title: China–United States relations

text: The problems between the US and China continue to grow in 2021 with President Joe Biden having ordered a review by the US intelligence to assess the possibility of the coronavirus being engineered in a laboratory in China, the likelihood of which had already been under investigation by the WHO. In June 2020, the tensions between the US and China saw a similar intensification when an offer made by the UAE to test the staff at the US embassy was ‘politely declined’ due to its developing ties with China, a country known for abusing human rights. The company in question was a result of the joint venture between China's BGI headed by Wang Jian and UAE's G42 chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both accused in the past of abusing user/patient data privacy, a violation of human rights. The influence of China over the UAE jeopardized its reputation with the States, a western ally whose then-President had long been in a verbal conflict with his Beijing counterpart. The offer was declined considering the involvement of Chinese firms and technologies that became a highly potential point of concern for the patient's privacy.


title: China–United States relations

text: The US Department of Justice investigation into fundraising activities uncovered evidence that Chinese agents sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., was used to co-ordinate contributions to the DNC.


title: China–United States relations

text: In 2014, Chinese hackers hacked the computer system of the US Office of Personnel Management, resulting in the theft of approximately 22 million personnel records that were handled by the office. Former FBI Director James Comey stated, "It is a very big deal from a national security perspective and from a counterintelligence perspective. It's a treasure trove of information about everybody who has worked for, tried to work for, or works for the United States government."


title: China–United States relations

text: In October 2018, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on the threat to the US posed by China. Before the hearing, Bloomberg released an article that stated that China is embedding technology in microchips that are sent to America that collect data on American consumers. However, both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen declined to confirm that statement. Nielsen said that China has become a major threat to the US and also confirmed, in an answer to a question from a senator, that China is trying to influence US elections.


title: China–United States relations

text: In 2019, two Chinese nationals were indicted for the Anthem medical data breach. About 80 million company records were hacked, stoking fears that the stolen data could be used for identity theft. In February 2020, the United States government indicted members of China's PLA for hacking into Equifax and plundering sensitive data as part of a massive heist that also included stealing trade secrets. Private records of more than 145 million Americans were compromised in the 2017 Equifax data breach.


title: China–United States relations

text: The "Voice of America" reported in April 2020 that "Internet security researchers say there have already been signs that China-allied hackers have engaged in so-called "spear-phishing" attacks on American political targets" ahead of the 2020 United States elections.


title: China–United States relations

text: As of 7 July 2020, the U.S. government was 'looking at' banning Chinese video streaming application, TikTok due to national security concerns. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration had been aware of the potential threat and has "worked on this issue for a long time". On 19 September 2020, a complaint was filed in Washington by TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, challenging the recent moves made by the Trump administration to prevent the application from operating in the US. The court documents argued that the US government took the step for political reasons rather than to stop an "unusual and extraordinary threat".


title: China–United States relations

text: The field of nuclear security (preventing nuclear material from being used to make illicit weapons) is a well-established area of successful U.S.-China cooperation.


title: China–United States relations

text: Precipitated by a 2010 Nuclear Security Summit convened by the Obama administration, China and the United States launched a number of initiatives to secure potentially dangerous, Chinese-supplied, nuclear material in countries such as Ghana or Nigeria. Through these initiatives, China and the U.S. have converted Chinese-origin Miniature Neutron Source Reactors (MNSRs) from using highly enriched uranium to using low-enriched uranium fuel (which is not directly usable in weapons, thereby making reactors more proliferation resistant).


title: China–United States relations

text: In relation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics, the Trump administration referred to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus", terms which have been criticized for being racist and "distract[ing] from the Trump administration's failure to contain the disease". In return, some Chinese officials, including Zhao Lijian, rejected an earlier acknowledgement of the coronavirus outbreak starting in Wuhan, in favor of conspiracy theories that the virus originated in the U.S."The Daily Beast" obtained a U.S. government cable outlining a communications strategy with apparent origins in the National Security Council, quoted as "Everything is about China. We're being told to try and get this messaging out in any way possible". Multiple U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly been pressured by the Trump administration to find intelligence supporting conspiracy theories regarding the origins of the virus in China.


title: China–United States relations

text: According to a New York Times report in April 2020, the U.S. intelligence community says China intentionally under-reported its number of coronavirus cases. Some outlets such as "Politico" and "Foreign Policy" have said China's efforts to send aid to virus-stricken countries is part of a propaganda push for global influence. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned there is "a geo-political component including a struggle for influence through spinning and the 'politics of generosity'". Borrell also said "China is aggressively pushing the message that, unlike the U.S., it is a responsible and reliable partner." China has also called for the U.S. to lift its sanctions from Syria, Venezuela and Iran, while reportedly sending aid to the latter two countries. Jack Ma's donation of 100,000 masks to Cuba was blocked by U.S. sanctions on April 3. Trade in medical supplies between the United States and China has also become politically complicated. Exports of face masks and other medical equipment to China from the United States (and many other countries) spiked in February, according to statistics from Trade Data Monitor, prompting criticism from "The Washington Post" that the United States government failed to anticipate the domestic needs for that equipment. Similarly, "The Wall Street Journal", citing Trade Data Monitor to show that China is the leading source of many key medical supplies, raised concerns that US tariffs on imports from China threaten imports of medical supplies into the United States.


title: China–United States relations

text: By May 2020, the relationship had deteriorated to the lowest point as both sides were recruiting allies to attack the other regarding guilt for the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.


title: China–United States relations

text: In September 2020, the trade war between China and the US alongside Beijing's behavior during the COVID-19 crisis have combined to worsen American public opinion about China.


title: China–United States relations

text: On September 22, 2020, Donald Trump called on the United Nations to "hold China accountable for their actions", in a speech to the world body's General Assembly. President Trump blamed the Chinese government for the global spread of COVID-19, which had infected 31 million people worldwide and killed more than 965,000, by then.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa was born in Hokkaido, Japan. Her mother is Japanese and her father is French Canadian. Ozawa graduated from the Christian Academy in Japan and has asserted that she has a higher ability to read and write English than Japanese. Ozawa played ice hockey daily and often sang karaoke after classes. She has revealed that she became sexually active at the age of 13.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In 2002, when she was 16, Ozawa debuted in a 30-second Japanese TV commercial for DARS Chocolate alongside the Japanese pop duo KinKi Kids. Ozawa is featured sharing chocolate with one of the two singers while secretly holding hands with the other.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa discovered adult videos (AV) by watching sex tapes she borrowed from a friend's brother. Unlike most AV actresses, Ozawa was not scouted. She was introduced to the industry by a friend who appeared in AVs. She began by modeling in June 2005 under the name Miyabi for the pornographic site Shirouto-Teien.com, which resulted in several sets of photographs and a short hardcore gonzo which was video released in CD-R and DVD-R formats.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: She was then signed by S1 No. 1 Style, an AV studio that produces hardcore pornography. On October 7, 2005, she premiered as Maria Ozawa with the video "New Face – Number One Style" (新人xギリモザ ナンバーワンスタイル), directed by Hideto Aki. Ozawa remembers that she was so nervous during the filming of her first AV that she could not look at her co-star in the face. At S1, Ozawa subsequently appeared in one original video per month until February 2007. She was involved in several S1 compilation videos including the company's entry in the 2006 AV Open, a competition between Japanese AV studios for the best selling video. The S1 video "Hyper – Barely There Mosaic" (ハイパーギリギリモザイク), featuring Ozawa along with other AV idols Sora Aoi, Yua Aida, Yuma Asami, and Honoka (plus a short preview for Rin Aoki), won first place.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In early 2007, Ozawa, along with Rin Suzuka, Reina Matsushima and Rin Aoki, left S1 with its emphasis on glamour to a new start-up company, DAS, which featured graphic scenes of creampie and simulated rape. On April 25, 2007, DAS released their first videos, with Ozawa starring in ("Beautiful Eurasian News Anchor Maria Ozawa Desiring Nakadashi Rape"). By the end of 2007, she signed (not exclusively) with Attackers (アタッカーズ), an established AV studio that specializes in thematic rape pornography.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa has also appeared in V-Cinema films, a photobook, and several glamour ("gravure") videos. In 2007, she played the character Anita (ｱﾆｰﾀ) on a popular Japanese TV drama, Tokumei Kakarichō Tadano Hitoshi (特命係長・只野仁) on TV Asahi. She also was on a 2007 episode of the Japanese variety show "Megami no hatena" ("The Goddess of What Is That") on Nihon TV as part of a series with AV actresses telling why they went into AV work. She has also appeared on Japanese MTV with the hip hop artist Seamo and in the 2007 music video "Summer Time in the D.S.C." with the Yokohama hip hop group DS455.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa could be seen in 2007 performing twice at the Shinjuku striptease bar "Shinjuku New Art". She took dance lessons to prepare but was still very nervous. She danced in a variety of outfits, including appearing as a belly-dancer, a geisha and a cowgirl. Three videos were released of her performance and a behind-the-scenes interview.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In June 2008, Ozawa changed studios once again, signing with a small studio, Ran-maru which released her first video with them on July 19, 2008. Ran-maru, along with Ozawa's previous studios, S1, DAS and Attackers, are all part of Japan's largest group of AV companies, the Hokuto Corporation.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In August 2008, Ozawa acted in her first mainstream movie, "Invitation Only", billed as "Taiwan's First-Ever Slasher Horror". The film is produced by Three Dots Entertainment in Taipei, Taiwan and co-stars Julianne Chu. Ozawa plays a supermodel. She spoke both English and Japanese. Ozawa's professionalism impressed her co-workers and her role was expanded to include further scenes. Ozawa also did a photoshoot for the Taiwanese version of "FHM" in May 2009.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa followed up on her Shinjuku experience by starring in a cabaret show, "Tokyo Nights" at the Grand Lisboa Hotel in Macau from August 16 to September 6, 2008 which also featured several other Japanese performers. "Tokyo Nights" received mixed reviews. Promotional materials show her with a temporary tattoo.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: XVN advertised in September 2008 about Maria Ozawa appearing in her first "uncensored" movies, which do not have the mosaic pixelation used to obscure the genitals in standard Japanese porn. Four uncensored 45-minute videos of Ozawa and a single male actor were released online at XVN in September 2008. The material from the first two videos was edited for a 90-minute DVD, "Tora-Tora Platinum Vol. 49 Maria Ozawa" (October 1, 2008), and the second two videos were combined as "Tora-Tora Platinum Vol. 52 Maria Ozawa" (November 17, 2008). Unused clips were combined and published under "Tora-Tora Platinum Vol. 55 Maria Ozawa" (November 23, 2008). However, it is later revealed that two little known fantasy themed uncensored titles predates the XVN clips. The first (now out of print) is titled "If Maria Ozawa Is a Bubble Princess" (December 15, 2006). The second is a parody of the anime/manga "Death Note" titled "Meath Note" (December 15, 2006).


title: Maria Ozawa

text: According to a September 2009 news report, production house Maxima Pictures was "pulling the necessary strings" to have Ozawa appear in an Indonesian comedy film titled "Menculik Miyabi" ("Kidnapping Miyabi"), which was planned for release at the end of 2009. Although advertisements in the Indonesian language calling Ozawa's Muslim fans to piety and featuring Ozawa in "jilbāb" (Indonesian hijab) were issued on occasions of Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr, the Indonesian Ulema Council condemned the efforts for the film. A protest was held and the film's producer canceled Ozawa's planned trip to Indonesia for the filming. The movie's plot had to be altered and Ozawa's scenes were all filmed in Tokyo. "Menculik Miyabi" was eventually released in Indonesia in May 2010.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In November 2009, articles in "Weekly Playboy" and "The Tokyo Reporter" reported that Ozawa was registered with the delivery health club in Shibuya ward. They also cited the possibility that her photograph and profile at the club's site was "set up simply for publicity".


title: Maria Ozawa

text: For the 2009 AV GrandPrix, three studios—DAS, Moodyz, and M's Video Group—all selected videos starring Ozawa as their entries in the contest. The DAS compilation "The Queen of DAS" won the Best Violence Video Award and the M's Video Group entry "Oral Venus" took one of the Special Awards in the Featured Actress Video category. In January 2009, Ozawa returned to DAS to film "Shemale Orgy Gangbang Rape" (集団ニューハーフ輪姦乱交レイプ小澤マリア) with three transsexual actresses and in March 2009 entered the Japanese porn genre of tentacle rape with the video "Monster Swallowing Ecstasy Maria Ozawa" (触獣丸呑みアクメ 小澤マリア) for SOD. Her last adult video of 2010, "Queen of Bukkake, Nakadashi, Gang Rape" (女王様ブッカケ中出し輪姦ザーメン塗れの元S女), directed by Dragon Nishikawa, was released by Cross in April 2010.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In an interview from 2015, Ozawa told reporters that she had quit the AV industry five years previously to pursue her goals: "I had a dream and I wanted to do it...I wanted to change my career." She also said that she hoped to overcome the stigma associated with her AV career.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In November 2011, Ozawa co-starred with Asami and AV actress Mahiro Aine in Naoyuki Tomomatsu's science fiction V-Cinema release "Karei naru erogami-ke no ichizoku: Shinsō reijō wa denki shitsuji no yume o miru ka", which was also released with English subtitles as "Erotibot". She was also cast in the starring role for the erotic horror V-cinema feature "Tokyo Species" which was released on DVD in February 2012.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In October 2012, it was announced that Ozawa planned to engage in the Mainland China entertainment market on a full-time basis and was to sign with the media company Beijing Tuopu Laiyin.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa visited the Philippines in April 2015 and made a guest appearance on the Manila radio show, Magic 89.9's "Boys Night Out". In an interview after the show Ozawa said she had an agent representing her in the Philippines and would be interested in appearing in a mainstream movie there. She was also the June 2015 cover girl for "FHM Philippines" magazine.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Ozawa returned to Manila in June 2015 for an autograph session for FHM at Resorts World Manila. She also announced that she would be co-starring with Filipino actor Robin Padilla in a horror-action movie "Nilalang" ("Creature") which was due to start shooting in August 2015. The film was slated to be shown at the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival, which Padilla withdrew and was replaced with Cesar Montano, the film also stars Yam Concepcion and Meg Imperial. Ozawa said she intended to take acting lessons and learn some Tagalog for the film. Ozawa travelled to the Philippines once again in July 2015 for "FHM Philippines" at their "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2015" party (Ozawa finished in 16th place after winner Jennylyn Mercado) and the VIP event on July 11 at the SMX Convention Center. Summit Media, the publisher of "FHM", released Ozawa's Gravure Book along with Andrea Torres. Ozawa is an accomplished entrepreneur and operates multiple businesses in Japan and the Philippines.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: In 2017, Ozawa began dating Filipino chef Jose Sarasola. The couple mutually ended their relationship in December 2021.


title: Maria Ozawa

text: Maria Ozawa partnered with M88, one of Asia’s largest online casino to launch 'Maria's Room', a dedicated portal that provides exclusive videos and a photo gallery of Maria, it also offers games from top gaming providers.


title: Black Francis

text: Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted the name Black Francis in 2007.


title: Black Francis

text: His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodic style in his solo career. His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest, and biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture. His use of atypical meter signatures, loud–quiet dynamics, and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording during his time with the Catholics, give him a distinct style within alternative rock.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson regrouped the Pixies in early 2004, but continued to release solo records and tour as a solo artist until 2013, when he declared his solo career to be over.


title: Black Francis

text: Charles Thompson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a bar owner, and Thompson lived in Los Angeles, California, as a baby because his father wanted to "learn more about the restaurant and bar business". Thompson was introduced to music at a young age, as his parents listened to 1960s folk rock. His first guitar was his mother's, a Yamaha classical guitar bought with money from his father's bar tips, which he started to play at age "11 or 12".


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson's family moved around, first with his father, and then his stepfather, a religious man who "pursued real estate on both coasts"; his parents had separated twice by the time he was in first grade. When Thompson was 12, his mother and stepfather joined an evangelical church that was tied to the Pentecostal denomination Assemblies of God, a move that influenced many of his songs written with the Pixies, which often refer to the Bible.


title: Black Francis

text: He discovered the music of Christian rock singer-songwriter Larry Norman at 13 when Norman played at a religious summer camp that Thompson attended. Norman's music influenced Thompson to the extent that he titled the Pixies' first EP and a lyric in the band's song "Levitate Me" after one of Norman's catchphrases, "Come on, pilgrim!" Thompson later described the music he listened to during his youth:


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson lived in an apartment in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Just before his senior year, his family moved to Westport, Massachusetts, where he received a "Teenager of the Year" award—the title of a later solo album. During this time, Thompson composed several songs that appeared in his later career, including "Here Comes Your Man" from "Doolittle", and "Velvety Instrumental Version".


title: Black Francis

text: After graduating from high school in 1983, Thompson studied at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in anthropology. Thompson shared a room with another roommate for a semester before moving in with future Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago. The two shared an interest in rock music, and Santiago introduced Thompson to 1970s punk and the music of David Bowie; they began to jam together. It was at this time that Thompson discovered The Cars, a band he described as "very influential on me and the Pixies".


title: Black Francis

text: In his second year of college, Thompson embarked on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of an exchange program. He spent six months in an apartment with a "weird, psycho roommate" who later served as a direct inspiration for the Pixies song "Crackity Jones"; many of the band's early songs refer to Thompson's experiences in Puerto Rico. Thompson failed to learn to speak Spanish formally, and left his studies after debating whether he would go to New Zealand to view Halley's Comet (he later said it "seemed like the cool romantic thing to do at the time"), or start a rock band. He wrote a letter urging Santiago, with the words "we gotta do it, now is the time, Joe", to join him in a band upon his return to Boston.


title: Black Francis

text: Soon after returning to Massachusetts, Thompson dropped out of college, and moved to Boston with Santiago. He spent 1985 working in a warehouse, "managing buttons on teddy bears", composing songs on his acoustic guitar, and writing lyrics on the subway. In January 1986, Thompson formed the Pixies with Santiago. Bassist Kim Deal was recruited a week later via a classified advertisement placed in a Boston paper, which requested a bassist "into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary". Drummer David Lovering was later hired on recommendation from Deal's husband.


title: Black Francis

text: In 1987, the Pixies released an 18-track demo tape, commonly referred to as "The Purple Tape". Thompson's father assisted the band financially, lending $1,000 in order to record the demo tape; Thompson later said that his father "wasn't around for a lot of my younger years, so I think he was doing his best to make up for lost time". "The Purple Tape" led to a recording contract with the English independent record label 4AD. For the release of the mini album "Come On Pilgrim", Thompson adopted the alias "Black Francis", a name inspired by his father: "he had been saving that name in case he had another son".


title: Black Francis

text: In 1988, the Pixies recorded their debut album "Surfer Rosa". Thompson wrote and sang on all the tracks, with the exception of the single "Gigantic", which was co-written and sung by Deal. To support the album, the band undertook a European tour, during which Thompson met Eric Drew Feldman, a later collaborator on Pixies and solo albums. "Doolittle", with Thompson-penned songs such as "Debaser" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven", was released the following year to widespread critical acclaim. However, by this time, tensions between Thompson and Deal, combined with exhaustion, led the band to announce a hiatus. Thompson has an aversion to flying, and spent this time driving across America with his girlfriend, Jean Walsh (whom he had met in the band's early days), performing solo shows in order to raise funds to buy furniture for his new Los Angeles apartment.


title: Black Francis

text: The band reconvened in 1990, and recorded two further albums: 1990's "Bossanova" and 1991's "Trompe le Monde"; the latter was Thompson's first collaboration with Feldman. The later Pixies albums were characterized by Feldman's increasing influence on the band's output, as well as a focus on science fiction themes, including aliens and UFOs. These themes would continue to be explored throughout his early solo work. "Trompe le Monde" includes the song "U-Mass", which was written about the university he attended as a youth, and due to the keyboard part played by Feldman, signified a move away from the band's alternative rock sound. Although Deal had contributed on the songs "Gigantic" (from "Surfer Rosa") and "Silver" (from "Doolittle"), from "Bossanova" on, Thompson wrote all the band's original material. This contributed to the increasing tension between him and Deal, and the Pixies broke up in 1992; this was not publicly announced until early 1993.


title: Black Francis

text: While the Pixies' 1991 album "Trompe le Monde" was being recorded, Thompson had discussions with the album's producer, Gil Norton, about a possible solo record. He told Norton he was keen to record again, even though he had no new material; as a result, the two decided on a cover album. However, by the time Thompson visited a recording studio again in 1992, he had "plenty of tunes and musical scraps".


title: Black Francis

text: He collaborated with Feldman to record new material; they began by trimming down the number of covers to one, The Beach Boys' "Hang On to Your Ego". Feldman became the album's producer, and played keyboard and bass guitar on several songs, with Santiago featuring on lead guitar and Nick Vincent on drums. Francis recorded the album during the hiatus and breakup of the Pixies in late 1992 and early 1993. He then adopted the stage name "Frank Black" (inverting his old persona "Black Francis") and released the results as "Frank Black" in March 1993. "Frank Black" was characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction, although he explored other subjects, such as in "I Heard Ramona Sing", a song about the Ramones. The album was similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' albums "Bossanova" and "Trompe le Monde". Feldman later said that the first record connected his solo career with "Trompe le Monde", "but at the same time it is an island, like nothing else he [Black] did".


title: Black Francis

text: The following year, Black released his second solo record, a 22-song double album entitled "Teenager of the Year". "Teenager" included the song "Headache" (), a moderate success on alternative rock playlists; critics described the song as "irresistible pop". The production of "Teenager of the Year" was markedly different from "Frank Black"; in the previous album, MIDI templates were used when writing songs, but in "Teenager", Black showed individual parts to band members, the core of which included drummer Vincent and Lyle Workman on lead guitar. Feldman noted that Thompson's songwriting became "a lot more spontaneous" while recording the album. Thompson had begun to stray from his style with the Pixies, writing songs that covered a variety of genres and topics, and his new-found method of recording was closer to later albums than that of "Frank Black" and "Trompe le Monde".


title: Black Francis

text: Both "Frank Black" and "Teenager of the Year" were critically well received, although they enjoyed limited commercial success. In 1995, Thompson left his long-time labels 4AD and Elektra. In 1996, he released "The Cult of Ray" on Rick Rubin's American Recordings; the album marked a turn away from the elaborate production of his first solo works and was recorded primarily live with few overdubs. His band for this album featured sole "Teenager" holdover Lyle Workman on lead guitar, along with bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums. Though the album was neither critically nor commercially successful, its stripped-down approach would increasingly define Thompson's working methods for the next several years.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson dubbed his new band "Frank Black and the Catholics" and recorded their eponymous first album in 1997. Recorded live-to-two-track initially as merely a demo, he was so pleased with the results that he decided to release the sessions with no further production. The album was delayed for over a year by conflicts at American, both internal and over its production, and was ultimately released in late 1998 by SpinArt Records in the US. Since leaving American Recordings, Black has avoided long-term contracts with labels, and has maintained ownership of his album masters, licensing each album individually for release.


title: Black Francis

text: "Frank Black and the Catholics" became the first album to be posted to the eMusic service; they claim it is "the first album ever made legally available for commercial download". Critical reception to the album was mixed, with some writers noting Thompson's seemingly deliberate turn away from the "quirkiness" of the Pixies and his early solo work for a self-consciously straightforward approach, and the "disappointingly straightforward punk-pop" musical style present on the album.


title: Black Francis

text: He would continue to eschew multi-track recording for the live-to-two-track technique for all subsequent releases under the group name. Live-to-two-track recording precludes the use of overdubs to correct errors or add texture; all takes are recorded continuously, and mixing is done "on the fly". On later albums, he incorporated more musicians into the sessions to allow for more varied instrumental textures. Explaining his rationale behind the method, he commented:


title: Black Francis

text: Workman left the Catholics in 1998 to pursue session and sideman work; Rich Gilbert was added to the band to replace him. Frank Black and the Catholics released "Pistolero" in 1999 and "Dog in the Sand" in 2001. "Dog in the Sand" added Dave Philips on pedal steel guitar and lead guitar, and Santiago and Feldman began making occasional appearances with the group live and on record.


title: Black Francis

text: By this time, while dismissing the possibility of a Pixies reunion, Thompson had begun to incorporate an increasing number of the band's songs into Catholics concerts, as well as including Santiago in his solo work again. Black and the Catholics continued to release records; two separate albums, "Black Letter Days" and "Devil's Workshop", were released simultaneously in 2002. "Devil's Workshop" included the song "Velvety" (), a version of the Pixies song "Velvety Instrumental Version" that Black wrote as a teenager, with lyrics. The song was one of the first signs that he had acknowledged his past work with the Pixies in his solo output. A sixth album with the Catholics, "Show Me Your Tears", was released in 2003. "Show Me Your Tears<nowiki>'</nowiki>" title and many of the songs in it were inspired by Thompson's recent divorce and entry into therapy.


title: Black Francis

text: In late 2003, following long-standing rumors, an official announcement was made that the Pixies were rehearsing for a reunion tour. The band played publicly for the first time in 12 years in April 2004, and went on to tour extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe in the same year. They also recorded one of Deal's compositions, "Bam Thwok", which was released on the iTunes Music Store. "Frank Black Francis", a double album bridging the gap between his two personas, was released to coincide with the Pixies reunion tour. The first disc consisted of solo demos of Pixies songs recorded the day before "The Purple Tape" was recorded, and the second contained studio collaborations, again of Pixies songs, with Two Pale Boys.


title: Black Francis

text: Also in 2004, Thompson began to collaborate with a group of Nashville session musicians, including Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, Reggie Young, and Anton Fig, as well as producer Jon Tiven. In July 2005, the collective released "Honeycomb" under the Frank Black name, to generally favorable reviews. "Entertainment Weekly" described the album as "spare, graceful, [and] in the pocket", while "Billboard" noted it as "One of [Thompson's] finest hours". A second volume of Nashville sessions, a double album entitled "Fast Man Raider Man", was released in June 2006. Thompson appeared at a concert by Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman in June 2005 in Salem, Oregon. Norman and Thompson performed a duet on "Watch What You're Doing", which later appeared on Norman's album, "Live at The Elsinore".


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson continued to tour with the Pixies through 2005 and 2006. Though the Catholics were effectively defunct, they released two separate albums of B-sides and rarities, "Snake Oil" and "One More Road for the Hit", on iTunes, with an eye towards a future CD release. Thompson was also working on more new solo material with Feldman in the first part of 2006, some of which they performed live. In the fall of 2006, Thompson began his first solo tour since 2003, taking Feldman, Billy Block, and Duane Jarvis along as his backing band. In October 2006, Thompson announced plans for the Pixies to start rehearsing and recording a new album in January 2007, but it is believed that no recording took place because of the reluctance of another member of the Pixies to commit to the project. In December 2006, he released the compilation "Christmass" album; a collection of new studio tracks, hotel room sessions, and live acoustic recordings from a solo tour the previous summer.


title: Black Francis

text: A Frank Black "best of" compilation, "Frank Black 93-03", was released in June 2007. Concurrently with that release, Thompson undertook a European tour with a new band, featuring Salem's Guards of Metropolis members Jason Carter and Charles Normal, as well as bassist Ding Archer. For this tour, Thompson eschewed his usual rhythm guitar role and performed solely as a frontman and singer. In September 2007, a new album entitled "Bluefinger" was released under his former stage name of Black Francis. For this album, he was inspired by the life and works of Herman Brood, a Dutch musician and artist. He also released a new "mini-album" entitled "Svn Fngrs" as Black Francis in March 2008.


title: Black Francis

text: In February 2008, Thompson was taken away by the Irish police in Dublin, Ireland, after staging an impromptu "precore" acoustic solo gig at St. Stephen's Green. He was later released and performed that night in Vicar Street as planned. However, a similar event planned for London was prevented by police and had to be re-arranged for a small indoor venue.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson currently lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, and is married to Violet Clark, his second wife, with whom he has three children, along with her two children from previous relationships. The couple formerly lived in Eugene, Oregon, where they met. Thompson and Clark currently compose the band Grand Duchy. Their debut album, "Petit Fours", was released in February 2009.


title: Black Francis

text: In 2008, Black produced Art Brut's third album, "Art Brut vs. Satan", which was released the following year. Black gave several joint interviews with frontman Eddie Argos about the album, and Art Brut supported the Pixies at their 2009 Brixton Academy show. In 2010, Black worked with the group a second time on their album "Brilliant! Tragic!".


title: Black Francis

text: Black Francis released "NonStopErotik" in March 2010 and contributed the song "I Heard Ramona Sing" to the soundtrack for the film "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" released in August 2010.


title: Black Francis

text: In the fall of 2010 in Nashville, Thompson recorded an album of new songs written and performed with collaborator Reid Paley, as Paley & Francis (Reid Paley & Black Francis). The debut Paley & Francis album (also titled "Paley & Francis") was produced by Jon Tiven, and features Reid Paley and Black Francis on guitars and vocals, accompanied by Muscle Shoals legends Spooner Oldham on piano and David Hood on bass. The album was released in October 2011 on Sonic Unyon in North America, and on Cooking Vinyl in the UK & Europe.


title: Black Francis

text: Paley & Francis debuted live in early September 2011 with club performances in Albany NY, Buffalo NY, and Hamilton, Ontario, and as one of the headliners of the Supercrawl Festival. The band for these performances consisted of Reid Paley and Black Francis on guitars and vocals, Eric Eble on bass, and Dave Varriale on drums. The pair toured again from February 8 to 22, 2013, with the shows including solo performances by each artist.


title: Black Francis

text: Black Francis contributed, in 2011, to the Ray Davies album of collaborations, "See My Friends", with his cover of the Kinks tune "This Is Where I Belong".


title: Black Francis

text: Black Francis performed at The Coach House Concert Hall in San Juan Capistrano, California, on March 22, 2013. The Pixies, minus original bassist Kim Deal, reunited for a United States and world tour in 2014 and have subsequently released three additional studio albums: "Indie Cindy" (2014), "Head Carrier" (2016) and "Beneath the Eyrie" (2019).


title: Black Francis

text: Over the course of his career, Thompson's musical style has grown to encompass a large number of genres; however, he is considered to produce rock or alternative rock compositions. Whereas songs such as "Here Comes Your Man" ("Doolittle"), "Velvety" ("Devil's Workshop") and "Headache" ("Teenager of the Year") expose a more light rock side, others such as "Something Against You" ("Surfer Rosa") and "Thalassocracy" ("Teenager of the Year") hint to a more heavy rock influence in his material. A strong country music influence is also increasingly evident in his style, most notably in his Nashville albums, "Honeycomb" and "Fast Man Raider Man".


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson has said that he acquired his vocal style as a teenager, when a Thai neighbor asked him to sing "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles (from their album "Abbey Road") and to "Scream it like you hate that bitch!" Thompson's powerful screams were a signature of Pixies albums, along with the band's typical song structure of quietly paced verses followed by thundering chorus lines and repetitive guitar staccato.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson has drawn influence from a number of musical genres. As a teenager, he mostly listened to 1960s folk and religious music, including the Christian singer-songwriter Larry Norman. For playing on his junior high baseball team, he was given Leon Russell's 1970 debut album, which he says influenced some of his vocalizing. Later in high school and in college, he discovered punk music (Black Flag), along with bands from other genres, such as the new wave band The Cars and the obscure Angst. While in Boston in 1984, before starting the Pixies, he listened to Hüsker Dü's "Zen Arcade", "The Spotlight Kid" by Captain Beefheart, and "I'm Sick of You", an Iggy Pop bootleg. Thompson was also greatly influenced by the Beatles self-titled 1968 release with regards to the experimental nature of his compositions.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson's lyrics have also featured references to the Bible, especially in his career with the Pixies; most notably in the incestuous tale of Nimrod in "Nimrod's Son", the stories of Uriah and Bathsheba in "Dead", Samson in "Gouge Away" and references to the Tower of Babel in songs such as "Build High" and "Old Black Dawning". He cited surrealist films "Eraserhead" and "Un Chien Andalou" (as mentioned in "In Heaven" and "Debaser" respectively) as major influences on his work with the Pixies; however, surrealism was less of an influence in his solo career. He commented on these influences (which he paid tribute to most in the Pixies' "Doolittle"), saying he "didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels", but found it easier to watch 20-minute films.


title: Black Francis

text: During his stay in Puerto Rico, Thompson acquired a fairly fluent, although informal and at times incorrect, use of Spanish, which he has continued throughout his career. Several early Pixies songs, including "Isla de Encanta" and "Vamos", reference his experiences in San Juan, and the lyrics are often heavily seasoned with the island's slang. The island's influence in his work is most notable in the song "Isla De Encanta", named after the island's motto, "Isla Del Encanto". Other Pixies songs drawn from his experiences there include "Vamos" ("Come On Pilgrim"), "Oh My Golly!", "Where Is My Mind?" ("Surfer Rosa"), "Crackity Jones" ("Doolittle") and the B-side "Bailey's Walk". Several of his songs contain Spanish lyrics, most notably in the Pixies' first album, "Come On Pilgrim", and a Spanish translation of "Evil Hearted You" by The Yardbirds. From his later works with the Pixies onwards, his use of Spanish drifted westward, reflecting places and aspects of the state of California and its culture.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson's lyrics are noted for their obscure references to off-beat topics such as outer space, UFOs, and The Three Stooges—the last of these being the subject of "Two Reelers", a song from "Teenager of the Year". Lyrics with a focus on science fiction were particularly prominent on the later Pixies records, as well as his early solo albums. With the Catholics, his lyrics have tended towards historical topics; for example, the song "St. Francis Dam Disaster" (from "Dog in the Sand") details the catastrophic collapse of the St. Francis Dam near Los Angeles in March 1928, and the "All My Ghosts" EP featured an account of the Humboldt County Massacre of Wiyot Indians in 1860 near Eureka, California.


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson has appeared on a range of television shows solo and as part of the Pixies, ranging from "120 Minutes" and "The Late Show" in the United States, to "The Word" in the UK.


title: Black Francis

text: As part of the Pixies, he was reluctant to film music videos for singles. Elektra Records' Peter Lubin commented that "to get videos out of them was a major ... undertaking and it only got worse over time", citing the fact that Thompson refused to lip-sync; the video for "Here Comes Your Man" features Thompson and Deal opening their mouths as the vocals are being heard, mocking the practice.


title: Black Francis

text: In his early solo career as Frank Black, his videos were more professional; he became more willing to take part in them. "Los Angeles" is an example; the video features Thompson riding across a desert on a hovercraft. They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh, who directed the "Los Angeles" video, later commented on the change in Black's attitude to music videos:


title: Black Francis

text: Thompson has released few music videos since leaving 4AD, one being a low-budget video in Germany for "Dog in the Sand"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "Robert Onion". The last widely released video produced for his solo material was for "Men in Black", from "Cult of Ray".


title: Practical Magic

text: Practical Magic is a 1998 American fantasy romantic drama film based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn, and Goran Višnjić.


title: Practical Magic

text: Bullock and Kidman play sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, descended from a long line of witches. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death from a family curse, the sisters were taught the uses of practical magic as they grew up. As adults, Sally and Gillian must use their magic to destroy an evil spirit before it kills them.


title: Practical Magic

text: In a small Massachusetts town, the Owens family have been regarded with suspicion for over three centuries due to their ancestor Maria Owens, who survived an attempted execution for witchcraft. Heartbroken when the father of her unborn child never returned to her, Maria cast a spell to prevent herself from ever falling in love again. The spell developed into a curse upon Maria's descendants, dooming any man an Owens woman loves.


title: Practical Magic

text: In the present, Gillian and Sally Owens are taken in by their aunts Frances and Jet after both their parents succumb to the Owens curse. As children, Sally and Gillian are frequently ridiculed by the town's schoolchildren. After witnessing their aunts cast a love spell for a woman obsessed with her beloved, Sally casts a spell on herself to ensure she will only fall in love with a man who possesses certain impossible traits, with the goal that she will never fall in love. Meanwhile Gillian, witnessing the same incident, cannot wait to fall in love. When the girls are teens, Gillian elopes with her boyfriend and leaves for Los Angeles. Before Gillian departs, she and Sally make a blood spell to always be faithful to one another.


title: Practical Magic

text: Gillian spends the next decade moving from relationship to relationship across the country, while back in Massachusetts, Sally meets and marries a man named Michael. The two have two young daughters, Kylie and Antonia. After Michael is fatally hit by a truck, Sally and her daughters return to live with the aunts. After the aunts reveal that they secretly cast a love spell on her so that she could marry and be happy, Sally forbids them from teaching her daughters magic.


title: Practical Magic

text: Sally sinks into depression after Michael’s death. Sensing her pain, Gillian astrally projects to Sally and they spend the night reconnecting. Gillian has become involved with a dangerously obsessive man named Jimmy Angelov, whom she drugs with belladonna so she can sleep. Invigorated by Gillian’s visit, Sally finds strength and opens the botanical shop she had planned to with Michael.


title: Practical Magic

text: Gillian calls home in distress and Sally takes off to rescue her. Upon finding her sister, Jimmy holds them both hostage in his car. At Gillian’s insistence, Sally puts belladonna into Jimmy's tequila to sedate him but the dosage inadvertently kills him instead. Realising that the belladonna in Jimmy’s blood would ruin a self-defence plea, the sisters take his body back to the aunts' house. They resurrect him with a forbidden spell, which causes him to return and attack Gillian. Sally kills him again, and the sisters bury his remains in the garden. The aunts are overjoyed at Gillian’s return, but their late night revelries are soured by a malevolent presence they can all sense. When Sally and Gillian deny it, the aunts leave them to clean up their own mess.


title: Practical Magic

text: The next morning, state investigator Gary Hallett arrives from Tucson, Arizona in search of Jimmy, who is also a serial killer. Sally feels drawn to him, with her daughters surmising that he is the impossible man from the childhood love spell. Sally breaks down and confesses to Gary, taking the full blame for Jimmy’s death. Unable to deny their attraction, they kiss but Sally flees when she realises Gary is the man she conjured.


title: Practical Magic

text: Returning home, Sally discovers Jimmy's spirit has possessed Gillian's body. Gary sees Jimmy's spirit emerge. Jimmy tries possessing Gary, but is turned aside by his silver badge. Sally tells Gary he is there because of her spell, the feelings they have for each other are not real, and the family curse will kill him if they pursue a relationship. Gary replies that curses only work if one believes in them, before returning to Tucson.


title: Practical Magic

text: Jimmy possesses Gillian again and tries killing Sally before Frances and Jet return. Realizing she must embrace magic to save her sister, Sally asks the aid of the townswomen and they form a coven to exorcise Jimmy's spirit. Their first attempt hurts Gillian and Sally makes them stop. In a moment of inspiration, Sally re-enacts her blood pact with Gillian. Jimmy’s spirit is expelled from Gillian and the family curse is finally broken. Jimmy is sealed into the grave.


title: Practical Magic

text: In Tucson, Gary clears the sisters of any suspicion in Jimmy's case and returns to Massachusetts to be with Sally. By Halloween, the townsfolk have finally embraced the Owens women and gather to watch the witches fly off the roof. The film ends with Sally and Gary sharing a kiss.


title: Practical Magic

text: "Practical Magic" was filmed in part on an artificial set in California. Because the film's producers decided the house was a big part of the depiction of the Owens culture, a house to accurately represent that vision was built on San Juan Island in the state of Washington. While much of the set from California was brought to that location and placed inside the house, it took nearly a year to perfect the image of the house and the interior. The house, actually only a shell with nothing inside, was built only for this filming and was torn down after filming was completed. The small town scenes were filmed in downtown Coupeville, Washington, a Victorian-era seaside port town located on the south side of Penn Cove on Whidbey Island.


title: Practical Magic

text: According to Sandra Bullock in the DVD commentary, while filming the scene where the Owens women are drunk and slinging insults, the actresses actually got drunk on very bad tequila brought by Kidman. The cast further stated in the film's commentary that they felt supernatural elements of the house started to affect them. Both the cast and crew claimed they heard supernatural noises while filming the coven scene at the end of the film. For the final scene with all of the townspeople at the Owens home, the entire population of the town where filming took place was invited to show up in costume and appear as townsfolk.


title: Practical Magic

text: Composer Michael Nyman's score to the movie was abruptly replaced with music by Alan Silvestri for the theatrical release. This last-minute change resulted in the release of two soundtracks, although as primarily a compilation album only the two tracks of newly created material were changed. A 50-track demo (the last two tracks being "Convening the Coven" and "Maria Owens") of Nyman's score has been circulating among fans as a bootleg. The complete Nyman score runs 62:30 and contains music that would later appear, in altered form, in "Ravenous" and "The Actors", as well as a bit of his stepwise chord progression theme from "Out of the Ruins"/"String Quartet No. 3"/"Carrington"/"The End of the Affair"/"The Claim". "Convening the Coven", though not "Maria Owens," was subsequently reissued on "", and music that uses material related to this piece has not been used elsewhere. "Convening the Coven" became "City of Turin" on "The Glare".


title: Practical Magic

text: Singer Stevie Nicks headlined the soundtrack's published advertisements, promoting her song "If You Ever Did Believe" and a new recording of her song "Crystal," both featuring Sheryl Crow on back-up vocals.


title: Practical Magic

text: "Practical Magic" opened at #1 with $13.1 million in ticket sales. The film went on to gross $68.3 million worldwide, less than its $75 million production budget.


title: Practical Magic

text: "Practical Magic" received poor reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 23% approval rating based on 96 reviews, with an average rating of 4.60/10. The site's consensus states: ""Practical Magic"s jarring tonal shifts sink what little potential its offbeat story may have -- though Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock's chemistry makes a strong argument for future collaborations." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100, gives a score of 46 based on reviews from 22 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Practical Magic

text: Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" gave "Practical Magic" a negative review, calling it "a witch comedy so slapdash, plodding, and muddled it seems to have had a hex put on it." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" said that the film "doesn't seem sure what tone to adopt, veering uncertainly from horror to laughs to romance."


title: Practical Magic

text: In 2004, Warner Bros. and CBS produced "Sudbury", a television pilot written by Becky Hartman Edwards and directed by Bryan Spicer starring Kim Delaney in the role played by Bullock in the film and Jeri Ryan in the role played by Kidman. The series, named for the Sudbury, Massachusetts location of the novel and film, was not picked up.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination, directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Jonathan del Val, and written by Brian Lynch. It is the sequel to "The Secret Life of Pets", and the second feature film in the franchise. The film features the voices of Patton Oswalt (replacing Louis C.K.) as Max, Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell, Nick Kroll, Dana Carvey, Ellie Kemper, Renaud, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, and Harrison Ford.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: The film was theatrically released in the United States on June 7, 2019, by Universal Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $446 million worldwide against its production budget of $80 million, making less than half of its predecessor.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Sometime after the events of the first film, Max and Duke's owner, Katie, meets and marries a man named Chuck and they have a son, named Liam, of whom Max disapproves at first due to his rough play but eventually softens up to him. Later, Max's overprotective feelings for Liam develop into an itch which prompts Katie to get him a dog cone from the veterinarian in an effort to lower his symptoms. Max's luck changes when Duke reveals that the family is going on a road trip outside of the city.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: When Max and Duke's family reaches a farm owned by Chuck's uncle, Shep, Max is unaccustomed to the farm's ways; including local Welsh Sheepdog Rooster, who tells him to get over his insecurities about Liam and ditch the dog cone. After an incident with the farm's sheep, Rooster takes Max out to find Cotton, one of the missing sheep that ran away. Rooster's teachings and encouragement to Max about acting unafraid prompts Max to successfully retrieve Cotton off a falling tree, earning Rooster's respect.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Before Max left, he had entrusted his favorite toy, Busy Bee, to Gidget. However, Gidget loses Busy Bee in a cat-infested apartment owned by a cat lady. She receives cat lessons from Chloe, Mel, Buddy, and Sweet Pea in order to sneak into the apartment more easily. Then, with Norman's help, she successfully retrieves Busy Bee and unintentionally gets hailed as the "queen of cats" in the process.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Meanwhile, Snowball, who dreams of being a superhero, meets Shih Tzu Daisy, who explains that she needs him to assist her in rescuing Hu, a white tiger cub she met on a flight, who is being held captive by an abusive circus owner known as Sergei. Daisy and Snowball sneak into the circus, and in spite of Sergei's pack of black wolves, they free Hu. However, during the escape, Daisy loses her flower clip, which the wolves use to track her down later.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Daisy and Snowball take Hu to Pops' apartment first; Pops reluctantly lets Hu live there, but due to his destruction of the apartment afterwards, Hu is kicked out and relocated to Max and Duke's apartment. Around the same time, the family returns from the trip to the farm. Sergei and his wolves track Daisy down and capture Hu and Daisy, in order to use her as a cannonball for his circus. Sergei escapes in a circus train in which Snowball, Max, and Norman pursue while contacting Gidget for assistance in the chase. Gidget, Max's friends, and the cats take their owner off in her car, in pursuit of the train.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Max takes out the wolves and Snowball fires Sergei's pet monkey out of a cannon, while freeing Daisy. The monkey lands on Max, knocking him off the train. Max, using his newfound bravery Rooster gave him, successfully jumps back onto the train from the top of a tunnel. The rest of the animals free Hu and kick Sergei out of the train. Before they can escape, Sergei stops them and plans to kill them all using a gun. Gidget and the rest of the pets knock him out with the cat lady's car and offer the animals a ride back home. Life resumes normally, with Hu finding a new home with the cat lady, and Max sending Liam off to preschool, no longer worried for him.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment announced a sequel to their animated film "The Secret Life of Pets" in August 2016 with director Chris Renaud and writer Brian Lynch returning, and Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy producing. The Oatmeal writer Matthew Inman worked on the film as a creative consultant.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Louis C.K. did not reprise his role as Max after being accused of and later admitting to sexual misconduct with several women in November 2017. Patton Oswalt replaced C.K. as Max the following year in April, while Hart, Stonestreet, Slate, Kemper, Bell, Carvey, Buress, and Moynihan reprised their roles. Additional casting includes Tiffany Haddish, Nick Kroll, Harrison Ford and Pete Holmes.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Alexandre Desplat, who composed the score of the first film, returned for the sequel. The soundtrack was released by Back Lot Music on May 31, 2019, featuring two cover versions of Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" and Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard". The songs were performed by LunchMoney Lewis, Aminé, and Jack Antonoff.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: "The Secret Life of Pets 2" was released in the United States on June 7, 2019 by Universal Pictures. It was previously set for a July 13, 2018 release, and then July 3, 2019. The film was released in the United Kingdom two months earlier on May 24.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: The film was released on digital on August 13, 2019 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, with Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD releases following on August 27. It includes two mini-movies: "Super Gidget", and "Minion Scouts". The 4K Ultra HD version was also Universal's first release to use the HDR10+ format.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: "The Secret Life of Pets 2" grossed $158.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $287.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $446.3 million, against a production budget of $80 million. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the net profit of the film to be $118million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "Dark Phoenix", and was initially projected to gross around $60 million in its opening weekend. The film played in 4,561 theaters, the second-widest release ever at the time. After making $17.4 million on its first day (including $2.2 million from Thursday night previews, down from the first film's $5.3 million), estimates were lowered to $46 million. It went on to debut to $46.7 million, less than half the opening of the first film, but still finishing first at the weekend box office. In its second weekend, the film made $24.4 million, finishing second behind newcomer "", and then made $10.3 million in its third weekend, finishing in fifth place.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: In the United Kingdom, the film debuted to $4.1 million from 613 theaters on the May 24 weekend. A week later, the film expanded to Russia and added a combined $17.2 million from the two countries.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: ""The Secret Life of Pets 2" doesn't teach its animated stars any new narrative tricks -- but for fans of the original, this funny, energetic sequel should still satisfy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4.5 out of 5 stars.


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Courtney Howard of "Variety magazine" wrote: "It's unusual for a typical Illumination broad comedy to include a heartrending message that makes parents feel less alone in their very real, visceral struggles. It's just cloaked in a shenanigans-soaked romp about what pets do when humans aren't looking." James Berardinelli gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars but called the film "a perfect example of what can happen when a sequel exists simply because its predecessor made a lot of money". He called it "a disappointingly mediocre effort that doesn't have a lot to offer potential viewers over age 10" saying it was unfocused and "essentially three separate shorts connected only by the presence of returning characters".


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: Emily Davison of "UK Film Review" called it "a much more enjoyable outing" and said the "voice cast is also strong all around".


title: The Secret Life of Pets 2

text: In June 2022, in an interview on the podcast "The Gary and Kenny Show", Meledandri stated that a third film is in development.


title: David Boies

text: David Boies (; born March 11, 1941) is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies rose to national prominence for three major cases: leading the U.S. federal government's successful prosecution of Microsoft in "United States v. Microsoft Corp.", his unsuccessful representation of Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore in "Bush v. Gore", and for successful representation of the plaintiff in "Hollingsworth v. Perry", which invalidated California Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage. Boies has also represented various clients in US lawsuits, including Theranos, tobacco companies, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein's victims including Virginia Roberts Giuffre.


title: David Boies

text: Boies was born in Sycamore, Illinois, to two teachers, and raised in a farming community. He has four siblings. His first job was when he was 10 years old—a paper route with 120 customers. Boies has dyslexia and he did not learn to read until the third grade.


title: David Boies

text: Journalist Malcolm Gladwell has described the unique processes of reading and learning Boies experienced due to his dyslexia. Boies's mother, for instance, would read stories to him when he was a child and Boies would memorize them because he could not follow the words on the page.


title: David Boies

text: In 1954, the family moved to California. Boies graduated from Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. Boies attended the University of Redlands from 1960 to 1962, received a B.S. degree from Northwestern University in 1964, a J.D. degree "magna cum laude" from Yale Law School in 1966 and an LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law 1967; he was awarded an honorary LL.D. from the University of Redlands in 2000.


title: David Boies

text: He currently serves on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which is a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.


title: David Boies

text: Boies was an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he started upon law school graduation in 1966 and became a partner in 1973. He left Cravath in 1997 when a major client objected to his representation of the New York Yankees even though the firm itself had found no conflict. He left the firm within 48 hours of being informed of the client's objection and created his own firm with his friend Jonathan Schiller, now known as Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. It is currently rated 23rd in "overall prestige" and 15th among New York law firms by Vault.com, a website on legal career information.


title: David Boies

text: In his 2001 book, prosecutor and author Vincent Bugliosi criticized Boies' abilities as a trial lawyer, arguing that Boies "wasn't forceful or eloquent at all in making his points" in "Bush v. Gore". "[A]lthough he seemed to have a very good grasp of the facts, he seemed completely incapable of drawing powerful, irresistible inferences from those facts that painted his opposition into a corner".


title: David Boies

text: In 2017, Boies' firm reportedly directed the Israeli private intelligence company Black Cube to spy on alleged victims of Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse and on reporters who were investigating Weinstein's actions. Over the course of a year, Weinstein had Black Cube and other agencies "target", or collect information on, dozens of individuals, and compile psychological profiles that sometimes focused on their personal or sexual histories. “Boies personally signed the contract directing Black Cube to attempt to uncover information that would stop the publication of a "Times" story about Weinstein’s abuses, while his firm was also representing the "Times", including in a libel case.”


title: David Boies

text: Months after Cyrus Vance Jr. dropped an investigation into a sexual assault allegation against Harvey Weinstein he received a $10,000 donation from Boies who was representing Weinstein at the time. Andrew Cuomo opened an investigation into Vance's handling of the Weinstein probe. However, after receiving a $25,000 campaign donation from Boies' firm Cuomo ended the investigation.


title: David Boies

text: Boies' firm was representing "The New York Times" at the same time. A few days after "The New Yorker" broke the story "Harvey Weinstein's Army of Spies", "The New York Times" announced it had "terminated its relationship" with Boies' firm. According to its contract with Weinstein, Black Cube's assignment had been to kill the paper's negative reporting on Weinstein.


title: David Boies

text: Boies helped Weinstein fend off journalist Ken Auletta's inquiry into Weinstein's alleged rape of Rowena Chiu at the Venice Film Festival in 1998.


title: David Boies

text: According to "The Wall Street Journal", Boies negotiated Harvey Weinstein's contract without informing Weinstein Co. directors that he had investment in the company's movies.


title: David Boies

text: Rose McGowan claimed that Jennifer Siebel Newsom attempted to arrange a deal between her and Boies in an attempt to make her stay quiet about her allegations against Harvey Weinstein whom Boies was representing at the time.


title: David Boies

text: Boies features prominently in "", a nonfiction book by "The Wall Street Journal" investigative reporter John Carreyrou about fraud at the blood testing company Theranos. In Carreyrou's reporting, Boies, along with lawyers Heather King and Michael Brille, and his firm are described as protecting the startup using surveillance of witnesses and journalists, weaponized use of non-disclosure agreements and affidavits, intimidation tactics, and other heavy-handed practices. Boies Schiller Flexner LLP is portrayed by Carreyrou as acting as an extension of Theranos, including the use of the law firm's New York offices for hosting promotional meetings such as a faked blood test administered to "Fortune" writer Roger Parloff. According to Carreyrou, Boies agreed to be paid for his firm's work in Theranos stock, which he expected to grow dramatically in value. He also served on the Theranos board of directors, raising questions about conflicts of interest. Boies’ participation in and support for Theranos directly contributed to the misleading treatment of Walgreen patients, potentially resulting, cited within the report on Theranos by the federal agency CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), in “serious injury or harm, or death”.


title: David Boies

text: Boies owns a home in Westchester County, New York, Hawk and Horse Vineyards in Northern California, an oceangoing yacht, and a large wine collection.


title: David Boies

text: Boies is dyslexic. He is frequently described as having a photographic memory that enables him to recite exact text, page numbers, and legal exhibits. Colleagues attribute his courtroom success in part to this ability.


title: David Boies

text: David and Mary Boies also fund the "Mary and David Boies Fellowships" for foreign students at the Harvard Kennedy School. The Boieses give an annual picnic at their home for the incoming Teach for America corps for New York City (300–500 people). They support the Central European and Eurasian Law Institute (CEELI), a Prague-based institute that trains judges from newly democratized countries in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. There is a "Mary and David Boies Reading Room" at the CEELI Institute in Prague.


title: Dipika Kakar

text: Dipika Kakar Ibrahim (born 6 August 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi television. She is known for playing Simar in "Sasural Simar Ka" and Sonakshi in "Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum". She participated in the reality show "Bigg Boss 12" and emerged as the winner in 2018. She also participated in Nach Baliye 8.


title: Dipika Kakar

text: Dipika was born on 6 August 1986 in Pune, India. Kakar completed her school level exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education and then graduated from the University of Mumbai. After completing her studies she started working as a flight attendant with Jet Airways for almost 3 years. Due to some health issues, she resigned and joined the entertainment industry.


title: Dipika Kakar

text: First Kakar was married to Raunak Samson in 2011 but they got separated in 2015. Then, she married Shoaib Ibrahim, her co-star from "Sasural Simar Ka" on 22 February 2018 in Bhopal. She converted to Islam and changed her name to Faiza.


title: Dipika Kakar

text: Kakar started her career as an Air Hostess for three years in Mumbai. Then, she made her television debut in 2010 with "Neer Bhare Tere Naina Devi" where she played Lakshmi. She then appeared in "Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo" as Rekha.


title: Dipika Kakar

text: From 2011 to 2017, she portrayed Simar Bhardwaj in Colors TV's "Sasural Simar Ka". In 2015, Kakar participated in the celebrity dance reality show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 8". In 2017, she participated in Star Plus's "Nach Baliye 8" with Shoaib Ibrahim. She next appeared in "Entertainment Ki Raat".


title: Dipika Kakar

text: In October 2018, Kakar participated in "Bigg Boss 12". On 30 December 2018, she emerged as the winner of the season.


title: Dipika Kakar

text: In 2019 and 2020, she portrayed Sonakshi Rastogi in Star Plus's "Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum" opposite Karan Grover.


title: Brittany O'Grady

text: Brittany Ann O'Grady (born June 2, 1996) is an American actress and singer who is known for her work on "Little Voice", "Star", "Black Christmas", and "The White Lotus".


title: Brittany O'Grady

text: After appearing in several television shows, O'Grady landed her first main role on television in 2016 with musical series "Star" with the role of Simone Davis. She also landed her first film roles in 2019 with "Above Suspicion" as Georgia Beale and "Black Christmas" as Jesse Bolton-Sinclair. In 2021, she starred as Paula in the HBO series "The White Lotus". O'Grady starred in Kygo's "Love Me Now" music video as Kygo's love interest. O'Grady has also appeared on "The Wayne Ayers Podcast".


title: Brittany O'Grady

text: O'Grady states that her father is White, with Irish ancestry, while her mother is African-American/Creole, from Louisiana. Due to being mixed race, she says her Irish last name sometimes throws people off. As a result of her ancestry, she believed she would be unable to obtain success in acting, since her appearance was viewed as confusing. Since 2015, she has been in a relationship with Ben Huyard, and they married on September 10, 2022. Her former co-stars Ryan Destiny, Jude Demorest and Amiyah Scott from "Star" served as bridesmaids.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Campbell has also worked with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Campbell began playing guitar at the age of 12 with a Telecaster Thinline and Carlsbro Stingray amp. When he was 15, Campbell joined Teaser, which went on to become Sweet Savage, a NWOBHM band. In 1981 they released an EP consisting of four BBC Radio sessions and their first single, "Take No Prisoners". The band's song "Killing Time" was later covered by Metallica as a B-side for their "The Unforgiven" single, and was included on Metallica's "Garage Inc." covers album. Campbell left Sweet Savage in early 1983 to join Dio after guitarist Jake E. Lee was offered Randy Rhoads's spot as Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist in December 1982.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: When Campbell joined Dio, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and former Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain had most of the songs to the album "Holy Diver" already written. The album was a success and included Dio's biggest hit, "Rainbow in the Dark". A concert video, called "In Concert", from this tour was released. The band also played at The 4th Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England in August 1983 and Monsters of Rock, Nuremberg, Germany in 1984.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Dio returned to the studio to write and record the follow-up to "Holy Diver". This album was called "The Last in Line" and charted at No. 23 in the US. "The Last in Line", "We Rock" and "Mystery" all became radio hits. A concert video from this tour called "A Special From The Spectrum" was released.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: The follow-up "Sacred Heart" was also a success, and managed to peak at No. 29 in the U.S. It featured the hits "Rock N Roll Children" and "Hungry For Heaven", the second of which was also included on the soundtrack to the film "Vision Quest". Also around this time the band recorded the song "Hide in the Rainbow" for the "Iron Eagle" soundtrack, the last song Campbell would record with Dio. A live EP "Intermission" was also released. Craig Goldy played on the disc's only studio song "Time to Burn" and over-dubbed the rhythm parts on the live tracks. Campbell and the band parted company in 1986 and he joined Whitesnake. He was replaced by Goldy.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Campbell's post-Dio relationship, including how Campbell considered his Dio years relative to his identity as a musician, has at times seemed positive, at times negative. For example, in 2003 Campbell said "[Playing in Dio] never mattered to me – and still doesn't… He's an incredible talent, but he's an awful businessman and way more importantly, one of the vilest people in the industry."


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Campbell later stated that he regretted making the statement., and Ronnie James Dio stated in an article in Hit Parader that he wished Campbell "the best."


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Further, in 2012 Campbell reunited with original Dio members bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Vinnie Appice, along with vocalist Andrew Freeman, to form the band Last in Line, and Campbell subsequently made statements that suggest he had come to view his time in Dio more positively than he previously had indicated.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: In 1987, Campbell joined English hard rock group Whitesnake, who had recently recorded their album "1987" that would go on to achieve multi-platinum status. Lead vocalist David Coverdale, who had fired all other members of the band during the recording process, was putting together a new line-up with the help of Geffen Records' A&R executive John Kalodner. Along with Campbell, they recruited guitarist Adrian Vandenberg, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge. The first time the bandmembers all met each other was at the music video shoot for "Still of the Night". This new line-up would appear in all promotional materials for the aforementioned album despite not playing on any of the songs. Campbell, however, did re-record the guitar solo for the single release of "Give Me All Your Love".


title: Vivian Campbell

text: During the supporting tour for the band's self-titled album, Campbell's wife was barred from traveling with the group, due to strife between her and Coverdale's wife Tawny Kitaen; this caused friction between Campbell and Coverdale. After the tour ended, the latter informed the rest of the band that the next Whitesnake album would be written by him and Adrian Vandenberg alone. Vandenberg, for his part, didn't want Campbell in the band. Instead he sought to be Whitesnake's sole guitarist. Campbell later remarked: "I knew deep inside that this wasn’t a band I would last in for too long." Eventually Campbell was informed by Whitesnake's tour manager that he'd been fired. He officially exited Whitesnake in December 1988, with David Coverdale citing musical differences.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Campbell's relationship with Coverdale remained strained for many years after his departure, due to the way Coverdale handled his firing. It wasn't until 2008 when Def Leppard and Whitesnake toured together, that Campbell and Coverdale were able to sort out their past differences. Campbell remarked: "David was very apologetic, and pointed out that he was in this bad relationship, living in an ivory tower, having people do things instead of doing those things by himself. — All this belongs in the past. We are all good now." In 2015, Campbell joined Whitesnake on stage for a performance of "Still of the Night" in Sheffield, England. Campbell has stated, that he doesn't consider Whitesnake an important part of his career: "We were all great individually, but that lineup with those musicians never really gelled. It was fun at the time, and I was flattered to have been invited to be a part of the band, but it doesn’t mean an awful lot to me from a musical point of view."


title: Vivian Campbell

text: After leaving Whitesnake, Campbell would go on to play on Lou Gramm's second solo album, "Long Hard Look". Though Gramm toured in support of the album, Campbell would not join him. Now a free agent in the business, Campbell joined the group Riverdogs after being tapped to produce their first demo. As an official member of the band, he would contribute to their eponymous debut album in 1990. Campbell once again teamed up with Lou Gramm in 1991 to join Gramm's new band Shadow King. After a single eponymous album, one music video, and one live show, Campbell left the group to join Def Leppard. Shadow King soon disbanded following Campbell's departure as Gramm and bassist Bruce Turgon would return to Gramm's former band Foreigner.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: In April 1992, Campbell joined the rock band Def Leppard, after the release of their "Adrenalize" album. He replaced Steve Clark, who died on 8 January 1991.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: According to fellow guitarist Phil Collen, Campbell was able to lock right into the position very naturally by simply being himself. Campbell made his debut with the band by playing a show in a Dublin club to approximately 600 people. A week later, 20 April 1992, the band took the stage at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with their new guitarist. They performed, "Animal", "Let's Get Rocked", and the Queen classic, "Now I'm Here", with Brian May.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Despite treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, Campbell continued to tour with Def Leppard during summer 2013, and he and the rest of the band returned to the stage in summer 2014 as co-headliners with Kiss.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: In 2005 Campbell released a solo album produced by Tor Hyams called "Two Sides of If", which features cover versions of his favourite blues tunes and one original blues song. Terry Bozzio plays drums on the album. ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons guests on two songs, and Joan Osborne on one other song.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: In mid-2010/early 2011, when Def Leppard was on hiatus, Campbell agreed to join Thin Lizzy, long his favorite band. After the tour, which he said inspired him to play more aggressively, he asked Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice—both members of the original band Dio—to get together for a Dio tribute project that ultimately became the band Last In Line. With singer Andrew Freeman, they recorded the album "Heavy Crown". Bain died before the album was released, and Campbell praised his creativity and his presence, adding that Bain deserved co-writing credits on more of the early Dio songs.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: Campbell currently lives in New Hampshire and has two daughters with ex-wife Julie Campbell. After getting divorced, Campbell married his longtime girlfriend Caitlin Phaneuf on 4 July 2014. He also plays football regularly with Hollywood United F.C., a team composed mostly of celebrities and former professional football players.


title: Vivian Campbell

text: On 10 June 2013 Campbell revealed that he has Hodgkin's lymphoma. Though he announced in November 2013 that he was in partial remission, in June 2014 he took that back saying the statement was premature. He had stem-cell therapy in late 2014, and by October 2015 he announced that while the cancer is still there he was doing much better using immunotherapy, undergoing treatment every three weeks with pembrolizumab.


title: Yucca

text: Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (arid) parts of the Americas and the Caribbean.


title: Yucca

text: Early reports of the species were confused with the cassava ("Manihot esculenta"). Consequently, Linnaeus mistakenly derived the generic name from the Taíno word for the latter, "yuca". The Aztecs living in Mexico since before the Spanish arrival, in Nahuatl, call the local yucca species ("Yucca gigantea") , which gave the Spanish . is also used for "Yucca filifera".


title: Yucca

text: The natural distribution range of the genus "Yucca" (49 species and 24 subspecies) covers a vast area of the Americas. The genus is represented throughout Mexico and extends into Guatemala ("Yucca guatemalensis"). It also extends to the north through Baja California in the west, northwards into the southwestern United States, through the drier central states as far north as southern Alberta in Canada ("Yucca glauca" ssp. "albertana").


title: Yucca

text: Yucca is also native northward to the coastal lowlands and dry beach scrub of the coastal areas of the southeastern United States, along the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic States from coastal Texas to Maryland.


title: Yucca

text: Yuccas have adapted to an equally vast range of climatic and ecological conditions. They are to be found in rocky deserts and badlands, in prairies and grassland, in mountainous regions, in light woodland, in coastal sands ("Yucca filamentosa"), and even in subtropical and semitemperate zones, although these are generally arid to semi-arid.


title: Yucca

text: Yuccas have a very specialized, mutualistic pollination system, being pollinated by yucca moths (family Prodoxidae); the insect transfers the pollen from the stamens of one plant to the stigma of another, and at the same time lays an egg in the flower; the moth larva then feeds on some of the developing seeds, always leaving enough seed to perpetuate the species. Certain species of the yucca moth have evolved antagonistic features against the plant and do not assist in the plant's pollination efforts while continuing to lay their eggs in the plant for protection.


title: Yucca

text: Yucca species are the host plants for the caterpillars of the yucca giant-skipper ("Megathymus yuccae"), ursine giant-skipper ("Megathymus ursus"), and Strecker's giant-skipper ("Megathymus streckeri").


title: Yucca

text: Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Many species also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems, and more rarely roots. References to yucca root as food often arise from confusion with the similarly pronounced, but botanically unrelated, yuca, also called cassava or manioc ("Manihot esculenta"). Roots of soaptree yucca ("Yucca elata") are high in saponins and are used as a shampoo in Native American rituals. Dried yucca leaves and trunk fibers have a low ignition temperature, making the plant desirable for use in starting fires via friction. The stem (when dried) that sports the flowers is often used in collaboration with a sturdy piece of cedar for fire making.


title: Yucca

text: In rural Appalachian areas, species such as "Yucca filamentosa" are referred to as "meat hangers". The tough, fibrous leaves, with their sharp-spined tips, were used to puncture meat and knotted to form a loop with which to hang meat for salt curing or in smoke houses. The fibers can be used to make cordage, be it sewing thread or rope.


title: Yucca

text: The flower petals are commonly eaten in Central America, but its reproductive organs (the anthers and ovaries) are first removed because of their bitterness. The petals are blanched for 5 minutes, and then cooked "a la mexicana" (with tomato, onion, chili) or in "tortitas con salsa" (egg-battered patties with green or red sauce). In Guatemala, they are boiled and eaten with lemon juice.


title: Yucca

text: Yuccas are widely grown as architectural plants providing a dramatic accent to landscape design. They tolerate a range of conditions, but are best grown in full sun in subtropical or mild temperate areas. In gardening centres and horticultural catalogues they are usually grouped with other architectural plants such as cordylines and phormiums.


title: Yucca

text: The yucca flower is the state flower of New Mexico in the southwest United States. No species name is given in the citation; however, the New Mexico Centennial Blue Book from 2012 references the soaptree yucca ("Yucca elata") as one of the more widespread species in New Mexico.


title: Yucca

text: , the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes 49 species of "Yucca" and a number of hybrids:


title: Yucca

text: A number of other species previously classified in "Yucca" are now classified in the genera "Dasylirion", "Furcraea", "Hesperaloe", "Hesperoyucca", and "Nolina".


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Ranil Wickremesinghe (, ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2022. He also holds the position of Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka. He has been the leader of the centre-right United National Party since 1994. He served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in five separate stints, leading six governments, from 1993 to 1994, 2001 to 2004, 2015 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and in 2022. He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2015.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Born to a wealthy political family, he graduated from University of Ceylon and qualified as an advocate from the Ceylon Law College in 1972. Entering active politics in the mid-1970s with the UNP, he was first elected to Parliament from the Biyagama electorate in the 1977 parliamentary elections and was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, by his uncle and President J. R. Jayewardene. He was thereafter appointed as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment, becoming the youngest cabinet minister in Sri Lanka.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: In 1989, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, appointed Wickremesinghe as the Minister of Industry, Science and Technology and Leader of the House. He succeeded D. B. Wijetunga as Prime Minister in 1993 following the assassination of Premadasa and Wijetunga's succession to the presidency. He was appointed Leader of the Opposition in November 1994 following the assassination of Gamini Dissanayake during the campaign for the 1994 presidential election. Wickremesinghe was the UNP nominee in the 1999 and 2005 presidential elections, but was defeated by Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa, respectively.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: On 8 January 2015, Wickremesinghe was appointed as prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena, who had defeated President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential election. His coalition alliance, the United National Front for Good Governance, won the 2015 parliamentary election with 106 seats. Although it fell short of an outright majority, Wickremesinghe was re-elected as Prime Minister, with over 35 Sri Lanka Freedom Party members joining his cabinet. Wickremesinghe was removed as Prime Minister on 26 October 2018 by President Maithripala Sirisena with the appointment of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, which Wickremesinghe refused to accept, resulting in a constitutional crisis. The crisis ended with Sirisena re-appointing Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister on 16 December 2018. He resigned as Prime Minister on 20 November 2019, and was again succeeded by Mahinda following the 2019 presidential election. He contested the 2020 parliamentary election but failed to secure a seat in Parliament.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: He re-entered Parliament as a National List MP of the United National Party, and was sworn in as a member of parliament on 23 June 2021. In May 2022, Wickremesinghe was re-appointed as prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. On 9 July 2022, Wickremesinghe announced that he was willing to resign amidst mass anti-government protests that saw his personal residence set ablaze, along with the residence of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaska taken over by protestors. He agreed to resign as prime minister once a new government is formed.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Wickremesinghe became the acting president on 13 July 2022, after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. Rajapaksa resigned on 14 July 2022, and the next day, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as acting president of Sri Lanka. The same day, he decided to formally abolish the presidential standard and remove the style "His Excellency" when addressing the president. On 20 July 2022, Wickremesinghe was elected as the 9th President via an election by parliament. On 21 July 2022, he took the presidential oath in parliament as president of Sri Lanka.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Born on 24 March 1949 in Colombo, Wickremesinghe was the second son of Esmond Wickremesinghe and Nalini Wickremesinghe née Wijewardena. His father was a lawyer who became a press baron taking over the Lake House Group of newspapers. His grandfathers were Cyril Wickremesinghe of the Ceylon Civil Service and the press baron, D. R. Wijewardhena.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Wickremesinghe was educated at the Royal Preparatory School and at the Royal College, Colombo where he was a classmate and friend of Anura Bandaranaike, son of then Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike and Dinesh Gunawardena, son of socialist leader Philip Gunawardena. Wickremesinghe entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Ceylon at its Colombo Campus which is now the University of Colombo. After graduation, he completed the law exams at the Ceylon Law College and took oaths as an advocate in 1972 after having apprenticed under H. W. Jayewardene, QC. He became an Attorney at law following the changes to the legal profession in 1973. Wickramasinghe received an honorary doctorate from Deakin University in Australia on 14 February 2017 for his significant contributions in reforms in economy, education and human rights.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Wickremesinghe joined the United National Party (UNP) and progressed through its ranks. He was appointed as the chief organizer of the Kelaniya Electorate in the mid-1970s, and was later appointed as the chief organizer of the Biyagama Electorate, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections and entered parliament. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government of J. R. Jayewardene, and was soon promoted to the post of Minister of Youth Affairs & Employment on 5 October 1977, which made him the youngest cabinet minister of Sri Lanka. During his term as minister, he initiated the Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council (NYSCO), which provides vocational and career training to school leavers. Wickremesinghe was later made the Minister of Education on 14 February 1980.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Under the Presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the Minister of Industry on 18 February 1989, under which he initiated industrial reforms and established the Biyagama Special Economic Zone. In 1990, he was given the additional portfolios of Science and Technology. Wickremesinghe had competition from his senior colleagues in the UNP, Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, who had been rivals of President Premadasa. He was appointed the Leader of the House in 1989.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: On 7 May 1993, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as prime minister after President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers and Prime Minister D. B. Wijetunga was appointed president. During his term, he was credited for pushing the country through an impressive economic transformation and was generally backed by the business community.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the UNP lost to Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's People's Alliance (PA), and Kumaratunga was appointed Prime Minister of the country. Wickremesinghe was defeated in the race for Opposition Leader by two votes by fellow UNP member Gamini Dissanayake, who had re-joined the party. This gave Gamini Dissanayake the default leadership of the party and made him the presidential nominee of the UNP. The UNP was progressing well under Gamini Dissanayake's leadership, when he too was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers. Gamini Dissanayake's widow, Srima replaced him as the candidate of the UNP in the 1994 election. Securing just 35% of the vote, she lost to Chandrika Kumaratunga in all electorates except Mahiyangana. Afterwards, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the opposition leader as well as the UNP leader.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: Wickremesinghe was seen as a cooperative opposition leader who gave the government a chance to carry out its agenda in its early days.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: In the 1999 election, Wickremesinghe was nominated as UNP's presidential candidate. After a tense election campaign in the wake of the violent North Western Provincial Council election, the Tamil Tigers blasted a suicide bomb in an election campaign rally, in which President Kumaratunga lost her right eye. Voting was held two days later 21 December 1999 amidst a wave of sympathy, and Kumaratunga was re-elected with 51% of the popular vote to remain as Executive President. After this electoral loss, Wickremesinghe unsuccessfully led his party in the 2000 parliamentary elections, again losing out to the PA.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: In the parliamentary general election 2001, Ranil Wickremesinghe led UNF to win 109 seats and PA was able to obtain only 77 seats. Consequently, he was able to form a new UNF government and sworn as the 17th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on 9 December 2001. However, Chandrika Kumaratunga still remained the President of the country. This led to a confusing situation where the President and the Prime Minister were from two opposite parties. Although, according to the constitution, both head of state and head of government was the President, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was able to appoint his own cabinet and he had the actual control over the government. President Chandrika Kumaratunga also chaired cabinet meetings as de facto head, but her influence over decision making was strictly limited.


title: Ranil Wickremesinghe

text: During his second premiership, he proposed to initiate the "Western Region Megapolis" project. Planned with the assistance of architects and town planners of a Singaporean firm CESMA, it proposed to build a large new city in the western province that can rival major cities in the world. However, the project did not proceed after the fall of his government. He also requested international community to assist in development during the ceasefire – the Tokyo Donor Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka was held in June 2003, during which Sri Lanka received more than 4.5 billion dollars in reconstruction and development aid.