title: William S. Paley

text: In 1972, Paley ordered the shortening of a second installment of a two-part "CBS Evening News" series on the Watergate scandal, based on a complaint by Charles Colson, an aide to President Richard Nixon. And later, Paley briefly ordered the suspension of instant and often negatively critical analyses by CBS news commentators which followed presidential addresses.


title: William S. Paley

text: Over the years, Paley sold portions of his family stockholding in CBS. At the time of his death, he owned less than nine percent of the outstanding stock. In 1995, five years after Paley's death, CBS was bought by Westinghouse Electric Corporation and, in 1999, by Viacom, which itself was once a subsidiary of CBS. Today, CBS is owned by Paramount Global, after merging with the "new" Viacom in 2019. National Amusements is the majority owner of Paramount.


title: William S. Paley

text: In the 1940s, William Paley and his brother-in-law, Leon Levy formed Jaclyn Stable, which owned and raced a string of thoroughbred race horses. Paley formed a modern art collection with as many as 40 major works, and he enjoyed photographing Picasso in Cap d'Antibes. Like Picasso, Paley drove an exotic French Facel Vega Facel II, the fastest four-seater car in the world in the early 1960s.


title: William S. Paley

text: In 1964, CBS purchased the New York Yankees from Del Webb. Subsequently, the storied baseball team fell into mediocrity, not making the postseason for the next ten years. In 1973, Paley sold the team at its low ebb for $8.7 million to Cleveland shipbuilder George Steinbrenner and a group of investors. Under the Steinbrenner regime, the Yankees grew in value to what, in April 2006, "Forbes" magazine estimated was $1.26 billion, or about $280 million in 1973 dollars.


title: William S. Paley

text: Encouraged by Paley's avid interest in modern art and his outstanding collection, the Rockefeller family's Museum of Modern Art made Paley a trustee in the 1930s; in 1962 he was tapped by then-chairman David Rockefeller to be its president. In 1968, he joined a syndicate with Rockefeller and others to buy six works by Picasso for the museum from the notable Gertrude Stein collection. He subsequently became chairman, stepping down from the museum post in 1985.


title: William S. Paley

text: In 1974, Paley dedicated the second building at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He also personally dedicated the Samuel L. Paley library at Temple University named in honor of his father.


title: William S. Paley

text: The Paley Center for Media was founded by Paley in New York City in 1976 as the Museum of Broadcasting. From 1991 to 2007, it was known as The Museum of Television and Radio; its new location was known as the Paley Building. An L.A. branch opened in 1996, and closed in 2020.


title: William S. Paley

text: Paley met Dorothy Hart Hearst (1908–1998) while she was married to John Randolph Hearst, the third son of William Randolph Hearst. Paley fell in love with her, and, after her Las Vegas divorce from Hearst, she and Paley married on May 12, 1932, in Kingman, Arizona.


title: William S. Paley

text: Dorothy called on her extensive social connections acquired during her previous marriage to introduce Paley to several top members of President Franklin Roosevelt's government. She also exerted a considerable influence over Paley's political views. She later said: "I can't believe he would have voted Democrat without me."


title: William S. Paley

text: Dorothy began to become estranged from Paley during the early 1940s because of his infidelity. They divorced on July 24, 1947, in Reno, Nevada. She retained custody of their two adopted children, Jeffrey Paley and Hilary Paley. In 1953, Dorothy married stockbroker Walter Hirshon; they divorced in 1961.


title: William S. Paley

text: Paley married divorcée, socialite and fashion icon Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer (1915–1978) on July 28, 1947. She was the daughter of renowned neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing. William and Babe Paley, in spite of their successes and social standing, were barred from being members of country clubs on Long Island because he was Jewish. As an alternative, the Paleys built a summer home, "Kiluna North," on Squam Lake in New Hampshire and spent the summers there for many years, routinely entertaining their many friends, including Lucille Ball, Grace Kelly, and David O. Selznick. The couple had two children, William and Kate.


title: William S. Paley

text: Paley was a notorious womanizer his entire life. Indeed, his first marriage to Dorothy ended when a newspaper published a suicide note written to Paley by a former girlfriend. As a result of another relationship he provided a stipend to a former lover, actress Louise Brooks, for the rest of her life. In his later years he enjoyed keeping company with several women. Paley was included in a list of the ten most eligible bachelors compiled by "Cosmopolitan" magazine in 1985; the irony of the octogenarian Paley being on the list was an inspiration for "Late Night with David Letterman's" nightly Top Ten lists.


title: William S. Paley

text: Paley died of kidney failure on October 26, 1990, less than a month after his 89th birthday. He was buried at the Memorial Cemetery of St. John's Episcopal Church.


title: Jump In!

text: Jump In! is a 2007 Disney Channel Original Movie, which premiered on January 12, 2007. It was released on Disney Channel UK on April 27, 2007. The film, starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer, revolves around a young boxer, Izzy Daniels (Bleu), who trains to follow in his father's footsteps by winning the Golden Glove. When his friend, Mary (Palmer), asks him to substitute for a team member in a Double Dutch tournament, Izzy discovers his new love for the sport. At the same time, he discovers true love in Mary and he deals with the conflict between him and his father about boxing. Filming took place from June–July 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


title: Jump In!

text: Isadore "Izzy" Daniels (Corbin Bleu) is a star boxer in Brooklyn, hoping to win the Golden Gloves, like his father and coach Kenneth (David Reivers). Izzy competes in an exhibition match against Rodney (Patrick Johnson Jr.), his classmate and the neighborhood bully, and wins using strategy and focus, giving him a chance to go to the Golden Gloves.


title: Jump In!

text: Izzy's neighbor, Mary Thomas (Keke Palmer), is a competitive Double Dutch player on a team called the Joy Jumpers; though the two often argue with each other, their friends know that they have mutual crushes. Izzy brings his younger sister, Karin (Kylee Russell), and her friends to the Double Dutch regional competition, to watch Mary and her teammates, Shauna (Shanica Knowles), Keisha (Laivan Greene), and Yolanda (Jajube Mandiela). Though Izzy tries to hide it, he enjoys the competition. The Joy Jumpers take fourth place, barely qualifying for the city finals. Upset with Mary's freestyle choreography, Yolanda leaves the team and joins their main competitors, the Dutch Dragons. The Joy Jumpers need to find another teammate, or they can't compete in the city finals. Not taking Double Dutch seriously, Izzy mocks them. Mary then challenges him to jump rope and prove that it's easy. Izzy does so, having done jump roping to train for boxing. The girls convince Izzy to be a temporary replacement until they can find someone else, and he secretly practices with the Joy Jumpers before school at his father's gym.


title: Jump In!

text: Over several days, Izzy spends more time with the Joy Jumpers and improves tremendously at Double Dutch, though his boxing skills and punctuality suffer as a result. His fellow boxer, Tammy (Rebecca Williams), finds out but promises to keep it a secret if he stops teasing her. With some help from Izzy, the Joy Jumpers are able to put together a better freestyle routine. Izzy agrees to join the team permanently, and suggests they change the name to Hot Chili Steppers instead, to which Mary agrees. Izzy plans to perform with them at a Double Dutch exhibition to practice their routine. That day, though, Izzy's dad shows up with tickets to a boxing match. Reluctant to tell the truth, Izzy goes with his dad, bailing on Mary and the Hot Chili Steppers. Upset, Mary kicks him off the team, ignoring his apologies.


title: Jump In!

text: Rodney, meanwhile, is furious over losing to Izzy, and demands a rematch, though Izzy ignores him. He discovers Izzy's secret, and takes pictures of him, leaving them all over their school, exposing and ridiculing Izzy. After seeing this, Mary tries to convince Izzy to come back, but Izzy coldly turns her down. Kenneth gives Izzy a gift for his boxing match but discovers the pictures Rodney posted and confronts Izzy about it. Izzy admits that he didn't tell his dad because ever since Izzy's mother died, all he ever talks about is boxing. Izzy admits that he no longer likes the sport, and only does it for his father. Izzy apologizes, while Kenneth accepts the apology, then leaves the room.


title: Jump In!

text: Izzy takes out his anger at the gym until Tammy comes over and reminds him that she's been teased by him and others constantly for being a female boxer, but she's overcome it to become the best girl boxer in Brooklyn. That night, Rodney shows up at the gym with a large crowd. He demands again that Izzy gives him the rematch, and Izzy agrees. In the ring, Izzy responds to Rodney's mockery with cool analysis about Rodney’s behavior as a loud-mouthed bully. He uses the tricks he honed in freestyle practice to dodge Rodney's attacks and push him against the ropes repeatedly, finally stating that they both had a lot to be mad about, but fighting would not improve matters. He leaves the ring, and Rodney angrily follows, but trips and falls. Everyone urges Izzy to finish him, but he refuses before leaving the gym. Rodney is impressed, admiring Izzy for standing up to him.


title: Jump In!

text: The Hot Chili Steppers come to the city finals with an abysmal replacement until Izzy shows up. He apologizes and Mary forgives him. The Dutch Dragons show up, with Yolanda and their leader, Gina (Paula Brancati), making snarky comments toward Mary and her teammates. Mary shows a new attitude, not letting it get to her. During the compulsory competition, the Steppers stun the Dragons by taking first place while the Dragons take second. The Dragons take first in the speed competition while the Steppers take second, which means the Freestyle round is the tiebreaker. Tammy shows up with Izzy's friends, Chuck and Earl (Mazin Elsadig and Micah Williams), to support the Hot Chili Steppers. Rodney also comes to watch. Just before the freestyle routine, Izzy is surprised to see his father and Karin. The Hot Chili Steppers take the stage, with Izzy showing the skills he's learned, impressing his friends and family. After they finish their performance, Kenneth apologizes to Izzy, explaining that boxing was his way to stay close to Izzy after they lost Izzy's mom. He tells Izzy that he's proud of him, and the two make amends. Rodney also tells Izzy that he's impressed by the Double Dutch, and hopes Izzy can show him the moves he made in the ring. Izzy agrees, and they call a truce.


title: Jump In!

text: The results are announced, and the Dutch Dragons take second place. Before the winner is revealed, the screen suddenly freezes and cuts to a group of kids at the boxing gym, who are listening to Izzy's story narrated by Rodney. He tells them that the Hot Chili Steppers went to state, but didn't win until the next year, and Mary and Izzy are still together. As he sends the kids to gear up, Rodney remembers that day, revealing that the Hot Chili Steppers won. They happily accept their first-place trophy, stunning the Dutch Dragons. The movie ends with the Hot Chili Steppers and Karin teaching Kenneth how to Double Dutch.


title: Jump In!

text: The film was originally set to star Raven-Symoné and be named "Double Dutch", but due to Symoné's busy schedule at the time, it was later revamped into "Jump In!" with Corbin Bleu.


title: Jump In!

text: Actress and singer China Anne McClain, who later went on to star in the Disney Channel series "A.N.T. Farm", auditioned for and won an undisclosed role in the film but turned it down to instead star in the television series "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" as Jazmine Payne, after catching Tyler Perry's attention.


title: Jump In!

text: "Jump In!" is the 69th Disney Channel Original Movie and went into production in 2006. Earlier titles for the film included "Jump", "Jump In" and "Jump Start", with some early trailers even showing the "Jump Start" title.


title: Jump In!

text: In the movie, Izzy Daniels is in a group called the Hot Chili Steppers. This is an obvious parody of Red Hot Chili Peppers, a real-life rock band. The version in Spanish dubs the name Salto Extrapicante.


title: Jump In!

text: Promotion for the film began in the Summer of 2006, with a poster appearing in the program for the "High School Musical" Tour. Advertisements highlighted Corbin Bleu's association with "High School Musical" and ran heavily during re-airings of that film. Several videos from the film were also put into heavy rotation on Disney Channel, airing during breaks in regular programming.


title: Jump In!

text: Corbin Bleu became very good at jumping and even performed some of his own stunts like the donkey kick and pushups, but he did have a stunt double for some of the jumping like back flips and individual jumping. At the end of the movie, Andy Royalle makes a guest appearance as one of the jump-ropers. During the final contest, an actual champion Double Dutch team from Brooklyn makes a cameo. They just happened to be in Toronto for a tournament at the same time the movie was being filmed.


title: Jump In!

text: "Jump In!" was the last Disney Channel Original Movie to use the 2002–2007 Disney Channel Movie intro; later DCOM films used the remixed version.


title: Jump In!

text: The story of "Jump In!" was originally written by Sherwyn Smith, who now works as a teacher at an elite private school on the Upper East Side of New York.


title: Jump In!

text: "Jump In!" broke the record previously set by "The Cheetah Girls 2" as the highest rated DCOM premiere with 8.2 million viewers. At the time it marked Corbin Bleu's second #1 hit for the Disney Channel and Keke Palmer's first. Its ratings record for highest rated DCOM was beat out for later that year by "High School Musical 2" (in which Corbin Bleu also starred) on August 17, 2007 which gained 17.24 million viewers, making it Bleu's third #1 hit DCOM.


title: Jump In!

text: The DVD release of "Jump In!" carried the subtitle "Freestyle Edition" and was released on April 3, 2007. And July 2, 2007 in the United Kingdom.


title: Jump In!

text: A soundtrack featuring songs from the movie was released on January 9, 2007. It debuted at #5 on the "Billboard" 200 on January 27, 2007, with 49,000 copies sold, and rose to #3 in the next week, selling 57,000 copies. In its third week, it fell to number nine with 44,000 copies sold. In February 2007, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA. As of July 8, 2008 the album has sold over 600.000+ copies within the U.S.


title: Jump In!

text: Frank Fitzpatrick composed the original score for the film and wrote and produced two songs for the soundtrack, including the single "Jump to the Rhythm", a co-production with Nashville’s Keith Thomas featuring Jordan Pruitt.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine, marketed under the brand name Marcaine among others, is a medication used to decrease feeling in a specific area. In nerve blocks, it is injected around a nerve that supplies the area, or into the spinal canal's epidural space. It is available mixed with a small amount of epinephrine to increase the duration of its action. It typically begins working within 15 minutes and lasts for 2 to 8 hours.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Possible side effects include sleepiness, muscle twitching, ringing in the ears, changes in vision, low blood pressure, and an irregular heart rate. Concerns exist that injecting it into a joint can cause problems with the cartilage. Concentrated bupivacaine is not recommended for epidural freezing. Epidural freezing may also increase the length of labor. It is a local anaesthetic of the amide group.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine was discovered in 1957. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Bupivacaine is available as a generic medication. An implantable formulation of bupivacaine (Xaracoll) was approved for medical use in the United States in August 2020.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine is indicated for local infiltration, peripheral nerve block, sympathetic nerve block, and epidural and caudal blocks. It is sometimes used in combination with epinephrine to prevent systemic absorption and extend the duration of action. The 0.75% (most concentrated) formulation is used in retrobulbar block. It is the most commonly used local anesthetic in epidural anesthesia during labor, as well as in postoperative pain management. Liposomal formulations of bupivacaine (brand name EXPAREL) have shown to be more effective in providing pain relief than plain solutions of bupivacaine.


title: Bupivacaine

text: The fixed-dose combination of bupivacaine with Type I collagen (brand name Xaracoll) is indicated for acute postsurgical analgesia (pain relief) for up to 24 hours in adults following open inguinal hernia repair.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine (Posimir) is indicated in adults for administration into the subacromial space under direct arthroscopic visualization to produce post-surgical analgesia for up to 72 hours following arthroscopic subacromial decompression.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity reactions to bupivacaine or amino-amide anesthetics. It is also contraindicated in obstetrical paracervical blocks and intravenous regional anaesthesia (Bier block) because of potential risk of tourniquet failure and systemic absorption of the drug and subsequent cardiac arrest. The 0.75% formulation is contraindicated in epidural anesthesia during labor because of the association with refractory cardiac arrest.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Compared to other local anaesthetics, bupivacaine is markedly cardiotoxic. However, adverse drug reactions are rare when it is administered correctly. Most reactions are caused by accelerated absorption from the injection site, unintentional intravascular injection, or slow metabolic degradation. However, allergic reactions can rarely occur.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Clinically significant adverse events result from systemic absorption of bupivacaine and primarily involve the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Effects on the central nervous system typically occur at lower blood plasma concentrations. Initially, cortical inhibitory pathways are selectively inhibited, causing symptoms of neuronal excitation. At higher plasma concentrations, both inhibitory and excitatory pathways are inhibited, causing central nervous system depression and potentially coma. Higher plasma concentrations also lead to cardiovascular effects, though cardiovascular collapse may also occur with low concentrations. Adverse effects on the central nervous system may indicate impending cardiotoxicity and should be carefully monitored.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Toxicity can also occur in the setting of subarachnoid injection during high spinal anesthesia. These effects include: paresthesia, paralysis, apnea, hypoventilation, fecal incontinence, and urinary incontinence. Additionally, bupivacaine can cause chondrolysis after continuous infusion into a joint space.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine has caused several deaths when the epidural anaesthetic has been administered intravenously accidentally.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Animal evidence indicates intralipid, a commonly available intravenous lipid emulsion, can be effective in treating severe cardiotoxicity secondary to local anaesthetic overdose, and human case reports of successful use in this way. Plans to publicize this treatment more widely have been published.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine crosses the placenta and is a pregnancy category C drug. However, it is approved for use at term in obstetrical anesthesia. Bupivacaine is excreted in breast milk. Risks of stopping breast feeding versus stopping bupivacaine should be discussed with the patient.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine is toxic to cartilage and its intra-articular infusions may lead to postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Bupivacaine binds to the intracellular portion of voltage-gated sodium channels and blocks sodium influx into nerve cells, which prevents depolarization. Without depolarization, no initiation or conduction of a pain signal can occur.


title: Bupivacaine

text: The rate of systemic absorption of bupivacaine and other local anesthetics is dependent upon the dose and concentration of drug administered, the route of administration, the vascularity of the administration site, and the presence or absence of epinephrine in the preparation.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Like lidocaine, bupivacaine is an amino-amide anesthetic; the aromatic head and the hydrocarbon chain are linked by an amide bond rather than an ester as in earlier local anesthetics. As a result, the amino-amide anesthetics are more stable and less likely to cause allergic reactions. Unlike lidocaine, the terminal amino portion of bupivacaine (as well as mepivacaine, ropivacaine, and levobupivacaine) is contained within a piperidine ring; these agents are known as pipecholyl xylidines.


title: Bupivacaine

text: On 17 September 2020, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product Exparel, intended for the treatment of post-operative pain. The applicant for this medicinal product is Pacira Ireland Limited. Exparel liposomal was approved for medical use in the European Union in November 2020.


title: Bupivacaine

text: Levobupivacaine is the ("S")-(–)-enantiomer of bupivacaine, with a longer duration of action, producing less vasodilation. Durect Corporation is developing a biodegradable, controlled-release drug delivery system for after surgery. It has currently completed a phase-III clinical trial.


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: The Craigslist Killer , also stylized as the//craigslist.killer in some promotional images, is a 2011 American crime drama television film directed by Stephen Kay, written by Donald Martin and Stephen Tolkin, and starring Jake McDorman, Agnes Bruckner, Kevin Kilner, and William Baldwin. It follows the dark, mysterious life of accused murderer Philip Markoff.


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: The film aired on Lifetime and is an adaptation of the true crime book "A Date with Death: The Secret Life of the Accused "Craigslist Killer"", written by Michele McPhee.


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: Philip Markoff (McDorman) prepares for a promising future as a doctor and a life of happiness with his fiancée, Megan McAllister (Bruckner). Seemingly destined for greatness as one of Boston University’s brightest medical students, Markoff could do no wrong in the eyes of Megan, his friends, fellow students, and professors. But hidden from those close to him was the violent wrath only he and his victims knew — beginning with his alleged April 14, 2009, first-degree murder of Julissa Brisman, a masseuse who advertised her services on Craigslist. When police discover that the brutal killing and a number of other attacks on women were all connected to advertisements placed on Craigslist, their investigation ultimately leads them to Markoff. Investigating the case are detectives Bennett (Baldwin) and Frye (Close).


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: The film adapts the book "A Date with Death: The Secret Life of the Accused "Craigslist Killer"", written by Michele McPhee. Stephen K. Kay was brought on to direct the film, based on a script written by Donald Martin and Stephen Tolkin. Development on the film began prior to the death of Philip Markoff, who was believed to have been responsible for several robberies and murders.


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: Of the film, executive producer Judith Verno noted that they did not speak to Markoff's ex-fiancée Megan McAllister but that they "tried to be very respectful of that fact that she loved him and that she had no knowledge of his crimes" and that what the network found compelling were the questions "What attracted us to the story (was the idea of), how well do you really know someone?...When you are looking at a person who on the surface has so much going for them, trying to understand why they would do these kinds of things and then knowing we might never know”.


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: "The Craigslist Killer" premiered on January 3, 2011 on Lifetime. Ratings numbers for the film were high, securing 5.4 million viewers. This made it Lifetime's top film in the adults 25-54 demographic in a two year span, which was surpassed by the network's release of "Drew Peterson: Untouchable" the following year. The film was later described as one of the network's "top-five true-crime offerings" in 2018.


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: Reviews for "The Craigslist Killer" have been negative. Much of the criticism focused on the lack of information or insight for the murders, which outlets such as "The New York Times" felt was a result of Markoff's death before any explanations for the crimes could be obtained. "The Repository" reviewed "The Craigslist Killer", which they felt was "every bit as sleazy as you’d expect." Neil Genzlinger of "The New York Times" criticized the filmmakers for the use of "cheesy sound effects" used to "signal his switch from perfect-man mode to psychopath."


title: The Craigslist Killer (film)

text: Horror website HorrorNews.net was more favorable, praising the movie for its pacing and noting that they enjoyed it more than other Lifetime movies they had watched. Since the film's release in 2011 "USA Today" and Flavorwire have both included the film on their lists of "Top 10 Lifetime movies that we love to hate-watch" and "The 35 Campiest TV Movies Ever Made", respectively.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: As of 2021, the population was 98,081, up from 56,207 in 2010. Since 2007, the city has increased in size (and population) by annexation, with the city territory expanding from 52.8 to 74.4 square miles. Some communities have attempted to fight such annexation. According to the Census Bureau, Conroe was the fastest-growing large city in the United States between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The city is named after Isaac Conroe. Born in the North, he served as a Union Cavalry officer and settled in Houston after the Civil War. There he became a lumberman. Conroe founded a sawmill in this area in 1881. The community built its early economy and wealth on the lumber industry. Originally named "Conroe's Switch", the community received an influx of workers and residents in the late 19th century who were attracted to the growth of the lumber industry, which harvested the local piney wood forest.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 1886, Conroe Mill School was established in the expanding town. Conroe Normal and Industrial College, a school for African Americans, served the area.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Six lynchings were recorded in Montgomery County around the turn of the century, and some suspects were lynched at the courthouse in Conroe. In 1922, a young black man named Joe Winters was lynched, burned alive on the courthouse square for allegedly attacking a young white woman. Within the black community, it was known he was in a consensual relationship with the woman, who denied it when they were discovered.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 1941 Bob White was shot to death in the courthouse, during his third trial. The African-American man was arrested in 1936 on charges of assaulting a white woman in Livingston, Texas. (Alternative accounts in the black community said they had a standing consensual relationship.) He was first tried there, before an all-white jury. They convicted him. The case was appealed with the help of the NAACP in Houston because he had not been given a lawyer or been able to contact family, and he was tortured in interrogation. The second trial was held in Conroe for a change of venue. Another all-white jury convicted White again. The case reached the United States Supreme Court on appeal, which had just ruled that coerced confessions were unconstitutional and remanded the case to the lower court for trial. During the proceedings in the courtroom, in front of the judge and numerous witnesses, the husband of the alleged victim shot White in the back of the head and immediately killed him. The husband was arrested and tried the following week, and was acquitted.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 1931 George W. Strake discovered the Conroe Oil Field. cDistillate and natural gas were produced from the Cockfield Formation at a depth of about . cA second well in 1932 produced 1200 BOPD. By 1935, the field had produced 40 million barrels of oil.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: During the 1930s, because of oil profits, the city briefly boasted more millionaires per capita than any other U.S. city. After the construction of Interstate 45 in the postwar period improved automobile access, many Houstonians began to follow the highway to new suburban communities that developed around Conroe.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The Office of Management and Budget classifies Conroe as a principal city within the metropolitan area. The city is about north of Houston.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: When Conroe incorporated in 1904, the city limits encompassed a 5.44 square mile area. From 1970 to 2000, the city limits expanded from 7.15 square miles to 42.35 square miles. Beginning in 2007, the city outlined a plan to continue expanding its city limits through annexation. According to Chapter 43 of the Texas Local Government Code, home rule municipalities like Conroe may annex territory that is adjacent to the city's current boundaries, with certain restrictions.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The city's 2007 plan projected doubling its size through a combination of voluntary and involuntary annexations. As of 2020, the city has annexed territory every year since 2007, increasing the city limits from 52.8 to 74.4 square miles.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In April 2015, residents of the gated community of April Sound filed a lawsuit against Conroe after their community was annexed on January 1, 2015. The lawsuit was dismissed in March 2017. Involuntary annexations were a major issue in the 2016 mayoral election, the first after April Sound residents were incorporated into the city. Proponents of annexation contended that it was a useful tool to "promote and facilitate growth and progress," while those in opposition were concerned about whether annexed territories receive a "fair shake" in the negotiations. In 2017, the city council voted in favor of additional involuntary annexations.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Conroe is in the southwest corner of the East Texas Piney Woods. The Piney Woods consist of pine trees and hardwood forests. The most common type of tree in the southwest Piney Woods is the loblolly pine. Shortleaf pine are also abundant. Pockets of blackland prairie vegetation are also present, but are disappearing due to urbanization.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 1926, the Texas A&M Forest Service purchased 1700 acres of Piney Woods to establish W. Goodrich Jones State Forest. The forest serves as a research and demonstration area for sustainable forestry techniques. The forest also preserves the habitat of the red-cockaded woodpecker, a species classified in the early 21st century as Near Threatened by the IUCN.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 2017, Texas A&M asked Conroe state senator Brandon Creighton to author a bill setting aside 10 percent of the forest for educational and research-related development. The bill also opened the possibility of commercial development on the land. Public concern over the bill persuaded Creighton to revise it. The final version, which passed the Senate unanimously, protected the entire forest from development.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The West Fork of the San Jacinto River flows through the western edge of Conroe. The entire city is within the river's watershed. The river flows southeast from Lake Conroe, a 19,640 surface acre lake created by a dam in 1973 to establish an alternative source of drinking water for Houston.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Conroe developed over several geologic layers of underground aquifers, which supply the city with fresh drinking water. Due to rapid development in this area, and the increased population of Conroe and the surrounding area, the groundwater supply is being withdrawn faster than it can be replenished. As a result, the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, which oversees groundwater usage in Montgomery County, mandated that Conroe reduce its groundwater usage by 30 percent of 2009 amounts by January 1, 2016. As part of the groundwater usage reduction plan, the San Jacinto River Authority began in September 2015 to supplement Conroe's groundwater supply with surface water pumped from Lake Conroe. The SJRA charges the city usage fees to cover the cost of pumping and treating the water.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: On August 27, 2015, the City of Conroe filed a lawsuit against the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, claiming that the LSGCD did not have the authority to limit the city's groundwater usage. The city also refused to pay SJRA water usage fee increases in 2016, resulting in a separate lawsuit filed by the SJRA against the city. The LSGCD and Conroe reached a settlement agreement in January 2019. The SJRA case was dismissed in June 2020.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Parts of Conroe surrounding the West Fork of the San Jacinto River are in a floodplain. Significant flooding occurs along the floodplain when rainfall exceeds nine inches in a 48-hour period. The Conroe area has approximately a 10 percent chance of receiving this much rainfall in any given year. Urban development in Conroe and the surrounding area has also exacerbated the risk of flooding. Montgomery County had 500-year floods in three successive years, in May 2015, April 2016, and August 2017. A 500-year flood has a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in a year. In addition, a fourth major flood occurred in May 2016, resulting in two major floods in two months.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The flooding in August 2017 took place during Hurricane Harvey, when nearly 32 inches of rain fell on the city. To protect the integrity of the dam, San Jacinto River Authority officials released 79,100 cubic feet per second of water from Lake Conroe downstream into the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, exacerbating flooding already taking place in the floodplain. Conroe city officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of McDade Estates, a neighborhood on the banks of the river. As a response to the flooding, Montgomery County commissioners in October 2017 requested $1.25 million from the federal government for a flood mitigation study, along with an additional $95.5 million to implement various flood mitigation projects.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: During the first decade of the 21st century, the city attracted many new residents from the Houston area. Renée C. Lee said that Conroe around 2002 was "a sleepy, backwater town" and that at the time, Conroe city officials needed to use financial incentives to attract home developers to Conroe. Between 2003 and 2006, Conroe became a hotbed of construction of new houses. As a result, Conroe's population grew from 36,811 in 2000 to 56,207 in 2010.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: As of the 2020 United States census, there were 89,956 people, 32,547 households, and 21,369 families residing in the city.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 56,207 people, 18,651 households, and 13,086 families residing in the city. Since the 2010 census, Conroe's population has continued to grow. Between 2014 and 2015, Conroe was the sixth fastest growing city in the United States. The following year, the US Census Bureau reported that Conroe was the fastest-growing large city in the United States. It had a 7.8% growth rate between 2015 and 2016. New housing developments throughout the city have contributed to the rapid population growth. Conroe's annexation of growing communities within its extraterritorial jurisdiction has also contributed to its growth.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The demographics of the city's downtown area south of SH 105 differs from the rest of the city. In 2010, the population density of the entire city was 1066.2 people per square mile (411.7/km). By contrast, the population density downtown was between 3,475.2 and 4,119.3 people per square mile.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The racial makeup of the city was 69.7% White (including Hispanic), 10.3% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.8% Asian, less than 0.05% Pacific Islander, 13.7% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.5% of the population. White alone (not Hispanic or Latino) were 48.3% of the total population. In the southern portion of downtown, White alone made up between 20.4 and 22.4 percent, African American were between 19.0 and 20.3 percent, and Hispanic or Latino were between 56.6 and 57.7 percent of the population.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: According to the 2016 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the city was $50,517 and the median income for a family was $60,087. Males had a median income of $44,343 versus $37,747 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,672. About 12.2% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. In response to income inequality, several non-profit groups including the Montgomery County United Way, The Salvation Army, and the Crisis Assistance Center help provide residents of the area with a variety of services ranging from transportation to food and shelter.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In the early 1980s, Exxon considered consolidating its employees to a site in Conroe. The company ended the plans after the local oil-based economy collapsed.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: According to the City's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Downtown Conroe's Central Business District hosts multiple arts venues. The oldest is the Crighton Theatre, which opened on November 26, 1935. The theatre is named after Harry M. Crighton, Conroe's mayor from 1932 to 1933. The theatre functioned as the community's movie theatre until 1967, at which point it fell into disrepair. In 1979 it was renovated, and it now hosts live theatrical productions. Another theatre, the Owen Theatre, is also located in the district. The Central Business District has outdoor performance venues at Conroe Founder's Plaza and Heritage Place, which host multiple festivals throughout the year.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The city supports several arts organizations, including the Greater Conroe Arts Alliance. The Alliance is a network of multiple arts groups in the city such as the Conroe Symphony, the Conroe Art League, and the Montgomery County Choral Society. The Alliance also sponsors, along with the state of Texas, the Young Texas Artists Music Competition. The competition, founded in 1983, showcases young musicians who aspire to careers in classical music. In 2009, the city sponsored the Art Bench Project, which converted 13 stone benches scattered throughout the central business district into works of art. Each bench portrays a different part of Conroe's history and culture, from historical figures like George Strake and Charles B. Stewart to contemporary art groups such as the Crighton Players.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The city contains multiple parks which document local history. The Heritage Museum of Montgomery County maintains artifacts of Montgomery County's early settlers.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The Lone Star Monument and Historical Flag Park displays the flags that flew over Texas. The flags are positioned in a circle around the park, with a statue of a Texian in the center. Each flag comes with a plaque that describes its connection to Texas history. At the park's entrance is a statue of Charles B. Stewart, who is claimed to have designed the lone star flag.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Montgomery County War Memorial Park is a memorial to the 166 soldiers from Montgomery County who have been killed in active duty. The park's dedication ceremony was in 1976 and featured a speech by President Gerald Ford. In 2017, the Montgomery County Commissioners Court and the City of Conroe agreed to relocate and expand the memorial, to include the names of up to 50,000 soldiers who have lived in Montgomery County. As of June 2019, the expansion is ongoing.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Lake Conroe, northwest of downtown Conroe, is a site for such water-based activities as boating and fishing. The most common fish in the lake are Largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, white bass, and hybrid striped bass. Crappie may also be found in the early spring and fall.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: For the 2019 Fiscal Year, the city had $157.8 million in revenues and $147.9 million in expenditures. The city's net position was $189.7 million.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The Conroe Police Department has 142 full-time police officers and 42 support staff. The department has a number of bureaus. The Uniformed Services Bureau includes the Patrol Division, SWAT a part time unit and honor guard. The Support Services Bureau the Criminal Investigations Division and animal control unit.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: On 14 September 1982, Sergeant Ed Holcomb was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In July 2013, Conroe Police Sergeant Jason Blackwelder was off duty, and he observed store employees chasing a shoplifting suspect. He joined the chase. In an isolated area, Blackwelder killed the suspect with a single gunshot to the back of the head. In June 2014, he was convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to five years' probation.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: 98% of Conroe is represented in the Texas Senate (District 4) by Republican Brandon Creighton. A small portion of the northern part of Conroe is part of District 3, represented by Republican Robert Nichols.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In the Texas House of Representatives, 94% of Conroe is part of District 16, represented by Republican Will Metcalf. The southern portion of Conroe is in District 15, represented by Republican Mark Keough. Less than 1% of Conroe residents are part of District 3, represented by Republican Cecil Bell, Jr.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Conroe District Parole Office in Conroe.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: At the Federal level, the two U.S. senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. Conroe is part of Texas's 8th congressional district, which is represented by Republican Kevin Brady.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Residents of both Conroe ISD and Willis ISD (and therefore the whole city of Conroe) are served by the Lone Star College System (formerly North Harris Montgomery Community College).


title: Conroe, Texas

text: It is primarily served by the Lone Star College-Montgomery Campus and LSC University Center. Other campuses in the county include the EMCID Center in New Caney, and the Conroe Center. The territory in Conroe ISD joined the community college district in 1991, and the territory in Willis ISD joined the district in 1996.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The Catholic University of St. Thomas opened a campus in Conroe in fall 2020. The Old Conroe Police building has been adapted to serve as a temporary site for up to three years. The permanent campus is proposed to be at Deison Technology Park. Class of 1952 alumnus Vincent D'Amico offered the university of land in east Montgomery County for the project.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Almost all areas of Conroe are within the Conroe Independent School District though a small northern section of Conroe is within the Willis Independent School District.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: All of the schools listed here are in the city of Conroe. Approximately 60% of the Conroe ISD section of Conroe is zoned to Conroe High School though some parts of Conroe attend Oak Ridge High School and Caney Creek High School.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The Willis ISD section is zoned to Turner Elementary School, Brabham Middle School, and Willis High School.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The closest Catholic high school is Frassati Catholic High School in north Harris County; Conroe is in the school's intended catchment area.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: "The Courier" is a daily newspaper published in Conroe, Texas, covering Montgomery County. In 2016, the newspaper was purchased by Hearst Communications, a media conglomerate which also owns and operates the "Houston Chronicle".


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Two Houston television stations, Ion owned-and-operated KPXB-TV (channel 49) and Quest owned-and-operated KTBU (channel 55), are licensed to Conroe. Both stations operate from studios located in the city of Houston.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau classified the area around Conroe and The Woodlands as a "large urbanized transit area." This is defined as an area having more than 200,000 residents, which makes it eligible to receive federal transportation funds, particularly to support transit.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: Union Pacific Railroad Corporation operates another busy main line that runs north from Houston in Harris County to Palestine in Anderson County, known as the Palestine subdivision. The two railroads intersect at a diamond in downtown Conroe between Main and First Streets.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In the early 1920s the Mary Swain Sanitarium, was established as the first organized healthcare institution in the city. The Mary Swain Sanitarium was private.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: In 1938 the Montgomery County Hospital, a public institution, replaced it. It had 25 beds. The hospital closed after a new hospital of the Montgomery County Hospital District opened in 1982.


title: Conroe, Texas

text: The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Conroe has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.


title: Derek Theler

text: Theler started his acting career in 2009, starring in several minor roles in TV series such as "The Middle", "Cougar Town", and "The Hills".


title: Derek Theler

text: In between acting gigs, Theler appeared as a model in TV commercials. He first landed a Coke Zero commercial in 2009. This was followed by a campaign for State Farm, in which he played a "hot guy" who was conjured up by three women. He has also been in commercials for Nike, Kayak.com, Arby's, and Verizon.


title: Derek Theler

text: In 2012, Theler landed his first major role when he was cast in the ABC Family comedy "Baby Daddy", playing Danny Wheeler, the brother of the title character. Also that year, Theler starred as Riggins in the web series "Project S.E.R.A."


title: Derek Theler

text: In 2015, he starred as Chase Walker in the movie "Shark Killer", which released on June 16, 2015 via digital download. Theler played the role of shark killer who hunts down a black-finned shark that swallowed a valuable diamond during a gang transaction. He also starred as Jordan in Christmas movie "How Sarah Got Her Wings", which was released on digital hd and video on demand on November 1, 2015. The Christmas movie premiered on Ion television on December 6, 2015.


title: Derek Theler

text: On November 19, 2015, Theler starred in the Funny or Die parody titled "Chicago Sanitation". In 2016, Theler starred as Jake Kenman in family movie "Secret Summer," which was released on April 2, 2016 on PixL (On Demand and YouTube). He also appeared on short "Princess Rap Battle", where he played the role of Huntsman and it was released on YouTube on April 6, 2016.


title: Derek Theler

text: In 2017, he starred as Chris in the short film "Brotherly Love" alongside Krista Kalmus. The same year, Theler was cast as Craig Hollis / Mister Immortal in the planned Marvel Cinematic Universe series "New Warriors". The series notoriously lost its distributor before it could air proper and was ultimately cancelled. He guest starred in an episode of ABC comedy "American Housewife" as Dirk. In 2018, he played the role of Aric Dacia/X-O Manowar in the Valiant Entertainment's "Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe." He also guest starred as Conan in the YouTube series "Wayne" and as Thor a.k.a. Donar the Great in the Starz series "American Gods". Theler guest starred in Hulu's web comedy series "Dollface" playing the role of Ryan, a man Jules has a fling with.


title: Derek Theler

text: On September 24, 2019, Theler was cast as Sasquatch in the Paramount Network military series "68 Whiskey".


title: Derek Theler

text: Theler was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 3. He attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.


title: Derek Theler

text: He started dating actress Lisa Marie Summerscales in May 2016. In July 2022, Theler announced on his Instagram that he and Summerscales had become engaged. They got married in September of the same year.


title: Michal

text: Michal (;  , ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah, then of all Israel.


title: Michal

text: identifies Saul's elder daughter as Merab and younger daughter as Michal. Michal's story is recorded in the first Book of Samuel, where it is said in and that Michal loved David. The narrative does not indicate whether this is reciprocated. After David's success in battle against the Philistine giant Goliath, Merab was given in marriage to Adriel.


title: Michal

text: Later, after Merab had married Adriel the Meholathite, Saul invited David to marry Michal. David replied, "I am a poor and lightly esteemed man", meaning that he was unable to provide a bride price. Saul then advised him that no bride price was required except for the foreskins of 100 Philistines. David took part in a further battle, killed 200 Philistines, and brought their foreskins to Saul as a double bride price.


title: Michal

text: In the biblical narrative, Michal chooses the welfare of David over the wishes of her father. When Saul's messengers search for David in order to kill him, Michal sends them away while pretending he was ill and laid up in bed. She lets David down through a window and hides teraphim in his bed as a ruse. J. Cheryl Exum points out that although she risked her life in helping him, after he leaves the court, he makes no attempt to contact her.


title: Michal

text: While David was hiding for his life, Saul gave Michal as a wife to Palti, son of Laish, and David took several other wives, including Abigail. Later, when David became king of Judah and Ish-bosheth (Michal's brother, and Saul's son) was king of Israel, David demanded her return to him in return for peace between them. Ish-bosheth complied, despite the public protests of Palti. Robert Alter observes that by stressing that he had paid the requested bride price, David makes a legal argument as a political calculation to reinforce his legitimacy as a member of the royal house. Alter notes the contrast between David's measured negotiations and Palti's public grief.


title: Michal

text: After Michal was returned to David, she criticised him for dancing in an undignified manner, as he brought the Ark of the Covenant to the newly captured Jerusalem in a religious procession. For this she is punished, according to Samuel, with not having children till the day she dies. Unlike Abigail and Bathsheba, Michal is not described as being beautiful, though Rabbinic tradition holds that she was of "entrancing beauty."


title: Michal

text: These events have raised moral issues within Judaism, especially in the context of the prohibition in . On the one hand, some argue that it is prohibited to re-establish a marriage with a previous spouse who has subsequently remarried. On the other hand, other commentators explain that David had not divorced Michal at this point in time, but rather Saul acted to break their marriage by marrying her off to another without David's consent. On that view, they were not technically divorced as David had not issued a writ of divorcement according to biblical law.


title: Michal

text: Some have argued that it is unclear whether Michal died barren and childless, as stated in , or had children, as described in most manuscripts of , which mention "the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul." The justification for the NIV's textual rendering (see also ESV, NASB, and NRSV) is surely found in the completion of the clause, which states "...whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite." That it was Merab who married Adriel is attested without ambiguity (); it is extraordinarily difficult to argue that Michal might have borne five sons to her sister's husband.


title: Michal

text: Gill attempted to resolve the conundrum presented by many Hebrew manuscripts' use of Michal, rather than Merab, by translating 2 Samuel 21:8 as "the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite". Now, Merab, Michal's older sister, was the wife of Adriel (). According to Gill, these five sons were not born to Michal but were brought up or educated by her after Merab perhaps had died; i.e., Merab brought them forth, and Michal brought them up. However, the Hebrew word, ילדה, which Gill understands to mean "brought up," everywhere else means "gave birth to." Context struggles to justify Gill's translation.


title: Michal

text: Although possessing an identical or almost identical spelling when using the Latin alphabet, the Czech and Slovak language "Michal" and the Polish language "Michał" (popular male given names) are the local forms of "Michael" rather than of "Michal". This can be compared to French spelling "Michel", which is also a local form of "Michael". In Spanish the spelling is Mijal.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Oliver Twist is a 1948 British film and the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following his 1946 version of "Great Expectations", Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dickens' 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan, cinematographer Guy Green, designer John Bryan and editor Jack Harris. Lean's then-wife, Kay Walsh, who had collaborated on the screenplay for "Great Expectations", played the role of Nancy. John Howard Davies was cast as Oliver, while Alec Guinness portrayed Fagin and Robert Newton played Bill Sykes (Bill Sikes in the novel).


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: In 1999, the British Film Institute placed it at 46th in its list of the top 100 British films. In 2005 it was named in the BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: A young woman in labour makes her way to a parish workhouse and dies after giving birth to a boy, who is systematically named Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) by the workhouse authorities. As the years go by, Oliver and the rest of the child inmates suffer from the callous indifference of the officials in charge: beadle Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan) and matron Mrs. Corney (Mary Clare). When Oliver is nine, the hungry children draw straws; Oliver loses and has to ask for a second helping of gruel: "Please sir, I want some more."


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: For his impudence, he is promptly apprenticed to the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Gibb McLaughlin), from whom he receives somewhat better treatment. However, when another worker, Noah, maligns his dead mother, Oliver flies into a rage and attacks him, earning the orphan a whipping.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Oliver runs away to London. The Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley), a skilled young pickpocket, notices him and takes him to Fagin (Alec Guinness), an old Jew who trains children to be pickpockets. Fagin sends Oliver to watch and learn as the Dodger and another boy try to rob Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson), a rich, elderly gentleman. Their attempt is detected, and Oliver is chased through the streets by a mob and arrested. A witness clears him. Mr. Brownlow takes a liking to the boy and gives him a home. Oliver experiences the kind of happy life he has never had before, under the care of Mr. Brownlow and the loving housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin (Amy Veness).


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Meanwhile, Fagin is visited by the mysterious Monks (Ralph Truman), who has a strong interest in Oliver. He sends Monks to Bumble and Mrs. Corney (Mary Clare) (now Bumble's domineering wife); Monks buys from them the only thing that can identify Oliver's parentage, a locket containing his mother's portrait.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: By chance, Fagin's associate, the vicious Bill Sykes (Robert Newton), and Sykes' kind-hearted girlfriend (and former Fagin pupil) Nancy (Kay Walsh) run into Oliver on the street and forcibly take him back to Fagin. Nancy feels pangs of guilt and, seeing a poster in which Mr. Brownlow offers a reward for Oliver's return, contacts the gentleman and promises to deliver Oliver the next day. The suspicious Fagin, however, has had the Dodger follow her. When Fagin informs Sykes, the latter becomes enraged and murders her, believing that she has betrayed him.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: The killing brings down the wrath of the public on the gang – particularly Sykes who attempts to make his escape by taking Oliver hostage. Clambering over the rooftops, and with climbing rope hung around his neck, Sykes is shot by one of the mob and is accidentally hanged as he loses his footing. Mr. Brownlow and the authorities rescue Oliver. Fagin and his other associates are rounded up. Monks' part in the proceedings is discovered, and he is arrested. He was trying to ensure his inheritance; Oliver, it turns out, is Mr. Brownlow's grandson. For their involvement in the Monks' scheme, Mr. and Mrs. Bumble lose their jobs at the workhouse. Oliver is happily reunited with his newly found grandfather and Mrs. Bedwin, his search for love ending in fulfillment.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Although critically acclaimed, Alec Guinness's portrayal of Fagin and his make-up was considered anti-semitic by some as it was felt to perpetuate Jewish racial stereotypes. Guinness wore heavy make-up, including a large prosthetic nose, to make him look like the character as he appeared in George Cruikshank's illustrations in the first edition of the novel. At the start of production, the Production Code Administration had advised David Lean to "bear in mind the advisability of omitting from the portrayal of Fagin any elements or inference that would be offensive to any specific racial group or religion."


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Lean commissioned the make-up artist Stuart Freeborn to create Fagin's features; Freeborn had suggested to David Lean that Fagin's exaggerated profile should be toned down for fear of causing offence, but Lean rejected this idea. In a screen test featuring Guinness in toned-down make-up, Fagin was said to resemble Jesus Christ. On this basis, Lean decided to continue filming with a faithful reproduction of Cruikshank's Fagin, pointing out that Fagin was not explicitly identified as Jewish in the screenplay.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: When released in 1948, the film was criticized by American columnist Albert Deutsch, who had seen the film in London. Deutsch wrote that even Dickens "'could not make Fagin half so horrible,' and warned that the film would fan the flames of anti-Semitism." The New York Board of Rabbis appealed to Eric Johnston, head of the Production Code Administration, to keep the film out of the U.S. Other Jewish groups also objected, and the Rank Organization announced in September 1948, that U.S. release was "indefinitely postponed."


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: As a result of such protests, the film was not released in the United States until 1951, with 12 minutes of footage removed. It received great acclaim from critics, but, unlike Lean's "Great Expectations", another Dickens adaptation, no Oscar nominations. The film was banned in Israel for anti-semitism. It was banned in Egypt for portraying Fagin too sympathetically.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: The March 1949 release of the film in Germany was met with protests outside the by Jewish objectors. The Mayor of Berlin, Ernst Reuter, was a signatory to their petition which called for the withdrawal of the film. The depiction of Fagin was considered especially problematic in the recent aftermath of The Holocaust.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Beginning in the 1970s, the full-length version of Lean's film began to be shown in the United States. It is that version which is now available on DVD.


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: The film was the fifth most popular film at the British box office in 1949. According to "Kinematograph Weekly" the 'biggest winner' at the box office in 1948 Britain was "The Best Years of Our Lives" with "Spring in Park Lane" being the best British film and "runners up" being "It Always Rains on Sunday", "My Brother Jonathan", "Road to Rio", "Miranda", "An Ideal Husband", "Naked City", "The Red Shoes", "Green Dolphin Street", "Forever Amber", "Life with Father", "The Weaker Sex", "Oliver Twist", "The Fallen Idol" and "The Winslow Boy".


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: After the belated release of the film in the United States, Bosley Crowther praised it in "The New York Times", writing:


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 23 critics, with an average rating of 8.55/10 . The site's critics' consensus reads:


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Author Marc Napolitano noted that Lean's version of "Oliver Twist" had an impact on almost every subsequent adaptation of Dickens's novel. The film had two major additions that were not in the original novel. Of the opening scene, an idea that originated from Kay Walsh, Napolitano wrote:


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Songwriter Lionel Bart acknowledged that Lean's film "played a role in his conception" of the musical "Oliver!" Lean biographer Stephen Silverman referred to the 1968 film version of "Oliver!" as "more of an uncredited adaptation of the Lean film in story line and look than of either the Dickens novel or the Bart stage show."


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: "One common complaint about the form of Dickens' "Oliver Twist" has been that the author fell so in love with his young hero that he could not bear to make him suffer falling into Fagin's hands a third time and so made him an idle spectator in the final half of the book."


title: Oliver Twist (1948 film)

text: Author Edward LeComte credited Lean for resolving the issue in his film version, where Oliver remains "at the center of the action" and has a "far more heroic" role.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: Wrongfully Accused is a 1998 satirical comedy film written, produced and directed by Pat Proft and starring Leslie Nielsen as a man who has been framed for murder and desperately attempts to expose the true culprits. The film is a parody of the 1993 film "The Fugitive", and also parodies numerous other films. This was Richard Crenna's final film before his death in 2003.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: World-famous violinist Ryan Harrison is seen giving a concert. Afterwards, he goes to a party where he meets Hibbing Goodhue, a millionaire who sponsors Harrison's performances, as well as Goodhue's seductive wife Lauren and his possible mistress Cass Lake.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: The next evening, he finds a note from Lauren in his car which summons him to the Goodhue residence. When he goes to the Goodhue mansion, he bumps into Sean Laughrea, who has just killed Goodhue (together with an unknown accomplice). A violent fight follows, during which Harrison discovers that Sean is missing an eye, an arm, and a leg, and he overhears the preparations for an operation with the codename "Hylander" before he is knocked out. When he wakes up, Harrison finds himself arrested and convicted for the murder of Goodhue. Desperate to prove his innocence, Harrison escapes from his prison transport following an accident. Lieutenant Fergus Falls arrives on the scene, takes charge, barks out orders and vows to do whatever it takes to capture the fugitive.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: Harrison returns to the Goodhue mansion where he encounters Cass, who is trying to retrieve something from behind a portrait. She tells him she knows he is innocent and believes Lauren is the killer, but refuses to say anything to the police because Lauren is her sister. She provides him with a place to hide and helps him shake his pursuers, but Harrison's opportunities to rest are short and fleeting: Falls seems to find him wherever he goes, and Cass behaves suspiciously, increasing Harrison's doubts of whom to trust.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: Harrison gradually begins to piece together the puzzle; he remembers that Sean was present at the party as the bartender and was given a great amount of money by Cass. He also finds that Cass is strangely interested in Sir Robert McKintyre, the secretary-general of the United Nations. Eventually, after investigating Sean's disabilities in a limb replacement clinic, he discovers that Cass, Lauren and Sean are planning an assassination attempt on McKintyre. He manages to follow the group but is caught. Cass shoots Harrison but actually fakes his death, both because she has fallen in love with him and because she wants to stop the assassination, since she has found out that McKintyre is really her father. Goodhue has been murdered by Sean and Lauren because he had come to suspect that his wife was actually a terrorist and had only used him to further her goals.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: At a Scottish festival, Harrison and Cass just barely manage to save McKintyre's life. They are cornered by Lauren, Sean and accomplices, but Fergus Falls and a SWAT team arrive just in the nick of time, arresting the terrorists. Falls officially tells Harrison that he was "wrongfully accused", clearing his name and acquitting him. In the last scene, Harrison and Cass are riding on the bow of a cruise ship (spoofing "Titanic") and end up bumping their heads on a low bridge.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: The film opened on August 21, 1998, in 2,062 cinemas. On its opening weekend, it grossed USD $3,504,630 or approximately $1,700 per theatre. "Wrongfully Accused"s overall gross was $9,642,860.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: "Wrongfully Accused" received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 19% rating based on 32 reviews and an average rating of 4.00/10. The site's consensus states: ""Wrongfully Accused" of being a comedy worthy of Leslie Nielsen's involvement, this misbegotten spoof might have fewer laughs than the straight-faced thriller that inspired it." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: Leonard Klady of Variety wrote: "The broad comedy misses its target except by accident, creating more mess than mirth in its pie-flinging approach to comedy" and that "The best gags pop up in the closing credits". James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" gave the film only one out of four stars and wrote: ""Wrongfully Accused" is a mind-numbingly awful motion picture that has a better chance of making a viewer physically ill than of provoking a genuine laugh. Someone should sit down with Leslie Nielsen and suggest that, for his own good and the good of all those who go to his movies, he should retire. ... Nielsen may be a nice guy, but his increasingly feeble attempts at "comic" performances are becoming so painful to watch that I'm starting to dislike the man. ... "Wrongfully Accused" has nothing worth laughing at. With as many lame one-liners, visual gags, and puns as this script lobs at the audience, it comes as an absolute shock how humorless the results are. ... It's incomprehensible to think that anyone would find this movie funny—except the quote whores, that is."


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: Anita Gates of "The New York Times" wrote: "No one can accuse "Wrongfully Accused" of a shortage of jokes. ... Unfortunately, most of the jokes just aren't very funny. ... Maybe Pat Proft [...] works best as part of a team. Maybe he needs one of his old collaborators -- ideally David Zucker or Jim Abrahams -- to turn his concepts into punch lines. Without them, "Wrongfully Accused" [...] feels like a tangle of funny ideas all dressed up with nowhere to go. ... Throughout the film, Richard Crenna [...] seems right on the verge of making his Tommy Lee Jones imitation truly great, but he always just misses, maybe because he has only his attitude to work with. ... Even a cameo by the generally fabulous Sandra Bernhard falls flat. Things go better for Lamb Chop, the saccharine little sock puppet whose creator, Shari Lewis, died earlier this month. Lamb Chop has a cameo as an audience member in the opening concert scene and steals the show."


title: Wrongfully Accused

text: Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote: "Opening so soon after "Mafia!" tried our patience for the whole "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" parody thing, "Wrongfully Accused" has a lot going against it. It's sloppy, tired, obvious, and overdone. ... But strewn throughout this shameless, old-fart comedy circus are so many giddy, good-natured, much-needed stink bombs aimed at middlebrow and lowbrow pop culture that a few are bound to hit the mark: The worst excesses of "Baywatch", "JFK", "Anaconda", "Charlie's Angels", "Mission: Impossible", "Braveheart", "Titanic", and "Field of Dreams" are appropriately honored. So too are "North by Northwest", Hong Kong action movies, and Mentos commercials. Some of the most pointed commentary is also the most throwaway."


title: James Rollins

text: James Paul Czajkowski (born August 20, 1961), better known by his pen name of James Rollins, is an American veterinarian and writer of action-adventure/thriller, mystery, and techno-thriller novels who gave up his veterinary practice in Sacramento, California to be a full-time author. Rollins' experiences and expertise as an amateur spelunker and a certified scuba diver have provided content for some of his novels, which are often set in underground or underwater locations. Under the pen name James Clemens, he has also published fantasy novels, such as "Wit'ch Fire", "Wit'ch Storm", "Wit'ch War", "Wit'ch Gate", "Wit'ch Star", "Shadowfall" (2005), and "Hinterland" (2006).


title: James Rollins

text: Rollins was born in Chicago. His father worked for Libby's canning plant, his mother was a housewife and mother of seven, and he lived what he likened to a "Brady Bunch" lifestyle.


title: James Rollins

text: He attended Parkway South Junior High School and then graduated from Parkway West High School in Ballwin, Missouri, in 1979. His undergraduate work focused on evolutionary biology. He graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1985 with a doctorate in veterinary medicine (D. V. M). Soon afterward, he moved to Sacramento, California, where he established his veterinary practice, licensed July 24, 1985.


title: James Rollins

text: For 20 years my paycheck was coming from my veterinary degree and my writing was my hobby, and I thought it would be really cool to flip that around. Veterinary medicine is much harder. It's a 14-, 16-, 18-hour-a-day job. I owned my own practice, had 24 employees. I couldn't get away, that was the biggest thing. In the 10 years I ran my own practice, I had three weeks of vacation total. I started writing during my lunch hour at the clinic—dogs barking, cats meowing—so now I can write anywhere.


title: James Rollins

text: Now, he's flipped that equation: "Once a week I spend about eight hours spaying and neutering trapped feral cats for the Sacramento Council of Cats. All I do with my veterinary degree now is remove genitalia."


title: James Rollins

text: Rollins found the authors of the Doc Savage series inspirational as a youth and acquired an extensive collection of the popular 1930s and 1940s pulp magazine stories. Rollins was fascinated by stories of the exploits of Howard Carter and his discovery of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, King Tutankhamun (King Tut); this true-life tale later inspired Rollins' novel "Excavation", in which the main character, archaeologist Henry Conklin, and his nephew Sam discover a lost Inca city in the mountains of the Andean jungle that contains a treasure—and a curse. He also enjoyed L. Frank Baum's "Oz" series, Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan" novels, and C. S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia". Additionally, he was inspired by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, whose works he used as a springboard for creating similar contemporary novels filled with what he refers to as "the three M's of fiction: magic, mayhem, and monsters".


title: James Rollins

text: Czajkowski sold his first novel, "Wit'ch Fire" (1999), under the pen name James Clemens, through Terry Brooks' publisher. Brooks had been one of the judges for a writing contest at the Maui Writers' Conference in Maui, Hawaii, in which James had entered a manuscript he had recently completed.


title: James Rollins

text: Beneath the ice at the bottom of the Earth is a magnificent subterranean labyrinth, a place of breathtaking wonders—and terrors beyond imagining. A team of specialists, led by archaeologist Ashley Carter, has been hand-picked to explore this secret place and to uncover the riches it holds. But they are not the first to venture here—and those they follow did not return. There are mysteries here older than humanity and revelations that could change the world. But there are also things that should not be disturbed—and a devastating truth that could doom Ashley and the expedition: they are not alone. The caverns are inhabited by an entire subterranean ecosystem of primitive mammals—some intelligent, others savage, all beyond the reach of today's knowledge.


title: James Rollins

text: In Peru, low in the Andes, Dr. Henry Conklin discovers a 500-year-old mummy that should not be there. While deep in the South American jungle, Conklin's nephew, Sam, stumbles upon a remarkable site nestled between two towering peaks, a place hidden from human eyes for thousands of years. Ingenious traps have been laid to ensnare the careless and unsuspecting, and wealth beyond imagining could be the reward for those with the courage to face the terrible unknown. But where this perilous journey ends—in the cold, shrouded heart of a breathtaking necropolis—something else is waiting for Sam Conklin and his exploratory party. A thing created by Man, yet not humanly possible. Something wondrous...something terrifying...a mysterious metal known only as "el Sangre del Diablo" (or Devil's Blood), known only to the most ancient of Incas and a secret sect of Dominican friars who have already killed and died to protect its secrets.


title: James Rollins

text: Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland surfaces from an aborted underwater salvage mission to find the Earth burning. Solar flares have triggered a series of gargantuan natural disasters. Earthquakes and hellfire rock the globe. Air Force One has vanished from the skies with America's president on board. Now, with the U.S. on the narrow brink of a nuclear apocalypse, Kirkland must pilot his oceangoing exploration ship, "Deep Fathom", on a desperate mission miles below the ocean's surface. There, devastating secrets await him—and a power of an ancient civilization. And it will forever alter a world that's already racing toward its own destruction.


title: James Rollins

text: Four years ago, all contact with a U.S. medical-scientific expedition in the wilderness of the Amazon basin suddenly ceased; the 30-man team was declared lost and likely dead. Now, one of its members staggers into a Christian mission but dies within hours. He carries identification: he is Gerald Clark, ex-Special Forces. Two years before the expedition, while in Iraq, the CIA operative's left arm was amputated at the shoulder. Photographs of the corpse and fingerprints reveal that the arm has grown back perfectly. Unable to comprehend this inexplicable event, the United States CIA establishes a special team to return to this impenetrable secret world of unforeseen perils and to follow the dead man's trail. On arrival, they enlist Nathan Rand, the son of the lost researchers' team leader. A mysterious plague, that threatens the Earth's entire population, leads back to Gerald Clark. This means the lost expedition's destination, which holds the key to the cure, must be discovered at any cost. But the nightmare that awaits Rand and his team of scientists and seasoned U.S. Army Rangers dwarfs any danger they may have anticipated.


title: James Rollins

text: After an Alaskan game warden rescues a man from a crashed plane and saves him from subsequent attack by foreign soldiers, his ex-wife's piloting skills take them all to the man's intended destination, a US research base on the Arctic ice, set up following the discovery by advanced ice-penetrating sonar of a derelict Russian scientific base buried within a massive iceberg, Ice Station Grendel, where the personnel all died decades earlier. A Russian submarine carrying the son of the station's former commander also approaches, ostensibly to retrieve the bodies found by the Americans. Both sides know the station contains vastly important scientific secrets, worth fighting for, but neither side knows quite how the other will fight, or how Grendel itself will complicate matters. In an atmosphere of mistrust and fear, the Alaskans and the scientist overseeing the sonar project have unexpected roles to play, while in the midst of terror, unexpected allies, and betrayals, neither side can afford to lose.


title: James Rollins

text: In 2008, Random House commissioned Rollins to write the novelization of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008), the eponymous, American adventure science fiction film. This is the fourth film in the "Indiana Jones" franchise, created by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg.


title: James Rollins

text: The story starts outside the Baghdad Zoo immediately after the Battle of Baghdad (2003). After being decimated during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the floodgates have been opened for the smuggling of hundreds of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles to Western nations. However, this crime hides a deeper secret. Years later, a Louisiana state veterinarian, Lorna Polk, is flown to a wrecked fishing trawler in the Mississippi River delta basin by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The crew is missing, but the boat holds a live cargo: a caged group of exotic animals. Initially, Polk assumes it is part of a black market smuggling racket. Then. she discovers disturbing deformities that make no sense. Also, the animals all share disturbingly heightened intelligence. To uncover the truth about the origin of this strange cargo and the threat it poses, Polk must team up with a man who shares a dark and bloody past with her, now an agent with the CBP.


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force is a fictional division of the U.S. DARPA program. Their chief operatives combine highly trained military skills with specialized scientific knowledge. Their purpose is to investigate sensitive scientific matters that could pose a threat to the United States. Its functions include counter-terrorism, research, and covert operations. Following the events of the first book, "Sandstorm", Sigma Force moves its headquarters into a sub-basement of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.


title: James Rollins

text: Originally published as a stand-alone novel, "Sandstorm" became the first book in the Sigma Force series. Commander Painter Crowe attempts to thwart a computer hacker who is putting the United States in danger. Meanwhile, in the British Museum, a private collection is destroyed and the cause cannot be explained. Sigma Force's quest takes them into the Arabian Desert and to a long-buried threat that may bring about the end of the balance of power.


title: James Rollins

text: This novel introduces Sigma Force and a mysterious opposing group, the Guild, who appear in several of Rollins' future Sigma Force novels.


title: James Rollins

text: The magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child; their bones may bring destruction to the world if they are allowed to remain in the hands of the thieves who stole them.


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force team members risk their lives to get to the heart of one of mankind's greatest mysteries: the origins of life itself. This novel features Dr. Lisa Cummings, who was first introduced in "Deep Fathom".


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force members seek to prevent an outbreak that could threaten the entire planet. The outbreak's source and the key to the cure are based on the Hindu temple complex of Angkor Wat. The book also features the apparent death of Dr. Monk Kokkalis and introduction to Sigma Force of Joe Kowalski, who first appeared in "Ice Hunt".


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force battle a group of rogue scientists who have unleashed a bio-engineering project that could bring about the extinction of humankind. An international think-tank of scientists discover a way to bio-engineer autistic children who show savant talents, in the hope of creating a world prophet who can be manipulated to create a new era of global peace on their terms.


title: James Rollins

text: Three murders occur on three different continents; each shares a puzzling, hideous disfigurement, but otherwise no other obvious connection. A clue links the father of one victim, an influential U.S. senator, to a Norwegian corporation. It is revealed that the characters are dealing with an ancient fungal parasite that was discovered and used first by the Egyptians and then, later, by eleventh century Celts and Druids as a bio-weapon.


title: James Rollins

text: Seichan and a young urban explorer, who has tattooed on his body a map of the Catacombs of Paris, awaken in a Paris hotel after having been kidnapped and drugged, to find deadly electronic collars fastened around their necks. They are tasked to rescue the kidnapper's son who has fallen under the sway of the nefarious leader of an apocalyptic cult. The trail leads them into the dark necropolis beneath Paris. Seichan and her guide must battle the clock, as the cult leader has wired the catacombs with bombs.


title: James Rollins

text: This short story includes a sneak peek of the first 70 pages of "The Devil Colony", in which a clue unlocked by the skeleton key plays a key role.


title: James Rollins

text: SIGMA Force deals with mysterious nanotechnology that may have been mastered by an ancient Native American tribe with input from the Manasseh. The team attempts to track down a lost map, journeying to Fort Knox and the grave of Meriwether Lewis. Rollins refers to secret codes used by Thomas Jefferson and Lewis. The coded message leads Crowe to John Trumbull's painting depicting the presentation of The Declaration of Independence.


title: James Rollins

text: In the medieval heart of Budapest, Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog, Kane, rescue a mysterious woman fleeing three armed men. They are after the secret she holds, which will unlock a terrible treasure steeped in blood and treachery and tied to a crime going back to the fall of Nazi Germany and a heritage of suffering and pain that reaches out from the past to wreak havoc today. In a final showdown, truths are unearthed and treasures exposed. This short story exclusive includes a sneak peek at the opening chapters of "Bloodline", in which further exploits of Tucker and Kane are revealed.


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force follows up on information gained in "Tracker". The president's daughter is kidnapped by mysterious doctors who seek her baby. President Gant's family is revealed to be a driving force behind the Guild, with their bloodline stretching back for centuries. Jack Kirkland, who first appeared in "Deep Fathom", makes an appearance. The novel deals with the quest for immortality, nanotechnology, and micro-engineering.


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force chases down clues related to Attila the Hun and his fateful meeting with Pope Leo I that stopped a Hunnic invasion of Rome. The Vatican receives a package containing the skull of Genghis Khan, along with a book wrapped in his skin, leading the team to Mongolia. All the while, a nearing comet interferes with the imagery of an orbital satellite, causing it to show an image of America's Eastern Seaboard in flaming ruins. It's a race against time for Sigma to stop the apocalypse from occurring.


title: James Rollins

text: Sigma Force fights against a geneticist with a nefarious agenda for handling the extinction of species. The team travels from California, near Yosemite National Park, to the tepuis of the northern Amazon rainforest, and to the ice caves of Antarctica.


title: James Rollins

text: In the dead of night, a faceless enemy hacks into the Smithsonian Institution's network of servers, but it is only the first strike masking a larger attack. To rescue a biologist trapped in the National Museum of Natural History and discover the true intent behind an assault that grows bolder and bloodier by the minute, Sigma Force must unleash its most headstrong operative, Joe Kowalski.


title: James Rollins

text: An amazing discovery is made when an earthquake reveals a subterranean Catholic chapel in the remote mountains of Croatia. An investigative team finds the bones of a Neanderthal woman as well as an elaborate cave painting depicting an immense battle between Neanderthal tribes and monstrous shadowy figures. At the same time, a bloody assault is carried out on a DARPA funded primate research center outside of Atlanta. Sigma Force sends operatives to look into both cases, but does not realize these events may be connected. Plunged into a battle for the future of humanity, the Sigma Force operatives uncover the true source of human intelligence.


title: James Rollins

text: On a transatlantic flight, Seichan and Kowalski must set aside their differences when a mysterious force knocks their airplane out of the sky.


title: James Rollins

text: Two years ago, a famous archaeologist was thought lost in the Sudanese desert during a search for proof of the ten plagues of Moses. His sudden reappearance, and subsequent death, reveal that someone had begun mummifying his body while he was still alive. When the medical team who performed the autopsy falls ill with a strange disease which quickly spreads throughout Cairo, Safia al-Maaz, who originally appeared in "Sandstorm", reaches out to Sigma Force for help.


title: James Rollins

text: The discovery of a burned body sprawled on a remote Australian beach shatters the vacation plans of Gray Pierce and Seichan.


title: James Rollins

text: An ancient species of deadly parasitic wasp is unleashed upon the islands of Hawaii, where Gray and Seichan are wrapping up their vacation. Teamed with Kowalski and a trio of native Hawaiians, the pair must uncover the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Meanwhile, Kat, Monk and the newly appointed Librarian of Congress, Elena Delgado, follow a trail of clues left across Europe by James Smithson, the mysterious founder of the Smithsonian Institution, to discover a possible way to contain the outbreak.


title: James Rollins

text: Gray is thrown into action as he discovers his house ransacked, his lover missing, and Kat unconscious on the kitchen floor. Left without any leads, Gray and his team turn to a brilliant neurologist to get answers from the only witness: the comatose Kat. What Gray learns sets the team on a quest for answers to a mystery that reaches as far back as the Spanish Inquisition and to a reviled medieval text known as the "Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches)". What he uncovers reveals a frightening truth in the present and a future on the brink of annihilation.


title: James Rollins

text: In the frozen tundra of Greenland, a group of modern-day researchers stumble upon a medieval ship buried a half-mile below the ice. The ship's hold contains a collection of artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age. Inside the captain's cabin is found a clockwork gold map embedded with an intricate silver astrolabe. Once activated, the moving map traces the path of Odysseus's famous ship as it sailed away from Troy. But the route detours as the map opens to reveal a fiery river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean Sea, the subterranean world of Tartarus. When word of Tartarus spreads, and of the cache of miraculous weapons said to be hidden there, tensions explode in this volatile region. Sigma Force must now go where humans fear to tread. To prevent a tyrant from igniting a global war, they must cross the very gates of Hell.


title: James Rollins

text: The Banned and the Banished is a fantasy novel series that follows a girl named Elena, "who ripens into the heritage of lost power".


title: James Rollins

text: For 4,000 years, the people of the Nine Lands have lived peacefully under the guidance of their hundred gods. When the goddess Meeryn is murdered the peace is shattered, and Tylar de Noche – a defrocked knight who, as sole witness, is now sole suspect – must find the killer and prove himself innocent. Tylar turns to Delia, a priestess and love interest, and to Rogger, a thief wise to the ways of the criminal underworld. Slogging hither and yon for scraps of clues, the three begin to suspect that the supposedly pacific gods are in fact engaged in an ongoing struggle for power and control. The self-absorption of the gods and the apathetic ignorance of the people form stumbling blocks on Tylar's quest.


title: James Rollins

text: Failed Shadowknight Tylar witnessed the death of a god, whose blood healed his deformities but branded him a Godslayer and a hunted criminal. In this second volume, Tylar's struggle for the truth is vindicated when he is officially reinstated as a Shadowknight. Yet this is a trap, revealed as Sithryn forces flow from the Ice Eyrie to wage a deadly siege, trapping Tylar and his friends. But even Tylar's skill and magic cannot save the Citadel of Tashijan, ancient Shadowknight headquarters, for something foul lies at the heart of their Order. The Cabal has infiltrated the inner council and Tylar and his allies must flee for now there can be no refuge from evil.


title: James Rollins

text: "There are more plans for the Godslayer books. The working title for Book Three is "God-Sword". Besides continuing the storyline, it will discover much more about Laurelle, her past, and her perilous journey to a god hidden in the heart of a volcano. God-Sword will finish the first trilogy. And there may be a second trilogy with many of the same characters."


title: James Rollins

text: "Third book is done; fourth is midway. Once the fifth is done, the entire series is slated for publication, each book coming out 6 months apart, starting with a re-release of the first two."


title: James Rollins

text: Rollins collaborated with the mystery writer Rebecca Cantrell to write several works in the Order of the Sanguines series (comprising a trilogy published in print and digital formats, plus a number of short fiction e-books): "City of Screams" (2012), a novella set in Afghanistan; "The Blood Gospel" (2013); "Blood Brothers" (2013), an e-short; "Innocent Blood" (2013); and "Blood Infernal" (2015).


title: James Rollins

text: Rollins collaborated with the thriller writer Grant Blackwood to write multiple works in the Tucker Wayne series of military thriller novels: "The Kill Switch" (2014) and "War Hawk" (2015). Tucker Wayne also appears in the SIGMA Force series in "Tracker".


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: The Black Album is the sixteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was re-released with re-mastered audio (and a few song title revisions) on November 22, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records after its original release on December 8, 1987, as the follow-up to "Sign o' the Times" and was to appear in an entirely black sleeve with no title or even a credit to Prince; hence it was referred to as "The Black Album". Dubbed The Funk Bible by preceding press releases, and in a hidden message within the album itself, the work seemed to be a reaction to criticism that Prince had become too pop-oriented. It was his attempt to regain his Black audience.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: The 1987 promo-only release had no printed title, artist name, production credits or photography printed; a simple black sleeve accompanied the disc. On promotional copies, only a song listing and catalog number—25677—were printed on the disc itself. The commercial version was to only have the catalog number—printed in pink—on the spine. The original compact disc pressing was made by Sony DADC rather than WEA Manufacturing. After Prince became convinced that the album was "evil", he ordered it to be withdrawn a week before its release date. It was replaced with the album "Lovesexy", a brighter pop-oriented album with elements of religious affirmation.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: Prince invoked Camille, the alter-ego behind his unreleased 1986 album "Camille", as the guiding force responsible for "The Black Album".


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: The opening track also mentioned the title of the album as being "The Funk Bible", which was a consideration during work on this project. The title refers both to the album's all-Black cover design and to Prince's attempt to earn back his credibility among the Black pop audience.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: The album features one of the most atypical Prince songs: "Bob George", in which he assumes the identity of a profane man who suspects his girlfriend to have had an affair with a man named Bob. He asks her what the man does for a living and learns that Bob manages Prince, whom he dismisses as "that skinny motherfucker with the high voice". The gun-wielding alter ego then fires a multitude of gunshots, and ends up being raided by the police. During live performances of the song during the Lovesexy Tour, he ends up being shot. The name for the track was a combination of Bob Cavallo (former manager), and Nelson George, who was felt to have become very critical of Prince. "Bob George" features a growling monologue that is pitched down (using a Publison) to the point of being almost unrecognizable as Prince. The voice at the end of the song that says "bizarre" is actually a stock sound from the Fairlight CMI IIx library, with its pitch raised.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: "The Black Album" features songs such as the hip hop parody "Dead on It", which playfully makes the accusation that all MCs are tone-deaf and unable to sing, and the playful "Cindy C.", which refers to supermodel Cindy Crawford. The rhyme at the end of the song was originally written by Steve "Silk" Hurley and was included on a song titled "Music Is the Key", which was previously released by Chicago house-music group JM Silk, of which Hurley was the founder. Hurley would later go on to remix two of the songs from the "Gett Off" maxi-single, the Housestyle and Flutestramental versions.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: The album contains several instances of the portrayal of characters, using either a sped-up or slowed-down vocal track by Prince (as on "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "U Got the Look", "Strange Relationship", and "Housequake", all from the "Sign o' the Times" album).


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: The instrumental jazz-funk jam "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton" was revisited as a live song on the "One Nite Alone... Live!" album, but it was hardly the same track.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: "Rockhard in a Funky Place" was originally considered for inclusion on the "Camille" project and then the planned "Crystal Ball" album. After the album's fade out, dissonant feedback fades in, followed by Prince saying "What kind of fuck ending was that?" before fading out again. "When 2 R in Love" is the only ballad on the album, and reappeared on "Lovesexy", which was released the next year.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: Prince performed "Bob George", parts of "When 2 R in Love", and "Superfunkycalifragisexy" on his Lovesexy Tour. "When 2 R in Love" was usually part of the piano medley in Act II, whereas the other two songs were part of the Act I segment, where Prince's evil side showed through (coinciding with the idea that "The Black Album" was evil, hence its being pulled from release by Prince). Act II was his born-again segment, with more upbeat spiritual songs, highlighting most of the "Lovesexy" songs, and top 40 hits.


title: The Black Album (Prince album)

text: Samples of "Bob George" would later show up on the "Dub Beats" official promo mix of Madonna's 1989 single "Like a Prayer".