title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Hasso von Manteuffel—commanding the 5th Panzer Army—gave Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz′s XLVII Panzer Corps the responsibility of capturing Bastogne, before crossing the Meuse near Namur. Lüttwitz planned to attack a front with three divisions: the 26th Volksgrenadier and the 2nd Panzer would lead the assault, with the "Panzer-Lehr-Division" behind them. Opposing this significant force were two battalions of the 110th Infantry Regiment (the third was held back as a division reserve), responsible for a front along the river Our which forms the border between Germany and neighboring Luxembourg. The Allied forces were gathered into small groups at major Luxembourgish villages, with outposts along the river manned only during the daytime. The forces were too thin to maintain an even battle line, they focused their attention on the four roads that crossed the Our. Due to heavy rain preceding the German attack, only one of the roads was in good enough condition to be used as a crossing point—the northernmost road, which crossed the Our at Dasburg on its way to the Luxembourgish town of Clervaux (in German: "Klerf", in Luxembourgish: "Klierf") and Bastogne. The 2nd Panzer Division was assigned to cross the river along this road, while the 26th Volksgrenadier Division would construct a bridge near Gemünd for its crossing. Lüttwitz realized the importance of the road network of Bastogne—he knew that the town had to be captured before his corps could venture too far westward. Therefore, he ordered the "Panzer-Lehr" Division' to push forward to Bastogne as soon as his other troops had crossed the river Clerve in Northern Luxembourg.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: On the evening of 15 December, the 26th Volksgrenadier established an outpost line on the west bank of the Our, something they did routinely during the nighttime. At 03:00, engineers began ferrying men and equipment over the river where they began assembling at the departure point, quite close to the American garrisons. At 05:30, the German artillery began bombarding the American positions, knocking out telephone lines, as the infantry started to advance. The Germans attacked swiftly, their advances made possible by sheer weight of numbers. In the Luxembourgish village of Weiler, one American company, supported by some mortars and a platoon of anti-tank guns, lasted until nightfall against repeated attacks from multiple German battalions. German engineers completed bridges over the Our before dark, and armor began moving to the front, adding to the Germans' vast numerical superiority. But in the end, the Germans were significantly delayed by the American defenders—their plan to cross the Clerf River by nightfall on the first day was delayed by three days.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: On 19 December, the 28th Division command post transferred to Bastogne from Wiltz, a large Luxembourgish town to the southeast. At Wiltz, the division put up its last stand; 3rd Battalion of the 110th—supported by armor and artillery—arrived at the town around noon of that day. The 44th Engineer Battalion was set up north of the town, but they were soon overwhelmed and retreated into the town, blowing up a bridge behind them. This small force—numbering no more than 500 in total—held out until the evening, when their position became completely untenable and they retreated to the west. With the 110th Infantry completely destroyed as an effective combat unit, it would be up to the rest of the Allied army to defend Bastogne.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Despite several notable signs in the weeks preceding the attack, the Ardennes Offensive achieved virtually complete surprise. By the end of the second day of battle, it became apparent that the 28th Infantry was near collapse. To assist in the defense of Bastogne, Major General Troy H. Middleton, already commander of VIII Corps, was given Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division. CCB consisted of the 3rd Tank Battalion, 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, C Company 21st Tank Battalion, B Company 54th Armored Infantry Battalion, C Company, 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 419th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and three companies of support troops. General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army was not happy about giving up the CCB unit right before he planned an offensive near Mainz but General Omar Bradley, commander of the 12th Army Group, ordered General Patton to release the unit. Meanwhile, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, ordered forward the SHAEF reserve, composed of the 82nd Airborne Division, commanded by Major General James Gavin, and the 101st Airborne Division, temporarily under command of Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, at Reims. These were veteran troops that had served with distinction since the parachute drops in Normandy and were resting and re-equipping after two months of combat in the Netherlands after Operation Market Garden. Both divisions were alerted on the evening of 17 December, and not having transport automatically assigned for their use, began arranging trucks for movement forward. The 82nd—longer in reserve and thus better re-equipped—moved out first. The 101st left Camp Mourmelon on the afternoon of 18 December, with the order of march of the division artillery, division trains, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 506th PIR, 502nd PIR, and 327th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR). Much of the convoy was conducted at night in drizzle and sleet, using headlights despite threat of air attack to speed the movement, and at one point the combined column stretched from Bouillon, Belgium, back to Reims, a distance of .


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The 101st Airborne was originally supposed to go to Werbomont on the northern shoulder but was rerouted to Bastogne, located away on a high plateau, while the 82nd Airborne, because it was able to leave sooner, went to Werbomont to block the critical advance of the "Kampfgruppe Peiper" ("Combat Group Peiper"). The 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion—in reserve to the north—was ordered to Bastogne to provide anti-tank support to the armor-less 101st Airborne on 18 December and arrived late the next evening. The first elements of the 501st PIR entered the division assembly area west of Bastogne shortly after midnight of 19 December, and by 09:00 the entire division had arrived.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe sent the 501st PIR southeast through Bastogne at 06:00 to develop the situation. By 09:00, it had advanced and deployed on either side of the highway to Magéret and Longvilly, where the "Panzer-Lehr-Division" ("Armored Training Division") was engaged in an all-day action to destroy the armor-infantry combat teams assigned to slow the German advance. The 506th followed shortly thereafter, its 1st Battalion was sent to Noville to reinforce Major Desobry's team from the 10th Armored CCB while the other two battalions were ordered to act as reserves north of Bastogne. The 502nd PIR marched north and northwest to establish a line from Champs east to Recogne, while the 327th GIR, newly arrived, protected the division service area southwest of Bastogne until German intentions could be deciphered.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: On 19–20 December, the 1st Battalion of the 506th PIR was ordered to support Team Desobry (Maj. William R. Desobry), a battalion-sized tank-infantry task force of the 10th Armored Division assigned to defend Noville located north-northeast of both Foy and of Bastogne just away. With just four M18 Hellcat tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion to assist, the paratroopers attacked units of the 2. "Panzerdivision", whose mission was to proceed by secondary roads via Monaville (just northwest of Bastogne) to seize a key highway and capture, among other objectives, fuel dumps—for the lack of which the overall German counter-offensive faltered and failed. Worried about the threat to its left flank in Bastogne, it organized a major combined arms attack to seize Noville. Team Desobry's high speed highway journey to reach the blocking position is one of the few documented cases in which the top speed of the M18 Hellcat () was actually used to get ahead of an enemy force as envisioned by its specifications.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The attack of 1st Battalion and the M18 Hellcat tank destroyers of the 705th TD Battalion together destroyed at least 30 German tanks and inflicted 500–1,000 casualties on the attacking forces in what amounted to a spoiling attack. The 3rd Battalion was ordered forward from a reserve position north of Bastogne to ease the pressure on 1st Battalion by occupying a supporting position in Foy to the south.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The heavy losses inflicted by the tank-destroyers deceived the German commander into believing the village was being held by a much stronger force and he recoiled from further attacks on the village, committing a strategic error while seeking tactical advantage—significantly delaying the German advance and setting the stage for the siege of Bastogne just to the south. This delay also gave the 101st Airborne Division enough time to organize defenses around Bastogne. After two days, the 2nd Panzer Division finally continued on its original mission to the Meuse River. As a consequence of its involvement at Bastogne, and its failure to dislodge the airborne forces, the column ultimately ran out of fuel at Celles, where it was destroyed by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division and the British 29th Armoured Brigade.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: By the time the 1st Battalion pulled out of Noville on the 20th, the village of Foy half-way to Bastogne center had been captured from the 3rd Battalion by a separate attack, forcing the 1st Battalion to then fight its way through Foy. By the time 1st Battalion made it to the safety of American lines, it had lost 13 officers and 199 enlisted men, out of about 600 troops, and was assigned as the division reserve. Team Desobry lost a quarter of its troops and was reduced to just four medium tanks when it passed through the lines of 3rd Battalion.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The 101st Airborne formed an all-round perimeter using the 502nd PIR on the northwest shoulder to block the 26th Volksgrenadier, the 506th PIR to block entry from Noville, the 501st PIR defending the eastern approach, and the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment scattered from Marvie in the southeast to Champs in the west along the southern perimeter, augmented by engineer and artillery units plugging gaps in the line. The division service area to the west of Bastogne had been raided the first night, causing the loss of almost its entire medical company, and numerous service troops were used as infantry to reinforce the thin lines. CCB of the 10th Armored Division, severely weakened by losses to its Team Desobry (Maj. William R. Desobry), Team Cherry (Lt. Col. Henry T. Cherry), and Team O'Hara (Lt. Col. James O'Hara) in delaying the Germans, formed a mobile "fire brigade" of 40 light and medium tanks (including survivors of CCR 9th Armored Division and eight replacement tanks found unassigned in Bastogne).


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Three artillery battalions were commandeered and formed a temporary artillery group. Each had twelve howitzers, providing the division with heavy firepower in all directions restricted only by its limited ammunition supply. Col. Roberts, commanding CCB, also rounded up 600+ stragglers from the rout of VIII Corps and formed Team SNAFU as a further stopgap force.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Many of the artillery guns were used in a direct fire role against enemy armor, with over 2000 rounds used for this purpose on December 20. The division's antiaircraft batteries were also moved into the front lines to fire against enemy armor to augment their 57mm anti-tank guns


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: As a result of the powerful American defense to the north and east, XLVII Panzer Corps commander Gen. von Lüttwitz decided to encircle Bastogne and strike from the south and southwest, beginning the night of 20/21 December. German "Panzer" reconnaissance units had initial success, nearly overrunning the American artillery positions southwest of Bastogne before being stopped by a makeshift force. All seven highways leading to Bastogne were cut by German forces by noon on 21 December, and by nightfall the conglomeration of airborne and armored infantry forces were recognized by both sides as being surrounded.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The American soldiers were outnumbered approximately 5 to 1 and were lacking in cold-weather gear, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and senior leadership (as many senior officers, including the 101st's commander—Major General Maxwell Taylor—were elsewhere). Due to the worst winter weather in memory, the surrounded U.S. forces could not be resupplied by air nor was tactical air support available due to cloudy weather.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: However, the two Panzer divisions of the XLVII Panzer Corps—after using their mobility to isolate Bastogne, continued their mission towards the Meuse on 22 December, rather than attacking Bastogne with a single large force. They left just one regiment behind to assist the 26th Volksgrenadier Division in capturing the crossroads. The XLVII Panzer Corps probed different points of the southern and western defensive perimeter in echelon, where Bastogne was defended by just a single airborne regiment and support units doubling as infantry. This played into the American advantage of interior lines; the defenders were able to shift artillery fire and move their limited "ad hoc" armored forces to meet each successive assault.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: It was on the 22nd of December that General von Lüttwitz submitted the following demand for surrender to his American counterpart commanding the American forces in Bastogne, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe:


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Shortly thereafter, McAuliffe sent the following communication to von Lüttwitz in response to the German demand:


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The commander of the US 327th Glider Infantry Regiment interpreted it to the German truce party as "Go to hell!"


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Despite the defiant American response to the surrender demand, the 26th VG received one Panzergrenadier regiment from the 15th Panzergrenadier Division on Christmas Eve for its main assault the next day. That night, at about 7:00 PM, Luftwaffe bombers attacked Bastogne, killing 21 in an aid station. Because it lacked sufficient troops and those of the 26th VG Division were near exhaustion, the XLVII Panzer Corps concentrated its assault on several individual locations on the west side of the perimeter in sequence rather than launching one simultaneous attack on all sides. The assault—led by 18 tanks carrying a battalion of infantry—pierced the lines of the 327th's 3rd Battalion (officially, the 1st Battalion, 401st Glider Infantry), and advanced as far as the battalion command post at Hemroulle.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: However, the 327th held its original positions and repulsed infantry assaults that followed, capturing 92 Germans. The panzers that had achieved the penetration divided into two columns, one trying to reach Champs from the rear, and were destroyed in detail by two companies of the 1st Battalion 502nd PIR under Lt. Col. Patrick F. Cassidy and four tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Allied control of Bastogne was a major obstacle to the German armored advance, and the morale of Allied forces elsewhere on the Western Front was boosted by news of the stubborn defense of the besieged town.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Elements of General George Patton's Third Army succeeded in reaching Bastogne from the southwest, arriving from the direction of Assenois. The spearhead reached the lines of the 326th Engineers on 26 December, Cobra King being the first tank to make contact at approximately 16:50. The 101st's ground communications with the American supply dumps were restored on 27 December, and the wounded were evacuated to the rear. Gen. Taylor reached Bastogne with the 4th Armored Division and resumed command.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Although Bastogne would be the scene of extreme fighting for several more weeks, with the break of the encirclement the siege period was over.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The 101st Airborne Division's casualties from 19 December 1944 to 6 January 1945 were 341 killed, 1,691 wounded, and 516 missing. Several regiments within the 101st were nicknamed "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne", due to their part in holding the important crossroads town during the Battle of the Bulge. For its defense of Bastogne, the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), with a streamer, embroidered BASTOGNE, for the division's colors. Also, the division was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm, Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE, and cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Bastogne.


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: The 10th Armored Division's Combat Command B incurred approximately 500 casualties. The 10th Armored Division's Combat Command B and 21st Tank Battalion were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) for their actions at Bastogne. Years after the war, General Anthony McAuliffe said "In my opinion, Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division was never properly credited with their important role in the Bastogne battle."


title: Siege of Bastogne

text: Augusta Chiwy, a nurse who administered aid to the wounded during the siege, was honored with the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman in December 2011.


title: Upper house

text: An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral.


title: Upper house

text: An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions):


title: Upper house

text: In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or a “house of review” chamber; for this reason, its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses:


title: Upper house

text: In parliamentary democracies and among European upper houses the Italian Senate is a notable exception to these general rules, in that it has the same powers as its lower counterpart: any law can be initiated in either house and must be approved in the same form by both houses. Additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism" or "equal bicameralism."


title: Upper house

text: The role of a revising chamber is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example is the British House of Lords. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the House of Lords can no longer prevent the passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay the passage of a bill with which it disagrees. Bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month. It is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The British House of Lords has a number of ways to block legislation and to reject it; however, the House of Commons can eventually use the Parliament Act to force something through. The Commons will often accept amendments passed by the Lords; however, the two houses have sometimes reached a constitutional standoff. For example, when the Labour Government of 1999 tried to expel all hereditary peers from the Lords, the Lords threatened to wreck the Government's entire legislative agenda and to block every bill which was sent to the chamber. This standoff led to negotiations between Viscount Cranborne, the then Shadow Leader of the House, and the Labour Government, resulting in the Weatherill Amendment to the House of Lords Act 1999, which preserved 92 hereditary peers in the house. Compromise and negotiation between the two houses make the Parliament Act a very rarely used backup plan.


title: Upper house

text: Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay a bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces a new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill.


title: Upper house

text: Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example, the consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include a means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other.


title: Upper house

text: In recent times, Parliamentary systems have tended to weaken the powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been fully abolished; others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that the upper house ought not to obstruct the business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. These conventions have tended to harden with a passage of time.


title: Upper house

text: In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions:


title: Upper house

text: There are a variety of ways an upper house's members are assembled: by direct or indirect election, appointment or a mixture of these. The German Bundesrat is composed of members of the cabinets of the German states, in most cases the state premier and several ministers; they are delegated and can be recalled anytime. In a very similar way, the Council of the European Union is composed of national ministers.


title: Upper house

text: Many upper houses are not directly elected but appointed: either by the head of state, by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not necessarily be returned in an election. For example, members of the Senate of Canada are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister.


title: Upper house

text: In the past, some upper houses had seats that were entirely hereditary, such as in the British House of Lords until 1999 and in the Japanese House of Peers until it was abolished in 1947.


title: Upper house

text: It is also common that the upper house consists of delegates chosen by state governments or local officials. Members of the Rajya Sabha in India are nominated by various states and union territories, while 12 of them are nominated by the President of India. Similarly, at the state level, one-third of the members of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) are nominated by local governments, one-third by sitting legislators, and the rest are elected by select members of the electorate. The United States Senate was chosen by the State legislatures until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913.


title: Upper house

text: The upper house may be directly elected but in different proportions to the lower house - for example, the senates of Australia, Brazil and the United States have a fixed number of elected members from each state, regardless of the population.


title: Upper house

text: Many jurisdictions once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems, including Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Mauritania, New Zealand, Peru, Sweden, Turkey, Venezuela, many Indian states, Brazilian states, Canadian provinces, subnational entities such as Queensland, and some other jurisdictions. Newfoundland had a Legislative Council prior to joining Canada, as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada and Quebec from 1791 (as Lower Canada) to 1968.


title: Upper house

text: Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature, having abolished its lower house in 1934, while the Senate of Nebraska, the upper house prior to 1934, continues to assemble.


title: Upper house

text: The Australian state of Queensland also once had an appointed Legislative Council before abolishing it in 1922. All other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems (the two territories have always been unicameral).


title: Upper house

text: Like Queensland, the German state of Bavaria had an appointed upper house, the Senate of Bavaria, from 1946 to 1999.


title: Upper house

text: The Senate of the Philippines was abolished – and restored – twice: from 1935 to 1945 when a unicameral National Assembly convened, and from 1972 to 1987 when Congress was closed, and later a new constitution was approved instituting a unicameral Parliament. The Senate was re-instituted with the restoration of a bicameral Congress via a constitutional amendment in 1941, and via adoption of a new constitution in 1987.


title: Upper house

text: A previous government of Ireland (the 31st Dáil) promised a national referendum on the abolition of its upper house, the Seanad Éireann, during the 24th Seanad session. By a narrow margin, the Irish public voted to retain it. Conservative-leaning Fine Gael and Left-leaning Sinn Féin both supported the abolition, while the centrist Fianna Fáil was alone among major parties in supporting the retention of the Seanad.


title: Jamie xx

text: James Thomas Smith (born 28 October 1988), known professionally as Jamie xx, is an English musician, DJ, record producer and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the English indie pop band The xx.


title: Jamie xx

text: He has been described as a "driving force" behind The xx, contributing to the group's significant commercial and critical success. As a solo artist, he has been recognised with a 2015 Mercury Prize nomination, and a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album nomination for his sophmore album "In Colour".


title: Jamie xx

text: Smith's musical career began in 2005 when he joined The xx accompanying old schoolmates Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Baria Qureshi of the Elliott School in London, notable for alumni including Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet. He first used the stage name Jamie xx in July 2009 in a promotional mix for the band's debut album "xx" released on the "FACT" magazine mix series. The mixtape was compiled by Jamie Smith and featured, amongst others, four tracks credited to Jamie xx – one self-production and three remixes. The "xx" album went on to become platinum in the UK. Afterward, Jamie Smith went on to do more remix work for artists like Florence + The Machine, Adele, Jack Peñate and Glasser.


title: Jamie xx

text: In late 2010, a Jamie xx remix of the song "NY Is Killing Me" from Gil Scott-Heron's last album "I'm New Here" aired on radio stations across the UK and Europe. The remix of "I'll Take Care of U" followed in January 2011. Both singles drew the attention of the general public and the critics. They set the way for a 13-track remix album entitled "We're New Here", produced entirely by Jamie xx and credited to "Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx". The album was released on 21 February 2011 on the XL Recordings label, but a full-album preview could be streamed on the website of "The Guardian" as early as 14 February. "We're New Here" received critical acclaim and was named "a cohesive, considered masterpiece in its own right" by BBC's Ele Beattie.


title: Jamie xx

text: On 6 June 2011 the two-track self-produced single "Far Nearer / Beat For" was released. The song "Far Nearer" was selected Best New Track by "Pitchfork", and the double A-side single charted at number 128 on the UK Singles Chart. Later the same year, Smith produced the title track off Drake's second album, "Take Care", which features Rihanna. In addition, Smith helped create several reworks for Radiohead's song "Bloom" which were released on a remix album entitled "TKOL RMX 1234567". He also co-produced the song "When It's All Over" with Alicia Keys on her "Girl on Fire" album. In 2014, he announced an upcoming collaboration with John Talabot on Tim Sweeney's Beats in Space online radio show. In 2014 he released the singles "Girl/Sleep Sound" and "All Under One Roof Raving".


title: Jamie xx

text: On 27 March 2015 he released two singles. "Loud Places", featuring the xx's Romy Madley Croft, and "Gosh". On the same day he also announced that his debut album, "In Colour", would be out on 1 June 2015. Ahead of its release, "In Colour" was streamed on iTunes as a preview with album-spanning visuals that 'reacted' to each sound.


title: Jamie xx

text: Jamie xx composed the score for a ballet, "Tree of Codes", commissioned by Manchester International Festival for its 2015 edition. Based on a novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, the ballet was choreographed by Wayne McGregor and had a set created by Olafur Eliasson.


title: Jamie xx

text: In 2020, he released his first single in 5 years, "Idontknow", which received positive to lukewarm reception from critics. He was credited on Tyler, The Creator's 2021 album "Call Me If You Get Lost" as a co-producer on the track "RISE!".


title: Jamie xx

text: In 2022, Jamie xx was enlisted to produce fellow bandmate Oliver Sim's debut album, "Hideous Bastard."


title: Matt Rhule

text: Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a linebacker for Penn State University.


title: Matt Rhule

text: Rhule was born and raised in New York City before moving to State College, Pennsylvania, where he would later join the Penn State football team as a walk-on under coach Joe Paterno. After a four-year playing career, Rhule began his first coaching job in 1998 as a volunteer assistant for Penn State. Later that year, he received his first positional job as the linebackers coach for Albright College. Between 1998 and 2007, Rhule coached several positions at various schools, including defensive line, special teams, and quarterback. In 2008, he became the offensive coordinator for Temple, a position he held for four years. Rhule worked his first NFL job as an assistant for the New York Giants in 2012.


title: Matt Rhule

text: In 2013, Rhule returned to Temple to become the team's head coach. In 2015, he led the Owls to their first 10-win season since 1979. He won 10 games again the next season, delivering the program its first American Athletic Conference title and first-ever back-to-back seasons with bowl appearances. He was hired as the head coach of Baylor following the 2016 regular season. In his first season with the Bears, the team finished 1–11 but improved to bowl eligibility the following year. In 2019, Rhule led Baylor to an 11–3 mark, including berths to the Big 12 Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl.


title: Matt Rhule

text: Rhule returned to the NFL in 2020 when he was hired to succeed Ron Rivera as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Between his first two seasons at the helm, the Panthers won only 10 games total and lost 23. Carolina started the 2022 season at 1–4, resulting in the Panthers firing Rhule in October. In November 2022, Rhule agreed to an eight-year contract with Nebraska to become the program's head coach.


title: Matt Rhule

text: Rhule grew up in New York City before his family moved to State College, Pennsylvania as a teenager. Rhule played linebacker at State College Area High School before walking on as a linebacker to Penn State. At Penn State, Rhule played four years under Joe Paterno and was a three-time Penn State Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree in 1997. While at Penn State, Rhule earned his Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science. He earned a Master's in Educational Psychology from the University at Buffalo in 2003.


title: Matt Rhule

text: Following the end of his playing career, Rhule was hired as the linebackers coach for Albright College. After one year at Albright, Rhule had stops at Buffalo, UCLA and Western Carolina before being hired at Temple as a defensive line coach in 2006. Rhule would switch to quarterbacks coach in 2007 before being named Temple's offensive coordinator in 2008.


title: Matt Rhule

text: After six years as an assistant at Temple, Rhule joined Tom Coughlin's New York Giants in 2012 as the assistant offensive line coach, a season after the Giants won their 4th Super Bowl title. With the Giants, Rhule coached Super Bowl champions like David Diehl, Kevin Boothe, and Chris Snee.


title: Matt Rhule

text: On December 17, 2012, Rhule was named the 26th head football coach at Temple, succeeding Steve Addazio who left to become the head coach at Boston College.


title: Matt Rhule

text: In July 2015, Rhule signed a four-year extension with Temple that extended him through the 2021 season. After a tremendous third year with the Owls, this deal was re-negotiated to keep Rhule at the university. He was the target of Mizzou and Syracuse, but chose to remain at Temple.


title: Matt Rhule

text: On September 5, 2015, in front of 69,741 fans, Rhule defeated his alma mater, Penn State, 27–10 for the Owls' first win over the Nittany Lions since 1941.


title: Matt Rhule

text: In his third year as Temple's head coach, Rhule's Temple team went 10–2 in the regular season, winning the American Athletic Conference's East Division and took part in the conference's inaugural championship game. The next season, he took the Owls to their second consecutive championship game, where they won their first conference championship since 1967.


title: Matt Rhule

text: On December 6, 2016, Rhule was named the head football coach at Baylor University, replacing interim head coach Jim Grobe. The Bears finished the 2017 season with a disappointing 1–11 record, which meant Baylor would not qualify for a bowl for the first time since 2009. Baylor finished the 2018 regular season 6–6 and received an invite to the 2018 Texas Bowl, where he led the Bears to a 45–38 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores to finish the season with a 7–6 record. The Baylor Bears, under Rhule's leadership, finished the 2019 regular season at 11–1, and ultimately fell to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. During his tenure at Baylor, Rhule's teams never defeated a ranked team.


title: Matt Rhule

text: On September 13, 2020, Rhule lost his NFL head coaching debut against the Las Vegas Raiders by a score of 30–34. On September 27, 2020, Rhule got his first career win as an NFL head coach against the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 21–16. In his first season as head coach, Rhule led the Panthers to a 5–11 record, finishing 3rd in the NFC South.


title: Matt Rhule

text: Bleacher Report stated following his first year that Rhule "hasn't gotten off to a perfect start in Carolina, but the Panthers appear to be trending in the right direction." Under Rhule's watch, the Panthers defense improved significantly going from allowing the 2nd-most points in 2019 to being #15 in the league in that category in 2020.


title: Matt Rhule

text: On September 12, 2021, Rhule led the Panthers to win their first game of the 2021 NFL season by defeating the New York Jets by a score of 19–14. The Panthers started the season 3–0, but ultimately finished with a disappointing 5–12 record. After being just 10–23 in his first two seasons at the helm in Carolina, his job began to be called into question by fans, media, and former Panthers players. Panthers owner David Tepper remained confident that Rhule was laying the foundation for the future.


title: Matt Rhule

text: After a 37–15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and dropping the team to a 1–4 record, Rhule was relieved of his duties, and fired as head coach on October 10, 2022. He finished his tenure with an 11–27 record in two and a half seasons.


title: Matt Rhule

text: On November 26, 2022, Rhule was announced as the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, one day after the Cornhuskers' final game of the 2022 season.


title: Phil Robertson

text: Phil Alexander Robertson (born April 24, 1946) is an American professional hunter, businessman (Duck Commander company), and reality television star on the popular television series "Duck Dynasty". He is also featured on the television show "Duck Commander", a hunting program on the Outdoor Channel.


title: Phil Robertson

text: He attended Louisiana Tech University, where he played football. He received a master's degree in education and spent several years teaching.


title: Phil Robertson

text: Robertson was the subject of controversy after a 2013 interview he did with "GQ" magazine, where he said that homosexual behavior was sinful. As a result, A&E suspended him from "Duck Dynasty". Facing a strong backlash from his supporters, A&E lifted the suspension after nine days.


title: Phil Robertson

text: Robertson was born in Vivian, Louisiana. He was the fifth of seven children of Merritt (née Hale) and James Robertson. Because of financial setbacks during his childhood, the family lived in rugged conditions, having no electricity, toilet or bathtub. The family rarely went into town to buy groceries, and instead lived off of the fruits and vegetables they grew in their garden; the meat from deer, squirrels, fish and other game they hunted and fished; and the pigs, chickens, and cattle they raised.


title: Phil Robertson

text: In his book, "Happy, Happy, Happy", Robertson recalls that "It was the 1950s when I was a young boy, but we lived like it was the 1850s ... but we were always happy, happy, happy no matter the circumstances."


title: Phil Robertson

text: Halfway between Vivian and Hosston is Robertson's restored log cabin birth home. The property is owned by Robertson's cousin, Nathan Hale.


title: Phil Robertson

text: As an athlete in high school, Robertson was all-state in football, baseball, and track, which afforded him the opportunity to attend Louisiana Tech in Ruston on a football scholarship in the late 1960s. At Tech, he played first-string quarterback for the Bulldogs, ahead of Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft. When he arrived at Tech in 1966, Bradshaw caused a media frenzy on account of his reputation of being a football sensation from nearby Shreveport. Robertson was a year ahead of Bradshaw, and was the starter for two seasons in 1966 and 1967, and chose not to play in 1968.


title: Phil Robertson

text: In his time at Louisiana Tech, Robertson completed 179 of 411 passing attempts for 2,237 yards. He threw 12 touchdowns, but had 34 interceptions. It was thought Robertson had the potential for a pro career, but Robertson was more interested in hunting. Bradshaw once remarked about Robertson's love of hunting, saying "... Phil Robertson, loved hunting more than he loved football. He'd come to practice directly from the woods, squirrel tails hanging out of his pockets, duck feathers on his clothes. Clearly he was a fine shot, so no one complained too much."


title: Phil Robertson

text: When Paul Harvey approached Robertson with a recruitment to play professionally for the Washington Redskins, he declined because football conflicted with his hunting. Additionally, football was only about holding up his scholarship to him, while Bradshaw practically lived and breathed the sport. Robertson put it this way: "Terry went for the bucks, and I chased after the ducks."


title: Phil Robertson

text: Robertson initially spent several years teaching before becoming a commercial fisherman. In the 1970s, his marriage became strained. Robertson was running a bar in 1975.


title: Phil Robertson

text: As an avid duck hunter, Robertson was dissatisfied with the condition of duck calls. He began to experiment with making a call that would produce the exact sound of a duck. He invented his first Duck Commander call in 1972. He received a patent for this call and the Duck Commander Company was incorporated in 1973. Today, the company of Duck Commander is a multimillion-dollar business, headed by his son, Willie Robertson. Robertson and his family were portrayed on the A&E reality television series "Duck Dynasty", which ran from 2012 to 2017, and covered their daily lives within Duck Commander.


title: Phil Robertson

text: Robertson was featured in Steve Bannon's film "Torchbearer", in which he talks about the absurdity of life without God, using events like The Holocaust to illustrate the point. In October 2017, Robertson joined CRTV as a contributor, hosting "In the Woods with Phil".


title: Phil Robertson

text: On December 18, 2013, A&E announced the indefinite suspension of Robertson from the network following an interview with Drew Magary of "GQ". When during the interview for a featured article in "GQ's" January 2014 issue entitled "What the Duck?" Robertson was asked what he thought was sinful and responded, "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men." He paraphrased a Biblical passage from First Corinthians by saying "Don't be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right." Robertson also questioned the appeal of same-sex relationships saying that a vagina is more appealing to a man. Robertson said that he does not judge anyone, but leaves that up to God saying, "We just love 'em, give 'em the good news about Jesus—whether they're homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort 'em out later, you see what I'm saying?"


title: Phil Robertson

text: In response to initial criticisms A&E released a statement from Robertson saying, "I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me". Later that day the network announced his suspension. After a strong backlash from supporters, including a Facebook page that accumulated 1.5 million likes and statements from political figures condemning the move, A&E lifted the suspension before any episode was affected.


title: Phil Robertson

text: In 2015, Robertson made further controversial comments when he was awarded the 2015 Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award. In a half-hour speech to CPAC, Robertson asserted that STDs are the legacy of Nazis, Communists, beatniks, and hippies. He also told a long and graphic anecdote about an atheist and his family being murdered, and that the assailants would say "But you're the one who says there is no God, there's no right, there's no wrong, so we're just having fun." His statements went viral.


title: Phil Robertson

text: Robertson and Marsha "Miss Kay" Carroway started dating in 1964 as "high school sweethearts." The couple was married in 1966. Despite early troubles in their marriage due to Robertson's "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle," a 2013 editorial published by Yahoo TV correspondent Kelly Woo described the Robertsons' union as a "long-standing, rock-solid marriage." Their first son, Alan, was born while they were attending college.


title: Phil Robertson

text: Robertson is a devout Christian, a member of and elder at the White's Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, and is outspoken about his beliefs. He had various personal problems in his 20s including excessive alcohol drinking, causing a separation in the marriage for a period and he credits a subsequent religious awakening for being able to overcome the problems. Robertson opposes abortion and has called it a violation of the Declaration of Independence. He frequently speaks about the issue during public appearances. In 2013, alongside joint author Mark Schlabach, Robertson published a memoir titled "Happy, Happy, Happy".


title: Phil Robertson

text: In a 2013 special election, Robertson made a television commercial endorsing Vance McAllister, a Republican candidate for the Robertson family's home district, . McAllister, who had never held political office, defeated the thought-to-be frontrunner, state senator Neil Riser. Many attributed the strength of McAllister's come-from-behind victory to the Robertson endorsement. In 2016, Phil Robertson endorsed Ted Cruz for President. As Cruz dropped out of the race, Robertson, while at Cannes, endorsed Donald Trump for President. In 2017, in the Alabama run-off election, he endorsed Roy Moore for the U.S. Senate. In a primary rally of his, he went and made a speech in his defense about what he felt made the Ten Commandments important to keep as part of being on display in courtrooms.


title: Phil Robertson

text: In either December 2016 or January 2017, after Ben Carson stepped down from the chairmanship of American Legacy Center's "Fight for the Court" project, Robertson filled the vacancy.


title: Phil Robertson

text: On May 28, 2020, it was revealed that Phil has learned he has a daughter named Phyllis from an affair in the 1970s.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: Flight of the Conchords is an American sitcom that was first shown on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who play fictionalized versions of themselves. A second season was announced on August 17, 2007, and shown from January 18, 2009. On December 11, 2009, HBO canceled the series after two seasons and the duo announced that the series is not going to be returning for a third season.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: Throughout its run, "Flight of the Conchords" received positive critical reception, with its second season scoring 80/100 on Metacritic. The show received 10 Emmy Award nominations, including "Outstanding Comedy Series" and "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" for Jemaine Clement, both in 2009.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The series centers on the day-to-day lives and loves of two shepherds-turned-musicians, Jemaine and Bret (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, playing fictionalized versions of themselves), who have uprooted themselves from their native New Zealand to try to make it big as a folk duo in New York City. The two have frequent appointments with their officious and ineffectual band manager, Murray Hewitt (Rhys Darby), a Deputy Cultural Attaché at the New Zealand Consulate. Jemaine and Bret constantly fend off the amorous attentions of Mel (Kristen Schaal), a married woman who is their sole fan and stalker. Their friend Dave Mohumbhai (Arj Barker) works at a pawn shop and gives them advice on dealing with American women and culture. Other recurring characters include landlord Eugene (Eugene Mirman), love interests Coco (Sutton Foster) and Sally (Rachel Blanchard), Mel's husband Doug (David Costabile), and Murray's consulate subordinate Greg (Frank Wood).


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: Jemaine or Bret break into song in each episode. The songs are built into the narrative structure of the show in several different ways. Some songs form part of the plot of the show. In these instances, Bret or Jemaine sing to another character. Other songs serve as the internal monologue of one of the two. Typically, at least once per show, a song is shot in the form of a music video. Some songs use a combination of the styles. For example, in the first episode, "Sally", the song "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" is a mix of Jemaine's thoughts and his spoken invitations to Sally to get a kebab and to go back to his place. The music video for "Business Time" (from "Sally Returns") depicts a daydream that Jemaine is having. As the series evolved, other main characters also had their own musical interludes, depicted in a similar manner to Jemaine and Bret's own songs.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The enthusiastic manner in which the characters express themselves through song contrasts with the otherwise low-key tone of the show. Thus, when the characters cannot speak about their feelings, the songs serve as inner monologues.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The show was created by Clement, McKenzie and James Bobin, and was based on the successful improvised 2005 BBC Radio 2 radio series of the same name. Bobin serves as the show's main writer and director. The first episode of the series aired on HBO on June 17, 2007. The series received 100,000 views for the first-season premiere scored on Myspace.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: On August 17, 2007, HBO announced a second season for "Flight of the Conchords", originally set to premiere in 2008, but which was postponed to January 2009. Prior to the announcement, Jemaine Clement stated in an interview with "The New Zealand Herald", "[HBO] is interested in doing another series but we have to think about it. It's not a definite offer but they have talked about us starting writing but we've got other things we want to do as well". McKenzie stated that the second season took longer to produce because the band had used most of their material in the first season. In an interview with "The Star Ledger", he said "We'd need some time to develop new material. It's like the second album syndrome. It might take a lot longer". Shortly after the renewal announcement, Clement stated in an interview that the second season would likely consist of fewer than twelve episodes "so they could concentrate on "quality not quantity'".


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: McKenzie and Clement returned to their home town of Wellington to write for the second season, although the writing process was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Strike.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The second season of the show premiered on January 18, 2009 on HBO. It gathered 250,000 streams in its first 10 days on FunnyOrDie.com. Unlike the first season, the second season was filmed and broadcast in High Definition.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: In Australia, the second season of the show first aired on June 8, 2009 on SBS. SBS also made the episodes available for streaming (from within Australia only). The DVD of the second season was released in Australia on July 29, 2009.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: On December 11, 2009, McKenzie and Clement announced that the show would not return for a third season. Clement had previously stated that writing the show took up a great deal of time. During a 2016 interview, McKenzie said they had decided to end the show because it had "basically stopped being fun. It really wasn't a decision about money. It was definitely a decision about enjoying our lives.”


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The show has received a generally positive reaction from critics. Season 1 has a 68/100 rating based on 15 reviews on metacritic.com, and season 2 has an 80/100 rating, based on 10 reviews. The best reviews were from the "Detroit Free Press", whose critic described it as "TV's most original and irresistible new comic concoction," and the "San Francisco Chronicle", whose reviewer stated that it "may well be the funniest thing you've seen in ages."


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: In 2019, "Flight of the Conchords" was ranked 65th on "The Guardian"s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The pair was awarded with the status of "2007 Wellingtonians of the Year" after their international success blossomed that year.


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: The show received four Emmy Award nominations in 2008. "Sally Returns" was nominated for "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series", "Yoko" was nominated for "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series" and two songs, "Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)" and "Inner City Pressure", were nominated for "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics".


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: Also in 2008, the Writers Guild of America nominated the show for three awards: "Comedy Series", "Episodic Comedy" (for "Sally Returns") and for "New Series". The Television Critics Association nominated them for "Outstanding Achievement in Comedy" and "Outstanding New Program of the Year".


title: Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

text: In 2009, the show was nominated for six Emmy Awards. It was nominated in the categories of Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (for the episode "The Tough Brets"), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jemaine Clement), Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (for the song "Carol Brown"), Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour) and Animation, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for the episode "Prime Minister").


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. It can carry up to 3,200 lb (1,450 kg) of external munitions and internal loads such as paratroopers or stretchers, and can loiter for three or more hours.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The aircraft was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W.H. Beckett and Colonel K.P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient unranged aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Beckett and Rice developed a basic platform meeting these requirements, then attempted to build a fiberglass prototype in a garage. The effort produced enthusiastic supporters and an informal pamphlet describing the concept. W.H. Beckett, who had retired from the Marine Corps, went to work at North American Aviation to sell the aircraft.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: A "tri-service" specification for the Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (LARA) was approved by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Army and was issued in late 1963. The LARA requirement was based on a perceived need for a new type of "jungle fighting" versatile light attack and observation aircraft. Existing military aircraft in the observation role, such as the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and Cessna O-2 Skymaster, were perceived as obsolescent, with too slow a speed and too small a load capacity for this flexible role.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The specification called for a twin-engine, two-man aircraft that could carry at least of cargo, six paratroopers or stretchers, and be stressed for +8 and −3 "g" (basic aerobatic ability). It also had to be able to operate from an aircraft carrier, fly at least , take off in and convert to an amphibian. Various armaments had to be carried, including four machine guns with 2,000 rounds, and external weapons including a gun pod with M197 electric cannon, and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Eleven proposals were submitted, including: the Grumman Model 134R tandem-seat version of the already-fielded U.S. Army's OV-1 Mohawk (the U.S. Marine Corps dropped out of the Mohawk program in 1958), Goodyear GA 39, Beechcraft PD-183, Douglas D-855, Convair Model 48 Charger, Helio 1320, Lockheed CL-760, a Martin design, and the North American Aviation/Rockwell NA-300.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: In August 1964, the NA-300 was selected. A contract for seven prototype aircraft was issued in October 1964. Convair protested the decision and built a small-wing prototype of the Model 48 Charger anyway, which first flew on 29 November 1964. This was also a twin-boom aircraft that had a broadly similar layout to the OV-10. The Charger, while capable of outperforming the OV-10 in some respects, crashed on 19 October 1965 after 196 test flights. Convair subsequently dropped out of contention.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Bronco started flying midway through the Charger's test program on 16 July 1965, and became one of the premier counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft of the next 30 years. It did not achieve Rice's L2 VMA concept, because the DoD insisted on long wings, which made it depend on airbases. Rice concludes:


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Bronco performed observation, forward air control, helicopter escort, armed reconnaissance, utility light air transport and limited ground attack. The Bronco has also performed aerial radiological reconnaissance, tactical air observation, artillery and naval gunfire spotting, airborne control of tactical air support operations and front-line, low-level aerial photography. A prototype in Vietnam designed to lay smoke was extremely successful, kept in service by evaluators for several months, and only reluctantly released, was not purchased due to a perceived lack of mission.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The OV-10 has a central nacelle containing pilots and cargo, and twin booms containing twin turboprop engines. The visually distinctive feature of the aircraft is the combination of the twin booms, with the horizontal stabilizer that connects them.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The aircraft's design supported effective operations from forward bases. The OV-10 can perform short takeoffs and landings, including on aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious assault ships without using catapults or arresting wires. Further, the OV-10 was designed to take off and land on unimproved sites. Repairs could be made with ordinary tools. No ground equipment was required to start the engines. If necessary, the engines could operate on high-octane automobile fuel with only a slight loss of power.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The aircraft had responsive handling and could fly for 5 1/2 hours with external fuel tanks. The cockpit had extremely good visibility for a tandem pilot and co-pilot, provided by a wrap-around "greenhouse" that was wider than the fuselage. North American Rockwell custom ejection seats were standard, with many successful ejections during service. With the second seat removed, it can carry of cargo, five paratroopers, or two litter patients and an attendant. Empty weight was . Normal operating fueled weight with two crew was . Maximum takeoff weight was .


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The bottom of the fuselage bore sponsons or "stub wings" that improved flight performance by decreasing aerodynamic drag underneath the fuselage. The sponsons were mounted horizontally on the prototype. Testing caused them to be redesigned for production aircraft; the downward angle of the sponsons on production models ensured that stores carried on the sponsons jettisoned cleanly. Normally, four 7.62 mm (.308 in) M60C machine guns were carried on the sponsons with the M60Cs accessed through a large forward-opening hatch on the top of each sponson. The sponsons also had four racks to carry bombs, pods, or fuel. The wings outboard of the engines contain two additional racks, one per side.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually seven-shot rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets, or 5 in (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered/para-dropped unattended seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were also carried.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Operational experience showed some weaknesses in the OV-10's design. It was significantly underpowered, which contributed to crashes in Vietnam in sloping terrain because the pilots could not climb fast enough. While specifications state that the aircraft could reach , in Vietnam the aircraft could reach only . Also, no OV-10 pilot survived ditching the aircraft.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. A total of 81 OV-10 Broncos were ultimately lost to all causes during the course of the Vietnam War, with the Air Force losing 64, the Navy 7, and the Marines 10.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The OV-10 was first acquired by the U.S. Marine Corps. Each of the Marine Corps's two observation squadrons (designated VMO) had 18 aircraft – nine OV-10As and nine OV-10Ds night observation aircraft. A Marine Air Reserve observation squadron was also established. The OV-10 operated as a forward air controller and was finally phased out of the Marine Corps in 1995 following its employment during Operation Desert Storm, which also saw the final combat losses of OV-10s by U.S. forces. Among these losses were two USMC OV-10s being shot down due to a lack of effective infrared countermeasures. It was also thought that the slow speed made it more vulnerable to anti-aircraft weapons. Forward air control passed mostly to ground units with laser designators and digital radios (GFACs) and the twin-seat F/A-18D Hornet (FAC(A)s). Most operational Broncos were reassigned to civil government agencies in the U.S., while some were sold to other countries.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The U.S. Marine Corps YOV-10D Night Observation Gunship System (NOGS) program modified two OV-10As (BuNo 155395 and BuNo 155396) to include a turreted forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, laser target designator and turreted 20 mm (.79 in) XM197 gun slaved to the FLIR aimpoint. NOGS succeeded in Vietnam, but funds to convert more aircraft were not approved. NOGS evolved into the NOS OV-10D, which included a laser designator, but no gun.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The USAF acquired the Bronco primarily as an FAC aircraft. The first combat USAF OV-10As arrived in Vietnam on 31 July 1968 as part of "Operation Combat Bronco", an operational testing and evaluation of the aircraft. These test aircraft were attached to the 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron, 504th Tactical Air Support Group at Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam. The test roles included the full range of missions then assigned to FAC aircraft, including day and night strike direction, gunship direction, bomb damage assessment, visual reconnaissance, aerial artillery direction, and as escorts for aircraft engaged in Operation Ranch Hand. The aircraft's ability to generate smoke internally was utilized for strike direction and "in four specific instances under conditions of reduced visibility, the smoke was seen by strike aircrews before the [OV-10A] [was] detected." Operation Combat Bronco ended on 30 October 1968.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: After the end of Combat Bronco, the USAF began to deploy larger numbers to the 19th TASS (Bien Hoa), 20th TASS (Da Nang Air Base), and for out-of-country missions to the 23d TASS (Nakhom Phanom in Thailand). The 23d TASS conducted Operation Igloo White, Operation Prairie Fire/Daniel Boone, and other special operations missions.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Between 1968 and 1971, 26 pilots from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) flew the OV-10A on FAC sorties, while attached to USAF squadrons. The 19th TASS hosted 13 RAAF pilots and three from the RNZAF; another seven RAAF pilots and three from the RNZAF were assigned to the 20th TASS. (Consequently, the Australian War Memorial has acquired an OV-10A "67-14639", which was flown by some of these pilots.)


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: From April to June 1969 the USAF conducted an operational exercise called "Misty Bronco" in South Vietnam's III Corps Tactical Zone to evaluate the OV-10A's performance as a light strike aircraft. The results were positive and as of October 1969 all USAF OV-10As were to be armed with their internal .308 in (7.62 mm) M60C machine guns, which had generally been left out during the Combat Bronco evaluations and subsequent deployment. High explosive 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets were also authorized for use against ground targets.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: In 1971, the 23d TASS's OV-10A Broncos received modifications under project "Pave Nail". Carried out by LTV Electrosystems during 1970, these modifications primarily included the addition of the "Pave Spot" target laser designator pod, as well as a specialized night periscope (replacing the initial starlight scopes that had been used for night time operations) and LORAN equipment. The call sign "Nail" was the radio handle of this squadron. These aircraft supported interdiction of troops and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail by illuminating targets for laser-guided bombs dropped by McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs. After 1974, these aircraft were converted back to an unmodified OV-10A standard.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: At least 157 OV-10As were delivered to the USAF before production ended in April 1969. The USAF lost 64 OV-10 Broncos during the war, to all causes. In the late 1980s, the USAF started to replace their OV-10s with OA-37B and OA-10A aircraft. Unlike the Marine Corps, the USAF did not deploy the Bronco to the Middle East in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, as it believed that the OV-10 was too vulnerable. The final two USAF squadrons equipped with the Bronco, the 19th and 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) retired the OV-10 on 1 September 1991.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: In 2012, $20 million was allocated to activate an experimental unit of two OV-10s, acquired from NASA and the State Department. Starting in May 2015, these aircraft were deployed to support Operation Inherent Resolve flying combat missions over Iraq and Syria, flying more than 120 combat sorties over 82 days. It is speculated they provided close air support for Special Forces missions. The experiment ended satisfactorily, but an Air Force spokesman stated it remains unlikely they will invest in reactivating the OV-10 on a regular basis because of the overhead cost of operating an additional aircraft type.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The U.S. Navy formed Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4), the "Black Ponies", on 3 January 1969, and operated in Vietnam from April 1969 to April 1972. The Navy used the Bronco OV-10A as a light ground attack aircraft, for interdiction of enemy logistics, and fire-support of Marines, SEALs and naval riverine force vessels. It succeeded in this role, although the U.S. Navy did lose seven OV-10s during the Vietnam War to various causes. Other than OV-10 Fleet replacement training done in cooperation with Air Antisubmarine Squadron Forty-One (VS-41) at NAS North Island, California, VAL-4 was the only squadron in the U.S. Navy to ever employ the OV-10 and it was decommissioned shortly following the end of the Vietnam War. VAL-4's surviving OV-10s were subsequently transferred to the Marine Corps.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: At least two Broncos were used as test beds in the 1970s at the Naval Air Test Center (NATC) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Two OV-10s were evaluated for special operations, and the USMC lent 18 aircraft for operation by VAL-4 in Vietnam.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: In 2015, two OV-10Gs were assigned for light attack operations in Iraq under the "Combat Dragon II" program and completed 120 missions.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: In 2019, the first of two former VAL-4 aircraft returned to flight by the OV-10 Squadron, Chino, California. Bureau numbers 155493 "Holy Terror" and 155474 "White Lightning". Extensive restoration work of more than 18 months performed by California Aerofab went into 493's return to flight and 155474 expected to fly by 2020.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: In 1991, the USAF provided the Colombian Air Force with 12 OV-10As. Later, three ex-USMC A-models were also acquired to provide parts support. Colombia operates the aircraft in a COIN role against an active insurgency. At least one aircraft has been lost in combat. The remaining OV-10As were upgraded to OV-10D standard. In November 2015, and after 24 years of service, the Colombian Air Force retired all of its remaining OV-10 aircraft.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The OV-10B variant was produced for Germany to use as target tug. Eighteen aircraft were delivered in the late 1960s and they were equipped with target towing equipment inside the fuselage. A transparent plastic dome replaced the rear cargo door and a rear seat was installed in the cargo bay to look backwards out of the dome. After a long career the Bronco was replaced by the Pilatus PC-9 in 1990 and all aircraft were retired and sent to various museums, technical schools and used as ABDR (Aircraft Battle Damage Repair).


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Indonesian Air Force purchased 12 OV-10F aircraft and operated them in COIN operations similar to the U.S. Navy's Vietnam missions with their Broncos, but retrofitted .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning heavy machine guns in place of the .308 in (7.62 mm) machine guns. These aircraft were based in Lanud Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base in Malang, East Java and were vital in the invasion of East Timor and ensuing COIN operations. In 1977, they were also used during the aerial bombardments of Amungme villages near Freeport-McMoRan area of operations, West Papua, in response to OPM attacks on the mining company facilities, and of Dani villages in Baliem Valley, also in West Papua, in response to rebellion against enforced participation in the Indonesian general election. Due to the lack of U.S. bombs, the Indonesian Air Force modified the bomb racks to carry Russian bombs. The Indonesian Air Force plans to replace their OV-10Fs with EMBRAER Super Tucanos following a fatal accident on 23 July 2013. The Indonesian Air Force retired the OV-10F from service in 2007.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Royal Moroccan Air Force acquired six former-U.S. Marine Corps OV-10As in 1981. Based in Marrakesh Menara Airport, these were employed in counter-insurgency operations against Polisario forces in the Western Sahara War using rocket pods and gun pods. One was shot down in 1985. A 15-man USMC inspection team from VMO-2 was deployed to evaluate the aforementioned crashed OV-10 155397.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Philippine Air Force (PAF) received 24 OV-10As from U.S. stocks in 1991, later followed by a further nine from the United States, and eight ex-Thai Air Force OV-10Cs in 2003–2004. The OV-10s are operated by the 16th Attack Squadron and 25th Composite Attack Squadron of the 15th Strike Wing, based in Sangley Point, Cavite. The PAF flies Broncos on search-and-rescue and COIN operations in various parts of the Philippines. The first two women combat pilots in the PAF flew OV-10s with the 16th. This squadron flew anti-terrorist operations in the Jolo island.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: PAF OV-10 Broncos were repeatedly used in air strikes against Moro Islamic Liberation Front positions during ongoing fighting in 2011, and two were used in an air strike in February 2012 which resulted in the death of three Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah commanders, among others. Philippine Air Force OV-10s have been reportedly modified in order to employ modern smart bombs.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The PAF announced that its remaining OV-10s will be replaced by the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano by 2024. This is to meet requirements set by the AFP Modernization Act to replace the aging aircraft.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Royal Thai Air Force purchased 32 new OV-10C aircraft in the early 1970s for COIN usage. Reportedly Broncos won most Thai bombing competitions until F-5Es became operational. At one time, the RTAF flew OV-10s as air-defense aircraft. In 2004, RTAF donated most of the OV-10s to the Philippines. Three OV-10 survivors are displayed, one at the Tango Squadron Wing 41 Museum in Chiang Mai, the RTAF Museum in Bangkok, and a static display at the main gate of Wing 5 in Prachuap Khiri Khan. The remaining OV-10s will be donated to the PAF in 2011.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Venezuelan Air Force has operated a number of new build OV-10Es and ex-USAF OV-10As over the years. On 27 November 1992, the aircraft were widely used by mutinous officers who staged an attempted "coup d'état" against former President Carlos Andrés Pérez. The rebels dropped bombs and launched rockets against police and government buildings in Caracas. Four Broncos were lost during the uprising, including two shot down by a loyalist General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: Venezuela's OV-10s are to be retired in the coming years. Originally Venezuela attempted to procure Embraer Super Tucano aircraft to replace the OV-10, but no deal was achieved which President Chavez claimed was due to the result of pressure from the U.S. government. The Venezuelan government has decided not to replace them with new fixed wing aircraft. Rather, the Venezuelan Air Force is replacing them with the Russian made Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: NASA has used a number of Broncos for various research programs, including studies of low speed flight carried out with the third prototype in the 1970s, and studies on noise and wake turbulence. One OV-10 remained in use at NASA's Langley base in 2009 with three additional aircraft obtained from the Department of State formerly used in drug eradication efforts.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Department of State (DoS) aircraft are former Air Force OV-10A and Marine Corps OV-10D aircraft operated under contract by DynCorp International in support of U.S. drug interdiction and eradication efforts in South America. The aircraft carry civilian U.S. aircraft registration numbers and, when not forward deployed, are home based at a DoS/DynCorp facility at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The Broncos had sponsons removed and Kevlar external armor panels installed around the cockpits. On the belly was a wind driven pump adapted from Agriculture Aircraft (crop dusters) with more than a 500 gal (1,900 L) hopper tank installed in the cargo bay. A spray bar extended out to a V from the cargo bay to the tailbooms. A surviving aircraft in this configuration is on display in Tennessee.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acquired seven OV-10As for use as fire-fighting aircraft, including the YOV-10A prototype. In this role, they lead firefighting air tankers through their intended flight paths over their target areas. The aircraft were operated in their basic military configurations, but with their ejection seats disabled. The aircraft's existing smoke system was used to mark the path for the following air tankers. Given the age of the aircraft, spare parts were difficult to obtain, and the BLM retired their fleet in 1999.


title: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

text: The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) has acquired a number of OV-10As, including the six surviving aircraft from the BLM and 13 former U.S. Marine Corps aircraft in 1993 to replace their existing Cessna O-2 Skymasters as air attack aircraft. The CAL FIRE Broncos fly with a crew of two, a contract pilot and the CAL FIRE ATGS or Air Tactical Group Supervisor, whose job it is to coordinate all aerial assets on a fire with the Incident Commander on the ground. Thus, besides serving as a tanker lead-in aircraft, the OV-10A is also the aerial platform from which the entire air operation is coordinated.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Masiela Lusha (; born October 23, 1985) is an Albanian-born American actress and author. She gained recognition for playing Carmen Lopez on the globally syndicated ABC sitcom "George Lopez", a role that earned her two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actress in a Comedy or Drama. After transitioning into film, she starred in Sony Pictures’ "". Lusha also starred alongside David Hasselhoff and Ian Ziering in SyFy's television movie "".


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha made her acting debut in "Summoning" in 2001. That same year, she made her television debut in the Disney Channel series, "Lizzie McGuire". Lusha appeared as a main cast member in "Clifford's Puppy Days" (2003-2005) for PBS, and also appeared in "", and "Anger Management". Lusha starred in movies comprising a variety of genres, including "Cherry Bomb" (2004), "My Father's Eulogy" (2007), "Muertas" (2007), "Time of the Comet" (2008), "Ballad of Broken Angels" (2009), "Kill Katie Malone" (2010), "Dragonfyre" (2013), "The Architect" (2014), "Of Silence" (2014), "Fatal Instinct" (2014), and "Branded" (2016).


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2010, Lusha was appointed ambassador of Prince Harry's charity Sentebale. In 2014, Lusha was made the World Assembly of Youth's goodwill ambassador. Lusha is an advocate for UN Women.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha has written five books of poetry, "Inner Thoughts", "Drinking the Moon", "Amore Celeste", "The Call", "The Living Air;" a novel, "The Besa"; and two children's books. Lusha has written poetry and translated it into Albanian. She has translated poems and prayers by Mother Teresa.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha was born in Tirana, Albania, and is the only child of Max and Daniela Lusha. Her mother was a magazine publisher.<ref name="Madden Cover/Section D"></ref> In 1990, Lusha and her family left Albania as refugees. Upon leaving Albania, Lusha moved to Budapest, Hungary, and Vienna, Austria. In an interview in 2016, Lusha credits her early memories as a refugee for her lifelong humanitarian efforts.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: At the age of seven, Lusha moved to Michigan where she and her mother reunited with her great uncle Dr. Joseph H. Alli. Dr. Alli was a colonel in the army during World War 2, and chief of laboratories for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. English was Lusha's fourth language, after Albanian, Hungarian, and German. At the age of twelve, Lusha began a modeling career in Michigan. After a few months of professional modeling and acting in local theater plays, she was discovered by a Hollywood talent agent who held an open call in Detroit, Michigan. That following year, while acting in Los Angeles, Lusha became a published author with her first book of poetry, "Inner Thoughts".


title: Masiela Lusha

text: As a poet, Lusha was recognized as one of the Top Ten Talented Poets of North America for her published work, and also received the public recognition of former President Bill Clinton.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Upon graduating high school, Lusha had published two collections of poetry. As of 2010, Lusha has since written seven books.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: From 2005 to 2010, Lusha wrote four poetry books. While filming "George Lopez", Lusha published her second book, "Drinking the Moon" In 2010, Lusha wrote "Boopity Boop Writes Her First Poem". Lusha chose poetry as the subject matter for her children's book because, "While some mothers sing lullabies to their children, my mother read me poetry," she said. "And to this day, I associate my strongest and most insistent feelings with words lyrically organized on a page." In 2016, Lusha released her fourth book of poetry, "The Living Air".


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In an interview, Lusha revealed that she completed her novel, "The Besa", in one month, writing from 6am until 8pm every day while forgetting to eat. For her writing, Lusha also says, "In any art form, we have a responsibility to infuse a little color, compassion, movement into our society. Art cannot live in a void. It must impact, animate a little tug and pull in our world to stay alive and relevant."


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha launched her career as a model and theater actress in Michigan. While residing in her hometown, Lusha's first theatrical role was a nonspeaking, background character in her school's production of "Up and Away". Upon entering the drama department, Lusha then portrayed the role of Cinderella in the play, "The Last Dress Rehearsal" and Belle in "Beauty and the Beast". She also portrayed an Oompa Loompa and a Tap-Dancing Box in the play, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Soon after moving to California, Lusha was selected as the principle fashion model in a multinational Back-to-School J. C. Penney television campaign which aired in America and South America, and was cast in the Alanis Morissette music video "Hands Clean".


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Then in 2000, it was Lusha's television debut with a guest appearance on the Disney Channel series "Lizzie McGuire" as the character Olivia in the episode "Last Year's Model". Lusha made her film debut in the 2000 film "A Father's Love" as Lisa, the lead who reminisces on her experiences with her father.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2001, she was picked to play Carmen Lopez on the newly developed ABC sitcom "George Lopez". The show was executive produced by Sandra Bullock and Bruce Helford. After completing its 120th episode, the show reached global syndication and established Lusha as a TV veteran by the age of 20. That following year, the "George Lopez" show won an Emmy and was established as the second-longest-running sitcom in television history to star a Hispanic lead, after "I Love Lucy". To this date, it continues to be Nick at Nite's highest rated series. In 2007, Lusha's character Carmen was written off the show due to "creative differences".<ref name="Madden Cover/Section C"></ref>


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha won two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Best Leading Actress in a Comedy and Drama for her portrayal as Carmen. While working on "George Lopez", Lusha also voiced the role of Nina for four years on the PBS series "Clifford's Puppy Days". It has been reported that portraying the character of Nina introduced Lusha to children's entertainment, inspiring her to write a children's book in 2009.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In December 2009, Lusha joined the original cast of "George Lopez" for a televised reunion on "Lopez Tonight". During the live reunion taping, when asked about her experiences on the show, Lusha said: "it is the show that keeps giving. Every year it offers something to society and it offered something to each and every one of us. It brought us all together for a lifetime".


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha has since appeared as Mira on an episode of "". At the suggestion of George Clooney, Lusha has also appeared in the Spanish language film "Muertas" (2008) in which she portrayed the main character Aracelli.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha also starred as Saint Agnes in the Albanian production of "Time of the Comet" (2008) based on the novel "A Difficult Year" by Ismail Kadare. Throughout the film, Lusha's dialogue was in a specific Albanian dialect. In the film, Lusha plays a catholic nun who falls in love with a Muslim rebel.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha portrayed the role of Sharon, the sword-wielding, vampire in disguise, in the Sony Pictures remake of the cult classic "" alongside Jun Ji-hyun. The film was co-produced by French company Pathé and Hong Kong company Edko, the production company behind Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In 2009, the film premiered in Japan and was released internationally by Sony Pictures.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2011, Lusha also starred in the films "Katie Malone" and "The Architect". In Katie Malone, she portrayed the role of Ginger, a premed college student who is tormented by the ghost of a slave girl. "One Tree Hill" actor Stephen Colletti and "Superman" star Dean Cain costarred in the movie. The film was released by American World Pictures. In "The Architect", Lusha acted alongside Stacy Keach. In 2012, Lusha also starred in the film "Of Silence", alongside Muse Watson.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2012, Lusha starred in the film "Orc Wars", portraying the role of Princess Aleya, the last remaining elven warrior.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha re-teamed with "George Lopez" creator and executive producer Bruce Helford on the FX series "Anger Management". Lusha portrayed the love interest Molly in the episode "Charlie and Sean Fight Over A Girl".


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha was cast as one of the leads in SyFy's "" and "". Lusha portrayed Gemini, the cousin of Ian Ziering's character, and niece of David Hasselhoff's character.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2017, Lusha starred in the Lifetime film "Forgotten Evil". In the film, she portrayed Renee / Jane Doe, a woman suffering from amnesia. Without a past, Renee is forced to face a new reality with emerging challenges. Re-teaming with "Sharknado" director Anthony C. Ferrante, it is reported that the role was written with Lusha in mind.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In a 2016 interview, Lusha credited her childhood memories as a refugee for the drive behind her efforts as a humanitarian. In the same interview Lusha noted that her earliest memory was on a bus with her mother, fleeing Albania. Because of numerous bomb threats targeted at the bus, an international organization provided volunteers to sit in the bus with the refugees, allowing the people to enter Hungary safely. Lusha stated that because of these experiences, "humanitarianism is the bedrock of [her] existence and identity."


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2010, Lusha was appointed Ambassador for Prince Harry's charity, Sentebale. The charity was founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, Africa in memory of their mothers, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Queen Mamohato of Lesotho. The cause helps vulnerable children in Lesotho, Africa through various grassroots efforts.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha was the spokesperson for Scholastic's Read for Life, and she has been involved in national PSA commercials and school readings across the country. Throughout her career, Lusha has promoted "the value of appreciating the written word". As the national spokesperson for the Great American Bake Sale, a hunger-relief program, Lusha visits local towns throughout the United States and supports food drives to help battle childhood hunger. For her role as a national spokesperson, Lusha promotes the importance of raising funds to help local communities.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: Lusha founded the Children of the World Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers food, shelter and education to families in deprived conditions. For Children of the World, she donated of land for a community center focused on rehabilitating families in need.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In the spring of 2013, Athgo International appointed Lusha as their Ambassador for Youth. As an Ambassador, Lusha encouraged a dialogue between aspiring global entrepreneurs and Athgo's bodies of support such as the World Bank Group, the United Nations, and international universities. Lusha will participate with Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of ITU and vice-chairman of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: World Assembly of Youth appointed Lusha as their first Goodwill Ambassador. WAY co-operates with the UN and many of its special agencies, particularly with UNAIDS, UNEP, ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO. As ambassador, Lusha promoted diverse causes concerning the global youth, such as improving gender equality, promote the democratic participation, increase inter-ethnic respect and to foster inter-cultural and international understanding and cooperation.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: During the filming of "George Lopez", Lusha was reportedly privately schooled on set. Lusha graduated from Burbank High School at the age of 15. She later attended Glendale College, in Southern California, graduating with an AA degree and transferring to UCLA as a junior at the age of 18. While at UCLA, Lusha majored in Creative Writing. Lusha has also earned a degree from FIDM and credits her education when designing and sewing her own clothes on the red carpet.


title: Masiela Lusha

text: In 2012, Lusha began dating financier Ramzi Habibi. In July 2013, it was announced that the two were engaged. On December 28, 2013, the couple married on Wanaka Peak in Queenstown, New Zealand. The couple has 2 children, a son, born in February 2018, and a daughter born in October 2020.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: "Baker Street" is a song written and performed by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in 1978, it reached No. 1 in "Cash Box" and No. 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, where it held its "Billboard" position for six weeks, blocked from the top spot by Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing". It spent four weeks at No. 1 in Canada, No. 1 in Australia and South Africa, hit No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and the top 10 in the Netherlands. Rafferty received the 1978 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The arrangement is known for its saxophone riff.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: In October 2010, the song was recognised by BMI for surpassing five million performances worldwide. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded the song a platinum certification in July 2022.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: Named after Baker Street in London, the song was included on Rafferty's second solo album, "City to City" (1978), which was his first release after the resolution of legal problems surrounding the break-up of his old band, Stealers Wheel, in 1975. In the intervening three years, Rafferty had been unable to release any material because of disputes about the band's remaining contractual recording obligations.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: Rafferty wrote the song during a period when he was trying to extricate himself from his Stealers Wheel contracts; he was regularly travelling between his family home in Paisley and London, where he often stayed at a friend's flat in Baker Street. As Rafferty put it, "everybody was suing each other, so I spent a lot of time on the overnight train from Glasgow to London for meetings with lawyers. I knew a guy who lived in a little flat off Baker Street. We'd sit and chat or play guitar there through the night."


title: Baker Street (song)

text: The resolution of Rafferty's legal and financial frustrations accounted for the exhilaration of the song's last verse: "When you wake up it's a new morning/The sun is shining, it's a new morning/You're going, you're going home." Rafferty's daughter Martha has said that the book that inspired the song more than any other was Colin Wilson's "The Outsider" (1956). Rafferty was reading the book, which explores ideas of alienation and of creativity, born out of a longing to be connected, at this time of travelling between the two cities.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: "Baker Street" was recorded in 1978 at Mike and Richard Vernon's Chipping Norton Studios, Oxfordshire, during the sessions for "City to City". The album "City to City" (1978), including "Baker Street", was co-produced by Rafferty and Hugh Murphy.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: In addition to a searing guitar solo, played by Hugh Burns, the song featured a prominent eight-bar saxophone riff played as a break between verses, by Raphael Ravenscroft. Rafferty claimed that he wrote the hook with the original intention that it be sung. Ravenscroft remembered things differently, saying that he was presented with a song that contained "several gaps". "In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff," stated Ravenscroft. "If you're asking me: 'Did Gerry hand me a piece of music to play?' then no, he didn't."


title: Baker Street (song)

text: However, the 2011 reissue of "City to City" included the demo of 'Baker Street' with the saxophone part played on electric guitar by Rafferty. A very similar sax line was originally played by saxophonist Steve Marcus for a song called "Half a Heart", credited to vibraphonist Gary Burton, that appeared on Marcus' 1968 album "Tomorrow Never Knows".


title: Baker Street (song)

text: Ravenscroft, a session musician, was in the studio to record a brief soprano saxophone part and suggested that he record the break using the alto saxophone he had in his car. The distinctive wailing, bluesy sound of the sax riff on 'Baker Street' was a result of the tuning of the alto being slightly flat, and Ravenscroft later considered this to have been a mistake. He said, in an interview in 2011, that listening to 'Baker Street' irritated him because he was out of tune.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: The saxophone part led to what became known as "the 'Baker Street' phenomenon", a resurgence in the sales of saxophones and their use in mainstream pop music and television advertising.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: The saxophone riff was featured in the "Family Guy" Season 10 episode "Grumpy Old Man", in which Peter talks about him and Lois having "phone sax", a cutaway shows them playing songs on the saxophone via the phone. Peter plays the riff from "Baker Street" while Lois plays "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: According to one story, Ravenscroft received no payment for a song that earned Rafferty an income of £80,000 per annum; a cheque for £27 given to Ravenscroft bounced and was framed and hung on his solicitor's wall. However, the bouncing cheque story was denied by Ravenscroft during an interview on BBC Radio 2's "Simon Mayo Drivetime" show on 9 February 2012.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: The saxophone riff was also the subject of another urban legend in the UK, created in the 1980s by British writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie. As one of the spoof facts invented for the regular "Would You Believe It?" section in the "NME", Maconie falsely claimed that British radio and television presenter Bob Holness had played the saxophone part on the recording. Later, the claim was widely repeated.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: "Baker Street" reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 for six consecutive weeks in the US, kept out of the number-one spot by Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing".


title: Baker Street (song)

text: A music industry rumor claims that "Baker Street" did manage to overtake "Shadow Dancing" in one of the latter's seven weeks at the summit, with Casey Kasem recording his "American Top 40" countdown placing it at the top. However, at a dinner with Gibb's managers, then-"Billboard" chart director Bill Wardlow was told if "Shadow Dancing" did not remain at #1, Gibb would be pulled from the lineup of an upcoming "Billboard" concert. Wardlow then called the magazine to leave the song at the top, and Kasem was told to re-record his countdown. Although this story is disputed, "Baker Street" did manage to spend two weeks at #1 on rival magazine "Cashbox"'s singles chart, who had no such obligations to Gibb or his managers, causing some to think there may be truth to the account.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: British dance group Undercover covered the song on their 1992 album "Check Out the Groove". This version reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-three hit in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.


title: Baker Street (song)

text: A writer for "Lennox Herald" picked the song as a "stand out" from the album. Pan-European magazine "Music & Media" wrote that "Gerry Rafferty's rainy days anthem is now transferred from the comfortable living room to the heat of clubland. The typical saxophone hook is on acid as well." Mark Frith from "Smash Hits" commented, "This one's quite good actually. Transformed from a hoary old late '70s epic into a PWL rave anthem for the '90s, Baker Street has tootling sax, great vocals and is probably the most unusual record turned into a rave tune ever."


title: Baker Street (song)

text: A music video was made to accompany the song. It is made in black-and-white, and was published on YouTube in April 2013. As of November 2020, the video has got more than 3 million views.