title: Perseus with the Head of Medusa

text: Michael Cole specifically draws attention to the process of casting the "Perseus". Citing Cellini's "Vita", Cole notes how Cellini's assistants let the metal clot, and had Cellini not been present the work would have been destroyed. Cole then asserts that Cellini goes beyond reviving the work but raised the dead, in which he means that Cellini's salvation was remelting the bronze. Cellini also invokes Christ and by doing so he breathes life into the sculpture. Casting the "Perseus" was more than meeting the demand of Cosimo I; Cellini was proving himself to Florence in a newly refurbished medium.


title: Perseus with the Head of Medusa

text: Perseus was one of Cellini's crowning works, completed with two different ideas in mind. He wanted to respond to the sculpture already placed within the piazza, which he did with the subject matter of Medusa reducing men to stone. Secondly, the Medici were represented by "Perseus", both in the round sculpture and the relief below. Moreover, in that respect, Cellini also made a statement for himself in the actual casting of "Perseus". Cellini breathed life into his new sculpture through his use of bronze and he asserted Medici control over the Florentine people through the Perseus motif.


title: Perseus with the Head of Medusa

text: There is an exquisite, though smaller scale, bronze copy of the Perseus displayed outside The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida, USA.


title: Rapido (company)

text: Rapido is an Indian bike taxi aggregator and logistics service provider based out of Bengaluru. Founded in 2015, the company operates in over 100 cities across the country, but has run into legal troubles in several locations.


title: Rapido (company)

text: The company was founded in 2015 as theKarrier by two IIT alumni and a PESU alumni – Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and SR Rishikesh. In September 2018, reports were that Rapido has over 15,000 registered riders, with average rides of 30,000 per day. Among those who have stakes in Rapido are Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal and former Google India head Rajan Anandan.


title: Rapido (company)

text: In 2019, Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka claimed that the company has created more than 500,000 jobs in India. In November 2019, the company claimed to have 1 crore registered users.


title: Rapido (company)

text: After the breakout of COVID-19 pandemic, Rapido expanded its operations in logistics, providing hyperlocal delivery for local businesses and e-commerce companies. In October 2020, Rapido launched on-demand auto rickshaw hailing services in 14 cities.


title: Rapido (company)

text: In April 2022, the company received $180 million in a funding round led by Swiggy, raising the company's valuation to $830 million. The Series D round of funding also saw participation of TVS Motor Company, Westbridge, Shell Ventures, and Nexus Ventures.


title: Rapido (company)

text: The Rapido app allows the user to book a ride, after which a rider (called "Captain") arrives at the location. The fare includes a base fare of 15 in addition to 3 for every kilometer of the ride. The "Captains" need to register through the Rapido-Captain app and get validated by submitting the required documents. They can use motorcycles, scooters, or e-bikes, but the vehicle cannot be older than 2012.


title: Rapido (company)

text: Rapido has run into legal troubles in various cities. In October 2018, several bikes were seized in Coimbatore as Rapido was operating without a permit from the transport department. In July 2019, Madras High Court banned Rapido's operations across Tamil Nadu, while Rapido iOS application was removed from the App Store for violating local laws. In August 2019, the court lifted the ban and allowed the company to resume services in the state until the state government framed new regulations for bike taxi services.


title: Rapido (company)

text: In February 2019, more than 200 bike taxis belonging to Rapido and Ola Cabs were seized in Bangalore as the state transport department declared bike taxis to be illegal. In April 2019, more than 170 Rapido bikes were impounded and an investigation was launched against Rapido by the city cyber crime police. Despite the ban, the company was reported to be illegally operating in Bangalore, with Rapido Captains disguised as food delivery executives.


title: Rapido (company)

text: In February 2020, Rapido was banned across Assam, after the transport department found that the company was operating without commercial license or permit from the DTO. In October 2020, shortly after it commenced operations in Mumbai, the city's transport authorities asked the company to stop its services as it was operating without the government's permission.


title: Rapido (company)

text: In January 2022, RTO officials in Bangalore seized over 120 Rapido bikes, after receiving complaints from the city's cab and auto rickshaw unions. In February 2022, Pune RTO officials seized 65 motorbikes belonging to Rapido riders, declaring bike taxi operations to be illegal in the state of Maharashtra.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: Mary Sweeney is an American director, writer, film editor and film producer. She was briefly married to American film director David Lynch, whom she collaborated with for 20 years. Sweeney worked with Lynch on several films and television series, most notably the original "Twin Peaks" series (1990), "Lost Highway" (1997), "The Straight Story" (1999), and "Mulholland Drive" (2001). Sweeney is the Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor in the Writing Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She was formerly the chair of the Film Independent board of directors.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: Sweeny graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a BA in History. She earned a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Corcoran School of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. After completing a master's in film at New York University, Sweeney worked her way up the ranks of film editing in New York and San Francisco, on films such as "Reds" by Warren Beatty, "Tender Mercies" by Bruce Beresford, "Places in the Heart" by Robert Benton, "Little Drummer Girl" by George Roy Hill, and "The Mean Season" by Phil Boursos.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: From 1985 to 2006, Sweeney collaborated as producer, writer and editor with filmmaker David Lynch from "Blue Velvet" to "Inland Empire". Her editing credits include "Blue Velvet" (1986), "Wild at Heart" (1990), "Twin Peaks" (1991), "Industrial Symphony" (1991), "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (1992), "On the Air" (1992), "Hotel Room" (1993), "Lost Highway" (1996), "The Straight Story" (2000), "Mulholland Drive" (2001) and "Baraboo" (2009). Sweeney is a consulting producer/writer on Matthew Weiner's anthology series "The Romanoffs".


title: Mary Sweeney

text: She won the British Academy Award for Best Editing for "Mulholland Drive". As producer, she won the César Award for Best Foreign Film, and the New York Film Critics Award for Best Film. She developed, produced, wrote and edited "The Straight Story", for which Richard Farnsworth received an Academy Award nomination. As producer, she won the European Film Award For Best Foreign Film, and the film received four nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards; Best Film, Best Director, Best First Screenplay and Best Actor. Her producing credits date from 1995 and include "Lost Highway", "The Straight Story", "Mulholland Drive" and "Inland Empire", directed by Lynch, and " Baraboo" (2009), her directorial debut based on her original screenplay.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: Sweeney continued to write screenplays while collaborating with Lynch. These include "The Surprise Party" for Paramount Pictures, and "Two Knives", a martial arts film for director Wong Kar-Wai and Fox Searchlight Pictures.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: She wrote, directed, produced and edited a short, silent film, "In the Eye Abides the Heart", filmed in Buenos Aires, which premiered at the 2006 Venice Film Festival, then played the international festival circuit. In 2009, she went on to write, direct, produce and edit her debut feature, "Baraboo", which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival and won Best First Feature awards at the Galway Film Fleadh and the Wisconsin Film Festival.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: Sweeney has been on the board of directors of Film Independent since 2000, and was elected chair of the board in 2012. Film Independent is a non-profit arts organization that produces the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the Film Independent Series at LACMA.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: In 2003, she joined the faculty of the Division of Writing for Screen and Television in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She was installed as the Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor in 2012.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: Between 2010-15, she was a Fulbright Film Specialist and traveled for the State Department on Fulbright grants to Jordan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar and Cuba to mentor filmmakers in those countries.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: Sweeney is vice president and founding member of the DesertX non-profit Board of Directors. DesertX was a site-specific art exhibition in the Coachella Valley, February through April, 2017.


title: Mary Sweeney

text: She is a member in good standing of AMPAS, BAFTA, the DGA, and the WGA, where she is on the WGA Independent Writers Committee.


title: Bad Boy Chiller Crew

text: They first went to st cuthberts and the first matyrs catholic primary school in Bradford and they used to rap in the school! Especially gareth kelly on may 11 2016 a boy did a fire in a school and gareth kelly was upset and crying about his old school and two Asian boys called Ahmed mustafa and Ibrahim Akram!


title: Bad Boy Chiller Crew

text: The group began by uploading comedy and prank videos online before making music influenced by the UK bassline scene which rose to prominence, particularly in Yorkshire, during the 2000s.


title: Bad Boy Chiller Crew

text: In November 2021, the band appeared in their own 6 episode, self-titled, reality TV series, broadcast on ITV2.


title: Bad Boy Chiller Crew

text: The group is composed of Gareth "GK" Kelly, Kane Welsh, Sam "Clive" Robinson. In early 2020, the group were signed by the London-based record label House Anxiety.


title: Chris Botti

text: Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer.


title: Chris Botti

text: In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album "Impressions".


title: Chris Botti

text: He was also nominated in 2008 for his album "Italia" and received three nominations in 2010 for the live album "Chris Botti in Boston". Four of his albums have reached the No. 1 position on the "Billboard" jazz albums chart.


title: Chris Botti

text: Coming to prominence with the 2001 recording of his "Night Sessions" album, Botti established a reputation as a versatile musician in both jazz and pop music for his ability to fuse both styles together.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Corvallis, although he also spent two years of his childhood in Italy. His earliest musical influence was his mother, a classically trained pianist and part-time piano teacher. He started playing the trumpet at nine years old, and committed to the instrument at age 12 when he heard Miles Davis play "My Funny Valentine".


title: Chris Botti

text: In 1981, he was selected as a member of McDonald's All American High School Jazz band, which marked his first Carnegie Hall performance. At the age of 17, he ended up at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, by convincing his high school to allow him to fulfill his remaining senior year credits there. Chris set his class schedule so that he could also play at Portland clubs in the evening. Mount Hood's program was headed by Larry McVey, whose band had come to be a proving ground and regular stop for Stan Kenton and Mel Tormé when they were looking for new players. It was here Botti played alongside his friend, trombonist and future Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Todd Field.


title: Chris Botti

text: After graduating from Crescent Valley High School, Chris studied under jazz educator David Baker and trumpet professor Bill Adam at the Indiana University School of Music. Botti was also the recipient of two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts which allowed him to study with trumpeter Woody Shaw and saxophonist George Coleman during two consecutive summer breaks.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti left Indiana University during his senior year for short touring stints with Frank Sinatra and Buddy Rich. In 1985, he moved to New York City to hone his craft as a studio musician.


title: Chris Botti

text: In 1990, he began a decade long touring and recording relationship with Paul Simon which broadened his exposure to other singers. During that period, he also performed/recorded with Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, Scritti Politti, Roger Daltrey and others.


title: Chris Botti

text: On August 15, 1991, Botti performed with Paul Simon in New York's Central Park as part of The Rhythm of the Saints tour. The performance was commercially released as the "Concert in the Park" CD. While on tour with Simon, he met saxophonist Michael Brecker, which led to Botti co-producing a track on the Brecker Brothers' "Out of the Loop" titled "Evocations". The album won a 1995 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti's solo debut, "First Wish", was released in 1995; his second effort, "Midnight Without You", which included a collaboration with Blue Nile vocalist Paul Buchanan, appeared in 1997. These were followed by "Slowing Down The World" in 1999, which included vocal contributions from Sting and Jonatha Brooke (also on the "Midnight Without You" release).


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti was also a member of Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, a more experimental, jazz fusion-oriented group. He composed the score and recorded a soundtrack for the 1996 film "Caught".


title: Chris Botti

text: In 1999, Botti was invited to tour with Sting as a featured soloist in the "Brand New Day" tour. The two-year run culminated in "All This Time", a CD/DVD-taping and webcast performance from Sting's estate in Tuscany on September 11, 2001. Botti attributes his relationship with Sting as having changed the course of his career.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti was introduced to Columbia by Bobby Colomby, drummer and founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, who went on to become his producer and manager. Botti's first Columbia release was "Night Sessions" in 2001. This was followed in 2002 by "December", a holiday album, which included an original composition by Richard Marx. The project represented the only time Botti has performed vocals on two tracks.


title: Chris Botti

text: A "Thousand Kisses Deep", was released in 2003 and contained a group of originals and covers that accent Botti's crossover appeal as both a jazz and pop musician. "When I Fall in Love" followed in 2004, which featured a more traditional sound than its predecessor.


title: Chris Botti

text: "", released in 2005, continued where the previous album left off with more lush orchestral jazz via the London Session Orchestra, this time showcasing guest vocalists — as well as a handful of instrumental tracks.


title: Chris Botti

text: In May 2005, Botti was invited to perform at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball weekend honoring her African American heroines. In 2006, Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein & Heitor Pereira won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (Chris Botti & Sting) from Botti's album "To Love Again – The Duets". 2006 also marked his first PBS collaboration, "Chris Botti Live: With Orchestra and Special Guests", released in early 2006. The CD and platinum-certified DVD included duets with Sting, Burt Bacharach, Gladys Knight, Jill Scott and Renee Olstead.


title: Chris Botti

text: On September 25, 2007, Botti released an album entitled "Italia". The album places focus on Botti's Italian roots through such songs as "Ave Maria", "Venice", "Estate", and the title track "Italia", on which he partnered with Andrea Bocelli. In December 2007, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Botti also performed the song with Bocelli during the 2007 edition of the Teatro del Silenzio, which was released on DVD titled "Vivere Live in Tuscany" in 2008.


title: Chris Botti

text: Early in 2009, Botti released his second CD/DVD PBS project, "Chris Botti In Boston". Performing with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Botti shared the stage with Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Tyler, Josh Groban, Katharine McPhee, John Mayer, Sting, and others.


title: Chris Botti

text: By June 2009, Chris Botti had released 12 solo albums. His first few releases are often classified as smooth jazz, though critic Alex Henderson argues that Botti's music was a cut above much of the genre; reviewing his 1999 album, "Slowing Down the World", Henderson writes "it would be a major mistake to lump it in with... outright elevator muzak ... Botti is capable of a lot more." That same year as well as the following year, Botti appeared as a "Pennington Great Performers" series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.


title: Chris Botti

text: On April 17, 2012, Botti released his tenth studio album Impressions. On February 10, 2013, the album received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album.


title: Chris Botti

text: On August 18, 2018, PBS released Botti's third PBS project, "Great Performances: The Chris Botti Band in Concert", where he was joined on stage by vocalists Sy Smith and Veronica Swift, violinist Caroline Campbell and organist Joey DeFrancesco, along with pianist Taylor Eigsti.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti was the leader of the house band on the nationally syndicated daytime talk show "The Caroline Rhea Show" for its only season in 2002–2003. He was named one of "People" magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" of 2004.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti performed the United States' national anthem in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for a crowd of over 80,000 and a worldwide television audience on November 3, 2014, prior to the Indianapolis Colts vs. New York Giants National Football League game.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti appeared in the Season 3 "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" episode "Don't Sing For Your Supper" as a dinner guest of Yolanda Hadid and David Foster.


title: Chris Botti

text: Botti plays a Martin Committee large-bore Handcraft trumpet made in 1939, and uses a No. 3 silver-plated mouthpiece from Bach made in 1926, having recently retired his 1920 3C Bach mouthpiece. He uses a Leblanc Vacchiano Harmon mute from the 1950s.


title: Chris Botti

text: Before getting the Martin Handcraft Committee, Chris Botti played on a 1972 Calicchio S1 ML trumpet originally sold in September 1972. Dominick Calicchio's wife Irma Calicchio erased the original owner's name and information and put in Chris Botti's name as the official owner. He later traded the Calicchio S1 for the 1939 Handcraft martin Committee.


title: Chris Botti

text: The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the United States.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: On 21 January 1968, an aircraft accident, sometimes known as the Thule affair or Thule accident (; ), involving a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber occurred near Thule Air Base in the Danish territory of Greenland. The aircraft was carrying four B28FI thermonuclear bombs on a Cold War "Chrome Dome" alert mission over Baffin Bay when a cabin fire forced the crew to abandon the aircraft before they could carry out an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. Six crew members ejected safely, but one who did not have an ejection seat was killed while trying to bail out. The bomber crashed onto sea ice in North Star Bay, Greenland, causing the conventional explosives aboard to detonate and the nuclear payload to rupture and disperse, resulting in radioactive contamination of the area.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The United States and Denmark launched an intensive clean-up and recovery operation, but the secondary stage of one of the nuclear weapons could not be accounted for after the operation was completed. USAF Strategic Air Command "Chrome Dome" operations were discontinued immediately after the accident, which highlighted the safety and political risks of the missions. Safety procedures were reviewed, and more stable explosives were developed for use in nuclear weapons.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In 1995, a political scandal arose in Denmark after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. Workers involved in the clean-up program campaigned for compensation for radiation-related illnesses they experienced in the years after the accident.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In 1960, the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) began Operation Chrome Dome, a Cold War airborne alert program devised by General Thomas S. Power to fly nuclear-armed Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers to the borders of the Soviet Union. The flights were scheduled to ensure that twelve bombers were aloft at all times. These bombers gave SAC offensive capability in the event of a Soviet first strike, Beginning in 1961, B-52 bombers also secretly flew as part of the "Hard Head" mission (or "Thule Monitor Missions") over Thule Air Base. The objective of "Hard Head" was to maintain constant visual surveillance of the base's strategically important Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), which provided early warning of Soviet missile launches. This ensured that, if the communication link between North American Aerospace Defense Command and the base was severed, then the aircraft crew could determine if the interruption resulted from an actual attack or a mere technical failure. The monitoring mission started when the designated aircraft reached a waypoint at in Baffin Bay and entered a figure-eight holding pattern above the air base at an altitude of .


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In 1966, United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara proposed cutting "Chrome Dome" flights because the BMEWS system was fully operational, the bombers had been made redundant by missiles, and $123 million ($ as of ) could be saved annually. SAC and the Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed the plan, so a compromise was reached whereby a smaller force of four bombers would be on alert each day. Despite the reduced program and the risks highlighted by the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, SAC continued to dedicate one of the aircraft to monitoring Thule Air Base. This assignment was without the knowledge of civilian authorities in the United States, who SAC determined did not have the "need to know" about specific operational points.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress, serial number 58-0188, with the callsign "HOBO 28" from the 380th Strategic Bomb Wing at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York was assigned the "Hard Head" mission over Thule and nearby Baffin Bay. The bomber crew consisted of five regular crew members, including Captain John Haug, the aircraft commander. Also aboard were a substitute navigator (Captain Curtis R. Criss) and a mandatory third pilot (Major Alfred D'Mario).


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Before take-off, D'Mario placed three cloth-covered foam cushions on top of a heating vent under the instructor navigator's seat in the aft section of the lower deck. Shortly after take-off, another cushion was placed under the seat. The flight was uneventful until the scheduled mid-air refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker, which had to be conducted manually because of an error with the B-52G's autopilot. About one hour after refueling, while the aircraft was circling above its designated area, Captain Haug directed co-pilot Svitenko to take his rest period. His seat was taken by the spare pilot, D'Mario. The crew was uncomfortable because of the cold, although the heater's rheostat was turned up, so D'Mario opened an engine bleed valve to draw additional hot air into the heater from the engine manifold. Because of a heater malfunction, the air barely cooled as it traveled from the engine manifold to the cabin's heating ducts. During the next half-hour, the cabin's temperature became uncomfortably hot, and the stowed cushions ignited. After one crew member reported smelling burning rubber, they looked for a fire. The navigator searched the lower compartment twice before discovering the fire behind a metal box. He attempted to fight it with two fire extinguishers, but could not put it out.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: At 15:22 EST, about six hours into the flight and south of Thule Air Base, Haug declared an emergency. He told Thule air traffic control that he had a fire on board and requested permission to perform an emergency landing at the air base. Within five minutes, the aircraft's fire extinguishers were depleted, electrical power was lost and smoke filled the cockpit to the point that the pilots could not read their instruments. As the situation worsened, the captain realized he would not be able to land the aircraft and told the crew to prepare to abandon it. They awaited word from D'Mario that they were over land, and when he confirmed that the aircraft was directly over the lights of Thule Air Base, the four crewmen ejected, followed shortly thereafter by Haug and D'Mario. The co-pilot, Leonard Svitenko, who had given up his ejection seat when the spare pilot took over from him, sustained fatal head injuries when he attempted to bail out through one of the lower hatches.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The pilotless aircraft initially continued north, then turned left through 180° and crashed onto sea ice in North Star Bay at a relatively shallow angle of 20 degrees—about west of Thule Air Base—at 15:39 EST. The conventional high explosive (HE) components of four 1.1 megaton B28FI thermonuclear bombs detonated on impact, spreading radioactive material over a large area in a manner similar to a dirty bomb. "Weak links" in the weapon design ensured that a nuclear explosion was not triggered. The extreme heat generated by the burning of of jet fuel during the five to six hours after the crash melted the ice sheet, causing wreckage and munitions to sink to the ocean floor.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Haug and D'Mario parachuted onto the grounds of the air base and made contact with the base commander within ten minutes of each other. They informed him that at least six crew ejected successfully and the aircraft was carrying four nuclear weapons. Off-duty staff were mustered to conduct search and rescue operations for the remaining crew members. Owing to the extreme weather conditions, Arctic darkness, and unnavigable ice, the base relied largely on the Thule representative of the Royal Greenland Trade Department, Ministry of Greenland, Jens Zinglersen, to raise and mount the search using native dog sled teams. Three of the survivors landed within of the base and were rescued within two hours. For his initial actions and later services, Zinglersen received the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal on 26 February 1968 at the hands of the U.S. Ambassador, K. E. White. Captain Criss, who was first to eject, landed from the base—he remained lost on an ice floe for 21 hours and suffered hypothermia in the temperatures, but he survived by wrapping himself in his parachute.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: An aerial survey of the crash site immediately afterwards showed only six engines, a tire and small items of debris on the blackened surface of the ice. The accident was designated a Broken Arrow, or an accident involving a nuclear weapon but which does not present a risk of war.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The resulting explosion and fire destroyed many of the components that had scattered widely in a by area. Parts of the bomb bay were found north of the impact area, indicating the aircraft started to break-up before impact. The ice was disrupted at the point of impact, temporarily exposing an area of seawater approximately in diameter; ice floes in the area were scattered, upturned and displaced. South of the impact area, a by blackened patch was visible where fuel from the aircraft had burned—this area was highly contaminated with JP-4 aviation fuel and radioactive elements that included plutonium, uranium, americium and tritium. Plutonium levels as high as 380 mg/m were registered in the area.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: American and Danish officials immediately launched "Project Crested Ice" (informally known as "Dr. Freezelove"), a clean-up operation to remove the debris and contain environmental damage. Despite the cold, dark Arctic winter, there was considerable pressure to complete the clean-up operation before the sea ice melted in the spring and deposited further contaminants into the sea.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Weather conditions at the site were extreme; the average temperature was , at times dropping to . These temperatures were accompanied by winds of up to . Equipment suffered high failure-rates and batteries worked for shorter periods in the cold; operators modified their scientific instruments to allow the battery packs to be carried under their coats to extend the batteries' lifespan. The operation was conducted in arctic darkness until 14 February, when sunlight gradually began appearing.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: A base camp (named "Camp Hunziker" after Richard Overton Hunziker, the USAF general in charge of the operation), was created at the crash site; it included a heliport, igloos, generators and communications facilities. A "zero line" delineating the by area in which alpha particle contamination could be measured was established by 25 January, four days after the crash. The line was subsequently used to control decontamination of personnel and vehicles. An ice road was constructed to Thule from the site. This was followed by a second, more-direct road so that the ice on the first road was not fatigued by overuse. The camp later included a large prefabricated building, two ski-mounted buildings, several huts, a decontamination trailer and a latrine. These facilities allowed for 24-hour operations at the crash site.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The USAF worked with Danish nuclear scientists to consider the clean-up options. The spilled fuel in the blackened area was heavily contaminated, raising concerns that when the ice melted in the summer, the radioactive fuel would float on the sea and subsequently contaminate the shore. The Danes thus insisted on the removal of the blackened area to avoid this possibility. The Danes also requested that the nuclear material not be left in Greenland after the cleanup operation was complete, therefore requiring General Hunziker to remove the contaminated ice and wreckage to the United States for disposal. USAF personnel used graders to collect the contaminated snow and ice, which was loaded into wooden boxes at the crash site. The boxes were moved to a holding area near Thule Air Base known as the "Tank Farm". There, contaminated material was loaded into steel tanks prior to being loaded onto ships. Debris from the weapons was sent to the Pantex plant in Texas for evaluation, and the tanks were shipped to Savannah River in South Carolina. According to General Hunziker, 93 percent of the contaminated material was removed from the accident site.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In 1987–88 and again in 2000, reports surfaced in the Danish press that one of the bombs had not been recovered. SAC stated at the time of the accident that all four bombs were destroyed. In 2008, the BBC published an article that was based on its examination of partly declassified documents obtained some years earlier, via the United States Freedom of Information Act. The documents appeared to confirm that within weeks of the accident, investigators realized only three of the weapons could be accounted for. One of the declassified documents—dated to January 1968—details a blackened section of ice which had refrozen with shroud lines from a weapon parachute: "Speculate something melted through the ice such as burning primary or secondary." A July 1968 report states, "An analysis by the AEC of the recovered secondary components indicates recovery of 85 percent of the uranium and 94 percent, by weight, of three secondaries. No parts of the fourth secondary have been identified."


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The BBC tracked down several officials involved in the accident's aftermath. One was William H. Chambers, a former nuclear-weapons designer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Chambers headed a team dealing with nuclear accidents, including the Thule crash. He explained the logic behind the decision to abandon the search: "There was disappointment in what you might call a failure to return all of the components ... it would be very difficult for anyone else to recover classified pieces if we couldn't find them."


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In August 1968, the United States military sent a Star III mini-submarine to the base to look for weapon debris, especially the uranium-235 fissile core of a secondary. A much bigger operation at Palomares off the coast of Spain two years earlier led to the recovery of a lost nuclear weapon from the Mediterranean Sea; the B28FI bomb was lost for 80 days after a mid-air collision between a B-52 on a "Chrome Dome" mission and its KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft. Christensen asserts that the purpose of the underwater search at Thule was obvious to the Danish authorities, contrary to other reports that suggested its true purpose had been hidden from them. At lower levels, however, the dives were surrounded by some confidentiality. One document from July 1968 reads, "Fact that this operation includes search for object or missing weapon part is to be treated as Confidential NOFORN", meaning it was not to be disclosed to non-US nationals. It continues, "For discussion with Danes, this operation should be referred to as a survey, repeat survey of bottom under impact point." Further indications of the search are apparent in a September 1968 interim report by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, which stated, "It was further speculated that the missing "<redacted>", in view of its ballistic characteristics, may have come to rest beyond the observed concentration of heavy debris." This discussion was a reference to the unsuccessful search for the uranium cylinder of one of the secondaries.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The underwater search was beset by technical problems and eventually abandoned. Diagrams and notes included in the declassified documents make clear it was not possible to search the entire area where crash debris had spread. Four bomb reservoirs, one nearly intact secondary, and parts equaling two secondaries were recovered on the sea ice; parts equaling one secondary were not accounted for. The search also revealed a weapon cable fairing, polar cap, and a one-foot by three-foot section of a warhead's ballistic case.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The United States Air Force monitored airborne contamination through nasal swabs of onsite personnel. Of the 9,837 nasal swabs taken, 335 samples had detectable levels of alpha particle activity, although none were above acceptable levels. Urinalysis was also performed but none of the 756 samples displayed any detectable level of plutonium.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: By the time the operation concluded, 700 specialized personnel from both countries and more than 70 United States government agencies had worked for nine months to clean-up the site, often without adequate protective clothing or decontamination measures. In total, more than of contaminated liquid—along with thirty tanks of miscellaneous material, some of it contaminated—were collected at the Tank Farm. Project Crested Ice ended on 13 September 1968 when the last tank was loaded onto a ship bound for the United States. The operation is estimated to have cost $9.4 million ($ as of ).


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The accident caused controversy at the time and in the years since. It highlighted the risks Thule Air Base posed to Greenlanders from nuclear accidents and potential superpower conflicts. The accident, which occurred two years after the Palomares crash, signaled the immediate end of the airborne alert program, which had become untenable because of the political and operational risks involved. Scott Sagan, a political science academic and anti-nuclear writer, postulated that if the HOBO 28 monitoring aircraft had crashed into the BMEWS early warning array instead of Baffin Bay, it would have presented NORAD with a scenario (radio link to "Hard Head" aircraft and BMEWS both dead, no nuclear detonation detected) that also matched that of a surprise conventional missile attack on Thule, leaving the unreliable submarine telecommunications cable between Thule and the US mainland as the only source of information to the contrary. A satellite communications link was set up in 1974.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: According to Greenpeace, the United States and USSR were concerned enough by accidents such as the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash, the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash and the Thule accident that they agreed to take measures to ensure that a future nuclear accident would not lead the other party to conclude incorrectly that a first-strike was under way. Consequently, on 30 September 1971, the two superpowers signed the "Agreement on Measures to Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War". Each party agreed to notify the other immediately in the event of an accidental, unauthorized or unexplained incident involving a nuclear weapon that could increase the risk of nuclear war. They agreed to use the Moscow–Washington hotline, which was upgraded at the same time, for any communications.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: By April 1964, on-alert bomber missions were in decline as American strategy favored unmanned delivery via ICBMs.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Following the Palomares and Thule accidents—the only cases where the conventional explosives of U.S. nuclear bombs accidentally detonated and dispersed nuclear materials—investigators concluded the high explosive (HE) used in nuclear weapons was not chemically stable enough to withstand the forces involved in an aircraft accident. They also determined that the electrical circuits of the weapons' safety devices became unreliable in a fire and allowed connections to short circuit. The findings triggered research by scientists in the United States into safer conventional explosives and fireproof casings for nuclear weapons.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developed the "Susan Test", which uses a special projectile whose design simulates an aircraft accident by squeezing and nipping explosive material between its metal surfaces. The test projectile is fired under controlled conditions at a hard surface to measure the reactions and thresholds of different explosives to an impact. By 1979, the Los Alamos National Laboratory developed a new, safer type of explosive, called insensitive high explosive (IHE), for use in U.S. nuclear weapons; the physicist and nuclear weapons designer Ray Kidder speculated that the weapons in the Palomares and Thule accidents would probably not have detonated had IHE been available at the time.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Denmark's nuclear-free zone policy originated in 1957, when the coalition government decided in the lead-up to the Paris NATO summit not to stockpile nuclear weapons on its soil in peacetime. The presence of the bomber in Greenland airspace in 1968 therefore triggered public suspicions and accusations that the policy was being violated. The nature of the "Hard Head" missions was suppressed at the time of the accident; the Danish and American governments instead claimed the bomber was not on a routine mission over Greenland and that it diverted there because of a one-off emergency. United States documents declassified in the 1990s contradicted the Danish government's position, and therefore resulted in a 1995 political scandal that the press dubbed "Thulegate".


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The Danish parliament commissioned a report from the Danish Institute of International Affairs (DUPI) to determine the history of United States nuclear overflights of Greenland and the role of Thule Air Base in this regard. When the two-volume work was published on 17 January 1997 it confirmed that the nuclear-armed flights over Greenland were recurrent, but that the United States had acted in good faith. The report blamed Danish Prime Minister H. C. Hansen for intentionally introducing ambiguity in the Danish–U.S. security agreement: he was not asked about, nor did he mention, the official Danish nuclear policy when meeting with the United States ambassador in 1957 to discuss Thule Air Base. Hansen followed up the discussion with an infamous letter pointing out that the issue of "supplies of munition of a special kind" was not raised during the discussion, but that he had nothing further to add. In doing so, the report concluded, he tacitly gave the United States the go-ahead to store nuclear weapons at Thule.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The report also confirmed that the United States stockpiled nuclear weapons in Greenland until 1965, contradicting assurances by Danish foreign minister Niels Helveg Petersen that the weapons were in Greenland's airspace, but never on the ground. The DUPI report also revealed details of Project Iceworm, a hitherto secret United States Army plan to store up to 600 nuclear missiles under the Greenland ice cap.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Danish workers involved in the clean-up operation claimed long-term health problems resulted from their exposure to the radiation. Although they did not work at Camp Hunziker, the Danes worked at the Tank Farm where the contaminated ice was collected, in the port from which the contaminated debris was shipped, and also serviced the vehicles used in the clean-up. It is also possible that they were exposed to radiation in the local atmosphere. Many of the workers surveyed in the years following Project Crested Ice reported health problems. A 1995 survey found 410 deaths by cancers out of a sample of 1,500 workers.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In 1986, Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlüter commissioned a radiological examination of the surviving workers. The Danish Institute for Clinical Epidemiology concluded 11 months later that cancer incidents were 40 percent higher in Project Crested Ice workers than in workers who had visited the base before and after the operation. The Institute of Cancer Epidemiology found a 50 percent higher cancer rate in the workers than in the general population, but could not conclude that radiation exposure was to blame.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: In 1987, almost 200 former cleanup workers took legal action against the United States. The action was unsuccessful, but resulted in the release of hundreds of classified documents. The documents revealed that USAF personnel involved in the clean-up were not subsequently monitored for health problems, despite the likelihood of greater exposure to radiation than the Danes. The United States has since instigated regular examinations of its workers. In 1995, the Danish government paid 1,700 workers compensation of 50,000 kroner each.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Danish workers' health has not been regularly monitored, despite a European Court directive to the Danish government to begin examinations in the year 2000, and a May 2007 European Parliament resolution instructing the same. In 2008, the Association of Former Thule Workers took the case to the European courts. The petitioners claimed that Denmark's failure to comply with the rulings led to delays in detecting their illnesses, resulting in worsened prognoses. The country joined the European Atomic Energy Community in 1973, and is therefore not legally bound by the European treaty with respect to events in 1968: "When the accident occurred, Denmark was not a Member State and could not therefore be considered as being bound by the Community legislation applicable at that time. The obligations of Denmark towards the workers and the population likely to be affected by the accident could only flow from national legislation."


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: The Danish government rejected a link between the accident and long-term health issues. Dr. Kaare Ulbak of the Danish National Institute of Radiation Protection said, "We have very good registers for cancer incidents and cancer mortality and we have made a very thorough investigation." The workers said the lack of proof was attributable to the lack of appropriate medical monitoring. As of November 2008, the case has been unsuccessful. A 2011 report by the Danish National Board of Health found that "the total radiation dose for representative persons in the Thule area for plutonium contamination resulting from the 1968 Thule accident is lower than the recommended reference level, even under extreme conditions and situations."


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: Radioactive contamination occurred particularly in the marine environment. The fissile material in the weapons consisted mostly of uranium-235, while the radioactive debris consists of at least two different "source terms". Scientific monitoring of the site has been carried out periodically, with expeditions in 1968, 1970, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1991, 1997 and 2003.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: A 1997 international expedition of mainly Danish and Finnish scientists carried out a comprehensive sediment sampling program in North Star Bay. The main conclusions were: plutonium has not moved from the contaminated sediments into the surface water in the shelf sea; the debris has been buried to a great depth in the sediment as a result of biological activity; transfer of plutonium to benthic biota is low. Other research indicates that uranium is leaching from the contaminated particles faster than plutonium and americium. Research conducted in 2003 concluded, "Plutonium in the marine environment at Thule presents an insignificant risk to man. Most plutonium remains in the seabed under Bylot Sound far from man under relatively stable conditions and concentrations of plutonium in seawater and animals are low. However, the plutonium contamination of surface soil at Narsaarsuk could constitute a small risk to humans visiting the location if radioactive particles are resuspended in the air so that they might be inhaled." In 2003, 2007 and 2008, the first samples were taken on land by the Risø National Laboratory—the findings were published in 2011.


title: 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

text: A BBC News report in 2008 confirmed through declassified documents and interviews with those involved that a bomb had been lost. The Danish foreign ministry reviewed the 348 documents that the BBC obtained in 2001 under the Freedom of Information Act. In January 2009, foreign minister Per Stig Møller commissioned a study by the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) to compare the 348 documents with 317 documents released by the Department of Energy in 1994 in order to determine if the 348 documents contained any new information about an intact nuclear weapon at Thule. In August 2009, DIIS published its report, which contradicted the assertions of the BBC. The report concluded that there was no missing bomb, and that the American underwater operation was a search for the uranium-235 of the fissile core of a secondary. For the first time, the report was able to present an estimate of the amount of plutonium contained in the pits of the primaries.


title: Abhinav Kashyap

text: Abhinav Singh Kashyap (born 6 September 1974) is an Indian director, writer and actor who works predominantly in Hindi Cinema. He is the younger brother of noted director Anurag Kashyap. He is best known for directing and co writing "Dabangg" (2010) and "Besharam" (2013), the former one earned him a nomination in Filmfare Awards in the category of Best Director in 2011. Before entering into the film industry, Abhinav has worked in some television serials as a director such as "Darr" (1995), "Ssshhhh...Koi Hai" (2001), "Siddhant" (2004) and "Shakira – The End Of Evil" (2007).


title: Abhinav Kashyap

text: Abhinav Singh Kashyap was born in Obra, Uttar Pradesh where his father worked for the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation. He is an alumnus of The Scindia School, Gwalior and completed his graduation in English Hons from Hansraj College, University of Delhi in 1995. He is the younger brother of director Anurag Kashyap and Anubhuti Kashyap.


title: Abhinav Kashyap

text: Abhinav Kashyap was married (now divorced) to the writer Chatura Rao and lives in Mumbai with his two daughters.


title: Abhinav Kashyap

text: In 2000, he was involved in writing the script of the film "Jung". He worked as an assistant to film maker Mani Ratnam for the film "Yuva" (2004). He also wrote dialogue for the films "Manorama Six Feet Under" (2007) and "13B" (2009). He made his debut as a director in the 2010 action film "Dabangg", which he also co-wrote, along with Dilip Shukla. Bollywood actor Salman Khan and debutant actress Sonakshi Sinha played the lead roles in the film. "Dabangg" was released on 10 September 2010. His second film "Besharam" was released on 2 October 2013. It was a critical and commercial failure. He also worked as a boom operator in 2012 short film named "The Photograph".


title: Abhinav Kashyap

text: On 15 June 2020, Kashyap released a statement on the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, appealing to the Maharashtra government to launch a detailed investigation. He also accused Salman Khan, his brothers Arbaaz and Sohail and father Salim of sabotaging his career and bullying him. In response, Arbaaz said that the Khan family has started legal action against Kashyap. When Salim was asked to react to these claims, and he sarcastically said that of course they have ruined his career. Salim said watch his films first and then come to speak to him. Salim further said that Abhinav probably forgot to take his father, Rashid Khan’s name along with his forefathers. Salim concluded by saying that Abhinav can do whatever he wants and that he’s not going to waste time reacting to these accusations.


title: Medical abortion

text: A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical abortions are more common than surgical abortions in most places, including Europe, India, China, and the United States.


title: Medical abortion

text: Medical abortions are typically performed by administering a two-drug combination: mifepristone followed by misoprostol. When mifepristone is not available, misoprostol alone may be used in some situations.


title: Medical abortion

text: Medical abortion is both safe and effective throughout a range of gestational ages, including the second and third trimester. In the United States, the mortality rate for medical abortion is 14 times lower than the mortality rate for childbirth, and the rate of serious complications requiring hospitalization or blood transfusion is less than 0.4%. Medical abortion can be administered safely by the patient at home, without assistance, in the first trimester. Starting with the second trimester, it is recommended to take the second drug in a clinic or provider's office.


title: Medical abortion

text: Medical abortion should not be confused with emergency contraception, which typically involves drugs (such as Levonorgestrel or "Plan B") taken soon after intercourse to prevent a pregnancy from beginning.


title: Medical abortion

text: For medical abortion up to 12 weeks' gestation, the recommended drug dosages are 200 milligrams of mifepristone by mouth, followed one to two days later by 800 micrograms of misoprostol inside the cheek, vaginally, or under the tongue. The success rate of this drug combination is 96.6% through 10 weeks' pregnancy.


title: Medical abortion

text: Misoprostol should be administered 24 to 48 hours after the mifepristone; taking the misoprostol before 24 hours have elapsed reduces the probability of success. However, one study showed that the two drugs may be taken simultaneously with nearly the same efficacy.


title: Medical abortion

text: For pregnancies after 9 weeks, two doses of misoprostol (the second drug) makes the treatment more effective. From 10 to 11 weeks of pregnancy, the National Abortion Federation suggests second dose of misoprostol (800 micrograms) four hours after the first dose.


title: Medical abortion

text: After the patient takes mifepristone, they must also administer the misoprostol. Failure to take the misoprostol may result in any of these outcomes: the fetus may be terminated, but not fully expelled from the uterus (possibly accompanied by hemorrhaging) and may require surgical intervention to remove the fetus; or the pregnancy may be successfully aborted and expelled; or the pregnancy may continue with a healthy fetus. For those reasons, misoprostol should always be taken after the mifepristone.


title: Medical abortion

text: In the first trimester, self-administered medical abortion is available for patients who prefer to take the abortion drugs at home without direct medical supervision (in contrast to provider-administered medical abortion where the patient takes the second abortion drug in the presence of a trained healthcare provider). Evidence from clinical trials indicates self-administered medical abortion is as effective as provider-administered abortion; however additional research is required to confirm that safety is equivalent.


title: Medical abortion

text: The procedure used to administer the two drugs depends on specific drugs prescribed. A typical procedure, for 200 mg mifepristone tablets, is:


title: Medical abortion

text: Medical abortion is safe and effective in the second and third trimesters. The WHO recommends that medical abortions performed after 12 weeks' gestation be supervised by a generalist medical practitioner or specialist medical practitioner (in contrast to first trimester, where the patient may safely take the drugs at home without supervision).


title: Medical abortion

text: For medical abortion after 12 weeks' gestation, the WHO recommends 200 mg of mifepristone by mouth followed one to two days later by repeat doses of 400 μg misoprostol under the tongue, inside the cheek, or in the vagina. Misoprostol should be taken every 3 hours until successful abortion is achieved, the mean time to abortion after starting misoprostol is 6–8 hours, and approximately 94% will abort within 24 hours after starting misoprostol. When mifepristone is not available, misoprostol may still be used though the mean time to abortion after starting misoprostol will be extended compared to regimens using mifepristone followed by misoprostol.


title: Medical abortion

text: The mifepristone-misoprostol combination is, by far, the most recommended drug regimen for medical abortions, but other drug combinations are available.


title: Medical abortion

text: Misoprostol alone, without mifepristone, may be used in some circumstances for medical abortion, and has even been demonstrated to be successful in the second trimester. Misoprostol is more commonly available than mifepristone, and is easier to store and administer, so misoprostol without mifepristone may be suggested by the provider if mifepristone is not available. If misoprostol is used without mifepristone, the WHO recommends 800 μg of misoprostol inside the cheek, under the tongue, or in the vagina. The success rate of misoprostol alone for terminating pregnancy (93%) is nearly the same as the mifepristone-misoprostol combination (96%). However, 15% of the women using misoprostol alone required a surgical follow-up procedure, which is significantly more than the mifepristone-misoprostol combination.


title: Medical abortion

text: A rarely used drug combination for uterine pregnancies is methotrexate-misoprostol, which is typically reserved for ectopic pregnancies. Methotrexate is given either orally or intramuscularly, followed by vaginal misoprostol 3–5 days later. The methotrexate combination is available through 63 days. The WHO authorizes the methotrexate-misoprostol combination but recommends the mifepristone combination because methotrexate may be teratogenic to the embryo in cases of incomplete abortion. The methotrexate-misoprostol combination is considered more effective than misoprostol alone.


title: Medical abortion

text: Both drugsmifepristone and misoprostolare no longer covered by drug patents, and hence are available as generic drugs.


title: Medical abortion

text: The requirements for a prescription vary widely between countries. Many countries make the medical abortion drugs available over the counter, without a prescription, such as China, India, and others. Other countries require a prescription (Canada, most of Western Europe, the United States, and others). Some countries require a prescription but are lax about enforcing that requirement (Russia, Brazil, and others).


title: Medical abortion

text: Telehealth includes access to medical services that the person can perform at home, without in-person visits to clinic or provider offices. People who have used telehealth report being satisfied with the access it provides to abortion services. However, those who might need the service the most (those who are incarcerated, unhoused, or live on low income) are often inhibited from accessing it.


title: Medical abortion

text: Telehealth options for people in the U.S. seeking medical abortion include: Aid Access, Plan C, Hey Jane, Choix, Just the Pill, Carafem, and Abortion on Demand.


title: Medical abortion

text: In this model, a provider communicates with a patient located at another site using clinic-to-clinic videoconferencing to provide medication abortion. This was introduced by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Iowa to allow a patient at one health facility to communicate via secure video with a health provider at another facility. This model has expanded to other Planned Parenthoods in multiple states as well other clinics providing abortion care.


title: Medical abortion

text: The direct-to-patient model allows for medication abortion to be provided without an in-person clinic visit. Instead of an in-person clinic visit, the patient receives counseling and instruction from the abortion provider via videoconference. The patient can be at any location, including their home. The medications necessary for the abortion are mailed directly to the patient. This is a model, called TelAbortion or no-test medication abortion (formerly no-touch medication abortion), being piloted and studied by Gynuity Health Projects, with special approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This model has been shown to be safe, effective, efficient, and satisfactory. Complete abortion can be confirmed via telephone-based assessment.


title: Medical abortion

text: In the U.S., as of December 2021 mifepristone may be obtained from any certified pharmacy with a prescription.


title: Medical abortion

text: From 2011 until 2021, the person was required to visit a healthcare provider in-person (at a clinic or office) and receive mifepristone directly from the provider. The requirement to visit a clinic to receive the drug was removed by the FDA in December 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the new rules, the prescription may be obtained via telehealth (phone calls or video conferencing with a healthcare provider), and then filled at any certified pharmacy. At the same time the FDA removed the requirement for an in-person visit, they added a requirement that dispensing pharmacies be "certified", which requires the pharmacy to have special permission to dispense the drugsa requirement the FDA imposes on only 40 drugs out of more than 19,000 it manages.


title: Medical abortion

text: The second drug used in medical abortion, misoprostol, is most commonly used for treating ulcers, and was never subject to the in-person dispensing constraints of mifepristone, and was always available from pharmacies with a prescription.


title: Medical abortion

text: The FDA does not authorize the use of mifepristone for medical abortion after 70 days, unlike most other countries, which authorize medical abortion into the second trimester and even the third trimester.


title: Medical abortion

text: Some states have passed laws that prohibit providers from examining the patient via phone or video conferencing, and instead require the patient to make an in-person visit to the provider to get the prescription.


title: Medical abortion

text: In most states, abortion drugs may be sent from a pharmacy to the patient via mail, but certain states have passed laws making that illegal, and requiring the drugs to be obtained from a pharmacy or provider in-person.


title: Medical abortion

text: Interest in abortion medications in the United States reached record highs in 2022, after the Supreme Court of the United States draft Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked online. Interest was higher in states with more restrictions on access to abortion. Pro-choice activists in the U.S. were exploring ways to make medical abortion more available, particularly in states where it is subject to limitations, with social media resources being utilized for this purpose.


title: Medical abortion

text: Contraindications to mifepristone are inherited porphyria, chronic adrenal failure, and ectopic pregnancy. Some consider an intrauterine device in place to be a contraindication as well. A previous allergic reaction to mifepristone or misoprostol is also a contraindication.


title: Medical abortion

text: Many studies excluded women with severe medical problems such as heart and liver disease or severe anemia. Caution is required in a range of circumstances including:


title: Medical abortion

text: In some cases, it may be appropriate to refer people with preexisting medical conditions to a hospital-based abortion provider.


title: Medical abortion

text: Most women will have cramping and bleeding heavier than a menstrual period. Other adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, diarrhea, and headache. Misoprostol taken vaginally tends to have fewer gastrointestinal side effects. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medications such as ibuprofen reduce pain with medication abortion.


title: Medical abortion

text: Complications under 10 weeks' pregnancy are rare; according to two large reviews, bleeding requiring a blood transfusion occurred in 0.03–0.6% of women and serious infection in 0.01–0.5%. Because infection is rare after medication abortion, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, The Society of Family Planning, and the NAF do not recommend use of routine antibiotics. A few rare cases of deaths from clostridial toxic shock syndrome have occurred following medical abortions.


title: Medical abortion

text: A 2013 systematic review which included 45,000 women who used the 200 mg mifeprestone followed by misoprostol combination found that less than 0.4% had serious complications requiring hospitalization (0.3%) and/or blood transfusion (0.1%).


title: Medical abortion

text: Vaginal bleeding generally diminishes gradually over about two weeks after a medical abortion, but in individual cases spotting can last up to 45 days. If the woman is well, neither prolonged bleeding nor the presence of tissue in the uterus (as detected by obstetric ultrasonography) is an indication for surgical intervention (that is, vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage). Remaining products of conception will be expelled during subsequent vaginal bleeding. Still, surgical intervention may be carried out on the woman's request, if the bleeding is heavy or prolonged, or causes anemia, or if there is evidence of endometritis.


title: Medical abortion

text: Although medical abortion is associated with more bleeding than surgical abortion, overall bleeding for the two methods is minimal and not clinically different. In a large-scale prospective trial published in 1992 of more than 16,000 women undergoing medical abortion using mifepristone with varying doses of gemeprost or sulprostone, only 0.1% had hemorrhage requiring a blood transfusion. It is often advised to contact a health care provider if there is bleeding to such degree that more than two pads are soaked per hour for two consecutive hours.


title: Medical abortion

text: In the United States, an FDA report states that of the 3.7 million women who have had a medication abortion between 2000 and 2018, 24 died afterward, with 11 of those deaths likely unrelated to the abortion, including drug overdoses, homicides, and a suicide. If the deaths likely unrelated to the abortion are not included, then the mortality rate for medication abortion is half the mortality rate of abortion overall. Including all 24 deaths, the data shows that (in the US) the mortality rate for medication abortion is equivalent to abortion overall, which is 14 times lower than the mortality rate for childbirth, and also lower than the mortality rate for Penicillin and Viagra.


title: Medical abortion

text: Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, causing the lining of the uterus to thin and preventing the embryo from staying implanted and growing. Methotrexate, which is sometimes used instead of mifepristone, stops the cytotrophoblastic tissue from growing and becoming a functional placenta. Misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin, causes the uterus to contract and expel the embryo through the vagina.


title: Medical abortion

text: A Guttmacher Institute survey of all known abortion providers in the U.S. found that medical abortions accounted for 54% of all abortions in 2020. This count did not include self-induced abortions.


title: Medical abortion

text: At Planned Parenthood clinics in the U.S., medical abortions accounted for 32% of first trimester abortions in 2008, 35% of all abortions in 2010 and 43% of all abortions in 2014.


title: Medical abortion

text: In 2009, medical abortion regimens using mifepristone in combination with a prostaglandin analog were the most common methods used to induce second-trimester abortions in Canada, most of Europe, China and India; in contrast to the U.S., where 96% of second-trimester abortions were performed surgically by dilation and evacuation.


title: Medical abortion

text: Swedish researchers began testing potential abortifacients in 1965. In 1968, the Swedish physician Lars Engström published a paper on a clinical trial, conducted at the women's clinic of Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, of the compound F6103 on pregnant Swedish women with the aim of inducing abortion. It was the first clinical trial of an abortion pill to be conducted in Sweden. The paper, originally titled "The Swedish Abortion Pill", was renamed to "The Swedish Postconception Pill", due to the small number of induced abortions that occurred in the trial population. After these efforts were largely unsuccessful with F6103, the same researchers attempted to find an abortion pill with prostaglandins, capitalizing on the number of well-established prostaglandin scientists working in Sweden at the time; they were eventually awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physiology for their work.


title: Medical abortion

text: Medical abortion became a successful alternative method of abortion with the availability of prostaglandin analogs in the 1970s and the antiprogestogen mifepristone (also known as RU-486) in the 1980s. Mifepristone was first approved for use in 1998 in China and France. The drugs were approved for abortions in 2000 in U.S., but only through 49 days gestation. In 2016, the U.S. FDA updated mifepristone's label to support usage through 70 days gestation.


title: Medical abortion

text: The WHO affirms that laws and policies should support people's access to evidence-based medically approved care, including medical abortion.


title: Medical abortion

text: Some anti-abortion groups claim that patients who change their mind about the abortion after taking mifepristone can "reverse" the abortion by administering progesterone (and not administering misoprostol). As of 2022, there is no scientifically rigorous evidence that the effects of mifepristone can be reversed this way. Even so, several states in the U.S. require providers of non-surgical abortion who use mifepristone to tell patients that reversal is an option. In 2019, researchers initiated a small trial of the so-called "reversal" regimen using mifepristone followed by progesterone or placebo. The study was halted after 12 women enrolled and three experienced severe vaginal bleeding. The results raise serious safety concerns about using mifepristone without follow-up misoprostol.


title: Medical abortion

text: In the U.S. in 2009, the typical price charged for a medical abortion up to 9 weeks' gestation was $490, four percent higher than the $470 typical price charged for a surgical abortion at 10 weeks' gestation. In the U.S. in 2008, 57% of women who had abortions paid for them out of pocket.


title: Medical abortion

text: In April 2013, the Australian government commenced an evaluation process to decide whether to list mifepristone (RU486) and misoprostol on the country's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). If the listing is approved by the Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and the federal government, the drugs will become more accessible due to a dramatic reduction in retail price—the cost would be reduced from between AU$300 and AU$800, to AU$12 (subsidised rate for concession card holders) or AU$35. On 30 June 2013, the Australian Minister for Health, the Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP, announced that the Australian Government had approved the listing of mifepristone and misoprostol on the PBS for medical termination in early pregnancy consistent with the recommendation of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. These listings on the PBS commenced on 1 August 2013.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The Santo Niño de Cebú is a Roman Catholic title of the Child Jesus associated with a religious image of the Christ Child widely venerated as miraculous by Filipino Catholics. It is the oldest Christian artifact in the Philippines, originally a gift from the Spaniard Conquistador Ferdinand Magellan to Rajah Humabon (baptized as Carlos) and his wife and chief consort, Reyna Humamay (baptized as Juana) on account of their Christian baptism in 1521.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The dark wood statue measures approximately twelve inches tall, and carved in the Flemish style. It depicts the Child Jesus, with a serene countenance, in the attitude and dress of a Spanish monarch. The statue bears imperial regalia, including a golden crown, globus cruciger, and various sceptres, wears fine vestments, and possesses jewelry mostly offered by devotees over several centuries.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: Pope Paul VI granted a decree of Canonical Coronation titled "Cunabula Religionis" on 27 February 1964 which the coronation was executed on 28 April 1965. The same Pontiff later raised its shrine to the status of Minor Basilica on 2 May 1965 via his Papal bull "Ut Clarificetur" to mark the fourth centenary of Christianity in the Philippine Islands.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The image is replicated in various parts of the country with different titles and is one of the most beloved and recognizable Filipino cultural icons. The annual dancing feast of Sinulog is held on 16 January every year in its honor. Today, the original image is permanently encased behind bulletproof glass inside its chapel within the Basilica del Santo Niño.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The Santo Niño de Cebú was originally produced by Flemish artisans, according to a hagiography, based on a vision of Teresa of Ávila, the 16th century Discalced Carmelite mystic.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: In early 1521, a Spanish expedition ordered by King Charles V and led by Ferdinand Magellan was on a voyage from Spain to find a westward route to the Spice Islands. After crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in April 7, 1521, they landed in Limasawa, Southern Leyte, and met a local ruler named "Raja" Kulambu, who introduced him to Rajah Humabon, ruler of Cebu Island, and his chief consort, "Hara" Humamay. On April 14, 1521, Magellan presented them with three gifts: a bust of Christ as the "Ecce Homo", an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Santo Niño as part of their baptism and strategic alliance. As Humabon adopted the Catholic faith, he took the Christian name of "Carlos" (after Charles V), while Humamay was christened "Juana" (after Joanna of Castile, Charles' mother). According to Antonio Pigafetta – Magellan's memoir writer, along with the ruler, about 500 males along with the Queen and 40 women were also converted by Father Valderrama. At the ceremony, "Raja" Kulambu of Limawasa also converted and was given the name "Don" "Juan", while his Muslim captain was named "Don" "Cristobal".


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: A few days after the mass baptism, Magellan undertook a war expedition on the behalf of the newly named King Carlos, attacking Mactan Island and burning down hamlets which resisted. The residents led by Lapu Lapu defended Magellan's attack with force, and Magellan died on 27 April 1521 in the Battle of Mactan, about three weeks after he had arrived in Philippines. After Magellan's death, his Spanish colleagues left.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The next Spanish expedition arrived on April 27, 1565, again to gain a foothold for a colony to trade spices, and this was led by Miguel López de Legazpi. He attempted a peaceful colonization, but these efforts were rejected. He opened fire on Cebu and burnt the coastal town down destroying 1500 homes and possibly killing 500 people. In the ruins of this destruction, the Spanish mariner Juan Camus found the image of the Santo Niño in a pine box. According to the local legend, the survival of the statue was seen as a sign of miracle by the colonizers, and ever since it has been believed to have miraculous powers.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The image of the Santo Niño is the oldest surviving Catholic relic in the Philippines, along with the Magellan's Cross. A church to house Santo Niño was built on the spot where the image was found by Juan Camus. The church was originally made of bamboo and mangrove palm and claims to be the oldest parish in the Philippines. It was rebuilt later, and Pope Paul VI elevated it to the status of Minor Basilica on its 400th anniversary (Spanish: "Basílica Menor del Santo Niño").


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The feast, locally known as "Fiesta Señor", starts on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Epiphany. Each year, the celebration starts with a dawn procession wherein the replica image of "Santo Niño de Cebú" is brought down to the streets. It is then followed by the novena Masses, which span nine days.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: On the last day of the novena, another dawn procession is held wherein the image of "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebú" is removed from its shrine and brought to the Basílica Menor. After the procession, it will stay for a while in the Basilica. Then, the images of "Santo Niño de Cebu" and "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebú" are brought to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City to be reunited with the icon of the church's namesake, thus forming the Holy Family. This transfer, which is common in fiestas throughout the country, is called "Traslación".


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: On the morning of the "vísperas" ("eve", i.e., the day before) of the feast, the images of "Santo Niño de Cebu" and "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebú" are brought back to Cebu City in a fluvial procession that concludes with a reenactment of the first Mass and baptism in the islands. It is then followed by a grand yet solemn foot procession in the afternoon, culminating in a Pontifical Mass concelebrated by bishops and priests. The grand Sinulog Festival is then held on the following Sunday.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The festival officially ends on the Friday after the icon's feast day, and it is marked with the traditional "Hubo" (Cebuano, "undress") rite. During a Mass, the basilica's priests and sacristans ceremoniously and reverently strip the "Santo Niño" of its festal vestments and regalia.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: There is a strict order of divesting the icon: first the crown is removed, followed by the orb and sceptre; then the cape; then the sash and tunic, and finally, the inner garments. The priest recites a short petition before each removal, which is marked with a festive drum roll. The priest then chants "Christe exaudi nos" (Latin for “Christ, graciously hear us”).


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The priest then raises the icon for veneration, carefully dips it in a basin of scented water four times, and wipes it dry. He then dresses it in a plainer set of robes, and replaces the regalia in reverse order of divesture. Upon replacing each item, he intones a prayer and leads the congregation in singing the refrain of the "Laudes Regiæ": "Christus Vincit; Christus Regnat; Christus, Christus Imperat" (“Christ Conquers; Christ Reigns; Christ Commands”). Drum rolls then announce the moment as the insignia are worn.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The rite is explained as highlighting Christ's humility, and on the part of the individual believer, it should inspire an internal, spiritual conversion. It was only in 1990 when the Augustinian priests caring for the icon first made the rite public. The Hubo Mass today is held on the Friday following the feast day at the Pilgrim Center outside the Basilica, and the masses following generally mark the termination of the long celebrations.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The original feast date for the image was April 28, but in the 18th century, the following changes were made:


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: During the Spanish colonial era, the Santo Niño was given the high military rank of Captain-General, with the full title of ""Celentísimo Capitán General de las Esfuerzas Españolas en Filipinas"" (The Most Esteemed Captain-General of the Spanish Forces in the Philippines). For this reason, the statue is vested in a red cape and sash, symbolising the rank of a general, and military boots.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: Presently, the rank is called "Celentisimo Capitan General de las Esfuerzas en Filipinas", with the "Españolas" dropped, thusly translating to Most Esteemed Captain-General of the Forces in the Philippines. Further, the image was later honoured by the Philippine Navy with the title "Lord Admiral of the Sea" ("Spanish: Señor Almirante de la Mar") during the 446th anniversary of the image's "Kaplag" ("finding" or "rediscovery") in 2011. This was done in acknowledgment of Christ's "lordship over seafarers, mariners and the marine ecology." The image was taken aboard the naval ship "BRP General Emilio Aguinaldo (PG-140)" for a fluvial parade, marking the first time its own naval ensign bearing its coat-of-arms was flown by a Philippine naval vessel. The honour was a joint effort of the Naval Forces Central, Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu District, Cebu Ports Authority, Philippine National Police Maritime Group, among others.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The Santo Niño was popularly considered the official patron of Cebu, but the Church in the Philippines suppressed the notion and clarified that it is not the representation of a saint that intercedes to God but rather God in the person of Jesus. Instead, the Archbishop of Cebu, Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, declared Our Lady of Guadalupe of Cebú as the principal patroness of Cebu in 2002.


title: Santo Niño de Cebú

text: The devotion to the Santo Niño is common with worldwide veneration of the Infant Jesus of Prague. The image is found in many houses, business establishments, and public transportation. Traditionally, the image is often dressed in one of two colours: red is common for domestic images, while green – symbolising luck – is worn by those enshrined in businesses. It is also often dressed in miniature costumes that often reflect the profession of its devotee such as physicians, nurses, policemen, or teachers. Another popular variation is the Santo Niño de Atocha which in the country is uniquely in a standing pose rather than seated as with the Spanish version.


title: Biomagnification

text: Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is any concentration of a toxin, such as pesticides, in the tissues of tolerant organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain. This increase can occur as a result of:


title: Biomagnification

text: Biological magnification often refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals work their way into lakes, rivers and the ocean, and then move up the food chain in progressively greater concentrations as they are incorporated into the diet of aquatic organisms such as zooplankton, which in turn are eaten perhaps by fish, which then may be eaten by bigger fish, large birds, animals, or humans. The substances become increasingly concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain. Bioaccumulants are substances that increase in concentration in living organisms as they take in contaminated air, water, or food because the substances are very slowly metabolized or excreted.


title: Biomagnification

text: Although sometimes used interchangeably with "bioaccumulation", an important distinction is drawn between the two, and with bioconcentration.


title: Biomagnification

text: Thus, bioconcentration and bioaccumulation occur within an organism, and biomagnification occurs across trophic (food chain) levels.


title: Biomagnification

text: Biodilution is also a process that occurs to all trophic levels in an aquatic environment; it is the opposite of biomagnification, thus when a pollutant gets smaller in concentration as it progresses up a food web.


title: Biomagnification

text: Many chemicals that bioaccumulate are highly soluble in fats (lipophilic) and insoluble in water (hydrophobic). Lipophilic substances cannot be diluted, broken down, or excreted in urine, a water-based medium, and so accumulate in fatty tissues of an organism, if the organism lacks enzymes to degrade them. When eaten by another organism, fats are absorbed in the gut, carrying the substance, which then accumulates in the fats of the predator. Since at each level of the food chain there is a lot of energy loss, a predator must consume many prey, including all of their lipophilic substances.


title: Biomagnification

text: For example, though mercury is only present in small amounts in seawater, it is absorbed by algae (generally as methylmercury). Methylmercury is one of the most harmful mercury molecules. It is efficiently absorbed, but only very slowly excreted by organisms. Bioaccumulation and bioconcentration result in buildup in the adipose tissue of successive trophic levels: zooplankton, small nekton, larger fish, etc. Anything which eats these fish also consumes the higher level of mercury the fish have accumulated. This process explains why predatory fish such as swordfish and sharks or birds like osprey and eagles have higher concentrations of mercury in their tissue than could be accounted for by direct exposure alone. For example, herring contains mercury at approximately 0.01 parts per million (ppm) and shark contains mercury at greater than 1 ppm.


title: Biomagnification

text: DDT is a pesticide known to biomagnify, which is one of the most significant reasons it was deemed harmful to the environment by the EPA and other organizations. DDT is one of the least soluble chemicals known and accumulates progressively in adipose tissue, and as the fat is consumed by predators, the amounts of DDT biomagnify. A well known example of the harmful effects of DDT biomagnification is the significant decline in North American populations of predatory birds such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons due to DDT caused eggshell thinning in the 1950s. DDT is now a banned substance in many parts of the world.


title: Biomagnification

text: In a review, a large number of studies, Suedel et al. concluded that although biomagnification is probably more limited in occurrence than previously thought, there is good evidence that DDT, DDE, PCBs, toxaphene, and the organic forms of mercury and arsenic do biomagnify in nature. For other contaminants, bioconcentration and bioaccumulation account for their high concentrations in organism tissues. More recently, Gray reached a similar substances remaining in the organisms and not being diluted to non-threatening concentrations. The success of top predatory-bird recovery (bald eagles, peregrine falcons) in North America following the ban on DDT use in agriculture is testament to the importance of recognizing and responding to biomagnification.


title: Biomagnification

text: Two common groups that are known to biomagnify are chlorinated hydrocarbons, also known as organochlorines, and inorganic compounds like methylmercury or heavy metals. Both are lipophilic and not easily degraded. Novel organic substances like organochlorines are not easily degraded because organisms lack previous exposure and have thus not evolved specific detoxification and excretion mechanisms, as there has been no selection pressure from them. These substances are consequently known as "persistent organic pollutants" or POPs.


title: Biomagnification

text: Metals are not degradable because they are chemical elements. Organisms, particularly those subject to naturally high levels of exposure to metals, have mechanisms to sequester and excrete metals. Problems arise when organisms are exposed to higher concentrations than usual, which they cannot excrete rapidly enough to prevent damage. Persistent heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic, can have a wide variety of adverse health effects across species.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: The Salesman (, released in France as "Le Client") is a 2016 drama film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi and starring Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hosseini. It is about a married couple who perform Arthur Miller's 1949 play "Death of a Salesman" on stage. When the wife is assaulted, her husband attempts to determine the identity of the attacker, while she struggles to cope with post-trauma stress. Farhadi chose Miller's play as his story within a story based on shared themes. A co-production between Iran and France, the film was shot in Tehran, beginning in 2015.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: The film premiered in competition in the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards—Best Screenplay for Farhadi and Best Actor for Hosseini. "The Salesman" was very well-received by film critics, who mainly praised Farhadi's direction and writing, and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. However, Farhadi did not attend the 89th Academy Awards ceremony in protest of the U.S. Executive Order 13769.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Emad and Rana are a married couple who both work in the theatre, currently starring in a production of "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, with Emad portraying Willy Loman and Rana playing Linda. Emad is also a popular instructor at a local school, where the youth joke about him being a "salesman." One night, their apartment begins to collapse and they flee the building with the other residents. Knowing they need another place to live, their fellow actor Babak secures another apartment for them, where a woman has recently moved out, although she left in a hurry abandoning numerous belongings. One night, Rana is home alone and begins bathing. When Emad returns, he finds she is missing and the bathroom is covered with blood. He rushes to the hospital, where he is informed by his neighbours about his wife's condition and is told to change the apartment's locks. It becomes apparent that Rana has not had an accident, but has been assaulted by an intruder. Emad also learns from neighbours that the previous tenant was a prostitute who had conflicts with her clients.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Rana returns home, but suffers from trauma and is reluctant to go to the police. She does not bathe, fearing to go into the bathroom again, and in the middle of a performance, breaks down in tears and leaves the stage. Although she does not remember the face of her attacker, Emad finds the culprit left his car keys, which he matches to a pick-up parked outside. The attacker also left behind a mobile phone and money which Rana purchased groceries with, thinking Emad had left it for her. Emad increasingly blames Babak for hiding the truth about the former tenant. After he hears a loving message from Babak on the previous tenant's answering machine, he calls Babak's character Charley a degenerate in the midst of a performance, although this is not in Miller's script.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Finally, Emad turns to one of his students, whose father used to work for the police. He is able to trace the truck to a man named Majid. He pretends to need a mover to lure Majid to their now empty old apartment, but Majid's prospective father-in-law arrives instead. Gradually, it becomes apparent the older man was himself the intruder, though he denies attacking Rana, implying he simply startled her. Emad calls the old man's family to the apartment, and locks him in a small room to wait, intending to reveal his true character to them all. When he opens the room the old man appears to be having heart trouble and Emad calls Rana in a panic. When Rana learns what Emad intends, she says it will be over between them if he pursues his revenge.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: When the family arrives they believe they have been called to a medical emergency, thanking Emad for saving his life. Just before they leave, Emad insists on settling his account with the old man in private, returning the money he had left after Rana's assault. Unseen by the family, Emad slaps the old man, who then collapses as he is leaving with his family, and they call an ambulance. Rana and Emad return to the theatre together.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said he had conceived of much of the story for "The Salesman" years before production, but did not feel there was enough to make a film until he decided his protagonists should be stage actors. Part of this decision owed to Farhadi's own background in the theatre, and his desire to re-immerse himself in that atmosphere. He also felt actors had to think of themselves as other people and create empathy, and his male protagonist would be forced to feel empathy for another man.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Looking for a play within the film, Farhadi researched the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Henrik Ibsen before finding Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman", which he described as "a gift for me". In Miller's play and his script, Farhadi said he found parallel themes of "humiliation", and also compared the relationship between his characters Rana and Emad to that of Linda and Willy Loman. More symbolism was added with the crumbling buildings, which Farhadi said represented crumbling relationships.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Although he was planning to film a Spanish language-project abroad, Farhadi opted to delay it to return to Tehran to make "The Salesman" in 2015. He cast Shahab Hosseini in the lead role, marking the third collaboration between the actor and director. Farhadi praised Hosseini for crafting diverse characters.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Other actors from Farhadi's 2011 film "A Separation" are featured, and he explained the connection was because his films are about young couples. The final scene was shot to appear very theatrical, with lighting from lamps.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, included in the in Competition section. The film opened in Iran on 31 August, beginning in Tehran at an unconventionally early time of 6:45 am. It was also selected to play at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016, marking its first screening in North America. By 3 December, it grossed $4.2 million in Iran, the highest of any Iranian film to date.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: The film premiered in London on 26 February 2017, with a free screening hosted by Mayor Sadiq Khan at Trafalgar Square. A general U.K. release followed on 17 March. Abramorama and Seattle's Northwest Film Forum made plans for a film series called The Seventh Art Stand, with screenings across the U.S. for May 2017, featuring "The Salesman" and other films from countries affected by the White House's second attempted travel ban, Executive Order 13780.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: The film received critical acclaim. It holds a 96% "fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 196 reviews with a weighted average score of 7.94/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Salesman" takes an ambitiously complex look at thought-provoking themes, and the well-acted results prove another consistently absorbing entry in writer-director Asghar Farhadi's distinguished filmography." On Metacritic, it holds an 85/100 rating, based on 36 reviews from critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: After its Cannes screening, Owen Gleiberman wrote in "Variety" that, following Farhadi's "A Separation" and "The Past", "The Salesman" "is another finely cut gem of neorealist suspense." Donald Clarke's review from "The Irish Times" stated that "The latest from Asghar Farhadi sees another family put under stress after a violent attack." Deborah Young in "The Hollywood Reporter" summarized the film as "Masterful particularly in the finale, but not so readily engaging." "Time Out" critic Dave Calhoun gave the film three of five stars, dissatisfied with the ending.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: The film was supported by Iranian social media users, and after its screening and two awards at Cannes, some government officials and politicians congratulated Farhadi. However, conservatives accused the film of "portraying a dark image of Iranian society".


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: In "The New York Times", A.O. Scott wrote it was not initially clear why "Death of a Salesman" was selected, but Willy Loman's presence soon became felt, and favourably compared the use of the play to "All About My Mother"s use of "A Streetcar Named Desire". Peter Travers gave the film three and a half stars in "Rolling Stone", praising it as "a dazzling, darkly funny, quietly devastating human drama." "Entertainment Weekly" gave it an A, with Joe McGovern writing the end had great impact. In "The Globe and Mail", Kate Taylor gave it four stars, assessing the film as a subtle work with multiple dimensions. Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote in the "Chicago Reader" that the film was intense, comparing Farhadi to Elia Kazan. Conversely, Bilge Ebiri of "LA Weekly" wrote that, while Farhadi was talented in intensity and drama, this effort was artificial. "The Guardian" critic Peter Bradshaw gave it three stars out of five, assessing it as one of Farhadi's lesser films, "potent" but derivative. For "The Independent", Geoffrey Macnab gave it four stars, praising Hosseini and Alidoosti's performances. Charlotte O'Sullivan gave it three stars out of five in the "London Evening Standard", faulting the screenplay for lack of subtlety.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: At Cannes, Shahab Hosseini won the award for Best Actor and Asghar Farhadi won the award for Best Screenplay. It also won the unofficial "Palme de Whiskers" in recognition of a featured cat, "Mrow, the Tehran street cat". The film was the Iranian submission for Best Foreign Language Film, winning the Oscar at the 89th Academy Awards, marking Farhadi's second win after "A Separation". The Persian playwright and filmmaker, Bahram Beyzai congratulated Farhadi on his Academy Award in a voice message played in public by Hayedeh Safiyari, the editor of the film.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: Following United States President Donald Trump's order which blocked entry of citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries to the U.S., on 26 January 2017 Alidoosti tweeted that she would boycott the Academy Awards in protest at the "racist" ban.


title: The Salesman (2016 film)

text: On 29 January, Farhadi wrote to "The New York Times" that he originally planned to attend the ceremony and draw the media's attention to "the unjust circumstances", believing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would share his moderate position. He also compared the ban to the rhetoric of hardliners in Iran. On 30 January, Australian director George Miller supported Asghar Farhadi's decision, saying that "irrational craziness" is "affecting the United States and the rest of the world.", and some of Britain's filmmakers wrote a letter organized by Mark Donne to Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, for permission to hold an outdoor screening of "The Salesman" in London's Grosvenor Square "directly opposite the United States embassy building" on the night of the Academy Awards Ceremony. When that plan floundered, Lily Cole, who was another signatory, brought in Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. Khan offered Trafalgar Square for a free screening.