title: Divya Bharti

text: In March 1992, David Dhawan's romantic action drama "Shola Aur Shabnam" was released. It was popular with critics and was a box office hit in India, marking Bharti's first major hit in Bollywood. She achieved further success in Raj Kanwar's "Filmfare" Award-winning love story "Deewana," which starred veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and newcomer Shahrukh Khan. It was one of the biggest hits of 1992. Her performance in "Deewana" was highly appreciated. Critics reported that Bharti belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors who broke away from character stereotypes. Bharti won the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. By July 1992, Bharti's work in "Deewana" was said to have earned her more recognition.


title: Divya Bharti

text: She had several Hindi releases that year—the action drama "Jaan Se Pyaara", which featured Bharti alongside Govinda once again, romantic drama "Geet" opposite Avinash Wadhawan, action "Dushman Zamana" alongside Armaan Kohli, and action drama "Balwaan", which marked the debut of Suniel Shetty. The latter achieved moderate success. In October, she appeared in Hema Malini's romantic drama "Dil Aashna Hai", which did not do as well at the box office. She portrayed a bar dancer who sets out to find her birth mother. The role earned her critical appreciation. Bharti decided to act in one Telugu movie per year to not disappoint her Telugu audience. "Chittemma Mogudu" was released in early 1993, again starring the popular couple of Bharti and Mohan Babu. In the last film to be released during her lifetime, the ensemble film "Kshatriya", she co-starred alongside Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon. It was released on 26 March 1993.


title: Divya Bharti

text: Bharti was replaced in films she had not completed, including "Mohra" (played by Raveena Tandon), "Kartavya" (played by Juhi Chawla), "Vijaypath" (played by Tabu), "Dilwale" (played by Raveena Tandon), and "Andolan" (played by Mamta Kulkarni). She was more than halfway through the filming of "Laadla" at the time of her death and the movie was reshot with Sridevi portraying the role.


title: Divya Bharti

text: Shortly before her death, she had completed filming for "Rang" and "Shatranj"; these were released posthumously on 7 July 1993 and 17 December 1993 respectively and achieved moderate success. Although she had completed filming her scenes for both films, a dubbing artist was used as she never got the chance to dub for the films. Her incomplete Telugu film "Tholi Muddhu" was partly completed by actress Rambha, who slightly resembled Bharti and hence was used as her body double to complete her remaining scenes; the film was released in October 1993.


title: Divya Bharti

text: Bharti met director-producer Sajid Nadiadwala through actor Govinda while working on the set of "Shola Aur Shabnam", and they married on 10 May 1992 at a private ceremony in the presence of her hairdresser and friend Sandhya, Sandhya's husband, and a qazi at Nadiadwala's Tulsi Buildings residence in Bombay. It has been reported she converted to Islam. The marriage was kept secret so as to not affect her prosperous film career.


title: Divya Bharti

text: In the late evening hours of 5 April 1993, Bharti fell from the balcony window of her fifth-floor apartment in Tulsi Buildings, Versova, Andheri West in Bombay. When her guests Neeta Lulla, Neeta's husband Shyam Lulla, Bharti's maid Amrita Kumari, and neighbours realised what had happened, she was rushed in an ambulance to the emergency department at Cooper Hospital, where she died. She was 19 years old. Though shrouded in mystery, the official cause of her death was declared to be severe head injuries and internal bleeding. She was cremated on 7 April 1993 at the Vile Parle crematorium in Bombay.


title: Divya Bharti

text: Bharti acted in 21 films during her short career, and was one of the highest-paid Indian actresses at the time of her death.


title: Divya Bharti

text: Her offscreen persona and unique acting ability has been highly appreciated and reminisced by many of her co-stars and critics. Shah Rukh Khan, who shared screen space with her in "Deewana" and "Dil Aashna Hai", once said, "...one of the finest actresses I have ever worked with is Divya Bharti." Suniel Shetty has remarked, "I have not yet seen any other actress who is as talented as Divya Bharti. I don't think anyone had that much of talent which she possessed. Her talent was unbelievable, she'd do "masti" and "bachpana" (fun and childish behavior) before the shoot commenced and when asked for, she'd give such a perfect shot that I used to forget my own dialogues!". Actress Karishma Kapoor has paid her tribute by saying, "She was so wonderful in Deewana.. couldn't take my eyes off! We really miss her a lot." Moreover, Chunky Panday has addressed her to be ""chulbuli"" (bubbly) and that "she was full of life, energy and loved to work with her in Vishwatma."


title: Divya Bharti

text: According to actor Govinda, "Juhi, Kajol and Karisma are in different spot, Divya had a totally different kind of appeal from those three. What she had was natural and god given, it cannot be created by anyone, however much they may try. She had a raw, tamed, wild look about her which magnetised the audience." Producer Guddu Dhanoa, upon working with her in Deewana, has stated that, "Bollywood misses her a lot and the void which was created owing to her death could not be filled by anyone else." Archana Puran Singh in the caption of one her social media posts has written, "Divya was a sweet soul, still remember sobbing the day she passed away."


title: Divya Bharti

text: New generation artists like Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have also remembered Divya Bharti in some of their interviews. Varun has revealed Bharti to be "one of the actresses from 90s he would have loved to work with." Anushka Sharma has been quoted saying "I became a huge fan of Divya Bharti after watching her songs. I would dance to almost all her songs, especially 'Saat Samundar'. When she passed away, my mother didn't tell me for about a week because she knew I would break down."


title: Divya Bharti

text: In 2011 Dev Anand made the movie "Chargesheet", which was loosely based on her death and the mystery surrounding it.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine ( or ) is an organic compound with the nominal formula (HN)(HN)CN(CH)CHCOH. It exists in various modifications (tautomers) in solution. Creatine is found in vertebrates where it facilitates recycling of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), primarily in muscle and brain tissue. Recycling is achieved by converting adenosine diphosphate (ADP) back to ATP via donation of phosphate groups. Creatine also acts as a buffer.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine was first identified in 1832 when Michel Eugène Chevreul isolated it from the basified water-extract of skeletal muscle. He later named the crystallized precipitate after the Greek word for meat, κρέας ("kreas"). In 1928, creatine was shown to exist in equilibrium with creatinine. Studies in the 1920s showed that consumption of large amounts of creatine did not result in its excretion. This result pointed to the ability of the body to store creatine, which in turn suggested its use as a dietary supplement.


title: Creatine

text: In 1912, Harvard University researchers Otto Folin and Willey Glover Denis found evidence that ingesting creatine can dramatically boost the creatine content of the muscle. In the late 1920s, after finding that the intramuscular stores of creatine can be increased by ingesting creatine in larger than normal amounts, scientists discovered "phosphocreatine" (creatine phosphate), and determined that creatine is a key player in the metabolism of skeletal muscle. The substance creatine is naturally formed in vertebrates.


title: Creatine

text: The discovery of phosphocreatine was reported in 1927. In the 1960s, creatine kinase (CK) was shown to phosphorylate ADP using phosphocreatine (PCr) to generate ATP. It follows that ATP, not PCr is directly consumed in muscle contraction. CK uses creatine to "buffer" the ATP/ADP ratio.


title: Creatine

text: While creatine's influence on physical performance has been well documented since the early twentieth century, it came into public view following the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. An August 7, 1992 article in "The Times" reported that Linford Christie, the gold medal winner at 100 meters, had used creatine before the Olympics. An article in "Bodybuilding Monthly" named Sally Gunnell, who was the gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles, as another creatine user. In addition, "The Times" also noted that 100 meter hurdler Colin Jackson began taking creatine before the Olympics.


title: Creatine

text: At the time, low-potency creatine supplements were available in Britain, but creatine supplements designed for strength enhancement were not commercially available until 1993 when a company called Experimental and Applied Sciences (EAS) introduced the compound to the sports nutrition market under the name "Phosphagen". Research performed thereafter demonstrated that the consumption of high glycemic carbohydrates in conjunction with creatine increases creatine muscle stores.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine is a naturally occurring non-protein compound and the primary constituent of phosphocreatine, which is used to regenerate ATP within the cell. 95% of the human body's total creatine and phosphocreatine stores are found in skeletal muscle, while the remainder is distributed in the blood, brain, testes, and other tissues. The typical creatine content of skeletal muscle (as both creatine and phosphocreatine) is 120 mmol per kilogram of dry muscle mass, but can reach up to 160 mmol/kg through supplementation. Approximately 1–2% of intramuscular creatine is degraded per day and an individual would need about 1–3 grams of creatine per day to maintain average (unsupplemented) creatine storage. An omnivorous diet provides roughly half of this value, with the remainder synthesized in the liver and kidneys.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine is not an essential nutrient. It is an amino acid derivative, naturally produced in the human body from the amino acids glycine and arginine, with an additional requirement for S-Adenosyl methionine (a derivative of methionine) to catalyze the transformation of guanidinoacetate to creatine. In the first step of the biosynthesis, the enzyme (AGAT, EC:2.1.4.1) mediates the reaction of glycine and arginine to form guanidinoacetate. This product is then methylated by guanidinoacetate "N"-methyltransferase (GAMT, EC:2.1.1.2), using "S"-adenosyl methionine as the methyl donor. Creatine itself can be phosphorylated by creatine kinase to form phosphocreatine, which is used as an energy buffer in skeletal muscles and the brain. A cyclic form of creatine, called creatinine, exists in equilibrium with its tautomer and with creatine.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine is transported through the blood and taken up by tissues with high energy demands, such as the brain and skeletal muscle, through an active transport system. The concentration of ATP in skeletal muscle is usually 2–5 mM, which would result in a muscle contraction of only a few seconds. During times of increased energy demands, the phosphagen (or ATP/PCr) system rapidly resynthesizes ATP from ADP with the use of phosphocreatine (PCr) through a reversible reaction catalysed by the enzyme creatine kinase (CK). The phosphate group is attached to an NH center of the creatine. In skeletal muscle, PCr concentrations may reach 20–35 mM or more. Additionally, in most muscles, the ATP regeneration capacity of CK is very high and is therefore not a limiting factor. Although the cellular concentrations of ATP are small, changes are difficult to detect because ATP is continuously and efficiently replenished from the large pools of PCr and CK. A proposed representation has been illustrated by Krieder et al. Creatine has the ability to increase muscle stores of PCr, potentially increasing the muscle's ability to resynthesize ATP from ADP to meet increased energy demands.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine supplementation appears to increase the number of myonuclei that satellite cells will 'donate' to damaged muscle fibers, which increases the potential for growth of those fibers. This increase in myonuclei probably stems from creatine's ability to increase levels of the myogenic transcription factor MRF4.


title: Creatine

text: Genetic deficiencies in the creatine biosynthetic pathway lead to various severe neurological defects. Clinically, there are three distinct disorders of creatine metabolism. Deficiencies in the two synthesis enzymes can cause caused by variants in "GATM" and guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency, caused by variants in "GAMT". Both biosynthetic defects are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. A third defect, creatine transporter defect, is caused by mutations in "SLC6A8" and inherited in a X-linked manner. This condition is related to the transport of creatine into the brain.


title: Creatine

text: Some studies suggest that total muscle creatine is significantly lower in vegetarians than non-vegetarians. It is postulated that this finding is due to an omnivorous diet being the primary source of creatine. Research shows that supplementation is needed to raise the concentration of creatine in the muscles of lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans up to non-vegetarian levels.


title: Creatine

text: Most of the research to-date on creatine has predominantly focused on the pharmacological properties of creatine, yet there is a lack of research into the pharmacokinetics of creatine. Studies have not established pharmacokinetic parameters for clinical usage of creatine such as volume of distribution, clearance, bioavailability, mean residence time, absorption rate, and half life. A clear pharmacokinetic profile would need to be established prior to optimal clinical dosing.


title: Creatine

text: An approximation of 0.3 g/kg/day divided into 4 equal spaced intervals has been suggested since creatine needs may vary based on body weight. It has also been shown that taking a lower dose of 3 grams a day for 28 days can also increase total muscle creatine storage to the same amount as the rapid loading dose of 20 g/day for 6 days. However, a 28 day loading phase does not allow for ergogenic benefits of creatine supplementation to be realized until fully saturated muscle storage.


title: Creatine

text: Supplementing creatine with carbohydrates or carbohydrates and protein has been shown to augment creatine retention.


title: Creatine

text: This elevation in muscle creatine storage has been correlated with ergogenic benefits discussed in the research section. However, higher doses for longer periods of time are being studied to offset creatine synthesis deficiencies and mitigating diseases.


title: Creatine

text: After the 5–7 day loading phase, muscle creatine stores are fully saturated and supplementation only needs to cover the amount of creatine broken down per day. This maintenance dose was originally reported to be around 2–3 g/day (or 0.03 g/kg/day), however, some studies have suggested 3–5 g/day maintenance dose to maintain saturated muscle creatine.


title: Creatine

text: Endogenous serum or plasma creatine concentrations in healthy adults are normally in a range of 2–12 mg/L. A single 5 gram (5000 mg) oral dose in healthy adults results in a peak plasma creatine level of approximately 120 mg/L at 1–2 hours post-ingestion. Creatine has a fairly short elimination half life, averaging just less than 3 hours, so to maintain an elevated plasma level it would be necessary to take small oral doses every 3–6 hours throughout the day.


title: Creatine

text: It has been shown that once supplementation of creatine stops, muscle creatine stores return to baseline in 4–6 weeks.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine supplementation for sporting performance enhancement is considered safe for short-term use but there is a lack of safety data for long term use, or for use in children and adolescents.


title: Creatine

text: A 2018 review article in the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition" said that creatine monohydrate might help with energy availability for high-intensity exercise.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine use can increase maximum power and performance in high-intensity anaerobic repetitive work (periods of work and rest) by 5% to 15%. Creatine has no significant effect on aerobic endurance, though it will increase power during short sessions of high-intensity aerobic exercise.


title: Creatine

text: A survey of 21,000 college athletes showed that 14% of athletes take creatine supplements to try to improve performance. Non-athletes report taking creatine supplements to improve appearance.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine is reported to have a beneficial effect on brain function and cognitive processing, although the evidence is difficult to interpret systematically and the appropriate dosing is unknown. The greatest effects appears to be in individuals who are stressed (due, for instance, to sleep deprivation) or cognitively impaired.


title: Creatine

text: A meta-analysis found that creatine treatment increased muscle strength in muscular dystrophies, and potentially improved functional performance. Creatine treatment does not appear to improve muscle strength in people who have metabolic myopathies. High doses of creatine lead to increased muscle pain and an impairment in activities of daily living when taken by people who have McArdle disease.


title: Creatine

text: According to a clinical study focusing on people with various muscular dystrophies, using a pure form of creatine monohydrate can be beneficial in rehabilitation after injuries and immobilization.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine's impact on mitochondrial function has led to research on its efficacy and safety for slowing Parkinson's disease. As of 2014, the evidence did not provide a reliable foundation for treatment decisions, due to risk of bias, small sample sizes, and the short duration of trials.


title: Creatine

text: Several primary studies have been completed but no systematic review on Huntington's disease has been completed yet.


title: Creatine

text: One well-documented effect of creatine supplementation is weight gain within the first week of the supplement schedule, likely attributable to greater water retention due to the increased muscle creatine concentrations by means of osmosis.


title: Creatine

text: A 2009 systematic review discredited concerns that creatine supplementation could affect hydration status and heat tolerance and lead to muscle cramping and diarrhea.


title: Creatine

text: A 2019 systematic review published by the National Kidney Foundation investigated whether creatine supplementation had adverse effects on renal function. They identified 15 studies from 1997–2013 that looked at standard creatine loading and maintenance protocols of 4–20 g/day of creatine versus placebo. They utilized serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, and serum urea levels as a measure of renal damage. While in general creatine supplementation resulted in slightly elevated creatinine levels that remained within normal limits, supplementation did not induce renal damage (P value< 0.001). Special populations included in the 2019 Systematic review included type 2 diabetic patients and post-menopausal women, bodybuilders, athletes, and resistance trained populations. The study also discussed 3 case studies where there were reports that creatine affected renal function.


title: Creatine

text: In a joint statement between the American College of Sports Medicine, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Dietitians in Canada on performance enhancing nutrition strategies, creatine was included in their list of ergogenic aids and they do not list renal function as a concern for use.


title: Creatine

text: The most recent position stand on creatine from the "Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition" states that creatine is safe to take in healthy populations from infants to the elderly to performance athletes. They also state that long term (5 years) use of creatine has been considered safe.


title: Creatine

text: It is important to mention that kidneys themselves, for normal physiological function, need phosphocreatine and creatine and indeed kidneys express significant amounts of creatine kinases (BB-CK and u-mtCK isoenzymes). At the same time, the first of two steps for endogenous creatine synthesis takes place in the kidneys themselves. Patients with kidney disease and those undergoing dialysis treatment generally show significantly lower levels of creatine in their organs, since the pathological kidneys are both hampered in creatine synthesis capability and are in back-resorption of creatine from the urine in the distal tubules. In addition, dialysis patients lose creatine due to wash out by the dialysis treatment itself and thus become chronically creatine depleted. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that dialysis patients generally consume less meat and fish, the alimentary sources of creatine. Therefore, to alleviate chronic creatine depletion in these patients and allow organs to replenish their stores of creatine, it was recently proposed to supplement dialysis patients with extra creatine, preferably by intra-dialytic administration. Such a supplementation with creatine in dialysis patients is expected to significantly improve the health and quality of the patients by improving muscle strength, coordination of movement, brain function and to alleviate depression and chronic fatigue that are common in these patients.


title: Creatine

text: A 2011 survey of 33 supplements commercially available in Italy found that over 50% of them exceeded the European Food Safety Authority recommendations in at least one contaminant. The most prevalent of these contaminants was creatinine, a breakdown product of creatine also produced by the body. Creatinine was present in higher concentrations than the European Food Safety Authority recommendations in 44% of the samples. About 15% of the samples had detectable levels of dihydro-1,3,5-triazine or a high dicyandiamide concentration. Heavy metals contamination was not found to be a concern, with only minor levels of mercury being detectable. Two studies reviewed in 2007 found no impurities.


title: Creatine

text: A National Institutes of Health study suggests that caffeine interacts with creatine to increase the rate of progression of Parkinson's Disease.


title: Creatine

text: When creatine is mixed with protein and sugar at high temperatures (above 148 ℃), the resulting reaction produces carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs). Such a reaction happens when grilling or pan-frying meat. Creatine content (as a percentage of crude protein) can be used as an indicator of meat quality.


title: Creatine

text: Creatine-monohydrate is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, as the raw materials used for the production of the supplement have no animal origin.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 through December 2018.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and earned an accounting degree from Clemson University. She joined her family's clothing business, before serving as treasurer and president of the National Association of Women Business Owners. First elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, she served three terms. In 2010, during her third term, she was elected governor of South Carolina, and she won re-election in 2014. Haley was the first female governor of South Carolina, the youngest governor in the country and the second governor of Indian descent (after fellow Republican Bobby Jindal of Louisiana). She was the first female Asian American governor, and in 2017 became the first Indian American in a presidential cabinet.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley served as United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 96–4 vote, and was sworn in in January 2017. She affirmed the United States's willingness to use military force in response to further North Korean missile tests in the wake of the 2017–2018 North Korea crisis. She strongly defended Israel at the Security Council, and led the effort to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council. She voluntarily stepped down as Ambassador on December 31, 2018.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to immigrant Indian Punjabi Sikh parents at Bamberg County Hospital in Bamberg, South Carolina. Her father, Ajit Singh Randhawa, and her mother, Raj Kaur Randhawa, immigrated to the United States from Amritsar District, Punjab, India. Her father was formerly a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, and her mother received her law degree from the University of Delhi. Haley was known under her middle name, a Punjabi name, from her earliest years.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley's parents moved to Canada after her father received a scholarship offer from the University of British Columbia. When her father received his PhD in 1969, he moved his family to South Carolina, after accepting a position as a professor at Voorhees College, a historically black institution.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Her mother, Raj Randhawa, earned a master's degree in education and taught for seven years in the Bamberg public schools. In 1976 she started a popular clothing boutique, Exotica International. It closed in 2008.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley has a sister and two brothers. Her sister, Simran, born in Canada, became a radio host and Fashion Institute of Technology alumna. Her brother, Mitti, retired as a member of the United States Army Chemical Corps having served in Desert Storm; her second brother, Charan, is a web designer.


title: Nikki Haley

text: At the age of 12, Haley began helping with the bookkeeping in her mother's ladies' clothing shop, Exotica International. In 1989, she graduated from the private Orangeburg Preparatory Schools.


title: Nikki Haley

text: After graduating from Clemson University, Haley worked for FCR Corporation, a waste management and recycling company, before joining her family's clothing business as its bookkeeper and chief financial officer.


title: Nikki Haley

text: She married Michael Haley in 1996. She later became active in civic affairs. In 1998, she was named to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce. She was named to the board of directors of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce in 2003. Haley became treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners in 2003, and president in 2004.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley chaired the Lexington Gala to raise funds for a local hospital. She also served on the Lexington Medical Foundation, Lexington County Sheriff's Foundation, and West Metro Republican Women. She was the president of the South Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and was chair for the 2006 Friends of Scouting Leadership Division campaign.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In 2004, Haley ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 87 in Lexington County. She challenged incumbent state representative Larry Koon in the Republican primary. He was the longest-serving legislator in the South Carolina Statehouse. Her platform included property tax relief and education reform. In the primary election, she forced a runoff as Koon did not win a majority, but 42% of the vote. She placed second with 40% of the vote. In the runoff, she defeated him 55–45%.


title: Nikki Haley

text: She ran unopposed in the general election. Haley is the first Indian-American to hold office in South Carolina. She was unopposed for re-election to a second term in 2006. In 2008, she won re-election to a third term, defeating Democrat Edgar Gomez 83–17%.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was elected chair of the freshman caucus in 2005 and majority whip in the South Carolina General Assembly. She was the only freshman legislator named to a whip spot at the time.


title: Nikki Haley

text: One of Haley's stated goals was to lower taxes. When Mark Sanford was governor of South Carolina, Haley voted against a proposed cigarette surtax despite criticism that the revenue from the tax would have been used for smoking prevention programs and cancer research related to smoking. She voted for a bill that raised sales taxes from five cents per dollar to six cents per dollar. The bill exempted sales tax on unprepared food such as canned goods. The same bill also exempts property tax on "owner-occupied residential property" except for the taxes due from what is still owed on the property.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley implemented a plan in which teachers' salaries would be based on not only seniority and qualifications but also job performance, as determined by evaluations and reports from principals, students, and parents. She supports school choice and charter schools.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley supports barring legislators from collecting legislative pensions while in office. She believes such pensions should be based on only the $10,400 legislative salary instead of the salary plus lawmakers' $12,000 annual expense allowance.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley has stated that, as a daughter of immigrants, she believes the immigration laws should be enforced. She voted in favor of a law that requires employers to be able to prove that newly hired employees are legal residents of the United States, and also requires all immigrants to carry documentation at all times proving that they are legally in the United States. Haley signed an "Arizona-style" law cracking down on illegal immigration in June 2011. The law is the subject of a lawsuit initiated by the United States Justice Department on numerous grounds, including claims the immigration law violates the Supremacy Clause. Rob Godfrey, a spokesman for Haley, said, "If the feds were doing their job, we wouldn't have had to address illegal immigration reform at the state level. But, until they do, we're going to keep fighting in South Carolina to be able to enforce our laws."


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley describes herself as pro-life and has supported legislation to restrict abortion. She has stated "I'm not pro-life because the Republican Party tells me, I'm pro-life because all of us have had experiences of what it means to have one of these special little ones in our life." In 2016, she re-signed a new state law that bans abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley has voted in favor of some bills relating to abortion that were tabled or rejected, including the Inclusion of Unborn Child/Fetus in Definition for Civil Suits Amendment, Prohibiting Employment Termination Due to Abortion Waiting Period amendment, and Exempting Cases of Rape from Abortion Waiting Period amendment. The latter would have allowed specific cases of women to not have to wait the mandatory 24 hours before having an abortion.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On May 14, 2009, Haley announced that she would run for the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina in the 2010 elections. Haley had been persuaded to run by incumbent governor and fellow Republican Mark Sanford. On November 11, 2009, she was endorsed by former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, as well as Jenny Sanford, the incumbent first lady of South Carolina. Haley has old ties to the Chicago businessman and the Republican Hindu Coalition founder Shalabh "Shalli" Kumar. Kumar reminisced in a 2016 interview, "Her father Ajit Singh Randhawa approached me in the summer of 2010 to support his daughter's campaign to run for governor of South Carolina." He became her largest donor. She was polling in last place in the GOP race before a surprise endorsement from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, three weeks before the primary vote.


title: Nikki Haley

text: The Republican gubernatorial primary took place on June 8, 2010, and Haley captured 49% of the vote, forcing a runoff election on June 22. Haley won handily in the runoff vote.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was elected governor on November 2, 2010, defeating the Democratic candidate, Vincent Sheheen 51% to 47%. She is considered the third non-white person to have been elected as governor of a Southern state, after Virginia's Douglas Wilder and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On August 12, 2013, Haley announced she would seek a second term as governor. She faced a challenge in the Republican primary from Tom Ervin. However, Ervin withdrew and later contested the 2014 gubernatorial election as an independent.


title: Nikki Haley

text: As in 2010, Vincent Sheheen of the Democratic Party ran against Haley. Republican-turned-Independent Tom Ervin was also running in early stages of the contest, as were Libertarian Steve French and United Citizens Party candidate Morgan Bruce Reeves. The first public debate was held in Charleston on October 14 between French, Ervin, Haley, Reeves, and Sheheen. The second public debate in Greenville on October 21 again included all five candidates. A week after the second debate, Ervin withdrew from the race and endorsed Sheheen.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was re-elected on November 4, 2014, with a 55.9 percent to 41.3 percent win, almost tripling her previous margin of victory over Sheheen in the 2010 gubernatorial election.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley began serving as governor of South Carolina in January 2011. During her second term, Haley feuded with veteran lawmakers in the General Assembly. She endorsed powerful senate finance chairman Hugh Leatherman's primary opponent in 2016. After winning the primary, Leatherman stated that Haley was not just a lame duck, but a "dead duck." Her second term as governor was set to expire on January 9, 2019; however, Haley resigned her position on January 24, 2017, to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley delivered the official Republican response to President Barack Obama's 2016 State of the Union Address on January 12, 2016.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Four lieutenant governors served under Haley. Haley, a Republican, welcomed Yancey McGill, a Democrat, to serve as her lieutenant governor after Glenn F. McConnell's resignation. Haley was initially against having a Democrat serve as the second-in-command to the governor, but she, along with the Senate, eventually agreed otherwise.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On December 17, 2012, Haley announced she would appoint Tim Scott to replace retiring Senator Jim DeMint, who had previously announced that he would retire from the Senate to become the president of the Heritage Foundation. Following his appointment, Scott became the first African American U.S. senator from South Carolina.


title: Nikki Haley

text: News media reported that Scott, Representative Trey Gowdy, former South Carolina attorney general Henry McMaster, former First Lady of South Carolina Jenny Sanford, and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton were on Haley's short list to replace DeMint. Of choosing Scott, Haley said, "It is important to me, as a minority female, that Congressman Scott earned this seat, he earned this seat for the person that he is. He earned this seat with the results he has shown."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In July 2013, Haley was fined $3,500 by the State Ethics Commission and given a "public warning" for failing to report the addresses of eight donors during her 2010 campaign for governor.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In August 2013, Haley signed an extradition order for Dusten Brown to be brought to South Carolina in the "Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl" case.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Upon becoming governor, Haley appointed Bobby Hitt as the state's secretary of commerce. She stated of the economy: "We have announced 85,613 jobs. We have celebrated 672 projects—more than half of which were expansions...We have seen $21.5 billion in capital investment. Our unemployment rate is now 4.4 percent. Every single one of our 46 counties has seen new jobs. Every one."In inviting business to move to South Carolina, she has said:


title: Nikki Haley

text: Before June 2015, Haley supported flying the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds. In the immediate aftermath of the Charleston church shooting, Haley did not take a position on removing the flag, saying, "I think the state will start talking about that again, and we'll see where it goes." On June 22, Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. She stated:


title: Nikki Haley

text: "These grounds [the State Capital] are a place that everybody should feel a part of. What I realized now more than ever is people were driving by and felt hurt and pain. No one should feel pain." Haley also said, "There is a place for that flag," but she added, "It's not in a place that represents all people in South Carolina."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In July 2015, Haley signed a bill to authorize removing the Confederate flag from the flagpole on the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol. In December 2019, she defended the people of South Carolina, saying that "some people" in South Carolina saw the flag as a representation of "service and sacrifice and heritage" before the flag was hijacked by the white supremacist mass killer Dylann Roof.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In April 2016, Haley indicated she would not support legislation introduced by the South Carolina State Senate which would require transgender individuals to use restrooms based on their gender assigned at birth. Haley stated:


title: Nikki Haley

text: These are not instances that... y'all haven't reported on anything. I haven't heard anything that's come to my office. So when I look at South Carolina, we look at our situations, we're not hearing of anybody's religious liberties that are being violated, and we're, again, not hearing any citizens that feel like they are being violated in terms of freedoms.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In 2021, Haley spoke against Executive Order 13988, officially titled Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley has been described by South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham as a "strong supporter of the State of Israel." As governor of South Carolina, she signed into law a bill to stop efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This legislation was the first of its kind on a statewide level. Haley also stated that "nowhere has the UN's failure been more consistent and more outrageous than in its bias against our close ally Israel".


title: Nikki Haley

text: In 2016, Haley received extensive press coverage for saying the phrase "bless your heart" in response to an attack by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump had attacked her on Twitter for her call for him to release his tax records.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was critical of Trump during the election, and was a supporter of Florida senator and candidate Marco Rubio. She stated on Trump in 2016: "I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That's not who we want as president. We will not allow that in our country!"When Rubio dropped out of the election, she then supported candidate Ted Cruz. When Trump became the Republican finalist, she said that she would vote for him, but was "not a fan."


title: Nikki Haley

text: During the next years, "after being plucked from the governorship of South Carolina to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Haley had navigated the Trump era with a singular shrewdness," Tim Alberta argues, citing a "New York Times" editorial claiming that Haley was able to "exit the administration with her dignity largely intact."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In regard to the state trial of Dylann Roof, Haley urged prosecutors to seek the death penalty against him.


title: Nikki Haley

text: During her 2011–2017 gubernatorial term, Haley vetoed 50 bills, 24 (48%) of which were overridden by the state legislature.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On November 23, 2016, then President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Haley for ambassador to the United Nations. On January 20, 2017, President Trump sent Haley's nomination to the United States Senate. It has been reported that Trump considered Haley for the position of secretary of state, which she declined.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On January 24, 2017, by a vote of 96–4, Haley was confirmed by the Senate to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The four senators who voted against Haley were Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) Haley was the first Indian American to hold a cabinet level position. Shortly thereafter, she resigned as South Carolina governor, and Lt. Governor Henry McMaster ascended into the governorship of South Carolina.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on January 25, 2017. She met with United Nations secretary-general António Guterres on January 27, 2017, at the UN Headquarters in New York City. She replaced Ambassador Samantha Power.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On February 2, 2017, Haley declared to the U.N. Security Council that sanctions against Russia for its Crimean conflict would not be lifted until Russia returned control over the region to Ukraine. On June 4, Haley reported the United States would retain "sanctions strong and tough when it comes to the issue in Ukraine".


title: Nikki Haley

text: On March 15, 2017, Haley said she would not support a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States should President Trump choose to enact one. Haley said she did not believe "we should ever ban anyone based on their religion" and that a Muslim ban would be "un-American".


title: Nikki Haley

text: On March 30, 2017, Haley stated that the U.S. would no longer focus on forcing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to leave power. This was a policy shift from former president Barack Obama's initial stance on Assad. On April 5, speaking to the U.N. Security Council a day after the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Haley said Russia, Assad, and Iran "have no interest in peace" and attacks similar to this would continue occurring should nothing be done in response. A day later, the U.S. launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles toward the Shayrat Air Base in Syria. Haley called the strike a "very measured step" and warned that the U.S. was prepared "to do more" despite wishing it would not be required. On April 12, after Russia blocked a draft resolution meant to condemn the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Haley criticized Russia, saying "We need to see Russia choose to side with the civilized world over an Assad government that brutally terrorizes its own people." June 28, while appearing before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Haley credited President Trump's warning to Syria with stopping another chemical attack: "I can tell you due to the president's actions, we did not see an incident."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In April 2017, while holding her first session as president of the UN Security Council, Haley charged Iran and Hezbollah with having "conducted terrorist acts" for decades within the Middle East.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley said the U.S. military could be deployed in response to any further North Korean missile tests or usage of nuclear missiles and that she believed Kim Jong-un understood this due to pressure by both the U.S. and China. On May 14, 2017, after North Korea performed a ballistic missile test, Haley said Kim was "in a state of paranoia" after feeling pressure from the U.S. On June 2, 2017, after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution adding fifteen North Koreans and four entities linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to a sanctions blacklist, Haley said the council's vote was "sending a clear message to North Korea today: Stop firing ballistic missiles or face the consequences". On July 5, 2017, during a U.N. Security Council meeting, in response to North Korea launching an intercontinental ballistic missile, Haley announced the US would within days "bring before the Security Council a resolution that raises the international response in a way that is proportionate to North Korea's new escalation". The following month the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved sanctions on North Korea banning exports worth over $1 billion. Haley said that the sanctions package was "the single largest ... ever leveled against the North Korean regime".


title: Nikki Haley

text: Also in April 2017, Haley spoke out against Ramzan Kadyrov and the abuse and murder of gay men in Chechnya. She stated that "We continue to be disturbed by reports of kidnapping, torture, and murder of people in Chechnya based on their sexual orientation ... this violation of human rights cannot be ignored".


title: Nikki Haley

text: In a May 2017 interview, Haley expressed interest in moving the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On June 7, Haley charged the U.N. with having "bullied Israel for a very long time" and pledged the US would end this treatment while in Jerusalem. Israel occupied the Jordan-controlled East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967 and formally annexed it in 1980. The Jerusalem Law declared Jerusalem to be Israel's "undivided capital".


title: Nikki Haley

text: In July 2017, after the UNESCO voted to designate the Hebron's Old City and the Cave of the Patriarchs as Palestinian territory as well as endangered world heritage sites, Haley called the choice "tragic on several levels" in a statement (see Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Hebron).


title: Nikki Haley

text: In September 2017, Haley stated that "some countries" (a reference to Russia, although Haley did not refer to Russia by name) were shielding Iran by blocking the International Atomic Energy Agency from verifying Iranian compliance with the international nuclear agreement with Iran. Haley said that it "appears that some countries are attempting to shield Iran from even more inspections. Without inspections, the Iran deal is an empty promise."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In September 2017, Haley said that her government was "deeply troubled" by reports of atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Haley criticized Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi for "justifying the imprisonment of the two Reuters reporters who reported on the ethnic cleansing."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In October 2017, the federal Office of Special Counsel determined that Haley had violated the federal Hatch Act in June 2017 by re-tweeting Trump's endorsement of Ralph Norman, a Republican candidate for Congress in South Carolina. Haley deleted the re-tweet after a complaint was filed by the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The Office of Special Counsel issued a reprimand by letter but did not recommend any further action be taken against Haley. The special counsel's letter warned Haley that any future violation could be considered "a willful and knowing violation of the law".


title: Nikki Haley

text: In October 2017, the U.S., along with 13 other nations, voted against a U.N. resolution titled "The Question of the Death Penalty", which condemned the use of capital punishment when "applied arbitrarily or in a discriminatory manner" and specifically condemned "the imposition of the death penalty as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery and consensual same-sex relations." LGBTQ rights advocates in the U.S., including the Human Rights Campaign, were critical of the vote. After the vote, a State Department spokeswoman announced that "We voted against that resolution because of broader concerns with the resolution's approach in condemning the death penalty in all circumstances ... The United States unequivocally condemns the application of the death penalty for conduct such as homosexuality, blasphemy, adultery, and apostasy. We do not consider such conduct appropriate for criminalization."


title: Nikki Haley

text: Egypt sponsored a Security Council resolution voiding any unilateral decisions on Jerusalem's status. The resolution further demanded that countries "refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the holy city." In December 2017, Haley warned UN members that she would be "taking names" of countries that voted to reject President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. In a letter, Haley wrote: "As you consider your vote, I encourage you to know the president and the US take this vote personally. The president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those who voted against us." The resolution still passed by an overwhelming margin: 128 in favour, 35 abstaining and only nine against. Haley even travelled to some countries that voted "No," such as Guatemala and Honduras, and thanked them for their support in the emergency special session.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Also in December 2017, Haley accused Iran of backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis were fighting the Saudi-backed Hadi government. She said that the "fight against Iranian aggression is the world's fight." Iranian U.N. mission spokesman Alireza Miryusefi said in response that "These accusations seek also to cover up for the Saudi war crimes in Yemen, with the US complicity, and divert attention from the stalemate war of aggression against the Yemenis." Iran likened Haley's presentation to that of then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Haley also said that "It's hard to find a conflict or terrorist group in the Middle East that doesn't have Iran's fingerprints all over it", but she did not mention the U.S. role in Saudi-led intervention in Yemen and Saudi-led coalition's blockade of Yemen.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In December 2017, Haley said that the women who had accused President Trump of touching or groping them without their consent "should be heard."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In January 2018, she supported President Trump's withholding aid to Palestinians through the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).


title: Nikki Haley

text: In April 2018, she failed to disclose to both President Trump and the American people that several US Military members deployed in support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were wounded in a large complex attack in Timbuktu.


title: Nikki Haley

text: On October 9, 2018, she tendered her resignation as the U.N. ambassador, which President Donald Trump accepted. Haley's resignation emerged a day after an anti-corruption watchdog accused her of accepting seven luxury private plane trips as gifts from South Carolina business leaders. The watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), was the first to break this story after requesting an Inspector General investigation. Haley listed these seven flights as gifts on a 2018 financial disclosure, claiming that they are exempt from ethics violations as they were gifted by personal contacts. A spokesperson for CREW said they have no reason to believe that this was related to her resignation as ambassador.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In October 2018, Haley raised the issue of China's re-education camps and human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority. She said that "At least a million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities have been imprisoned in so-called 're-education camps' in western China," and detainees are "tortured … forced to renounce their religion and to pledge allegiance to the Communist Party."


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley left her position as U.N. ambassador on December 31, 2018. She was succeeded as U.S. Ambassador to the UN by Ambassador Kelly Craft.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In 2019, Haley created a new policy group called Stand for America, a group that promotes public policies aimed at strengthening the economy, culture, and national security issues. Several billionaires and hedge fund managers have made large donations to the group.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In February 2019, it was announced that Haley had been nominated to the board of directors of Boeing. She was elected at the annual shareholder meeting on April 29. Critics have alleged that the position at Boeing may have been offered to Haley due to favorable official actions she took with regard to Boeing while in office in South Carolina. Boeing board members earn "a minimum annual compensation of $315,000 as of 2017, the most recent figures available in a regulatory filing." On March 19, 2020, Haley stepped down from the Board of Directors stating her disagreement with the board over a government bailout during the global coronavirus crisis.


title: Nikki Haley

text: She supported Trump's January 2020 killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Haley stated on Fox News and later tweeted that Democrats were "mourning the loss of Soleimani."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In early 2021, Haley created a PAC to endorse and support candidates in the 2022 midterm elections. She hired former NRSC political director Betsy Ankney to be the executive director.


title: Nikki Haley

text: In October 2021, Haley was selected to replace David Wilkins for a lifetime position on the Clemson University Board of Trustees.


title: Nikki Haley

text: During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries Haley supported and campaigned for Marco Rubio. Before Super Tuesday, she condemned Trump's failing to denounce Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke by saying "We saw and looked at true hate in the eyes last year in Charleston...I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we want as president." She added, "That is not who our Republican Party is. That's not who America is. When my parents came here, they came here because they knew there was love and acceptance in this country". Rubio dropped out of the race two weeks later. In October 2016, when asked if she'd vote for Trump she replied, "Of course". Haley further endorsed Trump saying, "...the best person based on the policies, and dealing with things like Obamacare, still is Donald Trump". Haley warned that Trump's rhetoric could lead to violent tragedy.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Since her resignation in 2018, she has remained supportive of Trump and his administration describing him as a "friend". She had stated that she was "proud of the successes of the Trump administration" and "I'm not going to apologize" for working with Trump. She strongly defended Trump since his election loss against Joe Biden saying, "I understand the president. I understand that genuinely, to his core, he believes he was wronged, This is not him making it up."


title: Nikki Haley

text: She described Trump's actions around the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol as "not his finest", but fiercely opposed Trump's second impeachment, criticizing Democrats and journalists on Fox News's "The Ingraham Angle" with Laura Ingraham. In that January 25 television interview, she also declared that she would vote against impeachment, and that "They will bring about impeachment, yet they say they are for unity. They beat him up before he got into office. They are beating him up after he leaves office. At some point, give the man a break. I mean, move on". However, in an interview given on January 12, 2021, but published a month later, while Trump's second impeachment trial was underway on charges he had incited the January 2021 storming of the Capitol, Haley said, "We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again." According to "Politico" in February 2021, Haley later reached out to former President Trump to request a sit-down meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Trump reportedly declined the request.


title: Nikki Haley

text: She has reportedly not spoken with Trump on or since January 6, 2021, and asked whether Trump is a friend, she stated that "Friend is a loose term." She has been critical of Trump's role during the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, saying that she was angry that Donald Trump took no action to protect Vice President Pence, adding, "When I tell you I'm angry, it's an understatement."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In 2012, former governor Mitt Romney considered her for his vice-presidential running mate. In April 2012, Haley said that she would turn down any potential vice presidential offer: "I'd say thank you, but no, I made a promise to the people of this state. And I think that promise matters. And I intend to keep it."


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley was mentioned in January 2016 as a potential candidate for the vice presidency in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. "The Economist" described Haley as a politician with high approval ratings who possesses a combination of "fiscal ferocity and a capacity for conciliation," and stated as a female candidate and ethnic minority she would have appeal. On May 4, 2016, after Trump became the presumptive presidential nominee, Haley denied interest in the vice presidential nomination.


title: Nikki Haley

text: Circa 2019 it was rumored that President Trump sought to replace Vice President Mike Pence for Nikki Haley as his running mate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. It was assumed that putting Haley on Trump's 2020 ticket could help his performance with suburban women, a demographic he had so far struggled to mobilize in his favor. However, Trump promptly denied these speculations saying "I love Nikki and there are places for Nikki, and Nikki's future is great, but Mike Pence is the person, 100%. We won together. We have tremendous evangelical support. You can't break up a team like that." Haley also dismissed that allegation on Twitter "Enough of the false rumors. Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the President. He has my complete support."


title: Nikki Haley

text: While speaking at Christians United for Israel's Washington summit in July 2022, Haley hinted at a run for president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, saying, "If this president signs any sort of [Iran nuclear] deal, I’ll make you a promise: The next president will shred it on her first day in office," and, "Just saying, sometimes it takes a woman."


title: Nikki Haley

text: In September 1996, Nikki Randhawa married Michael Haley; they celebrated with both Sikh and Methodist ceremonies. The couple have two children, daughter Rena (born June 8, 1998) and son Nalin (born September 6, 2001).


title: Nikki Haley

text: Haley converted to Christianity in 1997. She and her husband regularly attend the United Methodist Church. She also attends Sikh services once or twice a year. She visited the Harmandir Sahib with her husband in 2014 during her visit to India. During a "Christianity Today" interview, when asked whether or not she hopes her parents convert to Christianity, Haley responded, "What I hope is that my parents do what's right for them."


title: Nikki Haley

text: Her husband is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. During her gubernatorial term, he was sent in January 2013 on a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, and plays its home matches at the BayArena.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: The club was founded in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, whose headquarters are in Leverkusen and from which the club draws its name. It was formerly the best-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball, field handball and other sports including the RTHC Bayer Leverkusen (rowing, tennis and hockey). In 1999, the football department was separated from the sports club and is now a separate entity formally called Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH. Bayer were first promoted to the Bundesliga in 1979, and have remained in the top division ever since. The club's main colours are red and black, both having been used as the main shirt colour and with red and black stripes also having been used as home colours.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: Bayer Leverkusen have finished as runner-up in the Bundesliga five times without winning the competition, a record in German football. The club has won one DFB-Pokal and one UEFA Cup. Bayer also finished runner-up in the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, falling 2–1 to Real Madrid in the final. Their local rivals are 1. FC Köln.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: On 27 November 1903, Wilhelm Hauschild wrote a letter – signed by 170 of his fellow workers – to his employer, the Friedrich Bayer and Co., seeking the company's support in starting a sports club. The company agreed to support the initiative, and on 1 July 1904 "Turn- und Spielverein Bayer 04 Leverkusen" was founded. On 31 May 1907, a separate football department was formed within the club. In the culture of sports in Germany at the time, there was significant animosity between gymnasts and other types of athletes. Eventually this contributed to a split within the club: on 8 June 1928, the footballers formed a separate association – "Sportvereinigung Bayer 04 Leverkusen" – that also included the handball and fistball players, athletics, and boxing, while the gymnasts carried on as "TuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen". "SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen" took with them the club's traditional colours of red and black, with the gymnasts adopting blue and yellow.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: Through this period, and into the 1930s, SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen played third and fourth division football. In 1936, they earned promotion to the second highest class of play of the period. That was also the year that the club wore the familiar "Bayer" cross for the first time. They made their first appearance in upper league play in 1951, in the Oberliga West and played there until 1956, after which they were relegated.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: "SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen" would not return to the upper leagues until 1962, just one season before the formation of Germany's new professional league, the Bundesliga. The next year saw the club in the Regionalliga West, tier II, where their performances over the next few seasons left them well down the league table.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen made something of a breakthrough in 1968 by winning the division title, but was unable to advance through the playoff round to the first division. The club was relegated again in 1973, but made a quick return to what was now called the 2. Bundesliga after just one season spent in the third division. Four years later, the club handily secured a place in the Bundesliga to start to play there in the 1979–80 season.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: By the mid-1980s, SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen had played its way into the upper half of the league table and was well-established there by the end of the decade. It was during this time, in 1984, that the two halves of the club that had parted ways over a half century earlier were re-united as TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V. The new club took red and white as its colours.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: In addition to becoming an established Bundesliga side, the club earned its first honours with a dramatic win in the 1988 UEFA Cup. Down 0–3 to Espanyol after the first leg of the final, Bayer Leverkusen drew even in the return match and then captured the title on penalty kicks, 3–2.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: That same year, long-time Bayer Leverkusen executive Reiner Calmund became the general manager of the club. This is regarded as one of the most important moves in the club's history, as Calmund ushered in a decade and a half of the club's greatest successes through shrewd, far-sighted player acquisitions.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: After the German reunification in 1990, Reiner Calmund was quick to sign East German stars Ulf Kirsten, Andreas Thom and Jens Melzig. The three players would become instant crowd favourites, and make significant contributions to the team. Calmund also established groundbreaking contacts in Brazilian football, befriending Juan Figer, one of Brazil's most powerful player agents. Over the next few years, budding superstars, such as Jorginho and Paulo Sérgio, joined the team, as did Czech star Pavel Hapal. The club also signed charismatic players, such as Bernd Schuster, and Rudi Völler, helping to ensure the team's popularity and growing success.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: The club captured its next honour in 1993 with a 1–0 win in the DFB-Pokal over a surprising Hertha BSC amateur squad on 12 June 1993. In the following season, in a game also known for its 45 m "German Goal of the Year" by Schuster (a goal which was later also named "Goal of the Decade"), Bayer played Eintracht Frankfurt early in the season, and, as both a "tip of the hat" to its own history as well as an attempt to perhaps upset the Frankfurt team, Bayer played in its new third colours, which were old-fashioned red and black stripes, similar jerseys to those Frankfurt generally wore at the time. This proved so popular with the fans that, very shortly thereafter, the team reverted to its "retro" colours of red and black, colours used on all home jerseys ever since.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: After a near disaster in 1996 when the club faced a relegation battle, Bayer Leverkusen established itself as a powerful side, offering a technically pleasing offensive style of play under new coach Christoph Daum, who was also helped by the signing of players such as Lúcio, Emerson, Zé Roberto and Michael Ballack. Daum was later to be famously fired for a cocaine scandal that also cost him his ascent to the role of the Germany national team coach.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: The team earned a series of four-second-place finishes from 1997 to 2002. The finishes of 2000 and 2002 were heart-breaking for supporters as on both occasions the team had the Bundesliga title within its grasp. In 2000, Bayer Leverkusen needed only a draw against SpVgg Unterhaching to win the title, but an own goal by Michael Ballack helped send the team to a crushing 2–0 defeat, while Bayern Munich clinched the title with a 3–1 victory over Werder Bremen. Two years later, the club surrendered a five-point lead atop the league table by losing two of its last three matches while Borussia Dortmund swept ahead with three consecutive victories in its final matches. The 2002 season has been dubbed the "Treble Horror", as Bayer Leverkusen were also beaten 4–2 in the DFB-Pokal final by Schalke 04 and lost the UEFA Champions League final 2–1 to Real Madrid, which also led to some of the English-language media dubbing them "Neverkusen". Leverkusen was the first team to reach the final of the Champions League without ever having won a national championship. In addition, five members of the Bayer Leverkusen team were also members of the Germany national team who lost in the final of the World Cup in the same year.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: The club went through startling reversals of fortune in the next two seasons. In the 2002 off-season, the team lost influential midfield stars Michael Ballack and Zé Roberto to archrivals Bayern Munich. The team then flirted with relegation through most of the 2002–03 season, leading to the firing of Klaus Toppmöller, who had coached the team during its most successful year, and he was replaced by the inexperienced Thomas Hörster. Charismatic coach Klaus Augenthaler took up the reins in the last two games of the season and helped avoid disaster with a win over his previous club, 1. FC Nürnberg. He then led Bayer Leverkusen to a third-place finish and a Champions League place the following year.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: That following season's run in the Champions League saw the club get some measure of revenge on Real Madrid, opening its group stage campaign with a 3–0 rout of the Spanish giants, helping Leverkusen to win the group. Leverkusen, however, was defeated in the first knockout round by eventual champions Liverpool. The club finished sixth during the 2004–05 season to qualify for the next season's UEFA Cup.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: Early in 2005, Augenthaler was fired as manager after the club got off to its worst Bundesliga start in over 20 years, with only one win in its first four league matches and a 0–1 home loss to CSKA Sofia in the first leg of its UEFA Cup match-up. Former Germany national team manager Rudi Völler, who had been named sporting director prior to the season, took charge of five matches as caretaker manager. Michael Skibbe, who was Völler's assistant coach with the national team, was named as his successor in October 2005. Skibbe turned Leverkusen's season around and guided the club to a sixth-place finish in 2006, earning another UEFA Cup place, and then repeated that feat with a fifth place Bundesliga finish in 2007.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: The 2007–08 season was not a successful one for Leverkusen despite a good start to the season; five out of the last ten league matches were lost to clubs in the lower half of the table. Michael Skibbe was heavily criticised towards the end of the season after he continuously changed his starting line up. Bayer Leverkusen also lost a lot of its support towards the end of the season: in the 1–2 home loss against Hertha BSC, the Leverkusen fans caused much commotion, with fans chanting for the sacking of Skibbe, while some Ultras, who had seen enough, set fire to their jerseys and threw them onto the field. Michael Skibbe was sacked soon thereafter, leaving the club on 21 May 2008, with club officials stating that his departure was due to the failure to qualify for the following season's UEFA Cup group stage.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: The 2008–09 season got off to a great start for Bayer Leverkusen under new manager Bruno Labbadia, who the club had acquired from 2. Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth. As the season progressed, however, the team failed to achieve any wins against top clubs in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen did manage to reach the DFB-Pokal final on 30 May 2009 in Berlin, but fell 0–1 to Werder Bremen. Leverkusen finished the season in ninth place in the Bundesliga table and Labbadia moved to Hamburger SV in June 2009. Shortly thereafter, Leverkusen presented Jupp Heynckes as its new manager, who had previously managed Bayern Munich after Jürgen Klinsmann's departure. In the 2010–11 season, Bayer Leverkusen finished runner-up thus qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2005. However, Heynckes decided not to extend his contract and left Bayer Leverkusen in the 2011 close season to take over at Bayern Munich for a third time. In the 2012–13 and 2015–16 seasons, Leverkusen finished third with coach Sami Hyypiä and Roger Schmidt respectively, but were knocked out in the round of 16 of the Champions League the following season both times. In the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Leverkusen reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2008, but were ultimately knocked out by Inter Milan in a 2–1 loss.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: In contrast to many other German football clubs, which hold close ties to their working-class roots, Bayer Leverkusen strives for a clean, family-friendly image. The BayArena has the reputation of being one of the most family-friendly football stadiums in Germany. Ironically, Bayer 04 was the first Bundesliga club whose fans identified themselves as "Ultras" and the city of Leverkusen is one of the old industrial cities of Germany.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: Bayer Leverkusen is perceived by some to have an ongoing image problem of a different sort. Although they are a financially healthy club with a stable of strong players, many fans of the traditional clubs denounce Bayer Leverkusen as being a "plastic club" without traditions or a committed fan base, existing solely as a creation of their rich pharmaceutical company sponsor – Bayer AG. As a result, the club and their fans have started to emphasize their industrial origins with pride, calling themselves "Werkself" (Eng. "Factory team", "Millhanders") or "Pillendreher" (Eng. "Tablet twisters").


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: Bayer Leverkusen's corporate origins, however, are far from unique. Other clubs, including PSV, Carl Zeiss Jena and Sochaux, share a similar reputation of being works teams. As distinguished from the various Red Bull teams (Salzburg, New York and Leipzig) which has been established or redefined in the recent past primarily for commercial reasons, the formation of Bayer Leverkusen was motivated by the idea of promoting the living conditions of local factory workers early in the 20th century. In view of this tradition, UEFA allows Bayer Leverkusen to use the brand name Bayer in European club competitions while disallowing such naming practices most notably to Red Bull Salzburg.


title: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

text: In March 2020, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig, the four German UEFA Champions League teams for the 2019–20 season, collectively gave €20 million to Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga teams that were struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Village People

text: Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release of the debut album "Village People", which targeted disco's large gay audience. The group's name refers to Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with its reputation as a gay neighborhood. The characters were a symbolic group of American masculinity and macho gay-fantasy personas. As of 2022, Victor Willis is the only original member of the group.


title: Village People

text: The group quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream, scoring several disco and dance hits internationally, including the hit singles "Macho Man", "In the Navy", "Go West", and "Y.M.C.A.", which was their biggest hit. In March 2020, the Library of Congress described "Y.M.C.A." as "an American phenomenon", and added the song to the National Recording Registry, which preserves audio recordings considered to be "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".


title: Village People

text: French musical composer and producer Jacques Morali and his business partner Henri Belolo, known collectively as Can't Stop Productions, were enjoying a successful string of hits in France and Europe. In 1977, they moved to New York City to attempt to break into the American market. Morali had written a few dance tunes when he was given a demo tape recorded by singer/actor Victor Willis. After hiring Willis to sing background vocals on the four tracks, Morali approached him and said, "I had a dream that you sang lead on my album and it went very, very big". Willis agreed to sing on the debut album "Village People".


title: Village People

text: Songwriters Phil Hurtt and Peter Whitehead wrote the lyrics for the first album (Willis would subsequently take over writing duties in 1978 for the group's biggest hits). The Village People studio band was called "Gypsy Lane", conducted by Horace Ott, who also provided much of the musical arrangements for Morali, who did not play any instruments.


title: Village People

text: The album became an international hit, and demand for live appearances soon followed. Morali hastily built a group of dancers around Willis to perform in clubs and videos. Morali met the first recruit, Felipe Rose (who claims indigenous American descent and dressed as a Native American), in a New York gay bar called the Anvil. Willis hand-picked Alex Briley (who initially appeared in nondescript costumes before switching to G.I. uniforms). The others were Mark Mussler (construction worker), Dave Forrest (cowboy), Lee Mouton (leatherman/biker), and Peter Whitehead (one of the group's early songwriters), who appeared on "American Bandstand" and in the video for the group's first hit, "San Francisco (You Got Me)".


title: Village People

text: With record sales soaring, Morali and Willis saw the need to create a permanent group. They took out an ad in a theatre trade paper which read: """Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance And Have A Moustache.""" Glenn Hughes (leatherman), David Hodo (construction worker) and Randy Jones (cowboy) were among the hundreds who answered the ad.


title: Village People

text: With the "official" lineup in place, the group did a hasty photo-shoot for the cover of the already-recorded "Macho Man" album. The "album's title track" catapulted the group into the mainstream, and their single "Y.M.C.A.", from the group's third album "Cruisin'", became one of the most popular hits of the 1970s.


title: Village People

text: In 1979, the United States Navy considered using their single "In the Navy" in a television and radio recruiting campaign. Belolo offered them permission if the Navy would help film a music video for it. The Navy provided them access to the San Diego Navy base, where the , several aircraft, and the crew of the ship would be used. This song was also performed on the TV series' "The Love Boat" and "Married... with Children", and in the 1996 Navy comedy film "Down Periscope".


title: Village People

text: The group's fame peaked in 1979 with a three-month North American tour, several appearances on "The Merv Griffin Show" and "American Bandstand," and performing with Bob Hope to entertain US troops. They were also featured on the cover of "Rolling Stone", Vol. 289, April 19, 1979. Willis left the group in August 1979, during production of the upcoming musical movie tentatively titled "Discoland: Where the Music Never Ends". He was replaced by Ray Simpson, the brother of Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson) who had previously sung background vocals with the group on their 1979 tour. The end of 1979 saw the release of "Live and Sleazy", a double album featuring Victor Willis on lead vocals on the "Live" disc and Simpson's debut with the group on the "Sleazy" disc.


title: Village People

text: In June 1980, the feature film now retitled "Can't Stop the Music" was released. The film was directed by Nancy Walker, written by Allan Carr and Bronte Woodard, music and lyrics by Jacques Morali (except Willis who penned the lyrics to "Milkshake" and "Magic Night") and starring Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, Jean-Claude Billmaer, and Bruce Jenner. By the time it was released disco's popularity had waned. At the March 1981 Golden Raspberry Awards, the movie was named Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay, and was nominated in almost all the other categories. Although the title song became a club play chart success and moderate radio hit, it was nominated for Worst Original Song "Razzie" and did not live up to sales expectations, never obtaining gold status as a single or album. The soundtrack also featured the talents of David London, who under his real name Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen became the future lead singer of Toto and one of the main contributors to Village People's next album. The group embarked on a tour in promotion of the film in Australia and Japan. The Japanese show was filmed at Budokan and released on DVD as Village People Live In Japan.


title: Village People

text: The group appeared in the November 22, 1980, episode of "Love Boat" (season four, episode seven). At the end of 1980, Jeff Olson joined the group as the cowboy.


title: Village People

text: In 1981, with new wave music becoming more popular than disco, Morali and Belolo ditched the familiar characters and re-branded Village People with a new look inspired by the New Romantic movement, and released the album "Renaissance". It only attracted minor, mostly negative attention, but it did produce the group's first hit single in Italy with "5 O'clock in the Morning".


title: Village People

text: Willis rejoined the group briefly in late 1981 for the writing and recording of the album "Fox on the Box", which was released in 1982 in Europe and Japan, and in 1983 in the United States under the title "In the Street". David Hodo and Ray Simpson both left the group in 1982 with Mark Lee and Miles Jaye replacing them respectively. Jaye contributed lead vocals to a single in 1983 called "America", which would be added as an extra track to the 1999 remaster of "In the Street". In 1984, the group sang background vocals on a disco version of "Where The Boys Are" by Lorna Luft.


title: Village People

text: Their next album, the 1985 dance/Hi-NRG release "Sex Over the Phone", was not a huge commercial success, but it fared better in sales and club play than "Renaissance". The title track, when released as a single, was banned by the BBC because of its subject matter: credit-card phone sex. Despite this, it did peak at 59 on the UK singles chart. The album featured yet another new lead singer, Ray Stephens (of "The Great Space Coaster" fame). It was the group's last album of new material until "A Village People Christmas" in 2018. Py Douglas came in to sub for Stephens for some of the group's live appearances in 1985 and can be seen in both promotional videos made for the group.


title: Village People

text: In 1985 the group took a hiatus, but returned in 1987 with the line-up of Randy Jones, David Hodo, Felipe Rose, Glenn Hughes, Alex Briley, and Ray Simpson and formed "Sixuvus Ltd" a group that managed the affairs of the group and had the license to use the name Village People and its characters in use until 2017.


title: Village People

text: The 1990s brought a resurgence for the Village People. On September 22, 1991, they performed in front of 41,815 in Sydney, Australia, as part of the pre-game entertainment for the New South Wales Rugby League Grand Final held at the Sydney Football Stadium. They also performed a medley of self-parody songs at the MTV Movie Awards – "In the Movies" ("In the Navy"), "Psycho Bitch" ("Macho Man"), and "My MTV" ("Y.M.C.A."). The group also made a guest appearance on the hit show "Married... with Children" in the episode "Take My Wife, Please".


title: Village People

text: Founder Jacques Morali died of complications related to AIDS in Paris on November 15, 1991. Three years later, the Village People recorded with the German national football team on its official World Cup '94 song "Far Away in America". In 1995, Eric Anzalone replaced Glenn Hughes as the Leatherman/Biker, and made his music video debut with Kelsey Grammer, Rob Schneider, and other cast members during the end-credits of the film "Down Periscope", performing "In The Navy" with Ray Simpson on lead vocals.


title: Village People

text: At the beginning of the 21st century Village People released two singles, "Gunbalanya" (2000) and "Loveship 2001" (2001) under the name "Amazing Veepers". It was reported in 2001 that 'Gunbalanya', which was recorded with indigenous Australian people, took its title from a word meaning "in the tribe" though it is in fact the name of an Aboriginal settlement. Leatherman/Biker Glenn Hughes died of lung cancer in New York City on March 4, 2001. Village People performed as the opening act for Cher on her until it ended in April 2005. Former cowboy Randy Jones married Will Grega, his boyfriend of 20 years.


title: Village People

text: Later in the 2000s Village People continued to make appearances worldwide. The original lead singer and "cop", Victor Willis, was arrested over drug and weapon related charges. On September 12, 2008, Village People received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Willis was not in attendance at the ceremony. Willis gave his first live concert in 28 years in Las Vegas on August 3, 2007, and married Karen, a lawyer and executive, later that year. In May 2012 Willis won a landmark ruling in the first case heard regarding the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows recording artists and writers to reclaim their master recordings and publishing rights initially granted to record companies and publishers after 35 years. He recaptured copyrights including "Y.M.C.A.", "Go West", "Magic Night", "Milkshake", and "In the Navy". Willis also began to recapture his 33% share of songs he co-wrote.


title: Village People

text: In August 2013, Village People released a new song "Let's Go Back to the Dance Floor", written by Harry W. Casey of K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Jim Newman joined the group as the Cowboy, and in October 2013 Bill Whitefield joined as the Construction Worker, a role he had filled in for the group over the years for David Hodo who retired. Continuing his legal quest, Willis reclaimed ownership of "Y.M.C.A." and other songs written with Jacques Morali, with the removal of Henri Belolo, previously credited as a third writer. Victor Willis released "Solo Man", an album he recorded in 1979 featuring the Village People band. Willis appeared as himself on the game show "To Tell The Truth" and performed "Y.M.C.A." the following year.


title: Village People

text: Village People continued to make television appearances, such as performing "Y.M.C.A." during halftime of the Chicago Bulls game as part of '70s Night. They also made several commercials including LetGo commercial debuts during the Rio Olympics, and a series of commercials in the UK for YOPA online estate agents.


title: Village People

text: In 2017, after years of legal battles over royalties and songwriting credits, Willis and Can't Stop Productions settled their differences resulting in Willis obtaining the license to use the name and characters of Village People and returning as the original lead singer (with a new group of background singers). Can't Stop also terminated the license of Sixuvus (the group which had been performing as Village People for numerous years with various members). The trademark "Village People" then became the subject of litigation.


title: Village People

text: In 2018, the US District Court denied Sixuvus' preliminary injunction and ruled that only one group was entitled to use the Village People trademark, the group featuring original lead singer Victor Willis. Felipe Rose (original Native American) launched his solo career and released the single "Going Back To My Roots" (a cover of the 1977 Odyssey dance hit) which received Best Dance Record Award at the 2018 Native American Music Awards. Changes to the new Village People lineup took place when Leatherman Josh Cartier was replaced by J.J. Lippold before the rebranded group's first appearance at the Streamys Awards. G.I./Sailor Sonny Earl was replaced by Atlanta native James Lee who filled in for him on more shows than he performed. In November 2018. Village People release their first studio album in 33 years, "A Village People Christmas."


title: Village People

text: On August 3, 2019, Village People co-creator Henri Belolo died aged 82. On November 4, 2019, the group's Christmas album was re-released as "Magical Christmas" and included two additional tracks. On December 21, 2019, the group released its first Christmas single, "Happiest Time of the Year". On December 31 the Village People performed live in Times Square on "Fox's New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey" and broke a world record for attendees doing the Y.M.C.A. dance (a record formerly held by the previous touring group).


title: Village People

text: On April 21, 2020, the Village People released a new single, "If You Believe", which hit #25 on "Billboard"s Adult Contemporary chart. This was the first Top 25 hit for the group in 40 years. On June 9, Victor Willis demanded that President Donald Trump not use Village People music at his rallies in particular "Macho Man" and "Y.M.C.A." while on September 11 Willis was okay with him using "Y.M.C.A" at his campaign rallies. On September 22 the Village People were confirmed to be featured in the song "My Agenda" from the Dorian Electra album "My Agenda" (2020). On October 24 "Saturday Night Live" performed a parody of the group's reaction to Donald Trump's use of their music at his rallies. On October 30, Willis clarified his and the group's position against Trump's use of his music at his rallies. On November 7, supporters of President-elect Joe Biden celebrated his victory by dancing in the streets and singing "Y.M.C.A." across the United States.


title: Village People

text: In November 2022, a third single, "Magic Christmas," was released from the group's "Magical Christmas" album and entered the Billboard a/c chart at #23, the highest chart entry for any Village People single.


title: Village People

text: Due to their easily recognizable characters, the group have frequently been imitated or parodied in movies, television series, video games and music. Numerous covers and homages of their songs have been recorded. Examples of homages and parody include an episode of the 1990s CGI show "ReBoot", a scene in the 1993 film "Wayne's World 2", a mention in the 1991 comedy "City Slickers", a 1993 episode of "Married... with Children", the 1997 video for U2's single "Discotheque", a 2000 episode of "3rd Rock From the Sun", and the 2013 animated film "Despicable Me 2."


title: Village People

text: The leather-clad biker character with a horseshoe mustache has also become a widespread pop culture icon associated with gay culture, and "Y.M.C.A." has become something of an anthem of the LGBT community. According to Jack Fritscher, Jacques Morali drew his inspiration for the character from the dress code of the gay BDSM leather bar and sex club The Mineshaft. Leather man Hughes frequented the club.


title: Village People

text: In AllMusic's entry on the group, Ron Wynn summarized them as "part clever concept, part exaggerated camp act" who were "worldwide sensations during disco's heyday and keep reviving like the phoenix." "Village Voice" critic Robert Christgau originally found the group to be a humorous annoyance, but warmed to their music after listening to the 1978 album "Cruisin'"; he wrote in "" (1981): "I give up—I've never been capable of resisting music this silly. At least this time they're not singing the praises of 'macho,' a term whose backlash resurgence is no laughing matter, and the gay stereotyping—right down to 'The Women,' every one a camp heroine of screen or disc—is so cartoonish that I can't imagine anyone taking it seriously. As for all the straights who think 'Y.M.C.A.' is about playing basketball, well, that's pretty funny too."


title: Plastic

text: Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptability, plus a wide range of other properties, such as being lightweight, durable, flexible, and inexpensive to produce, has led to its widespread use. Plastics typically are made through human industrial systems. Most modern plastics are derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals like natural gas or petroleum; however, recent industrial methods use variants made from renewable materials, such as corn or cotton derivatives.


title: Plastic

text: 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic are estimated to have been made between 1950 and 2017. More than half this plastic has been produced since 2004. In 2020, 400 million tonnes of plastic were produced. If global trends on plastic demand continue, it is estimated that by 2050 annual global plastic production will reach over 1,100 million tonnes.


title: Plastic

text: The success and dominance of plastics starting in the early 20th century has caused widespread environmental problems, due to their slow decomposition rate in natural ecosystems. Toward the end of the 20th century, the plastics industry promoted recycling in order to ease environmental concerns while continuing to produce virgin plastic and to push the responsibility of plastic pollution onto the consumer. The main companies producing plastics doubted the economic viability of recycling at the time, and the economic viability has never improved. Plastic collection and recycling is largely ineffective because of failures to solve the contemporary complexities of cleaning and sorting post-consumer plastics for effective reuse. Most plastic produced has not been reused, either being captured in landfills or persisting in the environment as plastic pollution. Plastic pollution can be found in all the world's major water bodies, for example, creating garbage patches in all of the world's oceans and contaminating terrestrial ecosystems. Of all the plastic discarded so far, some 14% has been incinerated and less than 10% has been recycled.


title: Plastic

text: In developed economies, about a third of plastic is used in packaging and roughly the same in buildings in applications such as piping, plumbing or vinyl siding. Other uses include automobiles (up to 20% plastic), furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the applications of plastic may differ; 42% of India's consumption is used in packaging. In the medical field, polymer implants and other medical devices are derived at least partially from plastic. Worldwide, about 50 kg of plastic is produced annually per person, with production doubling every ten years.


title: Plastic

text: The world's first fully synthetic plastic was Bakelite, invented in New York in 1907, by Leo Baekeland, who coined the term "plastics". Dozens of different types of plastics are produced today, such as polyethylene, which is widely used in product packaging, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), used in construction and pipes because of its strength and durability. Many chemists have contributed to the materials science of plastics, including Nobel laureate Hermann Staudinger, who has been called "the father of polymer chemistry" and Herman Mark, known as "the father of polymer physics".


title: Plastic

text: The word "plastic" derives from the Greek πλαστικός ("plastikos") meaning "capable of being shaped or molded," and in turn from πλαστός ("plastos") meaning "molded." As a noun the word most commonly refers to the solid products of petrochemical-derived manufacturing.


title: Plastic

text: The noun "plasticity" refers specifically here to the deformability of the materials used in the manufacture of plastics. Plasticity allows molding, extrusion or compression into a variety of shapes: films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles and boxes, among many others. Plasticity also has a technical definition in materials science outside the scope of this article referring to the non-reversible change in form of solid substances.


title: Plastic

text: Most plastics contain organic polymers. The vast majority of these polymers are formed from chains of carbon atoms, with or without the attachment of oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atoms. These chains comprise many repeating units formed from monomers. Each polymer chain consists of several thousand repeating units. The backbone is the part of the chain that is on the "main path", linking together a large number of repeat units. To customize the properties of a plastic, different molecular groups called side chains hang from this backbone; they are usually hung from the monomers before the monomers themselves are linked together to form the polymer chain. The structure of these side chains influences the properties of the polymer.


title: Plastic

text: Plastics are usually classified by the chemical structure of the polymer's backbone and side chains. Important groups classified in this way include the acrylics, polyesters, silicones, polyurethanes, and halogenated plastics. Plastics can be classified by the chemical process used in their synthesis, such as condensation, polyaddition, and cross-linking. They can also be classified by their physical properties, including hardness, density, tensile strength, thermal resistance, and glass transition temperature. Plastics can additionally be classified by their resistance and reactions to various substances and processes, such as exposure to organic solvents, oxidation, and ionizing radiation. Other classifications of plastics are based on qualities relevant to manufacturing or product design for a particular purpose. Examples include thermoplastics, thermosets, conductive polymers, biodegradable plastics, engineering plastics and elastomers.


title: Plastic

text: One important classification of plastics is the degree to which the chemical processes used to make them are reversible or not.


title: Plastic

text: Thermoplastics do not undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and thus can be molded repeatedly. Examples include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).


title: Plastic

text: Thermosets, or thermosetting polymers, can melt and take shape only once: after they have solidified, they stay solid. If reheated, thermosets decompose rather than melt. In the thermosetting process, an irreversible chemical reaction occurs. The vulcanization of rubber is an example of this process. Before heating in the presence of sulfur, natural rubber (polyisoprene) is a sticky, slightly runny material; after vulcanization, the product is dry and rigid.


title: Plastic

text: Many plastics are completely amorphous (without a highly ordered molecular structure), including thermosets, polystyrene, and methyl methacrylate (PMMA). Crystalline plastics exhibit a pattern of more regularly spaced atoms, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polyether ether ketone (PEEK). However, some plastics are partially amorphous and partially crystalline in molecular structure, giving them both a melting point and one or more glass transitions (the temperature above which the extent of localized molecular flexibility is substantially increased). These so-called semi-crystalline plastics include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyamides (nylons), polyesters and some polyurethanes.