,000 per week. During that time, weekly visits to "truthsocial.com" fell from to fewer than .


title: Truth Social

text: Upon its launch, the British automotive solar power company Trailar complained Truth Social's app logo closely resembled its "T" logo.


title: Truth Social

text: The platform has been criticized for its poor performance at launch, with waitlisting users attempting to register and extended outages. A day after its launch, "The Washington Post" described it as "a disaster". A week after, "Newsweek" reported some early adopters were beginning to lose interest in the app due to low numbers of users and poor engagement, although others were willing to persevere with the app to see if things would improve.


title: Truth Social

text: The Truth Social platform suffered from severe and persistent problems with scalability from launch, limiting the platform's growth.


title: Truth Social

text: In early March 2022, multiple sources reported that Truth Social usage remained low, with Trump himself not having posted to his account since his first message two weeks earlier and his account having only 140,000 followers—less than 0.2% of the followers he had on Twitter before his account was banned. "The Daily Dot" reported the Truth Social iOS app had fallen from the number one slot for downloads on the Apple App Store to number 84. "The Daily Beast" reported Trump was dissatisfied with the social network's progress.


title: Truth Social

text: At the end of March 2022, "TheWrap" reported that weekly installations of the Truth Social app had fallen from 872,000 in its launch week to around 60,000 per week, a reduction of over 90%. Visits to truthsocial.com had also fallen, from 6 million per week to . According to Sensor Tower, Truth Social had been downloaded times by late March. In early April 2022, "Bloomberg" reported that shares in Truth Social's publicly traded holding company Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) had fallen 31% from the time of the app's launch in late February and 64% from its all-time high.


title: Truth Social

text: In early April 2022, "Business Insider" described Truth Social as "like a conservative ghost town that had been overrun by bots". A U.S.-based reporter for the BBC attempted to sign up in early April and was placed on a waitlist with about requests ahead of him.


title: Truth Social

text: On April 4, it was reported that Josh Adams and Billy Boozer, the platform's chief of technology and chief of product development respectively, had left the company. A report in "The Washington Post" stated Truth Social was "falling apart", with problems mounting on multiple fronts. A "Guardian" article compared Truth Social with Trump Steaks and Trump Vodka.


title: Truth Social

text: As of late April 2022, "MarketWatch" reported Truth Social had around 513,000 active daily users, compared to Twitter's reported active daily userbase of . Usership figures were not available, but Trump was reported on August 19, 2022, to have Truth Social followers. He had had on Twitter and on Facebook before being banned from both platforms.


title: Truth Social

text: As of early June 2022, "SimilarWeb" reported Truth Social's iOS app as ranking #49 in the social networking category of apps on the Apple App Store. As of October 2022, the iOS app had sunk to #75 in the social networking category.


title: Truth Social

text: Following Elon Musk's proposed acquisition of Twitter, many commentators observed that a Musk-run Twitter would be likely to reduce demand for Truth Social's services. Musk said that as of late April 2022, Truth Social iOS app downloads exceeded those of Twitter and TikTok on the same platform. He said Truth Social only existed because of Twitter's restrictions on free speech. Describing Truth Social as a "terrible name", Musk joked that it should be renamed "Trumpet".


title: Truth Social

text: Following Musk's comments on Twitter, the Truth Social app rose in popularity, returning to the number 1 position for free iOS apps on Apple's App Store on April 30, with the Twitter app at number 2; DWAC shares also rose in value.


title: Truth Social

text: DWAC's share price fell after Musk's announcement of his intention to buy Twitter. Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes later stated that Musk had been encouraged by Trump to buy Twitter; Musk denied this, saying "This is false. I've had no communication, directly or indirectly, with Trump, who has publicly stated that he will be exclusively on Truth Social." Musk subsequently said he intended to reverse Twitter's ban on Trump's Twitter account if his bid for the company was successful. Following Musk's comments, Nunes reiterated that Trump was committed to Truth Social, and would not rejoin Twitter even if his ban were to be lifted.


title: Truth Social

text: Following Musk's announcement in July that he no longer intended to purchase Twitter, DWAC shares rose. Musk later went through with the deal, purchased Twitter in October 2022 and lifted the ban on Donald Trump in November. As of late November, Trump had still not posted on Twitter, and has stated that he had no-interest in re-joining Twitter, preferring to use Truth Social.


title: Truth Social

text: , Truth Social had not secured any advertising revenue. TMTG stated it "expects to incur significant losses into the foreseeable future".


title: Truth Social

text: In late August 2022, "Fox Business" reported that Truth Social's hosting company RightForge claimed it was owed by Truth Social and was threatening to take legal action.


title: Truth Social

text: In early September 2022, Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), the SPAC set to acquire TMTG, secured an extension from shareholders for up to six months for it to perform the deal. This left DWAC shares trading at $24, down from a 2021 high of $175. In the same month Politico writer Jack Shafer wrote about the "slow-cooking financial disaster that has been simmering in Donald Trump's business Crock-Pot".


title: Truth Social

text: On September 24, Reuters reported investors had withdrawn commitments of almost , following the expiry of a deadline on September 20.


title: Truth Social

text: In June 2022, federal regulators investigated whether TMTG had illegally coordinated with its holding company, Digital World Acquisition Corp, prior to the latter going public. A federal grand jury was empaneled as part of the investigation. TMTG released a statement saying they are cooperating with the investigation. Due to the investigation, Digital World has not merged with TMTG as planned. Digital World asked its shareholders to vote to allow an extra year to complete the merger, but as of September 6, 2022, it appeared they will not vote in favor of the extra time. If the companies do not merge, Truth Social may not receive from Digital World.


title: Truth Social

text: Donald Trump was revealed to have left the company's board on June 8, prior to the issuing of subpoenas.


title: Truth Social

text: "World Trademark Review" reported that "Truth Social" had been applied for as a trademark in the European Union within a week of the announcement of Trump's company, and registered, potentially preventing the Truth Social service from operating in most of Europe. At the end of August 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Trump Media & Technology Group's application for a trademark on "Truth Social" as two companies already use the term.


title: Truth Social

text: A whistleblower submission was made by Will Wilkerson to the Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2022, with original source information of alleged federal securities law violations, detailing fraudulent misrepresentations in violation of federal securities laws. Wilkerson was one of the company's earliest employees; he held the post of senior vice president of operations, and was intimately involved in internal TMTG business strategy discussions. He was dismissed from the company in October 2022.


title: Truth Social

text: Although Donald Trump's participation in TMTG and the scale of his social media following was a major part of TMTG's marketing for Truth Social, Trump was initially not a frequent user of the Truth Social platform. He made the platform's first post on February 16, 2022, with the message "Get ready! Your favorite president will see you soon", but did not make a second posting until April 28, posting "I'M BACK! #COVFEFE", a reference to the covfefe meme. Trump then started posting more frequently.


title: Truth Social

text: Following the announcement of Elon Musk's proposed takeover of Twitter, Trump publicly stated that he does not intend to return to Twitter and intends to remain on Truth Social. On May 6, in a court filing responding to the New York attorney general's demand for his cell phones, Trump said Truth Social had recently given him a phone that he only uses to post on Truth Social.


title: Truth Social

text: According to reports, Trump has a licensing agreement with TMTG requiring him to use Truth Social as his primary social media platform and to wait at least six hours before reposting material to any other social media platform, with some exceptions for political activities.


title: Truth Social

text: In early August 2022, Truth Social experienced a significant uptick in downloads following the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.


title: Truth Social

text: Following the publication of a heavily-redacted affidavit regarding the search, Trump reacted angrily to the contents of the document in a series of Truth Social posts, saying "Affidavit heavily redacted!!! [...] Nothing mentioned on 'Nuclear,' a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover - WE GAVE THEM MUCH." The commentator Barbara McQuade observed that Trump's Truth Social posts on the matter might potentially undermine Trump's defense against charges arising from the search.


title: Truth Social

text: Trump followed this days later with a sequence of sixty Truth Social posts. Multiple news sources noted that these posts represented a marked increase in the intensity of his rhetoric, explicitly referencing QAnon and 4chan conspiracy theories.


title: Truth Social

text: In October 2022, Trump posted a comment criticizing American Jews, telling them to "get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel" before it's "too late". Three organizations, including the anti-Trump and left-leaning Anti-Defamation League and the left-wing Jewish Democratic Council of America, criticized Trump's comment as condescending and as repeating a "dual loyalty" antisemitic trope. Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Managing Director at the pro-Trump Coalition for Jewish Values, on the contrary, stated that he considered Trump's comment reasonable and not antisemitic.


title: Truth Social

text: In November 2022, Trump released a post claiming without evidence that he had "sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys" in 2018 to assist in the Florida gubernatorial election of Ron DeSantis.


title: Truth Social

text: On 4 December 2022, Trump used his Truth Social account to say alleged election fraud allows for the "termination" of the Constitution of the United States, stating:


title: Truth Social

text: Trump's remarks were condemned by multiple parties, including the White House. In "The Week", Damon Linker described it as the moment Trump "finally jumped the shark". Subsequently, Trump denied he called for the termination of the Constitution but maintained that any election misconduct should be undone. Afterward, Trump posted a link to an article claiming that by "allows for," Trump meant that those engaging in voter fraud were effectively terminating the Constitution, not that Trump was calling for the Constitution's termination.


title: Truth Social

text: Devin Nunes, the CEO of Truth Social, posted a meme on the platform in October 2022 making a joke about the attack on Paul Pelosi, while referencing inaccurate reports that the attacker was in his underwear at the time. Nunes was widely criticized by Twitter users for doing this.


title: Truth Social

text: On June 16, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he had joined Truth Social, writing on his Twitter account "I just joined Trump's Truth Social. Going to be on there calling out Republican lies. This could get…interesting. My first post -- breaking down America's red state murder problem."


title: Truth Social

text: "Axios" reported that Truth Social had given a verified account to the white nationalist advocate Nick Fuentes, who has been banned from Twitter and Facebook.


title: Truth Social

text: On August 11, 2022, a gunman, identified as Ricky Shiffer, wearing body armor and armed with a nail gun and an AR-15 style rifle attempted to storm the offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Following a subsequent police pursuit, he was killed in a standoff with police. Shiffer had published multiple posts on Truth Social in the days before the attack, following the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, in which he expressed his desire to engage in violence and called for the killings of FBI agents. He also reportedly wrote a post on Truth Social following the attack, which detailed his failed attempt to storm the building. Since Shiffer's actions, some Truth Social users — including a verified account with 74,000 followers who said he was a designer for the site — claimed the attack was a false flag, without providing evidence, and the calls for violence were posts planted by federal law enforcement officials or Democratic operatives.


title: Truth Social

text: "Axios" reported in February 2022 that there were official-looking accounts for Fox News, TMZ, the National Football League, NASA, NASCAR, and others with legitimate-appearing links and logos, which had not been created by the named entities. The accounts were labelled as "bot" accounts. The Fox News account has since been verified by the platform. By April 2022, a bot account for "The New York Times" was labeled "The Failing NY Times", while a CNN bot account was labeled "CNN (Parody)".


title: The Boys (comics)

text: The Boys is a comic book series, written by Garth Ennis and co-created, designed, and illustrated by Darick Robertson. It was originally published by WildStorm (DC Comics), before being cancelled after its first volume, and revived by Dynamite Entertainment, who published the following eight volumes. Debuting in October 2006, the series concluded in November 2012 with the release of the 72nd and final issue. In the fourth volume, the series is revealed to be set in the same fictional universe as Ennis' previous 1995–2000 DC Vertigo series, "Preacher", with former vampire Proinsias Cassidy cameoing as a bartender. Three 6-issue spin-off limited series were also produced during the series' original run: "Herogasm", "Highland Laddie", and "Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker", with an 8-issue epilogue series, "Dear Becky", published from January–December 2020.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: The book was adapted by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television into a streaming television series that premiered on Amazon Prime Video on July 26, 2019, through a brand licensing rights agreement with Dynamite Entertainment, from which a franchise was launched—web series "Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman", which premiered July 7, 2021—spin-off animated anthology series, "", which premiered on March 4, 2022 (of which the third episode, "I'm Your Pusher", is set in the same continuity as the comic series)—and live-action spin-off series "Gen V", which is set to premiere in 2023.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: The first six issues of "The Boys" were published by Wildstorm, starting in 2006. On January 24, 2007, the series was abruptly canceled with issue 6. Ennis later explained that this was because DC Comics (of which Wildstorm was an imprint before it was disbanded) were uneasy with the anti-superhero tone of the work. The planned collection of said issues was also canceled. Co-creator Darick Robertson said that "DC is being good about reverting our rights so we can find a new publisher and we're in the process of doing that now". Ennis then released a statement that some other publishers had expressed interest, and that issue 7 and a trade paperback of the first six issues would be available. While Robertson was on exclusive contract to DC, he was given special dispensation to continue working on "The Boys". In February 2007 the series was picked up by Dynamite Entertainment and it resumed in May. A collected edition of the first six issues was also published by Dynamite, with a foreword by Simon Pegg. Pegg was the model on whom the character Hughie was based in the way he was drawn in the comics by Robertson.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: In February 2009, Dynamite announced a spin-off mini-series, "Herogasm", with art from John McCrea and Keith Burns; subsequent miniseries included Highland Laddie and "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker", with the three series each later being compiled as volumes of "The Boys".


title: The Boys (comics)

text: After "The Boys" was completed, Ennis told CBR.com that the comic had benefitted from Wildstorm cancelling it, in that Dynamite gave him far more freedom than DC ever would have, saying, "We'd have died on the vine [at DC]. The book would have been chipped and chipped away at until writing it was pure frustration." He also admitted to "a sigh of relief" as Wildstorm had been dissolved as an imprint not long after the move.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: The series is set between 2006 and 2008 in a world where superheroes exist. However, most of the superheroes in the series' universe are corrupted by their celebrity status and often engage in reckless behavior, compromising the safety of the world. The story follows a small clandestine CIA squad, informally known as "The Boys", led by Billy Butcher and comprising Mother's Milk, the Frenchman, the Female, and new addition "Wee" Hughie Campbell, who are charged with monitoring the superhero community, often leading to gruesome confrontations and dreadful results; in parallel, a key subplot follows Annie "Starlight" January, a young and naive superhero who joins the Seven, the most prestigious—and corrupted—superhero group in the world and The Boys' most powerful enemies.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: Dynamite releases both hardcover and trade paperback collections on an ongoing basis (including those comics previously published by Wildstorm). In addition, Dynamite also releases "Definitive" slipcased hardcovers, which contain two trade/hardcover collections to an "omnibus."


title: The Boys (comics)

text: "Variety" reported in February 2008 that Columbia Pictures had optioned the comic for a film adaptation, to be produced by Neal H. Moritz. and Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi writing the screenplay. In August 2010, Adam McKay said that he had been signed on to direct the film. McKay added, "They already have a script and we're doing a rewrite on it so hopefully getting the whole thing into shape in the Fall with maybe a shoot happening in January." Columbia Pictures reported in February 2012 that it had dropped its option regarding a film adaptation of "The Boys". However, Adam McKay said in a Twitter response that Paramount Pictures had picked it up, and that it was still in the works. On April 30, 2013, Manfredi and Hay were hired by Paramount to write the film, though the project never came to fruition.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: In October 2015 it was reported that Cinemax greenlit a television series adaptation of "The Boys", and that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Eric Kripke were producing the series. In September 2017, "Variety" reported that Amazon Studios had picked up the series. The series premiered on July 26, 2019. The second season premiered on September 4, 2020, while the third season premiered on June 3, 2022.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: All 98 issues of the comic series have been adapted into 7 audiobooks produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music by GraphicAudio. Volume 1 was released on May 4, 2020. Volume 7 adapts the Dear Becky epilogue series and concluded the audiobook production on May 20, 2022. The entire series lasts 31 hours, retains the 2006–2008 setting and the dialogue is a very close match to Garth Ennis´ original scripts. The content rating is Ages 18+.


title: The Boys (comics)

text: A live-action spin-off series of "The Boys", "Gen V" (formerly "The Boys Presents: Varsity"), serving as a stand-alone adaptation of the "We Gotta Go Now" arc from the comic series, focused on the G-Men and inspired by "The Hunger Games", was announced on September 20, 2020, set for a 2023 release.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series "Seinfeld" (1989–1998), for which he was nominated for seven consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.


title: Jason Alexander

text: His other roles include Phillip Stuckey in the film "Pretty Woman" (1990), comic relief gargoyle Hugo in the Disney animated feature "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996), and the title character in the animated series "Duckman" (1994–1997). He has made guest appearances on shows such as "Dream On" (1994), "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2001, 2009), and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (2019). For his role in "Dream On", he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for "The Bad Guys?" on "Brainwashed By Toons" (2020).


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander made his Broadway debut originating the role of Joe in Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" in 1981. He remained active on Broadway acting in the musicals "The Rink" in 1984, "Personals" in 1985, and the Neil Simon play "Broadway Bound" in 1986. He then starred in "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" in 1989, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He appeared in the Los Angeles production of Mel Brooks' "The Producers". He was the artistic director of "Reprise! Broadway's Best in Los Angeles", where he has directed musicals.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Greenspan was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Ruth Minnie (née Simon), a nurse and health care administrator, and Alexander B. Greenspan, an accounting manager. Greenspan later borrowed his father’s first name to create his stage name, Jason Alexander.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander grew up in Maplewood and Livingston, New Jersey, and is a 1977 graduate of Livingston High School. Interested in magic from an early age, he initially hoped to be a magician, but while attending a magic camp was told that his hands were too small for card magic. He became interested in theater, eventually realizing, "Wait a minute—the whole thing's an illusion. Nothing up there is real" and that theater was "a magic trick". He then decided to pursue a theater career.


title: Jason Alexander

text: After high school, he studied theatre at Boston University. He wanted to pursue classical acting, but a professor redirected him toward comedy after noticing his physique, remarking, "I know your heart and soul are Hamlet, but you will never play Hamlet." Alexander left Boston University without a degree after his third year to take a full-time acting job in New York City. The university awarded him an honorary degree in 1995.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander began his acting career on the New York stage and is an accomplished singer and dancer. On Broadway he appeared in Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," Kander & Ebb's "The Rink", Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound", "Accomplice", and "Jerome Robbins' Broadway", for which he garnered the 1989 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. In 2003, he was cast opposite Martin Short in the Los Angeles production of Mel Brooks's "The Producers". He appeared with Kelsey Grammer in the 2004 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol", as Jacob Marley. He continues to appear in live stage shows, including Barbra Streisand's memorable birthday party for Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl, where he performed selections from "" with Angela Lansbury. He was the artistic director of Reprise Theatre Company in Los Angeles, where he previously directed "Sunday in the Park with George", and directed its 2007 revival of "Damn Yankees". In 2015, he replaced Larry David as the lead in David's Broadway play "Fish in the Dark." He co-starred opposite Sherie Rene Scott in the September 2017 world premiere of John Patrick Shanley's "The Portuguese Kid" at the Manhattan Theatre Club.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander is best known as one of the key cast members of the award-winning television sitcom "Seinfeld", where he played the bumbling George Costanza (Jerry Seinfeld's character's best friend since childhood). He was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards for the role, but did not win any, mainly due to his co-star Michael Richards winning for his role as Cosmo Kramer. He did, however, win the 1995 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Before "Seinfeld", Alexander appeared in commercials for John Deere and McDonald's and in the short-lived CBS sitcom "Everything's Relative" (1987). Concurrently with his "Seinfeld" role, he voiced the lead character in the animated series "Duckman" (1994–1997) and voiced Catbert, the evil director of human resources, in the short-lived animated series "Dilbert", based on the popular comic strip.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander made cameo appearances as himself in the second season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", and he appeared in the show's seventh season with his three principal "Seinfeld" co-stars. He had a part in the ABC sitcom "Dinosaurs" as Al "Sexual" Harris (who frequently engaged in sexual harassment) as well as other characters. Despite a successful career in film and stage, Alexander did not repeat his "Seinfeld"-level of success in television. The year 2001 marked his first post-"Seinfeld" return to prime-time television: the heavily promoted but short-lived ABC sitcom "Bob Patterson", which was canceled after five episodes. Alexander partially blames the show's failure on the country's mood after 9/11.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander's second chance as a TV series lead, the CBS sitcom "Listen Up!" (2004–05), also fell short of a second season. Alexander was the principal executive producer of the series, based very loosely on the life of the popular sports-media personality Tony Kornheiser. Alexander appeared on the "" CD and sang a verse in a song. He was featured in the "Friends" episode "The One Where Rosita Dies" as Earl, a suicidal supply manager. Phoebe calls him trying to sell him toner, learns about his problem, and tries to persuade him not to commit suicide. This is referenced in an episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" where Alexander appears as Leonard, a neurotic and critical loner. He describes himself as "free" and says he makes money "selling toner over the phone". Later in the episode, he is repeatedly harassed by a man named George. Alexander appeared in the 1995 TV version of the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie", as Conrad Birdie's agent, Albert Peterson. He guest-starred in episode 8 of the 1996 variety show "Muppets Tonight".


title: Jason Alexander

text: In 1999, Alexander presided over the "New York Friars Club Roast" event honoring Jerry Stiller, who played his father on "Seinfeld"; it featured appearances by Kevin James and Patton Oswalt, both Stiller's costars on "The King of Queens".


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander appeared in the "" episode "" as Kurros, a genius alien trying to get Seven of Nine to serve on his ship. He appeared in "One Night at Mercy", the first episode of the short-lived 2002 revival of "The Twilight Zone", playing Death. He featured in the 2005 "Monk" episode "Mr. Monk and the Other Detective" as Monk's rival, Marty Eels. On the June 26, 2006, episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Alexander demonstrated several self-defense techniques. He hosted the July 4, 2006, PBS "A Capitol Fourth" celebrations in Washington, D.C., singing, dancing, and playing tuned drums. In 2006, Alexander signed on to feature as a regular cast member in the second season of "Everybody Hates Chris". He hosted the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner on August 13, 2006 (first airdate: August 20, 2006). In 2007, Alexander was a guest star in the third episode of the improv comedy series "Thank God You're Here". He has been a frequent guest and panelist on Bill Maher's "Politically Incorrect" and "Real Time"; "Hollywood Squares"; the "Late Late Show", with both Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson; and "Late Show with David Letterman".


title: Jason Alexander

text: In 2008, Alexander guest-starred in the season four episode "Masterpiece" of the CBS show "Criminal Minds" as Professor Rothschild, a well-educated serial killer obsessed with the Fibonacci sequence who sends the team into a race against time to save his last victims. He returned in the same season to direct the episode "Conflicted", featuring the actor Jackson Rathbone. In 2011, Alexander was the guest star in an episode of "Harry's Law", playing a high school teacher bringing a wrongful dismissal suit.


title: Jason Alexander

text: In 2018, Alexander played Olix the bartender in "The Orville". The same year, he portrayed Gene Lundy, a drama teacher, on two episodes of "Young Sheldon". In 2020, 2021 and 2022, he reprised the role of Gene Lundy on one episode.


title: Jason Alexander

text: In 2019, Alexander appeared on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" as Asher Friedman, a blacklisted Broadway playwright who is an old friend of Midge Maisel's father Abe Weissman.


title: Jason Alexander

text: In addition to his roles as an insensitive, money-hungry lawyer in "Pretty Woman" and as inept womanizer Mauricio in "Shallow Hal", Alexander has appeared in "Love! Valour! Compassion!", "Dunston Checks In", "Love and Action in Chicago", "The Last Supper", and "Jacob's Ladder". He voiced the gargoyle Hugo in Disney's 1996 animated film "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and its direct-to-video sequel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II". His other Disney voice work includes "House of Mouse" and the video game "". He has dabbled in directing, starting with 1996's "For Better or Worse" and 1999's "Just Looking". He played the toymaker A.C. Gilbert in the 2002 movie "The Man Who Saved Christmas". In 2009, Alexander had a small role in the movie "" as a train station manager. He starred as Cosmo in "".


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander voiced the character Abis Mal in "The Return of Jafar" and the TV series based on the 1992 film "Aladdin". In 2009, he played Joseph in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production "The Word of Promise". The project featured a large ensemble of actors, including Jim Caviezel, Lou Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, Jon Voight, Gary Sinise, Christopher McDonald, Marisa Tomei, and John Schneider.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander starred in several commercials during the 1980s. Among them were commercials for Hershey's Kiss; Delta Gold potato chips; Miller Lite beer; McDonald's McDLT hamburger; Pabst Blue Ribbon beer; Levi's 501 jeans; Sony Watchman TV; and Western Union wire transfer. In January 1995, he did a commercial for Rold Gold pretzels to be broadcast during the Super Bowl. The commercial depicts him with "Frasier" dog Eddie jumping out of an airplane with a parachute over the stadium. After the commercial, the audience is brought back to a supposedly live feed of the playing field hearing startled sports commentators as Alexander and the dog land in the field to wild applause. He appeared in Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) commercials in 2002, including one with Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants and another with Trista Rehn of "The Bachelorette". It was rumored that he quit doing these commercials due to KFC suppliers and slaughterhouses' alleged cruelty to animals, but he denied that in the August 2, 2006, issue of "Adweek", saying, "That's PETA bullcrap. I loved working for KFC. I was targeted by PETA to broker something between them. I think KFC really stepped up to the plate; unfortunately PETA did not." In 2007, Alexander appeared in a commercial for the ASPCA that aired on cable TV stations. In 2018, Alexander became one of several celebrities to play Colonel Sanders in commercials for KFC, reprising his role from the 2002 campaign.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander hosted the LOL Sudbury opening night gala in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada on May 29, 2008, which was simulcast throughout Canada at 60 Cineplex theaters, a first for any comedy festival. He has lent his voice to several episodes of the "Twilight Zone Radio Dramas".


title: Jason Alexander

text: In 2008 and again in 2009, Alexander fronted "Jason Alexander's Comedy Spectacular", a routine exclusive to Australia. The show consists of stand-up and improvisation and incorporates Alexander's musical talent. He is backed up by several well-known Australian comedians. His first time performing a similar show of this nature was in 2006's "Jason Alexander's Comedy Christmas". In February/March 2010, Alexander starred in his show, "The Donny Clay Experience", at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Donny Clay, whom he has portrayed in a tour of the United States and Orillia, Ontario, is a self-help guru in a similar mold to his "Bob Patterson" character.


title: Jason Alexander

text: In 2020, Alexander hosted the Saturday Night Seder, an online Passover Seder that featured many celebrities and benefited the CDC Foundation. From February 2023 he will co-present 'Really? No Really?', a weekly podcast in which he, co-host Peter Tilden, and their guests will attempt to find answers "to life’s most baffling, intriguing, confusing and annoying questions".


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander performed a mentalism and magic act at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, from April 24 to 30, 2006, and he was later named The Academy of Magical Arts Parlor Magician of the Year for this act. He won the Academy's Junior Achievement Award in 1989.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander was the national spokesman for the Scleroderma Foundation, a leading organization dedicated to raising awareness of the disease and assisting those who are afflicted. In summer 2005, he appeared with Lee Iacocca in ads for DaimlerChrysler. Iacocca did the ads as part of a way to raise money for Denise Faustman's research on autoimmunity. Iacocca and Alexander both have loved ones whose lives have been adversely affected by autoimmunity.


title: Jason Alexander

text: More recently, Alexander has competed on televised poker shows and in various tournaments. He appeared twice on Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown", winning the final table of the 8th season. Alexander won the $500,000 prize for the charity of his choice, The United Way of America, to help benefit the New Orleans area. Alexander played in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event, but he was eliminated on the second day. He returned in 2009, making it to day 3 of the event and finishing in the top 30% of the field. Alexander has appeared on NBC's "Poker After Dark" in the "Celebrities and Mentors" episode, finishing in 6th place after being eliminated by professional poker player Gavin Smith. He signed with PokerStars, where he plays under the screen name "J. Alexander". In 2021, Alexander competed in a virtual National Poker Tournament, hosted by the Children's Tumor Foundation, to raise money for Neurofibromatosis research.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander has been a prominent public supporter of the OneVoice initiative, which seeks out opinions from moderate Israelis and Palestinians who want to achieve a mutual peace agreement. On "Real Time with Bill Maher", he said he had visited Israel many times and spoke about progress toward peace he had observed.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander is a supporter of the Democratic Party. In 2020, he campaigned for the Texas Democrats with Seinfeld colleagues Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Larry David. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2012 and Joe Biden in 2020. Alexander has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration and he has ridiculed Donald Trump over his dancing. He has called Republican senator Ted Cruz a "jerk", referencing a joke from Seinfeld.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Alexander has been married to Daena E. Title, cousin of director Stacy Title, since May 31, 1982. They have two sons, Gabriel and Noah.


title: Corey Haim

text: Corey Ian Haim (December 23, 1971 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian actor. He starred in a number of 1980s films, such as "Lucas", "Silver Bullet", "Murphy's Romance", "License to Drive" and "Dream a Little Dream". His role alongside Corey Feldman in "The Lost Boys" made him a household name. Known as The Two Coreys, the duo became 1980s icons and appeared together in seven films, later starring in the A&E American reality show "The Two Coreys".


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim's early success led to money and fame. He had difficulty breaking away from the trauma of his experience as a child actor and was troubled by drug addiction throughout his adult life. He died of pneumonia on March 10, 2010.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim was born on December 23, 1971 in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Judy Haim, an Israeli-born data processor, and Bernie Haim, who worked in sales. In 1982, his parents divorced after 18 years of marriage. He had an older sister, Cari, and a younger half-brother, Daniel Lee, from his father's second marriage. Haim was Jewish; his Hebrew name was Yechezkel Yehudah.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim was first raised in Chomedey, Laval, Quebec (a suburb of Montreal), and later grew up in Willowdale, Toronto. There, his mother enrolled him in drama classes in improvisation and mime to help him overcome his shyness. Haim's skill as a hockey player led to his being scouted for the AA Thunderbirds. Haim attended several schools in both Thornhill, Ontario and North York, Ontario (including North York's Zion Heights Junior High) until grade eight.


title: Corey Haim

text: After accompanying his sister Cari to auditions, Haim was noticed and was offered roles as a child actor. He began performing in commercials in 1981. Later, he played the role of Larry in the Canadian children's educational comedy television series "The Edison Twins".


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim made his feature film debut in the 1984 thriller "Firstborn" as a boy whose family comes under threat from his mother's violent boyfriend, played by Peter Weller. Haim's first day of shooting was with Weller, and he attempted to compliment the older actor on his performance. Weller collared Haim, threw him up against a wall, and demanded Haim never speak to him after a take. It took three assistants to separate them. Haim later admitted that he was terrified by the experience. Weller apologized to Haim, saying method acting caused his actions. Regarding co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, Haim recalled:


title: Corey Haim

text: In 1985, Haim appeared in supporting roles in "Secret Admirer" and "Murphy's Romance", the latter with Sally Field, of whom he was reportedly in awe. Also that year, he had the leading role in "Silver Bullet", Stephen King's feature adaptation of his own lycanthropic novella. Haim played a paraplegic 10-year-old boy who warns his uncle (played by Gary Busey) that their town is being terrorized by a werewolf.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim began to gain industry recognition, earning his first Young Artist Award for the NBC movie "A Time to Live," in which he played Liza Minnelli's character's dying son. At the time, Haim's father was acting as his manager. He turned down a role for Haim in "The Mosquito Coast", which was later taken by River Phoenix. Producer Stanley Jaffe approached the father to remark on Haim's gifts, and recommended that he get an agent in Los Angeles.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim's breakout role came in 1986, when he starred with Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, and Winona Ryder as the titular character in "Lucas". The coming-of-age story, about first love and teen angst, centers on an intelligent misfit who struggles for acceptance after falling for a cheerleader. Haim turned 14 on the set in Chicago, and fell in love with Green, who played his romantic interest in the film. Haim's unrequited love for Green helped inspire his performance, with the real-life dynamics between them expressed on screen.


title: Corey Haim

text: Director David Seltzer noticed that unlike some of his peers, Haim seemed at ease with his burgeoning heartthrob status: "He took it in stride. Not in a negative way, but he was something of a magnet and he knew it." Haim had read for River Phoenix's role in "Stand By Me" while eating lunch in director Rob Reiner's backyard, and got the part the same day that he was offered "Lucas". He later said he would not have changed his decision.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim was nominated for a Young Artist Award for his performance as Lucas, and film critic Roger Ebert gave him a glowing review: "He creates one of the most three-dimensional, complicated, interesting characters of any age in any recent movie. If he can continue to act this well, he will never become a half-forgotten child star, but will continue to grow into an important actor. He is that good." Following "Lucas", Haim moved to Los Angeles, and starred in the short-lived 1987 television series "Roomies" with Burt Young.


title: Corey Haim

text: In 1987, Haim had a featured role as Sam Emerson, the younger of two brothers, a comic-reading teen turned vampire hunter in Joel Schumacher's "The Lost Boys". Though he had seen "Lucas", Schumacher initially was not sold on casting Haim. The director was convinced by their first meeting. Shot between the Warner Brothers lot and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the young cast included Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, and Corey Feldman, and the set was lively.


title: Corey Haim

text: "The Lost Boys" was well-received by most critics, made over $32 million at the U.S. box office, and is regarded as a 1980s classic. The performance earned Haim another Young Artist Award nomination as Best Young Male Superstar in a Motion Picture. The film marked his recurring on-screen partnership with Feldman. The two young actors had previously become aware of one another when Haim auditioned for the role of Mouth in "The Goonies", which Feldman secured. "The Two Coreys" ascended to become the highest paid teen stars of the 1980s.


title: Corey Haim

text: In the era of "Tiger Beat" and "Bop", Haim was a favored cover star. His trademark lopsided smile prompted his "Never Too Late" co-star Cloris Leachman to admonish him: "You know, that smirk you have is cute, but sometimes it looks a little fake. I would definitely practice closing your mouth a little more." He often played underdogs.


title: Corey Haim

text: Next came "License to Drive", co-starring Feldman and Heather Graham, in which Haim played the lead role of Les, whose love life is crippled by a lack of a car. He achieves his wish-fulfillment fantasy of turning his life around on one wild night. "There were some shenanigans behind the scenes," remarked director Greg Beeman of the indulgences of the Two Coreys. "They would disappear sometimes, but they always showed up for work." At the time of the shoot, 16-year-old Haim only had a learner's permit, requiring an adult to be concealed in the back seat of the Cadillac he drove in the movie. The film featured Haim's signature ad-libbing at its height.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim was receiving 2,000 fan letters a week, and spent his time trying to avoid the teenage girls besieging the apartment downstairs from his mother. "License to Drive" won Haim his second Young Artist Award (tying Feldman for the Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Fantasy award), and went on to gross over $22 million domestically.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim starred in the horror film "Watchers", adapted from the Dean R. Koontz novel, in which he played a teen who befriends a highly intelligent dog altered by military research, leading to the two being pursued.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim and Feldman next teamed in the metaphysical romantic comedy "Dream a Little Dream". Four days before the shoot commenced on January 7, 1988, Haim broke his leg. His character's injury was added to accommodate his cast and resulting limp. After the cast was removed two weeks later, Haim was required to wear a false one for the remainder of the shoot. He semi-improvised his scenes in the film.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim later said that "License to Drive" was his "breaking point" for becoming addicted to drugs. On April 9, 1989, Haim appeared live onstage at Knott's Berry Farm with DJ "Hollywood" Hamilton as part of a teen anti-drugs campaign. The thousand-strong audience of girls would not stop screaming and rushing the stage, and fire marshals had to escort Haim from the building amid fears for his safety. Haim later said that he was terrified of going onstage afterward, and had resolved never to go on any stage ever again.


title: Corey Haim

text: In November 1989, fresh out of rehab, Haim released a self-promotional video titled "Corey Haim: Me, Myself, and I", which followed a day in his life. Heavily scripted, Haim's monologues to camera were nevertheless unfocused and suggested that he was under the influence during filming. The film has been considered the "worst movie ever" by X-Entertainment. Haim set up a pre-recorded drug advice line for teens. He admitted on "The Arsenio Hall Show" that he was high while giving the advice.


title: Corey Haim

text: In 1990, Haim co-starred with Patricia Arquette in the sci-fi actioner "Prayer of the Rollerboys", performing many of his own stunts in a tale of a teen who goes undercover to expose a racist gang leader. However, as his problems with drugs continued, Haim began to lose his core audience. His performances suffered, and his film career in the 1990s declined into direct-to-video releases. In 1991, aged 19, he starred in "Dream Machine", which received a direct-to-video release, as did "Oh, What a Night" and "The Double 0 Kid", in which Seth Green had a role. Green said his experiences of working with Haim was a duality between a sweet, hardworking professional who loved acting and a tormented addict. Additional direct-to-video films included the 1992 erotic thriller "Blown Away". Co-star Nicole Eggert, who was romantically involved with Haim at the time and also featured in "The Double O Kid", later stated that on-set medics would facilitate his needs to keep him from withdrawing. She recalled filming with Haim during the day and spending the nights with him in the emergency room, "hooked up to an IV, begging doctors for a different prescription, then going back to work again the next day".


title: Corey Haim

text: In December 1992, Haim partnered in a lease-option on a 1922 Hancock Park mansion with his business manager, a party promoter named Michael Bass who had served two years in jail after a conviction for fraud. The house was valued at $1.35M. Bass rushed through the deal in order to hold a fund-raiser at the house to buy toys for Russian children, later revealed to be a scam. Haim lived at the house with Bass and his mother.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim visited Mannheim, Germany in 1994 to sign a deal with the German record label Edel and recorded an album there. However, the deal fell through and the album remained unreleased. One of the songs, the euro-house influenced "You Give Me Everything", produced by Daniel Schubert and Daniel Gonschorek, was released in 1995 as a 4-track single. Over the next two years, Haim released sequels to two of his older films, 1994's "Fast Getaway II" along with "National Lampoon's Last Resort", 1995's "Life 101", and "Dream a Little Dream 2" with Feldman. In 1995, Haim also unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Robin in Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever".


title: Corey Haim

text: Brooke McCarter managed Haim through the mid-1990s, but, citing drug problems, eventually dropped him. In 1996, Haim starred in four more direct-to-video films — "Snowboard Academy", "Demolition High", "Fever Lake" and "Busted" — the last also co-starring and directed by Corey Feldman. Feldman was forced to fire Haim after he refused to curtail his drug use and was inconsistent on set, later saying that it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do. He had a small role in the television film "". In 1997, he appeared in "Never Too Late" and the sequel to "Demolition High", titled "Demolition University" (on which he was credited as an executive producer).


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim nearly went broke after he pulled out of the film "Paradise Bar" in 1996. He was sued by Lloyd's of London for $375,000 for failing to disclose his drug addiction as a pre-existing medical condition on the insurance form. Haim filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1997. According to the bankruptcy report, he owed $100,000 to the IRS, and had $100,000 in outstanding debts. His listed assets included $100 in cash, the red 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider featured in "Corey Haim: Me, Myself, and I", $750 worth of clothing, a $31,000 pension fund, and royalty rights worth $7,500. At this point, Haim's film roles evaporated.


title: Corey Haim

text: In 1999, Haim shot a troubled low-budget independent film called "Universal Groove" in Montreal, using then-emerging digital technology. He played a film director interacting with eight characters over the course of one night on the techno club scene. Haim's return to Canada was newsworthy, with the shoot garnering local press interest and reporters from "People" magazine visiting the set. However, the film experienced fatal post-production problems, and stolen footage was leaked on the Internet. Over eight years later, the filmmakers finally self-released a reconstructed version of the film online.


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim attempted to return to the industry in 2000 with the direct-to-video thriller "Without Malice", with Jennifer Beals and Craig Sheffer. He hoped that playing the role of an ex-addict who conceals a murder with his sister's fiancé would offer him a transition from teen fare. The film was made in Waskesiu, Saskatchewan, where crew members recalled Haim's propping up the town's only bar until the early hours.


title: Corey Haim

text: In 2001, Haim was the subject of an "E! True Hollywood Story". Airing on October 17, it showed him living in a spartan apartment above a garage in Santa Monica with his mother. Haim was disoriented and unintelligible for some of his interviews. He was seen compiling a promotional clip reel for casting agents, and a pawnbroker recalled his begging for $3 to buy a slice of pizza. Feldman spoke on the program about his attempts to help Haim kick the habit, and moved him into his house in October 2001. Aged 29, Haim spent four days at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch with Feldman.


title: Corey Haim

text: Able to poke fun at himself, Haim made a cameo appearance in David Spade's "", a film about a former child star, which included an array of actual former child stars, including Feldman. Haim also appeared in spoof horror movie "The Back Lot Murders". In 2002, he guest-starred as himself in an episode of the Canadian television series "Big Wolf on Campus".


title: Corey Haim

text: Haim was the subject of a 2004 song by the Irish band, The Thrills, called "Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?".


title: Corey Haim

text: In December 2006, Haim began taping a reality show titled "The Two Coreys", which reunited him with Feldman. Both were credited as executive producers, and had a measure of creative input. The show premiered on the A&E Network on July 29, 2007, with a second season starting on June 22, 2008. At its advent, Haim bought himself and Feldman matching Tiffany rings. The show's premise revolved around Haim's living in Feldman's house with Feldman and Feldman's wife while trying to get his career back on track. The dynamics of the threesome were conceived in the style of the film "You, Me and Dupree". Footage showed the ravages of Haim's habit on his body, and his appearance was unrecognizable. Although acknowledged as partially scripted, the show eventually took on a darker life of its own after Haim relapsed and his prescription drug abuse became apparent. In one of the darkest moments of "The Two Coreys", Haim told Feldman that he had been sexually abused at the age of 14 by one of Feldman's acquaintances. Declining to identify his molester (a 42-year-old man), Haim said that the abuse had continued for two years with Feldman's knowledge. This disclosure led to a further rift between Haim and Feldman, and the show continued to expose the darker side of their lives as teen stars.


title: Corey Haim

text: The disintegrating relationship between the former best friends prompted a six-month hiatus before the second season. Haim was nominated for a Viewer's Choice Award at the 22nd Annual Gemini Awards in Canada for his role in the show.


title: Corey Haim

text: In the early 2000s, Haim attempted to support himself by selling clumps of his hair and an extracted molar on eBay. The tooth reached $150 before being pulled from the listings in line with eBay's restrictions on the sale of body parts.