title: Cities of the Philippines

text: Prior to 1979, all cities were just considered chartered cities, without any official category differentiating them aside from income levels. Though chartered cities were considered autonomous from the provinces from which they were created, the eligibility of their residents to vote for provincial officials was determined by their respective charters.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The 1951 Supreme Court decision on "Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections" finally resolved the ambiguity surrounding the third category of cities, by confirming that the residents of cities with such charters (such as Dumaguete and Davao City) are ineligible to participate in provincial elections.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: Altering the right of city residents to participate in provincial elections was a power solely determined by the national legislature. Before 1979, this power was exercised in seven cases, affecting a total of six cities:


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: "Batas Pambansa Bilang 51", approved on December 22, 1979, introduced two legal categories of cities: highly urbanized cities (HUCs) and component cities. COMELEC Resolution No. 1421, which was issued to implement the provisions of "BP 51" prior to the January 30, 1980, local elections, stated that a total of 20 cities were not allowed to participate in the election of provincial officials: seven of these were "highly urbanized," while the remaining 13 were "component" cities.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: "Batas Pambansa Bilang 337" ("Local Government Code of 1983"), approved on February 10, 1983, further refined the criteria by which cities can be classified as highly urbanized cities. Under "BP 337" a city that had at least 150,000 inhabitants and an income of at least 30 million was to be declared highly urbanized by the Minister of Local Government within thirty days of the city having met the requirement. The cities of Angeles (October 13, 1986), Bacolod (September 27, 1984), Butuan (February 7, 1985), Cagayan de Oro (November 22, 1983), Iligan (November 22, 1983), Olongapo (December 7, 1983), and Zamboanga (November 22, 1983) became HUCs in this manner. The residents in most of these cities lost their right to participate in provincial elections for the first time. The two exceptions are: Iloilo City, which had already been deprived of the right to vote for provincial officials in 1959 by virtue of Section 2 of "RA 2259", and Zamboanga City, which had been autonomously governed since its creation by virtue of Section 47 of its city charter ("Commonwealth Act No. 39").


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: By virtue of Section 30 of "Batas Pambansa Bilang 881" ("Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines"), approved on December 3, 1985, provided that: "unless their respective charters provide otherwise, the electorate of component cities shall be entitled to vote in the election for provincial officials of the province of which it is a part." This provision therefore overrides the 1951 Supreme Court decision on "Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections" by providing voters in component cities whose charters are silent on the matter of electing provincial officials the right to again participate in provincial elections. "BP 881" therefore again enfranchised voters in the cities of Bais and Canlaon (Negros Oriental), and Ozamiz (Misamis Occidental). Despite the charter of the city of Cotabato being silent on the matter of electing provincial officials, the city was not legislated to be part of any of the successor provinces of the old undivided Cotabato province. Voters of the city therefore were still not eligible to vote in the provincial elections of either Maguindanao or North Cotabato and therefore remained independent from any province.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The period between ratification of the new Constitution (February 1987) and the effectivity of the "Local Government Code of 1991" (January 1992) was one of transition. During this time, "BP 51", "BP 337" and "BP 881" were still in force: the only legal classes of cities during this period were still "highly urbanized" and "component" cities.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: Altering the right of city residents to participate in provincial elections was once again exercised by the newly restored Congress in this period. A total of three cities were affected: "Republic Acts No. 6641" (in 1987), "6726" (in 1989) and "6843" (in 1990), once again allowed the residents of Mandaue, Oroquieta and San Carlos to vote for provincial officials of Cebu, Misamis Occidental and Pangasinan respectively. Since "BP 51"—which only considered cities as being either "highly urbanized" or "component"—was still in force at the time, the changes were not considered as switching between legal categories, but rather a simple change within the "component city" classification that did not require a plebiscite. Note that the "independent component city" legal classification was only introduced through the "Local Government Code" in 1992.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: Under the same criteria set in "BP 337" ("Local Government Code of 1983"), a total of three cities became highly urbanized: General Santos (September 5, 1988), Lucena (July 1, 1991) and Mandaue (February 15, 1991). Lucena and Mandaue were special cases, in that because their re-classification into HUC status took place after the ratification of the Constitution (February 11, 1987) but before the effectivity of the "Local Government Code of 1991" (January 1, 1992), their residents were allowed to continue to participate in the election of provincial officials as per their respective charters (as amended), by virtue of Sec. 452-c of the LGC. Residents of General Santos were already excluded from voting for provincial officials of South Cotabato since achieving cityhood in 1968; they were therefore unaffected by this exemption.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The "Local Government Code of 1991" came into effect on January 1, 1992, and has remained in force ever since, though some amendments have been made. New requirements for creating cities, and upgrading cities to highly urbanized status, were instituted under this Act. The "LGC of 1991" was also the first time the independent component city (ICC) category was introduced. These cities are those non-highly urbanized cities whose charters explicitly prohibited city residents to vote in provincial elections. They were finally made completely independent of the province from fiscal, administrative and legal standpoints.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The municipalities of Metro Manila, having been severed from the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal and made independent units in 1975, were converted to highly urbanized cities, beginning in 1994 with Mandaluyong. The most recent, Navotas, became an HUC in 2007. Only Pateros, which does not currently meet the population requirement of 200,000 inhabitants, remains the only independent municipality in Metro Manila.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: All that is needed is a congressional amendment to a component city's charter, prohibiting city residents to vote for provincial officials. There is a movement (Independent Calbayog City Movement) in Calbayog City that pushes this and the draft bill is ready to be filed by the representative of the 1st District of Samar, Edgar Mary Sarmiento.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: Since 1992, once a city reaches a population of 200,000 persons as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority and an income of 50 million (based on 1991 constant prices) as certified by the city treasurer, the city government can submit a request to the President to have their city declared as highly urbanized within 30 days. Upon the President's declaration, a plebiscite will be held within a specific timeframe to ratify this conversion. There are no limits as to the number of times a component city can attempt to become a highly urbanized city, should previous tries be unsuccessful.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: Reclassifying an HUC as a component city likely involves not only amending the concerned city's charter, but also the "Local Government Code", as currently there is no provision in the "LGC" that allows this, nor are there any precedents. Some Cebu City politicians have previously indicated that they wish to bring back the city under the province's control, in order to bring in more votes against the "Sugbuak", the proposed partition of Cebu Province.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: A congressional amendment to the city charter enabling city residents to vote for provincial officials is required, followed by a plebiscite. Santiago's status as an independent component city was briefly in question after the enactment of "Republic Act No. 8528" on February 14, 1998, which sought to make it a regular component city. The Supreme Court on September 16, 1999, however ruled in favor of the city's mayor who contended that such a change in the status of the city required a plebiscite just like any other merger, division, abolition or alteration in boundaries of any political unit. And due to the lack of a plebiscite to affirm such a change, "RA 8528" was therefore unconstitutional.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: On April 10, 2022, the "Republic Act No. 11683" lapses into law which seeks to ease conversion of towns into cities but was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 11, 2022. The new cityhood law amends Section 450 of "Republic Act 7160" also known as the Local Government Code of 1991 where a municipality will be exempted from the land and population requirements if it generates at least 100 million pesos for two consecutive years.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) is a non-profit organization and is not a government agency and was founded in 1988. As of September 3, 2022, the league has a membership of 147 cities. The organization was formed to help coordinate efforts to improve governance and local autonomy and to tackle issues such as preserving the environment and improving public works.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: , there are 148 cities in the Philippines. Baliwag in Bulacan is the newest city, after the plebiscite held resulted in approval of ratification on December 17, 2022.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The Supreme Court of the Philippines, by a highly divided vote of 6–5, on November 18, 2008, subsequently upheld with finality on May 6, 2009, declared unconstitutional cityhood laws converting 16 municipalities into cities. The 24-page judgment of Justice Antonio T. Carpio, adjudged that the following Cityhood Laws violate secs. 6 and 10, Article X of the "Constitution of the Philippines":


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: However, more than a year later, on December 22, 2009, acting on the appeal of the so-called "League of 16 Cities" (an informal group consisting of the sixteen local government units whose cityhood status had been reversed), the Supreme Court reversed its earlier ruling as it ruled that ""at the end of the day, the passage of the amendatory law" (regarding the criteria for cityhood as set by Congress) "is no different from the enactment of a law, i.e., the cityhood laws specifically exempting a particular political subdivision from the criteria earlier mentioned. Congress, in enacting the exempting law/s, effectively decreased the already codified indicators."" As such, the cityhood status of the said 16 LGUs was effectively restored.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: On August 24, 2010, in a 16-page resolution, the Supreme Court reinstated its November 18, 2008, decision striking down the cityhood laws, reducing once more the sixteen LGUs to the status of regular municipalities.


title: Cities of the Philippines

text: The most recent development in the legal battles surrounding the "League of 16" came on February 15, 2011. Voting 7–6, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that 16 towns that became cities in 2007 can stay as cities. This was the fourth time the SC has ruled on the case, and the third reversal. It said the conversion of the 16 towns into cities met all legal requirements.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the second largest of its Dassault Falcon line. Launched at 2001 Paris Air Show, its first flight was on 5 May 2005 and it entered service on 15 June 2007. The Falcon 8X is derived from the 7X with a longer range of afforded by engine optimizing, aerodynamic refinements and an increase in fuel capacity. Featuring an S-duct central engine, it and the Falcon 900 are the only two trijets in production.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Dassault launched the FNX at the 2001 Paris Air Show, aiming for a 10,500km (5,700nm) range at Mach 0.88, up from the Falcon 900EX's 8,300 km at Mach 0.84. Its new high-speed wing is longer with 5° higher wing sweep than the 900 wing; while its fuselage is 20% longer, it keeps the same cabin cross-section but with a new curved windscreen. The trijet has a combined thrust of 18,000lb (80kN) provided by Honeywell FX5s, a new design, or a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306 growth version. Based on Honeywell Primus Epic avionics, its EASy cockpit is developed for the Falcon 2000EX and 900EX and controls are fly-by-wire. Scheduled to fly in 2004, first deliveries were planned for mid-2006.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: With 41 deposits, it was named 7X in November with first flight slipping from late 2004 to early 2005 and certification planned for mid-2006. With a simplified structure to reduce cost and weight, the optimised high-transonic wing improves the lift-to-drag ratio by 10% over the supercritical wing of the Falcon 50 shared by previous Falcons. The cabin is 2.4m (8ft) longer than the 900 and has a lower 6,000ft (1,800m) cabin altitude. the PW307A was finally selected, among other risk-sharing partners: Honeywell for avionics architecture, auxiliary power unit, air management system; with Parker Hannifin for the power generation system and wheels brakes; and TRW Aeronautical Systems for the hydromechanical flap and airbrake systems.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: With over 50 firm orders, it completed its first flight on 5 May 2005, flying for 1h 36min from Bordeaux-Merignac, starting a 1,200h flight test programme over 15 month: it climbed to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) for hydraulic, fuel, air data and landing gear extraction/retraction systems tests, then climbed to 25,000 ft for acceleration/deceleration tests and basic autopilot and autothrottle operations. The second Falcon 7X was planned to join in June of that year, and the third with a full interior in September that year for long-range, endurance tests and interior sound level validation: Dassault aims for a 52dB sound level in the cabin, 4dB lower than other Falcons. Certification slipped to late 2006 and first deliveries to early 2007.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: It was first presented to the public at the 2005 Paris Air Show. The aircraft has received its type certification from both the Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 27 April 2007. The first 7X, MSN05, entered service on 15 June 2007. The hundredth was delivered in November 2010. It conducted high altitude airport tests at in Daocheng in 2014.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: In 2001, the Falcon 7X, at approximately $35 million (preproduction order price), was nearly $10 million cheaper than its nearest competitors in the long-range, large cabin market segment, including the Gulfstream G550 and Bombardier Global Express. It was targeted to be priced for 2004 at 12% more than the $33 million top-of-the-range Falcon 900EX equipped: $39.6 million. Its price was $37 million in 2005, and $41 million in 2007.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: In 2017, its list price was $54M, a 3-4-year-old 7X was worth $27-34m and a 7-9 year old one cost $19-24M. The latest market data for Q1 2020 shows 287 out of 289 aircraft currently in operation with an asking price range of $18,495,000 - $24,800,000.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: The Falcon 7X is a three-engined cantilever monoplane with a low-positioned, highly swept wing. It has a horizontal stabiliser at mid-height and a retractable tricycle landing gear, and three rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney PW307A turbofan engines : two on the side of the fuselage and one in a center position, and room for 19 passengers and 3 crew. It is the first production Falcon jet with winglets.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: It is the first fully fly-by-wire business jet and is equipped with the same avionics suite, the Honeywell Primus Epic "Enhanced Avionics System" (EASy), that was used on the Falcon 900EX and later on the Falcon 2000EX.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: The Falcon 7X is notable for its extensive use of computer-aided design, the manufacturer claiming it to be the "first aircraft to be designed entirely on a virtual platform", using Dassault Systemes' CATIA and PLM products.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: In February 2010, Dassault Falcon and BMW Designworks were awarded the 2009 Good Design Award by the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design for their collaboration on the new Falcon 7X interior option.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Due to special engine mounts and cabin isolators, the cabin is extremely quiet, below 50 dBA, and is available with a shower.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: EASA grounded the Falcon 7X fleet after a report from Dassault Aviation regarding an uncontrolled pitch trim runaway during descent in one of its jets in May 2011. The aircraft pitched up to 41 degrees, with the load factor increasing to 4.6"g", it climbed from 13,000 to 22,500 ft and the airspeed went from 300 to 125 kn.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: "This condition, if occurring again, could lead to loss of control of the aeroplane," the EASA notice said. Initial results of investigation showed that there was a production defect in the Horizontal Stabilizer Electronic Control Unit which could have contributed to the cause of the event. Dassault Aviation developed modifications in June 2011 to allow a return to flight.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: After four years of investigation, the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile published its final report in June 2016. It was found that incorrect nose-up commands to the trimmable horizontal stabilizer were caused by a soldering defect on the pin of its electronic control unit provided by Rockwell Collins.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: On May 2, 2014, Dassault Falcon pilots Philippe Deleume and Olivier Froment set a new speed record for the Falcon 7X on a 5 h 54 min flight from New York Teterboro Airport to London City Airport with three passengers on board.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: The 6,450 nmi (11,945 km) range Falcon 8X was announced at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in May 2014. Its cabin is longer than the 7X. With improvements to wing design and improved Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300, the 8X is up to 35% more fuel efficient than its competitors.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: The prototype, registered F-WWQA, first flew from Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport on 6 February 2015. The Falcon 8X was added as a subtype of the Falcon 7X on the EASA type certificate on 24 June 2016 as modification M1000 for S/N 0401 and ongoing. Dassault delivered the first Falcon 8X on 5 October 2016 to Greek business aviation operator Amjet Executive.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: By October 2018, the Falcon 8X FalconEye EFVS was approved by the FAA and EASA for approaches down to , and dual HUD FalconEye will allow EVS-to-land in 2020, without using natural vision.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: The wing structure is lighter, and more flexible for comfort, while operating empty weight is heavier than the 7X despite the stretch.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: A strict weight control allows most operators to match or best Dassault's estimate BOWs for a fully equipped aircraft with three crewmembers.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Its unmatched structural efficiency, with a OEW only half of MTOW, allow a superior fuel efficiency while its MTOW is less than a Gulfstream IV-SP.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: More than 260 Falcon 7X have been delivered between mid-2007 to March 2016 and the type has flown more than 440,000 hours. Europe has 117 aircraft, 45% of the fleet: 18 in Switzerland, 13 in France, eight in Luxembourg, seven in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Portugal, six in Russia, four in Ukraine among others. Antwerp's Flying Group operates five aircraft, Shell Oil has four in Rotterdam and Dassault Falcon Service at Paris-Le Bourget manages four, as does Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg. 20% of the fleet is in North America: more than 50 in the U.S., six in Canada and five in Mexico. In Asia-Pacific, 14 are in Hong Kong and 11 in China among others. Planet Nine Private Air LLC, a premium ultra long range charter based in Los Angeles, operates five Falcon 7X. Jet charter and management company Clay Lacy Aviation operates Falcon 7x aircraft on both U.S. coasts.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Corporate and charter operators use their Falcon 8Xs 600 to 850 hours per year, while individual operators fly theirs 300 to 400 hours per year.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Air Alsie in Denmark operates five Falcon 8Xs and six Falcon 7Xs, five 8Xs are based in Switzerland while Volkswagen, Global Jet Luxembourg and ExecuJet Europe each fly two 8Xs.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Other operators have a single 8X: Shell, Flying Group, Aviaservice Air in Kazan, Russia, NetJets Europe, TAG Aviation in Geneva, Switzerland, Abelag Aviation and the Egyptian Air Force.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Six are based in the US including with Bechtel, Citrus Products, Energy Transfer Partners, Honeywell, Sony.


title: Dassault Falcon 7X

text: Three are based in China, two in São Paulo, and others are registered in San Marino, Malta and Monaco, throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East and India.


title: Chain mail

text: Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD in Europe, and longer in Asia and North Africa. A coat of this armour is often called a hauberk, and sometimes a byrnie.


title: Chain mail

text: The earliest examples of surviving mail were found in the Carpathian Basin at a burial in Horný Jatov, Slovakia dated at 3rd century BC, and in a chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania. Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, but there are examples of Etruscan pattern mail dating from at least the 4th century BC. Mail may have been inspired by the much earlier scale armour. Mail spread to North Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Tibet, South East Asia, and Japan.


title: Chain mail

text: Herodotus wrote that the ancient Persians wore scale armour, but mail is also distinctly mentioned in the Avesta, the ancient holy scripture of the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism that was founded by the prophet Zoroaster in the 5th century BC.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail continues to be used in the 21st century as a component of stab-resistant body armour, cut-resistant gloves for butchers and woodworkers, shark-resistant wetsuits for defense against shark bites, and a number of other applications.


title: Chain mail

text: The origins of the word "mail" are not fully known. One theory is that it originally derives from the Latin word "macula", meaning "spot" or "opacity" (as in macula of retina). Another theory relates the word to the old French "maillier", meaning "to hammer" (related to the modern English word "malleable"). In modern French, "maille" refers to a loop or stitch. The Arabic words "burnus", , a burnoose; a hooded cloak, also a chasuble (worn by Coptic priests) and "barnaza", , to bronze, suggest an Arabic influence for the Carolingian armour known as "byrnie" (see below).


title: Chain mail

text: The first attestations of the word "mail" are in Old French and Anglo-Norman: "maille", "maile", or "male" or other variants, which became "mailye", "maille", "maile", "male", or "meile" in Middle English.


title: Chain mail

text: Civilizations that used mail invented specific terms for each garment made from it. The standard terms for European mail armour derive from French: leggings are called chausses, a hood is a mail coif, and mittens, mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is a camail or aventail. A shirt made from mail is a hauberk if knee-length and a haubergeon if mid-thigh length. A layer (or layers) of mail sandwiched between layers of fabric is called a jazerant.


title: Chain mail

text: A waist-length coat in medieval Europe was called a byrnie, although the exact construction of a byrnie is unclear, including whether it was constructed of mail or other armour types. Noting that the byrnie was the "most highly valued piece of armour" to the Carolingian soldier, Bennet, Bradbury, DeVries, Dickie, and Jestice indicate that:


title: Chain mail

text: There is some dispute among historians as to what exactly constituted the Carolingian byrnie. Relying... only on artistic and some literary sources because of the lack of archaeological examples, some believe that it was a heavy leather jacket with metal scales sewn onto it. It was also quite long, reaching below the hips and covering most of the arms. Other historians claim instead that the Carolingian byrnie was nothing more than a coat of mail, but longer and perhaps heavier than traditional early medieval mail. Without more certain evidence, this dispute will continue.


title: Chain mail

text: The use of mail as battlefield armour was common during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, becoming less common over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries when plate armour and more advanced firearms were developed. It is believed that the Roman Republic first came into contact with mail fighting the Gauls in Cisalpine Gaul, now Northern Italy. The Roman army adopted the technology for their troops in the form of the lorica hamata which was used as a primary form of armour through the Imperial period.


title: Chain mail

text: After the fall of the Western Empire, much of the infrastructure needed to create plate armour diminished. Eventually the word "mail" came to be synonymous with armour. It was typically an extremely prized commodity, as it was expensive and time-consuming to produce and could mean the difference between life and death in a battle. Mail from dead combatants was frequently looted and was used by the new owner or sold for a lucrative price. As time went on and infrastructure improved, it came to be used by more soldiers. The oldest intact mail hauberk still in existence is thought to have been worn by Leopold III, Duke of Austria, who died in 1386 during the Battle of Sempach. Eventually with the rise of the lanced cavalry charge, impact warfare, and high-powered crossbows, mail came to be used as a secondary armour to plate for the mounted nobility.


title: Chain mail

text: By the 14th century, articulated plate armour was commonly used to supplement mail. Eventually mail was supplanted by plate for the most part, as it provided greater protection against windlass crossbows, bludgeoning weapons, and lance charges while maintaining most of the mobility of mail. However, it was still widely used by many soldiers, along with brigandines and padded jacks. These three types of armour made up the bulk of the equipment used by soldiers, with mail being the most expensive. It was sometimes more expensive than plate armour. Mail typically persisted longer in less technologically advanced areas such as Eastern Europe but was in use throughout Europe into the 16th century.


title: Chain mail

text: During the late 19th and early 20th century, mail was used as a material for bulletproof vests, most notably by the Wilkinson Sword Company. Results were unsatisfactory; Wilkinson mail worn by the Khedive of Egypt's regiment of "Iron Men" was manufactured from split rings which proved to be too brittle, and the rings would fragment when struck by bullets and aggravate the injury. The riveted mail armour worn by the opposing Sudanese Madhists did not have the same problem but also proved to be relatively useless against the firearms of British forces at the battle of Omdurman. During World War I, Wilkinson Sword transitioned from mail to a lamellar design which was the precursor to the flak jacket.


title: Chain mail

text: Also during World War I, a mail fringe, designed by Captain Cruise of the British Infantry, was added to helmets to protect the face. This proved unpopular with soldiers, in spite of being proven to defend against a three-ounce (100 g) shrapnel round fired at a distance of . A protective face mask or splatter mask had a mail veil and was used by early tank crews as a measure against flying steel fragments (spalling) inside the vehicle.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail armour was introduced to the Middle East and Asia through the Romans and was adopted by the Sassanid Persians starting in the 3rd century AD, where it was supplemental to the scale and lamellar armour already used. Mail was commonly also used as horse armour for cataphracts and heavy cavalry as well as armour for the soldiers themselves. Asian mail could be just as heavy as the European variety and sometimes had prayer symbols stamped on the rings as a sign of their craftsmanship as well as for divine protection.


title: Chain mail

text: 21:80 It was We Who taught him the making of coats of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will ye then be grateful? (Yusuf Ali's translation)


title: Chain mail

text: From the Abbasid Caliphate, mail was quickly adopted in Central Asia by Timur (Tamerlane) and the Sogdians and by India's Delhi Sultanate. Mail armour was introduced by the Turks in late 12th century and commonly used by Turk and the Mughal and Suri armies where it eventually became the armour of choice in India. Indian mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links and it was often integrated with plate protection (mail and plate armour).


title: Chain mail

text: Mail was introduced to China when its allies in Central Asia paid tribute to the Tang Emperor in 718 by giving him a coat of "link armour" assumed to be mail. China first encountered the armour in 384 when its allies in the nation of Kuchi arrived wearing "armour similar to chains". Once in China, mail was imported but was not produced widely. Due to its flexibility, comfort, and rarity, it was typically the armour of high-ranking guards and those who could afford the exotic import (to show off their social status) rather than the armour of the rank and file, who used more common brigandine, scale, and lamellar types. However, it was one of the few military products that China imported from foreigners. Mail spread to Korea slightly later where it was imported as the armour of imperial guards and generals.


title: Chain mail

text: In Japan mail is called "" which means chain. When the word "kusari" is used in conjunction with an armoured item it usually means that mail makes up the majority of the armour composition. An example of this would be "kusari gusoku" which means chain armour. "Kusari" , , , , , shoulder guards, , and other armoured clothing were produced, even "" socks.


title: Chain mail

text: "" was used in samurai armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasion (1270s) but particularly from the Nambokucho Period (1336–1392). The Japanese used many different weave methods including a square 4-in-1 pattern ("so gusari"), a hexagonal 6-in-1 pattern ("hana gusari") and a European 4-in-1 ("nanban gusari"). The rings of Japanese mail were much smaller than their European counterparts; they would be used in patches to link together plates and to drape over vulnerable areas such as the armpits.


title: Chain mail

text: "Riveted kusari" was known and used in Japan. On page 58 of the book "Japanese Arms & Armor: Introduction" by H. Russell Robinson, there is a picture of Japanese riveted kusari, and


title: Chain mail

text: this quote from the translated reference of 1800 book, "The Manufacture of Armour and Helmets in Sixteenth-Century Japan", shows that the Japanese not only knew of and used riveted kusari but that they manufactured it as well.


title: Chain mail

text: ... karakuri-namban (riveted namban), with stout links each closed by a rivet. Its invention is credited to Fukushima Dembei Kunitaka, pupil, of Hojo Awa no Kami Ujifusa, but it is also said to be derived directly from foreign models. It is heavy because the links are tinned (biakuro-nagashi) and these are also sharp-edged because they are punched out of iron plate


title: Chain mail

text: Butted or split (twisted) links made up the majority of "kusari" links used by the Japanese. Links were either "butted" together meaning that the ends touched each other and were not riveted, or the "kusari" was constructed with links where the wire was turned or twisted two or more times; these split links are similar to the modern split ring commonly used on keychains. The rings were lacquered black to prevent rusting, and were always stitched onto a backing of cloth or leather. The kusari was sometimes concealed entirely between layers of cloth.


title: Chain mail

text: "Kusari gusoku" or chain armour was commonly used during the Edo period 1603 to 1868 as a stand-alone defense. According to George Cameron Stone


title: Chain mail

text: Ian Bottomley in his book "Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan" shows a picture of a kusari armour and mentions "" (chain jackets) with detachable arms being worn by samurai police officials during the Edo period. The end of the samurai era in the 1860s, along with the 1876 ban on wearing swords in public, marked the end of any practical use for mail and other armour in Japan. Japan turned to a conscription army and uniforms replaced armour.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail armour provided an effective defense against slashing blows by edged weapons and some forms of penetration by many thrusting and piercing weapons; in fact, a study conducted at the Royal Armouries at Leeds concluded that "it is almost impossible to penetrate using any conventional medieval weapon". Generally speaking, mail's resistance to weapons is determined by four factors: linkage type (riveted, butted, or welded), material used (iron versus bronze or steel), weave density (a tighter weave needs a thinner weapon to surpass), and ring thickness (generally ranging from 18 to 14 gauge (1.02–1.63 mm diameter) wire in most examples). Mail, if a warrior could afford it, provided a significant advantage when combined with competent fighting techniques.


title: Chain mail

text: When the mail was not riveted, a thrust from most sharp weapons could penetrate it. However, when mail was riveted, only a strong well-placed thrust from certain spears, or thin or dedicated mail-piercing swords like the estoc, could penetrate, and a pollaxe or halberd blow could break through the armour. Strong projectile weapons such as stronger self bows, recurve bows, and crossbows could also penetrate riveted mail. Some evidence indicates that during armoured combat, the intention was to actually get around the armour rather than through it—according to a study of skeletons found in Visby, Sweden, a majority of the skeletons showed wounds on less well protected legs. Although mail was a formidable protection, due to technological advances as time progressed, mail worn under plate armour (and stand-alone mail as well) could be penetrated by the conventional weaponry of another knight.


title: Chain mail

text: The flexibility of mail meant that a blow would often injure the wearer, potentially causing serious bruising or fractures, and it was a poor defence against head trauma. Mail-clad warriors typically wore separate rigid helms over their mail coifs for head protection. Likewise, blunt weapons such as maces and warhammers could harm the wearer by their impact without penetrating the armour; usually a soft armour, such as gambeson, was worn under the hauberk. Medieval surgeons were very well capable of setting and caring for bone fractures resulting from blunt weapons. With the poor understanding of hygiene, however, cuts that could get infected were much more of a problem. Thus mail armour proved to be sufficient protection in most situations.


title: Chain mail

text: Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, with the most common being the 4-to-1 pattern (where each ring is linked with four others). In Europe, the 4-to-1 pattern was completely dominant. Mail was also common in East Asia, primarily Japan, with several more patterns being utilised and an entire nomenclature developing around them.


title: Chain mail

text: Historically, in Europe, from the pre-Roman period on, the rings composing a piece of mail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to a thrusting attack or a hit by an arrow.


title: Chain mail

text: Up until the 14th century European mail was made of alternating rows of round riveted rings and solid rings. Sometime during the 14th century European mail makers started to transition from round rivets to wedge shaped rivets but continued using alternating rows of solid rings. Eventually European mail makers stopped using solid rings and almost all European mail was made from wedge riveted rings only with no solid rings. Both were commonly made of wrought iron, but some later pieces were made of heat-treated steel. Wire for the riveted rings was formed by either of two methods. One was to hammer out wrought iron into plates and cut or slit the plates. These thin pieces were then pulled through a draw plate repeatedly until the desired diameter was achieved. Waterwheel powered drawing mills are pictured in several period manuscripts. Another method was to simply forge down an iron billet into a rod and then proceed to draw it out into wire. The solid links would have been made by punching from a sheet. Guild marks were often stamped on the rings to show their origin and craftsmanship. Forge welding was also used to create solid links, but there are few possible examples known; the only well documented example from Europe is that of the camail (mail neck-defence) of the 7th century Coppergate helmet. Outside of Europe this practice was more common such as "theta" links from India. Very few examples of historic butted mail have been found and it is generally accepted that butted mail was never in wide use historically except in Japan where mail ("kusari") was commonly made from "butted" links. Butted link mail was also used by the Moros of the Philippines in their mail and plate armours.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail is used as protective clothing for butchers against meat-packing equipment. Workers may wear up to of mail under their white coats. Butchers also commonly wear a single mail glove to protect themselves from self-inflicted injury while cutting meat, as do many oyster shuckers.


title: Chain mail

text: Scuba divers sometimes use mail to protect them from sharkbite, as do animal control officers for protection against the animals they handle. In 1980 marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan patented his design for Neptunic full coverage chain mail shark resistant suits which he had developed for close encounters with sharks.


title: Chain mail

text: Shark expert and underwater filmmaker Valerie Taylor was among the first to develop and test shark suits in 1979 while diving with sharks.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail is widely used in industrial settings as shrapnel guards and splash guards in metal working operations.


title: Chain mail

text: Electrical applications for mail include RF leakage testing and being worn as a Faraday cage suit by tesla coil enthusiasts and high voltage electrical workers.


title: Chain mail

text: Conventional textile-based ballistic vests are designed to stop soft-nosed bullets but offer little defense from knife attacks. Knife-resistant armour is designed to defend against knife attacks; some of these use layers of metal plates, mail and metallic wires.


title: Chain mail

text: Many historical reenactment groups, especially those whose focus is Antiquity or the Middle Ages, commonly use mail both as practical armour and for costuming. Mail is especially popular amongst those groups which use steel weapons. A modern hauberk made from 1.5 mm diameter wire with 10 mm inner diameter rings weighs roughly and contains 15,000–45,000 rings.


title: Chain mail

text: One of the drawbacks of mail is the uneven weight distribution; the stress falls mainly on shoulders. Weight can be better distributed by wearing a belt over the mail, which provides another point of support.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail worn today for re-enactment and recreational use can be made in a variety of styles and materials. Most recreational mail today is made of butted links which are galvanised or stainless steel. This is historically inaccurate but is much less expensive to procure and especially to maintain than historically accurate reproductions. Mail can also be made of titanium, aluminium, bronze, or copper. Riveted mail offers significantly better protection ability as well as historical accuracy than mail constructed with butted links. Japanese mail ("kusari") is one of the few historically correct examples of mail being constructed with such "butted links".


title: Chain mail

text: Mail remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed. It was frequently used for the epaulettes of military uniforms. It is still used in this form by some regiments of the British Army.


title: Chain mail

text: Mail has applications in sculpture and jewellery, especially when made out of precious metals or colourful anodized metals. Mail artwork includes headdresses, decorative wall hangings, ornaments, chess sets, macramé, and jewelry. For these non-traditional applications, hundreds of patterns (commonly referred to as "weaves") have been invented.


title: Chain mail

text: Large-linked mail is occasionally used as a fetish clothing material, with the large links intended to reveal – in part – the body beneath them.


title: Chain mail

text: In some films, knitted string spray-painted with a metallic paint is used instead of actual mail in order to cut down on cost (an example being "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", which was filmed on a very small budget). Films more dedicated to costume accuracy often use ABS plastic rings, for the lower cost and weight. Such ABS mail coats were made for "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, in addition to many metal coats. The metal coats are used rarely because of their weight, except in close-up filming where the appearance of ABS rings is distinguishable. A large scale example of the ABS mail used in the "Lord of the Rings" can be seen in the entrance to the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds in the form of a large curtain bearing the logo of the museum. It was acquired from the makers of the film's armour, Weta Workshop, when the museum hosted an exhibition of WETA armour from their films. For the film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", Tina Turner is said to have worn actual mail and she complained how heavy this was. "Game of Thrones" makes use of mail, notably during the "Red Wedding" scene.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Ahmar (, "ʿAlī ʿAbdullāh Ṣāliḥ al-Aḥmar;" 21 March 1947 – 4 December 2017) was a Yemeni politician who served as the first President of Yemen, from Yemeni unification on 22 May 1990 to his resignation on 25 February 2012, following the Yemeni Revolution. Previously, he had served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic, or North Yemen, from July 1978 to 22 May 1990, after the assassination of President Ahmad al-Ghashmi.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Saleh developed deeper ties with Western powers, especially the United States, in the War on Terror. Islamic terrorism may have been used and encouraged by Ali Abdullah Saleh to win Western support and for disruptive politically motivated attacks. In 2011, in the wake of the Arab Spring, which spread across North Africa and the Middle East (including Yemen), Saleh's time in office became increasingly precarious until eventually he was ousted as president in 2012. He was succeeded by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been vice-president since 1994.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In May 2015, Saleh openly allied with the Houthis (Ansar Allah) during the Yemeni Civil War,<ref name="http://www.aljazeera.com2"></ref> in which a protest movement and subsequent insurgency succeeded in capturing Yemen's capital, Sana'a, causing President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to resign and flee the country. In December 2017, he declared his withdrawal from his coalition with the Houthis and instead sided with his former enemies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and President Hadi.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 4 December 2017, during a battle between Houthi and Saleh supporters in Sanaa, the Houthis accused Saleh of "treason", and he was killed by a Houthi sniper. Reports were that Saleh was killed while trying to flee his compound in a car; however, this was denied by his party officials, who said he was executed at his house.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Ali Abdullah Saleh was born on 21 March 1947 to a poor family in Beit al-Ahmar village (Red House village) from the Sanhan () clan (Sanhan District), whose territories lie some 20 kilometres southeast of the capital, Sana'a. Saleh's father, Abdallah Saleh died when Saleh was still young and after he divorced Ali Abdullah's mother. His mother later remarried to her deceased former husband's brother, Muhammad Saleh, who soon became Saleh's mentor and stepfather. Saleh's brother Mohammed was a Major General and had three children: Yahya, Tareq, and Ammar, who all served under Saleh during his rule.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Saleh's cousin, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar from the Al Ahmar family, which is also part of Sanhan clan is often confused with the same-named leading family of the Hashid tribe, with which the Sanhan clan was ally. The Hashid tribe, in turn, belongs to the larger Yemeni parent group, the Kahlan tribe. The clans Sanhan and Khawlan are said to be related.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Saleh received his primary education at Ma'alama village before leaving to join the North Yemeni Armed Forces in 1958 at the age of 11 as an infantry soldier, and was admitted to the North Yemen Military Academy in 1960. Three years later, in 1963, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Armoured Corps. He participated in the Nasserist-inspired Army Coup of 1962, which was instrumental in the removal of King Muhammad al-Badr and the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic. During the North Yemen Civil War he served in the Tank Corps, attaining the rank of major by 1969. He received further training as a staff officer in the Higher Command and staff C


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Course in Iraq, between 1970 and 1971, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He became a full colonel in 1976 and was given command of a mechanised brigade. In 1977, the President of North Yemen, Ahmed bin Hussein al-Ghashmi, appointed him as military governor of Ta'izz.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: After al-Ghashmi was assassinated on 24 June 1978, Colonel Saleh was appointed to be a member of the four-man provisional presidency council and deputy to the general staff commander. On 17 July 1978, Saleh was elected by the Parliament to be the President of the Yemen Arab Republic, while simultaneously holding the positions of chief of staff and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: "Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Handbook" describes Saleh as being neither from a "sheikhly family" nor a "large or important tribe", but instead rising to power through "his own means", and creating a patronage system with his family at the top. His seven brothers were placed "in key positions", and later he relied on "sons, daughters, sons-in-law and nephews". Beneath the positions occupied by his extended family, Saleh "relied heavily on the loyalty" of two tribes, his own Sanhan tribe and the Hamdan San'a tribe of his mentor, the late president Ahmad al-Ghashmi. "The New York Times" Middle Eastern correspondent Robert F. Worth described Saleh as reaching an understanding with powerful feudal "big sheikhs" to become "part of a Mafia-style spoils system that substituted for governance". Worth accused Saleh of exceeding the aggrandisement of other Middle Eastern strongmen by managing to "rake off tens of billions of dollars in public funds for himself and his family" despite the extreme poverty of his country.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 10 August 1978, Saleh ordered the execution of 30 officers who were charged with being part of a conspiracy against his rule. Saleh was promoted to major general in 1980, elected as the secretary-general of the General People's Congress party on 30 August 1982, and re-elected president of the Yemen Arab Republic in 1983.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: The People’s Constituent Assembly, which had been created somewhat earlier, selected Col. Ali Abdullah Saleh as al-Ghashmī’s successor. Despite early public skepticism and a serious coup attempt in late 1978, Saleh managed to conciliate most factions, to improve relations with Yemen’s neighbours, and to resume various programs of economic and political development and institutionalization. More firmly in power in the 1980s, he created the political organization that was to become known as his party, the General People’s Congress (GPC), and steered Yemen into the age of oil.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In the late 1980s, Saleh was under considerable international pressure to permit his country's Jewish citizens to travel freely to places abroad. Passports were eventually issued to them, which facilitated their unrestricted travel.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: The decline of the Soviet Union severely weakened the status of South Yemen, and, in 1990, the North and South agreed to unify after years of negotiations. The South accepted Saleh as President of the unified country, while Ali Salim al-Beidh served as the Vice President and a member of the Presidential Council.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In the 1993 parliamentary election, the first held after unification, Saleh's General People's Congress won 122 of 301 seats.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Around 1994, jihadists from Ayman al-Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad attempted to regroup in Yemen following a harsh crackdown in Egypt. In this, they were tacitly supported by the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, as he found them useful in his fight against southern separatists in the war of 1994. After using Islamic militants to repress the separatists and keep the country under his rule, Saleh turned a blind eye to their activities, and allowed their sympathizers to work in his intelligence services.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 24 December 1997, Parliament approved Saleh's promotion to the rank of field marshal, making him highest-ranking military officer in Yemen.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: He became Yemen's first directly elected president in the 1999 presidential election, winning 96.2% of the vote. The only other candidate, Najeeb Qahtan Al-Sha'abi, was the son of Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi, a former president of South Yemen. Though a member of Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party, Najeeb ran as an independent.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: After the 1999 elections the Parliament passed a law extending presidential terms from five to seven years, extending parliamentary terms from four to six years, and creating a 111-member, presidentially-appointed council of advisors with legislative power. This move prompted Freedom House to downgrade their rating of political freedom in Yemen from 5 to 6.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In July 2005, during the 27th-anniversary celebrations of his presidency, Saleh announced that he would "not contest the [presidential] elections" in September 2006. He expressed hope that "all political parties – including the opposition and the General People's Congress – find young leaders to compete in the elections because we have to train ourselves in the practice of peaceful succession." However, in June 2006, Saleh changed his mind and accepted his party's nomination as the presidential candidate of the GPC, saying that when he initially decided not to contest the elections his aim was "to establish ground for a peaceful transfer of power", and that he was now, however, bowing to the "popular pressure and appeals of the Yemeni people." Political analyst Ali Saif Hasan said that he had been "sure [President Saleh] would run as a presidential candidate. His announcement in July 2005 – that he would not run – was exceptional and unusual." Mohammed al-Rubai, head of the opposition supreme council, said the president's decision "show[ed] that the president wasn't serious in his earlier decision. I wish he hadn't initially announced that he would step down. There was no need for such farce."In the 2006 presidential election, held on 20 September, Saleh won with 77.2% of the vote. His main rival, Faisal bin Shamlan, received 21.8%. Saleh was sworn in for another term on 27 September.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In December 2005, Saleh stated in a nationally televised broadcast that only his personal intervention had preempted a U.S. occupation of the southern port of Aden after the 2000 USS "Cole" bombing, stating "By chance, I happened to be down there. If I hadn't been, Aden would have been occupied as there were eight U.S. warships at the entrance to the port." However, transcripts from the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee state that no other warships were in the vicinity at the time.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: After 9/11, Saleh sided with America in the War on Terror. Following the mysterious "escape" of Al Qaeda convicts in Yemeni custody during the 2006 Yemen prison escape, Saleh would demand more American money and support in order to catch the fugitive.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In an investigative documentary allegations were made that Saleh's government supported and directly helped Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: An informant for the National Security Bureau (NSB) and Political Security Organization (PSO) made these allegations."Hani Muhammad Mujahid, 38, told Al Jazeera that "many Al-Qaeda leaders were under the complete control of Ali Abdullah Saleh", "Ali Abdullah Saleh turned Al-Qaeda into an organized criminal gang. He was not only playing with the West. He was playing with the entire world"."Richard Barrett, who was with Britain's MI6 intelligence agency before becoming director of the Al-Qaeda Monitoring Team for the UN, described Mujahid's story of his background in Afghanistan, his return to Yemen and his involvement with AQAP as "credible". The attack on the U.S. Embassy in 2008 was funded by Saleh's nephew and Al Qaeda leaders had close relationships with him. The informant also gave critical intelligence on terrorist movement, attacks and leaders but no action was taken.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In early 2011, following the Tunisian revolution which resulted in the overthrow of the long-time Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, opposition parties attempted to do the same in Yemen. Opposition elements started leading protests and demanding that Saleh end his three-decade-long rule because of the perceived lack of democratic reform, widespread corruption and human rights abuses carried out by him and his allies. His net worth was estimated to be between 32 and 64 billion dollars with his money spread across multiple accounts in Europe and abroad.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 2 February 2011, facing a major national uprising, Saleh announced that he would not seek re-election in 2013, but would serve out the remainder of his term. In response to government violence against protesters, eleven MPs of Saleh's party resigned on 23 February. By 5 March, this number had increased to 13, as well as the addition of two deputy ministers.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 10 March 2011, Saleh announced a referendum on a new constitution, separating the executive and legislative powers. On 18 March, at least 52 people were killed and over 200 injured by government forces when unarmed demonstrators were fired upon in the university square in Sana'a. The president claimed that his security forces were not at the location, and blamed local residents for the massacre.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 7 April 2011, a U.S. state department cable obtained by WikiLeaks reported the plans of Hamid al-Ahmar, the Islah Party leader, prominent businessman, and de facto leader of Yemen's largest tribal confederation, claiming that he would organize popular demonstrations throughout Yemen aimed at removing President Saleh from power.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 23 April 2011, facing massive nationwide protests, Saleh agreed to step down under a 30-day transition plan in which he would receive immunity from criminal prosecution. He stated that he planned to hand power over to his vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as part of the deal.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 18 May 2011, he agreed to sign a deal with opposition groups, stipulating that he would resign within a month; On 23 May, Saleh refused to sign the agreement, leading to renewed protests and the withdrawal of the Gulf Cooperation Council from mediation efforts in Yemen.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 3 June 2011, Saleh was injured in a bomb attack on his presidential compound. Multiple C-4 (explosive) charges were planted inside the mosque and one exploded when the president and major members of his government were praying. The explosion killed four bodyguards and injured the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, head of the Parliament, governor of Sanaa and many more. The man responsible for speaking at Saleh's public events was reported killed. Saleh suffered burns and shrapnel injuries, but survived, a result that was confirmed by an audio message he sent to state media in which he condemned the attack, but his voice clearly revealed that he was having difficulty in speaking. Government officials tried to downplay the attack by saying he was lightly wounded. The next day he was taken to a military hospital in Saudi Arabia for treatment. According to U.S. government officials, Saleh suffered a collapsed lung and burns on about 40 percent of his body. A Saudi official said that Saleh had undergone two operations: one to remove the shrapnel and a neurosurgery on his neck.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 4 June 2011, Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi was appointed as acting president, while Saleh remained the President of Yemen.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 7 July 2011, Saleh appeared for his first live television appearance since his injury. He appeared badly burned and his arms were both bandaged. In his speech, he welcomed power-sharing but stressed it should be "within the framework of the constitution and in the framework of the law". On 19 September 2011, he was pictured without bandages, meeting King Abdullah.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 23 September 2011, Yemeni state television announced that Saleh had returned to the country after three months amid increasing turmoil in a week that saw increased gun battles on the streets of Sana'a and more than 100 deaths.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Saleh said on 8 October 2011, in comments broadcast on Yemeni state television, that he would step down "in the coming days". The opposition expressed skepticism, however, and a government minister said Saleh meant that he would leave power under the framework of a Gulf Cooperation Council initiative to transition toward democracy.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 23 November 2011, Saleh flew to Riyadh in neighbouring Saudi Arabia to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council plan for political transition, which he had previously spurned. Upon signing the document, he agreed to legally transfer the office and powers of the presidency to his deputy, Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The agreement also led to the formation of a government divided by Saleh's political party (GPC) and the JMP.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: It was reported that Saleh had left Yemen on 22 January 2012 for medical treatment in New York City. He arrived in the United States six days later. On 27 February 2012, Saleh formally ceded power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and stepped down as the President of Yemen, pledging to support efforts to "rebuild" the country still reeling from months of violence.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: In February 2013, Saleh opened a museum documenting his 33 years in power, located in a wing of the Al Saleh Mosque in Sanaa. One of the museum's central display cases exhibits a pair of burnt trousers that Saleh was wearing at the time of his assassination attempt in June 2011. Other displays include fragments of shrapnel that were taken out of his body during his hospital treatment in Saudi Arabia, as well as various gifts given to Saleh by kings, presidents and world leaders over the course of his rule.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Later that year, in October, the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar said that Saleh and his son have the right to run in the next Yemeni presidential election, as the 2011 deal does not cover political incapacitation.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Saleh was a behind-the-scenes leader of the Houthi takeover in Yemen led by Zaydi Houthi forces. Tribesmen and government forces loyal to Saleh joined the Houthis in their march to power. On 28 July 2016, Saleh and the Houthi rebels announced a "formal alliance" to fight the Saudi-led military coalition, run by a Supreme Political Council of 10 members – made up of five members from Saleh's General People's Congress, and five from the Houthis. The members were sworn in on 14 August 2016.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Saleh in 2014, accusing him of threatening peace and obstructing Yemen's political process, subjecting him to a global travel ban and an asset freeze.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdel Salam stated that his group had spotted messages between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saleh three months before his death. He told Al-Jazeera that there was communication between Saleh, UAE and a number of other countries such as Russia and Jordan through encrypted messages. The alliance between Saleh and the Houthi broke down in late 2017, with armed clashes occurring in Sana'a from 28 November. Saleh declared the split from the Houthi movement in a televised statement on 2 December, calling on his supporters to take back the country and expressed openness to a dialogue with the Saudi-led coalition.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 4 December 2017, Saleh's house in Sana'a was assaulted by fighters of the Houthi movement, according to residents. Saleh was killed on his way to Ma'rib while trying to flee into Saudi-controlled territories after a rocket-propelled grenade struck and disabled his vehicle in an ambush and he was subsequently shot in the head by a Houthi sniper, something his party denied. Houthis published a video allegedly depicting Saleh's body with a gunshot wound to the head. His death was confirmed by a senior aide to Saleh, and also by Saleh's nephew. His death has been described by "The Economist" as an embarrassment in a string of Saudi foreign policy failures under Mohammad bin Salman. The attack also resulted in the death of General People's Congress' assistant secretary Yasser al-Awadi.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: Saleh's home was captured by Houthis before he fled. Officials of his party General People's Congress, while confirming his death, stated that a convoy he and other party officials were travelling in was attacked by Houthis as they fled towards his hometown Sanhan. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi meanwhile celebrated his death and called it "the day of the fall of the treasonous conspiracy". He also stated that his group had "no problem" with the GPC or its members. Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi offered condolences for his death and called for an uprising against the Houthis. The Houthis accused the UAE of dragging Saleh to "this humiliating fate."


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: On 9 December 2017 he was buried in Sana'a, according to an official. A Houthi commander reported that the burial was held in strict conditions with no more than 20 people attending.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: The Chinese 2018 movie "Operation Red Sea" is about the conflict in Yewaire, a country loosely based on Yemen, with a coup launched by General Sharaf, who was based on Saleh but never made an appearance.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: The UN Sanctions Panel said that by 2012 Saleh had amassed a fortune worth $32–60 billion hidden in at least twenty countries, making him one of the richest people in the world. Saleh was gaining $2 billion a year from 1978 to 2012, mainly through illegal methods, such as embezzlement, extortion and theft of funds from Yemen's fuel subsidy program.


title: Ali Abdullah Saleh

text: He was married to Asma Saleh in 1964, at the age of seventeen. The couple have seven sons, including the eldest Ahmed (born 1972), former commander of the Republican Guard, considered a potential successor to his father, and Khaled.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. While owned by the federal government, TVA receives no taxpayer funding and operates similarly to a private for-profit company. It is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is the sixth largest power supplier and largest public utility in the country.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The TVA was created by Congress in 1933 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Its initial purpose was to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, regional planning, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region that had suffered from lack of infrastructure and poverty during the Great Depression, relative to the rest of the nation. TVA was envisioned both as a power supplier and a regional economic development agency that would work to help modernize the region's economy and society. Later it evolved primarily into an electric utility. It was the first large regional planning agency of the U.S. federal government and remains the largest.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Under the leadership of David E. Lilienthal, the TVA also became the global model for the United States' later efforts to help modernize agrarian societies in the developing world. Historically, the TVA has been documented as a success in its efforts to modernize the Tennessee Valley and helping to recruit new employment opportunities to the region. Despite its successes, historians have criticized its use of eminent domain; it resulted in the displacement of over 125,000 Tennessee Valley residents to build the agency's infrastructure projects.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The Tennessee Valley Authority is a government-owned corporation created by U.S. Code Title 16, Chapter 12A (Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933). It was initially founded as an agency to provide general economic development to the region through power generation, flood control, navigation assistance, fertilizer manufacturing, and agricultural development. Since the Depression years, it has developed primarily into a power utility. Despite its shares being owned by the federal government, TVA operates like a private corporation, and receives no taxpayer funding. The TVA Act authorizes the company to use eminent domain.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA provides electricity to approximately ten million people through a diverse portfolio that includes nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas-fired, hydroelectric, and renewable generation. TVA sells its power to 154 local power utilities, 5 direct industrial and institutional customers, and 12 area utilities. In addition to power generation, TVA provides flood control with its 29 hydroelectric dams. Resulting lakes and other areas also allow for recreational activities. The TVA also provides navigation and land management along rivers within its region of operation. TVA also assists governments and private companies on economic development projects.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA's headquarters are located in downtown Knoxville, with large administrative offices in Chattanooga (training/development; supplier relations; power generation and transmission) and Nashville (economic development) in Tennessee and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. TVA was originally headquartered in Muscle Shoals, but gradually moved its headquarters to Knoxville. At one point, TVA's headquarters were housed in the Old Federal Customs House at the corner of Clinch Avenue and Market Street. The building is now operated as a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The Tennessee Valley Authority Police are the primary law enforcement agency for the company. Initially part of the TVA, in 1994 the TVA Police was authorized as a federal law enforcement agency.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The Tennessee Valley Authority is governed by a nine member part-time Board of Directors, nominated by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the Senate. A minimum of seven of the directors are required to be a resident of TVA's service area. The members select the Chairman from their number, and serve five-year terms. They receive an annual stipend of $45,000 and $50,000 for the chairman. The board members choose the TVA's chief executive officer (CEO).


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: During the 1920s and the 1930s, Americans began to support the idea of public ownership of utilities, particularly hydroelectric power facilities. Many believed privately owned power companies were charging too much for power, did not employ fair operating practices, and were subject to abuse by their owners (utility holding companies), at the expense of consumers.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The concept of government-owned generation facilities selling to publicly owned distribution utilities was controversial, however, and remains so today.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: During his 1932 presidential campaign, Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed his belief that private utilities had "selfish purposes" and said, "Never shall the federal government part with its sovereignty or with its control of its power resources while I'm president of the United States." Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska also distrusted private utility companies, and in 1920 blocked a proposal from industrialist Henry Ford to build a private dam and create a utility to modernize the Tennessee Valley. The private sector practice of forming utility holding companies had resulted in them controlling 94 percent of generation by 1921, and they were essentially unregulated. In an effort to change this, Congress and Roosevelt enacted the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA).


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In 1930, Norris sponsored the Muscle Shoals Bill, which would have built a federal dam in the valley, but it was vetoed by President Herbert Hoover, who believed it to be socialistic. The idea behind the Muscle Shoals project became a core part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program that created the Tennessee Valley Authority, however.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Even by Depression standards, the Tennessee Valley was in dire economic straits in 1933. Thirty percent of the population was affected by malaria. The average income in the rural areas was $639 per year (equivalent to $ in 2022), with some families surviving on as little as $100 per year (equivalent to $ in ). Much of the land had been exhausted by poor farming practices, and the soil was eroded and depleted. Crop yields had fallen, reducing farm incomes. The best timber had been cut, and 10% of forests were lost to fires each year.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act (ch. 32, , codified as amended at , et seq.), creating the TVA. The agency was initially tasked with modernizing the region, using experts and electricity to combat human and economic problems. TVA developed fertilizers, and taught farmers ways to improve crop yields. In addition, it helped replant forests, control forest fires, and improve habitat for fish and wildlife.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The Authority hired many of the area's unemployed for a variety of jobs: they conducted conservation, economic development, and social programs. For instance, a library service was instituted for this area. The professional staff at headquarters were generally composed of experts from outside the region. By 1934, TVA employed more than 9,000 people. The workers were classified by the usual racial and gender lines of the region, which limited opportunities for minorities and women. TVA hired a few African Americans, generally restricted for janitorial or other low-level positions. TVA recognized labor unions; its skilled and semi-skilled blue collar employees were unionized, a breakthrough in an area known for corporations hostile to miners' and textile workers' unions. Women were excluded from construction work.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Many local landowners were suspicious of government agencies, but TVA successfully introduced new agricultural methods into traditional farming communities by blending in and finding local champions. Tennessee farmers often rejected advice from TVA officials, so the officials had to find leaders in the communities and convince them that crop rotation and the judicious application of fertilizers could restore soil fertility. Once they had convinced the leaders, the rest followed.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA immediately embarked on the construction of several hydroelectric dams, with the first, Norris Dam in upper East Tennessee, breaking ground on October 1, 1933. These facilities, designed with the intent of also controlling floods, greatly improved the lives of farmers and rural residents, making their lives easier and farms in the Tennessee Valley more productive. They also provided new employment opportunities to the poverty-stricken regions in the Valley. At the same time, however, they required the displacement of more than 125,000 valley residents or roughly 15,000 families, as well as some cemeteries and small towns, which caused some to oppose the projects, especially in rural areas. The projects also inundated several Native American archaeological sites, and graves were reinterred at new locations, along with new tombstones.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The available electricity attracted new industries to the region, including textile mills, providing desperately needed jobs, many of which were filled by women. A few regions of the Tennessee Valley did not receive electricity until the late 1940s and early 1950s, however. TVA was one of the first federal hydropower agencies, and was quickly hailed as a success. While most of the nation's major hydropower systems are federally managed today, other attempts to create similar regional corporate agencies have failed. The most notable was the proposed Columbia Valley Authority for the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, which was modeled off of TVA, but did not gain approval.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: During World War II, the U.S. needed greater aluminum supplies to build airplanes. Aluminum plants required large amounts of electricity. To provide the power, TVA engaged in one of the largest hydropower construction programs ever undertaken in the U.S. By early 1942, when the effort reached its peak, 12 hydroelectric plants and one coal-fired steam plant were under construction at the same time, and design and construction employment reached a total of 28,000. In its first eleven years, TVA constructed a total of 16 hydroelectric dams.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The largest project of this period was the Fontana Dam. After negotiations led by then-Vice-President Harry Truman, TVA purchased the land from Nantahala Power and Light, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa, and built Fontana Dam. Also in 1942, TVA's first coal-fired plant, the 267-megawatt Watts Bar Steam Plant, began operation. The government originally intended the electricity generated from Fontana to be used by Alcoa factories. However, the abundance of TVA power was one of the major factors in the decision by the U.S. Army to locate uranium enrichment facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the world's first atomic bombs. This was part of an effort codenamed the Manhattan Project.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: By the end of World War II, TVA had completed a navigation channel the length of the Tennessee River and had become the nation's largest electricity supplier. Even so, the demand for electricity was outstripping TVA's capacity to produce power from hydroelectric dams, and so TVA began to construct additional coal-fired plants. Political interference kept TVA from securing additional federal appropriations to do so, so it sought the authority to issue bonds. Several of TVA's coal-fired plants, including Johnsonville, Widows Creek, Shawnee, Kingston, Gallatin, and John Sevier, began operations in the 1950s. In 1955 coal surpassed hydroelectricity as TVA's top generating source. On August 6, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law an amendment to the TVA act, making the agency self-financing. During the 1950s, TVA's generating capacity nearly quadrupled.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The 1960s were years of further unprecedented economic growth in the Tennessee Valley. Capacity growth during this time slowed, but ultimately increased 56% between 1960 and 1970. To handle a projected future increase in electrical consumption, TVA began constructing 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, the first of which was placed into service on May 15, 1965. Electric rates were among the nation's lowest during this time and stayed low as TVA brought larger, more efficient generating units into service. Plants completed during this time included Paradise, Bull Run, and Nickajack Dam. Expecting the Valley's electric power needs to continue to grow, TVA began building nuclear power plants in 1966 as a new source of power. During the 1960s and 1970s, TVA was engaged in what was up to that time its most controversial project – the Tellico Dam Project. The project was initially conceived in the 1940s but not completed until 1979.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Significant changes occurred in the economy of the Tennessee Valley and the nation, prompted by energy crises in 1973 and 1979 and accelerating fuel costs throughout the decade. The average cost of electricity in the Tennessee Valley increased fivefold from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. TVA's first nuclear reactor, Browns Ferry Unit 1, began commercial operation on August 1, 1974. In the early 1970s, TVA set out to construct a total of 17 nuclear reactors, due to a projection of further rapid increase in power demand. However, in the 1980s, ten of these reactors were cancelled. On August 6, 1981, the Tennessee Valley Authority Board voted to defer the Phipps Bend plant, as well as to slow down construction on all other projects. The Hartsville and Yellow Creek plants were cancelled in 1984 and Bellefonte in 1988.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Construction of the Tellico Dam became controversial for political and environmental reasons, as laws had changed since early development in the valley. Scientists and other researchers had become more aware of the massive environmental effects of the dams and new lakes, and worried about preserving habitats and species. The Tellico Dam project was initially delayed because of concern over the snail darter, a threatened species. A lawsuit was filed under the Endangered Species Act and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of protecting the snail darter in "Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill" in 1978. The project also received controversy regarding the intent of the dam, as the project's main motive was to support recreational and tourism development, unlike earlier dams constructed by TVA. Land acquired by eminent domain for the Tellico Dam and its reservoir, specifically land that encountered minimal inundation, was sold to private developers for the construction of present-day Tellico Village, a planned retirement community.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The cancellation of several of the planned nuclear plants put the agency in deep financial trouble. Marvin T. Runyon became chairman of the TVA in January 1988. During his four-year tenure he claimed to reduce management layers, cut overhead costs by more than 30%, and achieved cumulative savings and efficiency improvements of $1.8 billion. He also claimed to have revitalized the nuclear program and instituted a rate freeze that continued for ten years.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: As the electric-utility industry moved toward restructuring and deregulation, TVA began preparing for competition. It cut operating costs by nearly $800 million a year, reduced its workforce by more than half, increased the generating capacity of its plants, and developed a plan to meet the energy needs of the Tennessee Valley through the year 2020.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In 1996, Watts Bar Unit 1 began operation. This was the last commercial nuclear reactor in the United States to begin operation in the 20th century. In 2002, TVA began work to restart a previously mothballed nuclear reactor at Browns Ferry Unit 1, which was completed in May 2007. In 2004, TVA implemented recommendations from the Reservoir Operations Study (ROS) on how it operates the Tennessee River system (the nation's fifth largest). In 2005, the TVA announced its intention to construct an Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor at its Bellefonte site in Alabama, filing the necessary applications in November 2007. In 2007 it announced plans to complete the unfinished Unit 2 at Watts Bar, which began commercial operation in October 2016. Watts Bar Unit 2 is the first, and so far only, new nuclear reactor to enter service in the United States in the 21st century.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: On December 22, 2008, an earthen dike at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant broke, spreading one billion gallons of wet coal ash across of land and into the tributaries of the Tennessee River. This produced damage from high levels of metal in the river. The TVA Office of the Inspector General's report, "Inspection 2008-12283-02, Review of the Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cause Study and Observations About Ash Management," concluded that TVA culture had contributed to the spill.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In 2009, to gain more access to sustainable, green energy, TVA signed 20-year power purchase agreements with Maryland-based CVP Renewable Energy Co. and Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC for electricity generated by wind farms. In April 2011, TVA reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), four state governments, and three environmental groups to drastically reduce pollution and carbon emissions. Under the terms of the agreement, TVA was required to retire at least 18 of its 59 coal-fired units by the end of 2018, and install scrubbers in several others or convert them to make them cleaner, at a cost of $25 billion, by 2021. As a result, TVA closed several of its coal-fired power plants in the 2010s, converting some to natural gas. These include John Sevier in 2012, Shawnee Unit 10 in 2014, Widows Creek in 2015, Colbert in 2016, Johnsonville and Paradise Units 1 and 2 in 2017, Allen in 2018, and Paradise Unit 3 in 2020.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In 2018, TVA opened a new cybersecurity center in its downtown Chattanooga Office Complex. More than 20 Information Technology specialists monitor emails, Twitter feeds and network activity for cybersecurity threats and threats to grid security. Across TVA's digital platform, 2 billion activities occur each day. The center is staffed 24 hours a day to spot any threats to TVA's 16,000 miles of transmission lines.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Given continued economic pressure on the coal industry, the TVA board defied President Donald Trump and voted in February 2019 to close two aging coal plants, Paradise 3 and Bull Run. TVA chief executive Bill Johnson said the decision was not about coal, per se, but rather "about keeping rates as low as feasible." The TVA stated that decommissioning the two plants would reduce its carbon output by about 4.4% annually. TVA announced in April 2021 plans to completely phase out coal power by 2035. The following month, the TVA board voted to consider replacing almost all of their operating coal facilities with combined-cycle gas plants. Such plants considered for gas plant redevelopment include the Cumberland, Gallatin, Shawanee, and Kingston facilities.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In early February 2020, TVA awarded an outside company, Framatome, several multi-million-dollar contracts for work across the company's reactor fleet. This includes fuel for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, fuel handling equipment upgrades across the fleet and steam generator replacements at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Framatome will provide its state-of-the-art ATRIUM 11 fuel for the three boiling water reactors at Browns Ferry with the first use planned for 2023. This contract makes TVA the third U.S. utility to switch to the ATRIUM 11 fuel design. On August 3, 2020, president Donald Trump fired the TVA chairman and another board member, saying they were overpaid and had outsourced 200 high-tech jobs. The move came after U.S. Tech Workers, a nonprofit that works to limit visas given to foreign technology workers, criticized the TVA for laying off its own workers and replacing them with contractors using foreign workers with H-1B visas.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Citing its plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions in 2050, the TVA Board voted to approve an advanced approach of nuclear energy technology with an estimated $200 million investment, known as the New Nuclear Program (NNP) in February 2022. The NNP would promote the construction of new nuclear power facilities, particularly small modular reactors, with the first facility being constructed in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: With a generating capacity of approximately 35 gigawatts (GW), TVA has the sixth highest generation capacity of any utility company in the United States. TVA's power mix as of 2022 is five coal-fired power plants, 29 hydroelectric dams, three nuclear plants (with seven operating reactors), nine simple-cycle natural gas combustion turbine plants, nine combined cycle gas plants, 1 pumped storage hydroelectric plant, 1 wind energy site, and 15 small solar energy sites. In fiscal year 2020, nuclear generation made up about 41% of TVA's total energy sales, natural gas 26%, coal 14%, hydroelectric 13%, and wind and solar 3%. TVA purchases about 15% of the power it sells from other power producers, which includes power from combined cycle natural gas plants, coal plants, and wind installations, and other renewables. The cost of Purchased Power is part of the "Fuel Cost Adjustment" (FCA) charge that is separate from the TVA Rate. Watts Bar Nuclear Plant produces tritium as a byproduct for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, which requires tritium for nuclear weapons (for "boosted" fission primaries and for fusion secondaries).


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA owns and operates its own electric grid, which consists of approximately of lines, one of the largest grids in the United States. This grid is part of the Eastern Interconnection of the North American power transmission grid, and is under the jurisdiction of the SERC Reliability Corporation. Like most North American utilities, TVA uses a maximum transmission voltage of 500 kilovolts (kV), with lines carrying this voltage using bundled conductors with three conductors per phase. The vast majority of TVA's transmission lines carry 161 kV, with the company also operating a number of sub-transmission lines with a voltage of 69 kV.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA has conveyed approximately of property for recreation and preservation purposes including public parks, public access areas and roadside parks, wildlife refuges, national parks and forests, and other camps and recreation areas, comprising approximately 759 different sites.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: To qualify for a TVA Megasite certificate the qualifications are at least 1,000 acres, with interstate access, the potential for rail service, environmental impact study, and utility service capable of serving a major manufacturing facility. Seven TVA Megasites have been developed so far with capital investments of over $5 billion.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA was heralded by New Dealers and the New Deal Coalition not only as a successful economic development program for a depressed area but also as a democratic nation-building effort overseas because of its alleged grassroots inclusiveness as articulated by director David E. Lilienthal. However, the TVA was controversial early on, as some believed its creation was an overreach by the federal government.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Supporters of TVA note that the agency's management of the Tennessee River system without appropriated federal funding saves federal taxpayers millions of dollars annually. Opponents, such as Dean Russell in "The TVA Idea," in addition to condemning the project as being socialistic, argued that TVA created a "hidden loss" by preventing the creation of "factories and jobs that would have come into existence if the government had allowed the taxpayers to spend their money as they wished." Defenders note that TVA is overwhelmingly popular in Tennessee among conservatives and liberals alike, as Barry Goldwater discovered in 1964, when he proposed selling the agency.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Historian Thomas McCraw concludes that Roosevelt "rescued the [power] industry from its own abuses" but "he might have done this much with a great deal less agitation and ill will". New Dealers hoped to build numerous other federal utility corporations around the country but were defeated by lobbyist Wendell Willkie and the conservative coalition in Congress. The valley authority model did not replace the limited-purpose water programs of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: However, it has been shown that in river policy, the strength of opposing interest groups also mattered. The TVA bill was passed in 1933 because reformers like Norris skillfully coordinated action at potential choke points and weakened the already disorganized opponents among the electric power industry lobbyists. In 1936, however, after regrouping, opposing river lobbyists and conservative coalition congressmen took advantage of the New Dealers' spending mood by expanding the Army Corps' flood control program. They also helped defeat further valley authorities, the most promising of the New Deal water policy reforms.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: Then-movie star Ronald Reagan had moved to television as the host and a frequent performer for "General Electric Theater" during 1954. Reagan was later fired by General Electric in 1962 in response to his publicly referring to the TVA (TVA being a major customer for GE turbines) as one of the problems of "big government". Some claim that Reagan was instead fired due to a criminal antitrust investigation involving him and the Screen Actors Guild. However, Reagan was only interviewed; nobody was actually charged with anything in the investigation.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In 1963, U.S. Senator and Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was quoted in a "Saturday Evening Post" article by Stewart Alsop as saying, "You know, I think we ought to sell TVA." He had called for the sale to private companies of particular parts of the Authority, including its fertilizer production and steam-generation facilities, because "it would be better operated and would be of more benefit for more people if it were part of private industry." Goldwater's quotation was used against him in a TV ad by Doyle Dane Bernbach for President Lyndon Johnson's 1964 campaign, which depicted an auction taking place atop a dam. It was voiced over as follows: "In a "Saturday Evening Post" article dated August 31, 1963, Barry Goldwater said, 'You know, I think we ought to sell TVA.' This is a promise: President Johnson will not sell TVA. Vote for him on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home."


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA faced multiple constitutional challenges. The United States Supreme Court ruled TVA to be constitutional in "Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority" (297 U.S. 288) in 1936. The Court noted that regulating commerce among the states includes regulation of streams and that controlling floods is required for keeping streams navigable; it also upheld the constitutionality of the TVA under the War Powers Clause, seeing its activities as a means of assuring the electric supply for the manufacture of munitions in the event of war. The argument before the court was that electricity generation was a by-product of navigation and flood control and therefore could be considered constitutional. The CEO of the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Jo Conn Guild, was vehemently opposed to the creation of TVA, and with the help of attorney Wendell Willkie, challenged the constitutionality of the TVA Act in federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court again upheld the TVA Act, however, in its 1939 decision "Tennessee Electric Power Company v. TVA". On August 16, 1939, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets, including Hales Bar Dam, Ocoee Dams 1 and 2, Blue Ridge Dam and Great Falls Dam to TVA for $78 million (equivalent to $ in ).


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In 1981 the TVA Board of Directors broke with previous tradition and took a hard line against white-collar unions during contract negotiations. As a result, a class action suit was filed in 1984 in U.S. court charging the agency with sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act based on the large number of women in one of the pay grades negatively impacted by the new contract. An out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit was reached in 1987, in which TVA agreed to contract modifications and paid the group $5 million but admitted no wrongdoing.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: TVA has received criticism its entire history for what some have perceived as excessive use of its authority of eminent domain and an unwillingness to compromise with landowners. All of TVA's hydroelectric projects were made possible through the use of eminent domain, and were controversial due to the more than 125,000 Tennessee Valley residents that were displaced by the agency. Residents who refused to sell their land were often forced to by court orders and lawsuits. Many of these projects also inundated historic Native American sites and early American Revolution-era settlements. Historians have criticized the TVA for forcing residents to sell their property at values less than the fair market value, and indirectly starting a unstable real estate market for farmland. In the most extreme circumstance, displaced residents committed suicide, unable to bear the events of their removal. On some occasions, land that TVA had acquired through eminent domain that was expected to be flooded by reservoirs was not flooded, and was given away to private developers.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The 1960 film "Wild River", directed by Elia Kazan, tells the story about a family forced to relocate from their land, which has been owned by their ancestors for generations, after TVA plans to construct a dam which will flood it. While fictional, the film depicts the real-life experiences of many people forced to give up their land to TVA to make way for hydroelectric projects, and was mostly inspired by the removal of families for the Norris Project.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The 1970 James Dickey novel "Deliverance", and its 1972 film adaptation focuses on four Atlanta businessmen taking a canoeing trip down a river that is being impounded by an electric utility, nodding to the TVA's early and controversial hydroelectric projects.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: The 1984 Mark Rydell film "The River", focuses on a East Tennessee family being confronted by the loss of their ancestral farm from the inundation of a nearby river by an electric utility. The film, shot on farmland near the Holston River in Hawkins County, utilized flooding practical effects provided by the TVA.


title: Tennessee Valley Authority

text: In the 2000 film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", the family home of the protagonist, played by George Clooney, is flooded by a reservoir constructed by the TVA. This plays a central role in the pacing of the film and the broader depression-era Mississippi context of the narrative.