title: WPIX

text: On September 11, 2001, the transmitter facilities of WPIX, and several other New York City area television and radio stations were destroyed when two hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center; both of the complex's main towers collapsed due to fires caused by the impact. WPIX lead engineer Steve Jacobson was among those who were killed in the terrorist attack. WPIX's satellite feed froze on the last video frame received from the WTC mast, an image of the North Tower burning and the start of the impact of the South Tower; the image remained on-screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities (the microwave relay for WPIX's satellite feed was also located at the World Trade Center). WPIX also broadcast on W64AA in the interim. Since then, WPIX has transmitted its signal from the Empire State Building.


title: WPIX

text: The station's coverage of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack was notable in that WPIX's helicopter was the last to land following an FAA directive that grounded all aircraft. WPIX was given special permission to continue airing aerial video from its helicopter after the collapse of the World Trade Center, though that permission wasn't conditioned on WPIX distributing the footage as a pool camera. Footage from WPIX's helicopter was one of many videos used by the NIST in its investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center complex.


title: WPIX

text: On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. Entertainment unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and in their place, would combine the two networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW. As part of the announcement, Tribune signed ten-year affiliation agreements with the network for 16 of its 19 WB-affiliated stations, including WPIX. Tribune chose not to exercise an ownership interest in The CW—making WPIX the largest CW affiliate that is not owned by either CBS Corporation (later ViacomCBS, now Paramount Global) or Time Warner (later WarnerMedia, now Warner Bros. Discovery) and the largest English-language network-affiliated station that is not an owned-and-operated station of its respective network, as well as the only major New York City television station that is not network-owned.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX began transitioning its on-air branding to "CW 11" during the summer of 2006; prior to the start of the station's 10:00 p.m. newscast on September 17, 2006 (which aired following The WB's final night of programming and the night prior to The CW's official launch), shortly after airing the WB's final sign off bumper featuring stars from the WB's shows, the station aired a video montage of past WPIX logos, starting with a 1948 test pattern and concluding with the official unveiling of the new "CW11" logo.


title: WPIX

text: On April 2, 2007, investor Sam Zell announced plans to purchase the Tribune Company, with intentions to take the publicly traded firm private. The deal was completed on December 20, 2007. Prior to the sale's closure, WPIX had been the only commercial television station in New York City to have never been involved in an ownership transaction (Tribune subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008, due to debt accrued from Zell's leveraged buyout and costs from the company's privatization; it emerged from bankruptcy in December 2012 under the control of its senior debt holders Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and JPMorgan Chase). The station began gradually adopting a modernized "Circle 11" logo in mid-October 2008, featuring a slimmer version of the WB-era "11" (the CW logo is sometimes used next to the "Circle 11", primarily in station promos for CW programs). The station's branding was then changed to "PIX 11" on December 1, 2008 (the "PIX" in the call letters are pronounced phonetically, similar to the word "picks").


title: WPIX

text: On August 17, 2012, Cablevision removed the station from its New York area systems, part of a carriage dispute with Tribune in which WPIX's Hartford, Philadelphia and Denver sister stations were removed from Cablevision's systems in those markets. Cablevision accused Tribune of demanding higher carriage fees (claiming to total in the tens of millions of dollars) for use to help pay off debt, and alleged that it illegally bundled carriage agreements for WPIX and Hartford's WTIC-TV (which was later pulled as well, but unlike co-owned WCCT, was initially unaffected due to a separate carriage agreement); the company denied the claims, stating its approach complied with FCC regulations. The stations and WGN America were restored in an agreement reached on October 26, following a plea by Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg for the FCC to intervene in the dispute.


title: WPIX

text: On May 23, 2016, WPIX owner Tribune Broadcasting and The CW reached a five-year affiliation agreement that renewed the network's affiliations with twelve of Tribune's CW-affiliated stations (including WPIX) through the 2020–21 television season; the deal came after a year-long disagreement between The CW's managing partner CBS Corporation and Tribune concerning financial terms, specifically the amount of reverse compensation that The CW had sought from the group's CW affiliates.


title: WPIX

text: Sinclair Broadcast Group announced plans to acquire Tribune Media for $3.9 billion on May 8, 2017, plus the assumption of $2.7 billion in Tribune debt. In order to meet regulatory approval, WPIX was one of several stations identified by Sinclair for divestitures to a third party; Sinclair partner licensee Cunningham Broadcasting was later revealed as the buyer for WPIX-TV with a below market-value $15 million purchase price. Several weeks after that divestment was announced, Sinclair withdrew the resale with intentions to retain WPIX outright. The attempted sale of WPIX—along with Tribune stations in Dallas and Houston—to Cunningham, and in particular a planned sale of WGN-TV to an LLC controlled by a friend of Sinclair executive chairman David D. Smith, resulted in FCC chairman Ajit Pai publicly rejecting the merger. Despite Sinclair abandoning the divestments, the FCC voted to send the merger up for an evidentiary review. Tribune Media moved to terminate the merger outright on August 9, 2018, and filed a breach of contract lawsuit in the process.


title: WPIX

text: Following the Sinclair deal's collapse, Nexstar Media Group agreed to acquire Tribune Media's assets on December 3, 2018, for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. WPIX-TV was then sold by Nexstar to the E. W. Scripps Company for $75 million as part of a series of divestitures totaling $1.32 billion; both transactions were completed on September 19, 2019. Under the terms of the deal, Nexstar was granted an option by Scripps to repurchase WPIX between March 31, 2020, and December 31, 2021. Nexstar partner licensee Mission Broadcasting exercised said option to buy WPIX on July 13, 2020—Nexstar had previously transferred to Mission said repurchase option—for $75 million plus accrued interest. This coincided with Scripps's eventual merger with Ion Media, owner of WPXN-TV. The sale to Mission was approved by the FCC on December 1 and completed on December 30.


title: WPIX

text: As most stations did in the late 1940s and early 1950s, WPIX aired filmed coverage of news events. The station's first news program, "TelePIX Newsreel", was the first in New York City to consist entirely of filmed coverage. From 1948 to 1965, WPIX produced "Three Star News", a 6:30 p.m. newscast which employed a three-anchor format—with Kevin Kennedy reading world and national news, John Tillman reporting local stories and Joe Bolton as the weatherman. Bolton was later assigned to host children's programming and was replaced by Gloria Okon. The program was canceled after an FCC complaint that some of Tillman's "man on the street" interviews were staged with paid actors, most notable of which was a "pro-Castro sympathizer", who was "interviewed" with a copy of the "Daily Worker" newspaper conveniently tucked under his arm.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX produced the "Independent Network News", a national newscast that was syndicated to independent stations from June 1980 to June 1990. The program – whose live feed was transmitted nationally weeknights at 9:30 p.m. (ET) – featured the same on-air staff as channel 11's newscasts and was broadcast from the same news studio, with "INN" logos covering the station's own logo on various set pieces. In New York City, WPIX paired a 10 p.m. replay of the national news with a live local newscast at 10:30 p.m., called the "Action News Metropolitan Report". As part of a midday expansion of "INN", starting in 1981, channel 11 also launched a newscast at 12:30pm. During the decade, WPIX also produced two other programs syndicated to stations that carried the "INN" program: the business-oriented "Wall Street Journal Report"; and "From the Editor's Desk", a Sunday news discussion program hosted by Richard D. Heffner, host of the long-running public-affairs program "The Open Mind".


title: WPIX

text: WPIX was also noted for the many post–news editorials that were delivered by Richard N. Hughes, vice president of news operations from 1969 to 1995. His editorials ended with the tagline "What's your opinion? We'd like to know". Periodically, he would read excerpts from viewers' letters in response to the editorials, invariably closing each excerpt by saying, "And that ends that quote." In 1984, the station renamed its local and syndicated news programs as "The Independent News". In 1986, the national "INN" newscast was renamed "USA Tonight" and aired at 10 p.m., while the 7:30 p.m. program retained the "Independent News" title and the 10:30 p.m. local newscast was renamed "New York Tonight". When "INN" was cancelled, the 7:30 p.m. program ended as well, and WPIX focused its efforts on the 10:00 p.m. newscast.


title: WPIX

text: Over the years, channel 11 has won many news awards and was the first independent station to win a New York area Emmy award for outstanding newscast, first earning the statuette in 1979 and again in 1983. It was a significant comeback for a news operation that was accused of falsifying news reports in the late 1960s, such as labeling stock footage as being shown "via satellite", and claiming a voice report was live from Prague when it had actually been made from a pay telephone in Manhattan. As a result, Forum Communications – led by future PBS and NBC News president Lawrence K. Grossman – approached the Federal Communications Commission to challenge WPIX Inc.'s license to operate channel 11. WPIX and the "Daily News" prevailed in 1979 after years of litigation. Concurrent with the challenge to its license, WPIX began airing nine public-service programs in mid-1969, including "Puerto Rican New Yorker", "Black Pride", "Suburban Closeup", "Focus New Jersey", "Everywoman", "Rendezvous", "Jewish Dimension", "Sesame Street", and "The Green Thumb".


title: WPIX

text: On June 5, 2000, WPIX launched a weekday morning newscast, the "WB11 Morning News" (now the "PIX 11 Morning News"), which has grown to challenge the established network morning programs as well as its more direct competitor, WNYW's "Good Day New York".


title: WPIX

text: On April 26, 2008, WPIX became the fourth television station in New York City to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. The station resumed a half-hour early evening newscast on September 14, 2009, that ran nightly at 6:30 p.m., until it was replaced by syndicated reruns on June 27, 2010. Three months later, on September 11, the station launched a weekend evening 6 p.m. newscast (making WPIX one of the few U.S. television stations to carry an early evening newscast on weekends, without an existing weekday news program in that daypart). On September 20, 2010, WPIX expanded its weekday morning newscast to five hours, with the addition of an hour at 4 a.m.


title: WPIX

text: On October 11, 2010, newly appointed news director Bill Carey instituted controversial format changes for the newscasts in an attempt to boost the station's ratings. Carey made the newscasts flashier than they had previously been; Kaity Tong and Jim Watkins were replaced as anchors of the weeknight 10 p.m. broadcasts by Jodi Applegate, and multiple commentators and an edgy graphics and music package were introduced. The revamped newscast's first week was not well received by most viewers or critics, with the station fielding numerous complaints through phone calls, emails and Facebook comments, as well as a scathing review in the "Daily News". A Facebook page was created calling for Tong and Watkins's return to the 10pm news. WPIX's sports department was shut down in March 2011, with sports segments being reduced to a two-minute feature presented by the station's news anchors. In September 2011, WPIX relieved Watkins of his duties as weekend anchor, replacing him with Tong (who now solo anchors the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays). By late 2011, the station's newscast ratings would fall to last place. Carey, who stepped down on October 3, 2012, was replaced as news director by Mark Effron in April 2013.


title: WPIX

text: On September 12, 2011, WPIX restored an early evening newscast to its weeknight schedule with the debut of an hour-long 5 p.m. broadcast, which was originally aimed at women between the ages of 18 and 49. On December 19, 2012, Jodi Applegate left WPIX, to prepare for the birth of her child through a gestational surrogate. Morning anchor Tamsen Fadal was later named her replacement; the station later restored a two-anchor format with the hiring of WNBC sports anchor Scott Stanford as Fadal's co-anchor on the 5pm and 10pm newscasts in September 2013. In March 2014, WPIX hired consumer reporter Arnold Diaz (who was fired by WNYW two months earlier due to the shutdown of its consumer investigative unit) to head up a new four-person investigative unit. On April 5, 2014, WPIX moved its weekend early evening newscast one hour earlier, from 6 to 5 p.m.


title: WPIX

text: On April 23, 2014, the station debuted a new graphics package during its 5 p.m. newscast (the opening sequences used in this package had previously debuted in January 2014, but were updated with the revamp); along with the change, the station brought back Non-Stop Music's "WPIX Custom News Package", which had previously been used as the theme for WPIX's evening newscasts from 1993 until the 2010 format change. On June 9, the station reduced the morning newscast to four hours (with the 4 a.m. hour replaced with syndicated programs) to allow the station "the flexibility to invest more resources into the key morning hours". On July 14, 2014, John Muller (who joined WPIX in 1999 and served as anchor of the morning newscast from its launch until he left for ABC News in 2011) returned to the station as evening co-anchor; Scott Stanford was reassigned to lead sports anchor (as part of a gradual reformation of the sports department that included the launch of the highlight program "PIX11 Sports Desk").


title: WPIX

text: During the July 2014 ratings period and again during the August 2014 ratings period, WPIX beat WNYW and WNBC, earning 3rd place in ratings only behind WABC and WCBS in the 5 p.m. timeslot among adults 25–54 (as well as in certain other demographics) for the first time since 2011; it was the only newscast in the market to make year-to-year gains in key demographics. WPIX's newscasts also saw increases in the morning and at 10pm in the 25–54 demographic.


title: WPIX

text: On April 20, 2015, WPIX debuted a 6pm newscast on weekdays with current evening anchors John Muller and Tamsen Fadal. On December 8, 2015, WPIX announced the hiring of former WWOR anchor Brenda Blackmon, and the addition of a new 6:30 p.m. program, to rival the network news on the other main stations. Kaity Tong and Blackmon began anchoring the broadcast on January 11, 2016. The 6:30 p.m. newscast was cancelled in September 2016.


title: WPIX

text: On April 13, 2016, WPIX made an announcement of more anchor changes preceding May Sweeps. This includes Scott Stanford moving from evening sports anchor to morning news anchor with Sukanya Krishnan. Kori Chambers, formerly on the morning show, and weekend evenings, will co-anchor with Tamsen Fadal on the weekday 5 p.m. version and handle political coverage for the station. Andy Adler, who handled weekend sports duties, will become the primary sports anchor. In addition, Kala Rama and Craig Treadway, who anchored on the weekends, will now anchor the first portion of the morning news (5–6 a.m.).


title: WPIX

text: In May 2017, WPIX once again revamped its anchor lineup. The station announced that former "CBS Morning News" and "Early Today" anchor Betty Nguyen would become part of the morning news team along with a returning Dan Mannarino, with Scott Stanford once again returned to anchoring sports for the evening broadcasts. In addition, WPIX announced that it would begin featuring traffic reports from WCBS radio's Tom Kaminski, who reports from the radio station's helicopter as he does every weekday; when he files his television reports the helicopter is referred to as "Air 11".


title: WPIX

text: Until the show's cancellation in spring 2022, WPIX's news studio was the home base for the daily syndicated entertainment news series "Daily Mail TV" from CBS Media Ventures, which WPIX carried locally. This was done to avert a costly remodeling of the "Daily Mail" New York bureau for television operations. WPIX only contributed technical staff to the series, and "Daily Mail TV" was taped using removable logos which overlay WPIX's logos on the set during 'dark' time for the studio (in breaking news situations during "Daily Mail TV" tapings, WPIX originated coverage from its newsroom instead).


title: WPIX

text: In January 2020, WPIX expanded its morning newscast to include the 9a.m. hour. On September 14, 2020, WPIX added an hour-long 10a.m. newscast, becoming New York's only 10a.m. newscast; the newscast now runs from 4a.m. to 10a.m.


title: WPIX

text: News expansion increased in 2021, with the addition of an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast, as well as a weekend morning newscast (8–10 a.m.) in 2022.


title: WPIX

text: On March 28, 2022, WPIX added a new nightly half-hour 6:30 p.m. newscast once again, called the "PIX11 Evening News"; now becoming New York's only local news broadcast at 6:30 p.m.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX served as the longtime over-the-air television broadcaster of New York Yankees baseball from 1951 to 1998. Mel Allen served as the primary announcer for the broadcasts, Red Barber from 1954 to 1966, Phil Rizzuto from 1957 to 1996, and Bobby Murcer from 1997 to 1998. With his "Holy Cow!" catchphrase, Rizzuto became very popular especially through the 1970s.


title: WPIX

text: At various points, WPIX also aired Major League Baseball's New York Giants, the New York Football Giants and New York Jets, professional wrestling from 1984 to 1991 from various companies such as Pro Wrestling USA, AWA All Star Wrestling, UWF, NWA/WCW Worldwide and Pro, GLOW and briefly WWF (now WWE) from late 1998 to early 1999, the NHL's New York Rangers, the MISL's New York Arrows and local college basketball. However, it was through its coverage of Yankees baseball that WPIX gained perhaps its greatest fame and identity.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX lost the broadcast rights for the Yankees to WNYW in 1998, more so the result of regional cable sports networks (in this case, MSG) gaining team broadcast rights, leaving broadcast stations with fewer games to air. In 1999, the station acquired rights to New York Mets games, which up until that point had spent their entire televised history (since 1962) with (W)WOR.


title: WPIX

text: In 2015, the Yankees returned to WPIX after a 17-year absence, having picked up YES Network's package of over-the-air Yankees broadcasts, replacing WWOR-TV. These games co-existed with WPIX's existing Mets broadcasts (produced by SportsNet New York). In 2022, these games left WPIX for Amazon Prime Video.


title: WPIX

text: Since 2013, WPIX has simulcast some ESPN "Monday Night Football" telecasts involving the Giants or Jets by arrangement with WABC-TV, the main local rightsholder for the over-the-air simulcasts. WPIX has also carried NFL Network "Thursday Night Football" telecasts involving the Giants or Jets (mostly prior to the NFL's decision to simulcast most Thursday night games on CBS, NBC, or Fox).


title: WPIX

text: In March 2017, it was announced that WPIX would air selected New York Cosmos soccer games beginning in the 2017 season.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX was a leader in public affairs and special event programming, inspired by its roots under the ownership of the "Daily News". Early on, it offered the first in-depth program to look at New York City government, "City Hall". WPIX children's show personality Jack McCarthy anchored the station's coverage of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade; the station later added the Columbus Day and National Puerto Rican Day Parade to its stable. Later on, the station produced "Essence", a series inspired by "Essence" magazine and hosted by the publication's chief editor, Susan L. Taylor. The station also aired the Macy's 4th of July fireworks event. Along with the New York City Marathon, these events moved to WNBC (channel 4) after the station joined The WB. Since 2000, the Macy's fireworks event has been carried nationally on NBC, while WABC-TV (locally) and ESPN2 (nationally outside the New York City area) broadcast the Marathon.


title: WPIX

text: Special guest Coby Kranz was invited onto the daily news segment on his 11th birthday, because he was one of the only people to turn 11 on 11/11/11.


title: WPIX

text: "Editor's Desk" host Richard D. Heffner served as host of "The Open Mind", which was produced by WPIX (and was concurrently aired on PBS member stations), before moving to other New York studios. Since 1992, WPIX has produced "PIX News Closeup" (hosted by WPIX senior correspondent Marvin Scott since its debut), a half-hour public affairs and interview program on Sunday mornings that focuses on domestic and international issues in the news, and discussions on political issues.


title: WPIX

text: On January 1, 2011, Tribune launched its new digital broadcast network, Antenna TV, which affiliated with WPIX through a new fourth digital subchannel. In May 2012, WPIX moved Antenna TV to digital subchannel 11.2, while digital channel 11.4 was removed (Estrella TV, which was carried on 11.2 at the time, is now affiliated with Port Jervis low-power station WASA-LD, which is owned by the network's parent company Estrella Media). 11.4 returned to the air in 2018 as an affiliate of TBD. On September 1, 2021, 11.4 switched to Nexstar–owned classic network Rewind TV.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, at 12:30 p.m. on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 33 to VHF channel 11. WCBS-TV took over the channel 33 allocation as it moved its digital signal from channel 56 as a result of the phaseout of channels 52–69.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Group C of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 22 to 30 November 2022. The group consisted of the national association football teams of Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland. The top two teams, Argentina and Poland, advanced to the round of 16. This marked the first time that Mexico did not advance past the first round since 1978.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: The teams were decided by the World Cup draw that took place on 1 April 2022. The group was set to receive one team from each pot, which sorted all World Cup teams by position on the FIFA World Rankings.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: The first match of the group was between Argentina and Saudi Arabia. The two teams had faced each other four times prior to the tournament, most recently in 2012, a 0–0 draw in a friendly game, though Argentina beat Saudi Arabia 3–1 back in the 1992 King Fahd Cup.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina and ended their 36-match unbeaten streak. According to Gracenote, the win was the "most surprising" in World Cup history, with many calling it one of the biggest World Cup upsets in history.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: This was also the second consecutive time that Argentina did not win their opening match at a World Cup, after drawing 1–1 with Iceland in 2018; and the first time since 1990 that Argentina lost their opening match. Argentina had taken the lead in the 10th minute with a penalty from Lionel Messi, awarded for a foul on Leandro Paredes, which he rolled into the left corner. They also had three goals ruled out for offside. Saudi Arabia equalized in the 48th minute with a low shot to the right corner from Saleh Al-Shehri. They took the lead five minutes later when Salem Al-Dawsari curled the ball into the right corner of the net from just inside the penalty area.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: The second match was held between Mexico and Poland. They had met eight times previously including once in the World Cup, in Poland's 3–1 first group stage victory in 1978, and most recently in 2017 in a 1–0 win for Mexico in a friendly. The only shot on target of the first half was from Jorge Sánchez, which was punched away by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. In the 54th minute, Poland captain Robert Lewandowski was awarded a penalty after the Video Assistant Referee judged that Héctor Moreno had fouled the Poland captain inside the penalty area. Guillermo Ochoa saved the penalty taken by Lewandowski, diving to his left, and the game stayed goalless. At the other end of the field, Mexico had a chance to win the game as a ball into the penalty area from Edson Álvarez went towards Henry Martín who attempted to head the ball beyond Szczęsny; however, the Poland goalkeeper managed to beat the ball away. Poland failed to win their opening game in a World Cup for the eighth time, having won just one of their nine opening World Cup games, though for the first time since 1986, they did not lose the opening game of a World Cup.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Poland and Saudi Arabia had faced each other four times prior to the tournament most recently in 2006, a 2–1 win for Poland in a friendly game. Piotr Zieliński scored the opening goal for Poland in the 39th minute. At the end of the first half, Saleh Al-Shehri was fouled in the box and was awarded a penalty kick. However, Salem Al-Dawsari attempt was saved by Wojciech Szczęsny in the first minute of stoppage time. In the second half, an error by Abdulellah Al-Malki led to Robert Lewandowski scoring his first World Cup goal in the 82nd minute as Saudi Arabia was defeated by Poland 2–0. The result meant that Poland did not lose their two opening World Cup games for the first time since 1986.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Argentina and Mexico had played at FIFA World Cups three times. Argentina had won all three: 6–3 group stage victory in 1930, 2–1 round of 16 win in 2006 and another round of 16 victory by 3–1 in 2010. After a goalless first half, Messi put Argentina into the lead in the 64th minute. Enzo Fernández made it 2–0 and secured the win in the 87th minute with a curled finish to the right corner of the net.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: The third matchday encounter between Poland and Argentina was the third time the two nations met in a FIFA World Cup. Wojciech Szczęsny made a penalty save in the first half to deny Lionel Messi, only to concede twice for the first time in this FIFA World Cup, when Argentina scored two goals in the second half, the first by Alexis Mac Allister with a low shot to the left corner and the second from Julián Álvarez with a shot to the top right corner as the Argentines won 2–0, topping the group with two wins.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Despite this, Poland would eventually join Argentina in the last sixteen thanks to a superior goal difference than Mexico.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Saudi Arabia and Mexico had met five previous times, most recently in 1999, a 5–1 win for Mexico at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. After a goalless first half, Mexico struck twice in the second half, first with a volley from a corner kick by Henry Martín in the 47th minute and then with a thunderous free kick by Luis Chávez in the 52nd minute. However, Mexico failed to find a third goal, which they needed to overtake Poland on goal difference – Mexico had received more yellow cards than Poland and would have been eliminated on this basis if the teams finished level on points, goal difference, and goals scored. Salem Al-Dawsari, however, scored in the 5th minute of added time with a goal after a one-two, which confirmed both teams' elimination from the tournament as Mexico claimed the 2–1 win. This result also meant Mexico failed to advance to the knockout stage for the first time since 1978, while Saudi Arabia failed to advance past the group stage for the fifth consecutive World Cup, having only achieved just once in the country's debut in 1994.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: The two teams had faced each other four times, most recently in 2006, a 2–1 win for Poland in a friendly game.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: The win against Saudi Arabia marked the first time that Poland avoided defeat in their opening two World Cup matches since 1986, having previously failed to do so in 2002, 2006 and 2018.


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C

text: Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:


title: Tree house

text: A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a hangout space and observation. People occasionally connect ladders, or staircases to get up to the platforms.


title: Tree house

text: Building tree platforms or nests as a shelter from dangers on the ground is a habit of all the great apes, and may have been inherited by humans. It is true that evidence of prehistoric man-made tree houses have never been found by paleoanthropologists, but remains of wooden tree houses would not remain. However, evidence for cave accommodation, terrestrial man-made rock shelters, and bonfires should be possible to find if they had existed, but are scarce from earlier than 40,000 years ago. This has led to a hypothesis that archaic humans may have lived in trees until about 40,000 years ago. The skeletal changes due to the evolution of human bipedalism among started at least four million years ago, and may have happened while hominins still were living in the trees. According to the alternative savannah hypothesis, this evolution happened as an effect of that early humans settled on the ground in savannahs.


title: Tree house

text: Even today, tree houses are built by some indigenous people in order to escape the danger and adversity on the ground in some parts of the tropics. It has been claimed that the majority of the Korowai clans, a Papuan tribe in the southeast of Irian Jaya, live in tree houses on their isolated territory as protection against a tribe of neighbouring head-hunters, the Citak.The BBC revealed in 2018 that the Korowai had constructed tree houses "for the benefit of overseas programme makers" and did not actually live in them. However, the Korowai people still build tree houses, not elevated but fastened to trees in the tree trunks of tall trees, to protect occupants and store food from scavenging animals.


title: Tree house

text: Historically trees have been used as part of creating a building. For example the walls of a chapel, to hold platforms or houses built onto them or around them. Chêne chapelle is a striking example of a tree as part of the building. Modern tree houses are usually built as play areas for children or for leisure purposes. Modern tree houses may also be integrated into existing hotel facilities. Some tree houses are built for living space. The main part of the structure is built with industrial materials. This is movement towards "living architecture".


title: Tree house

text: Along with subterranean and ground level houses, tree houses are an option for building eco-friendly houses in remote forest areas, because they do not require a clearing of a certain area of forest. However, the wildlife, climate and illumination on ground level in areas of dense close-canopy forest is not desirable to some people.


title: Tree house

text: There are numerous techniques to fasten the structure to the tree which seek to minimize tree damage.


title: Tree house

text: The construction of modern tree houses usually starts with the creation of a rigid platform, on which the house will be placed; the platform will lean (possibly on the corners) on the branches. In case there are not enough suitable supports, the methods to support the platform are:


title: Tree house

text: Struts and stilts are used for relieving weights on a lower elevation or straight to the ground; Tree houses supported by stilts weigh much less on the tree and help to prevent stress, potential strain, and injury caused by puncture holes. Stilts are typically anchored into the ground with concrete although new designs such as the "Diamond Pier" speeds installation and are less invasive for the root system. Stilts are considered the easiest method of supporting larger tree houses and can also increase structural support and safety.


title: Tree house

text: Stay rods are used for relieving weights on a higher elevation. These systems are particularly useful to control movements caused by wind or tree growth. However they are used less often due to the natural limits of the system. Higher elevation and more branches tailing off decreases capacity and increases wind sensitivity. Building materials for hanging include ropes, wire cables, tension fasteners, and springs.


title: Tree house

text: Friction and tension fasteners are the most common noninvasive methods of securing tree houses. They do not use nails, screws or bolts, but instead grip the beams to the trunk by means of counter-beam, threaded bars, or tying.


title: Tree house

text: Invasive methods are all methods that use nails, screws, bolts, kingpins, etc. Because these methods require punctures in the tree, they must be planned properly in order to minimize stress. Not all species of plants suffer from puncture in the same way, depending partly on whether the sap conduits run in the pith or in the bark. Nails are generally not recommended. A special kind of bolt developed in the 1990s called a treehouse attachment bolt (TAB) can support greater weights than earlier methods.


title: Tree house

text: Since the mid-1990s, recreational tree houses have enjoyed a rise in popularity in countries such as the United States and parts of Europe. This has been due to increased disposable income, better technology for builders, research into safe building practices and an increased interest in environmental issues, particularly sustainable living. This growing popularity is also reflected in a rise of social media channels, websites, and television shows specially dedicated to featuring remarkable tree houses around the world.


title: Tree house

text: Increased popularity has, in turn, given rise to demand for businesses covering all building and design work for clients. There are over 30 businesses in Europe and the US specializing in the construction of tree houses of various degrees of permanence and sophistication, from children's play structures to fully functioning homes.


title: Tree house

text: Popularity of tree house hotels is equally growing, with a number of booking websites offering accommodation in tree houses.


title: Tree house

text: Many areas of the world have no specific planning laws for tree houses, so the legal issues can be confusing to both the builder and the local planning departments. Treehouses can be exempt, partially regulated or fully regulated - depending on the locale.


title: Tree house

text: In some cases, tree houses are exempted from standard building regulations, as they are considered outside of the regulations specification. An exemption may be given to a builder if the tree house is in a remote or non-urban location. Alternatively, a tree house may be included in the same category as structures such as garden sheds, sometimes called a "temporary structure". There may be restrictions on height, distance from boundary and privacy for nearby properties. There are various grey areas in these laws, as they were not specifically designed for tree-borne structures. A very small number of planning departments have specific regulations for tree houses, which set out clearly what may be built and where. For safety during the tree house construction, it is usually best to do as much work as possible on the ground, taking long-term viability into consideration.


title: Tree house

text: The tree house has been central to various environmental protest communities around the world, in a technique, popularized, known as tree sitting. This method may be used in protests against proposed road building or old growth forestry operations. Tree houses are used as a method of defence from which it is difficult and costly to safely evict the protesters and begin work. Julia Butterfly Hill is a particularly well known tree sitter who occupied a Californian Redwood for 738 days (from December 1997 to December 1999), saving the tree and others in the immediate area. Her accommodation consisted of two platforms above the ground.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: Januszczak was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, to Polish refugees who had arrived in England after the Second World War.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: In Poland his father had been a policeman in Sanok, a job which included exposing Communists. In the UK he worked as a railway carriage cleaner, but died, aged 57, when a train ran over him at Basingstoke railway station. His widow, then aged 33, found work as a dairymaid. Waldemar was one year old at the time.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: The young Januszczak attended Divine Mercy College, a school for the children of Polish refugees which the Congregation of Marian Fathers had set up at Fawley Court, Henley-on-Thames. According to Januszczak in "Holbein: Eye of the Tudors", he attended St Anne's (Roman Catholic) Primary School in Caversham, Berkshire, from ages 5 to 11.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: After studying history of art at the University of Manchester, Januszczak became an art critic, and then arts editor, of "The Guardian". In 1990 he was appointed head of arts at Channel 4 television and in 1992 he became art critic for "The Sunday Times". He has been voted "Critic of the Year" twice by the Press Association.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: Januszczak has been described as "a passionate art lover, art critic and writer. His presentation style is casual but informed, enthusiastic, evocative and humorous. He bumbles about on our TV screens, doing for art what David Attenborough has done for the natural world," and someone who acts out of "a refusal to present art as elitist in any way. He makes it utterly accessible and understandable."


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: In 1997, he took part in a Channel 4 discussion called "The Death of Painting", occasioned by the absence of painters from that year's Turner Prize. The programme was made famous when an apparently drunk Tracey Emin swore at the other participants and left after ten minutes. In 2002, when insurance broker and art collector Ivan Massow lashed out at conceptual art in general and said that Emin could not "think her way out of a paper bag", Januszczak observed in a letter to "The Independent" that "thinking" would not be very helpful in those circumstances.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: In 2004 he differed from most critics in his defence of the art of Stella Vine, singling her out for praise in his otherwise hostile review of the Saatchi Gallery's "New Blood" show ("although I didn't much want to like Vine's contribution, I found I did. It had something"), and continuing to champion her, seeing "a combination of empathy and cynicism that can be startling." Later that year he took part in a Christmas special critics edition of the television quiz show "University Challenge".


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: Reviewing the exhibition "Americans in Paris" at London's National Gallery in 2006, he described James McNeill Whistler's "Symphony in White No 1" as "a clumsy bit of cake-making with thick smudges of white rubbed into the canvas in coarse, dry skid marks". "Even Whistler's renowned mother manages here to underwhelm", he complained. Hoaxed by artist Jamie Shovlin, Januszczak later that year 'revealed' in his paper how the 1970s glam rock band Lustfaust had "cocked a notorious snook at the music industry in the late 1970s by giving away their music on blank cassettes and getting their fans to design their own covers". The band had never existed outside Shovlin's fiction. Januszczak replied that Shovlin should be applauded for his capacity to remind us of the crucial place of the artist in today's society as he made clear that "Reality simply cannot be trusted any more".


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: In October 2008, Januszczak co-curated a show at the British Museum called "Statuephilia", in which modern sculptures by 6 artists were shown next to their more ancient counterparts. The show was inspired during his creation of the series "The Sculpture Diaries", a three-part series on sculpture around the world, which was first aired on 31 August 2008 on Channel 4.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: Waldemar Januszczak has made many appearances on television, on which medium he has presented programmes on the history of art. He has also made appearances on programmes such as "The Culture Show" and "Newsnight Review". Beginning on 27 November 2012, he presented a four-part series "" about the art and architecture of the Dark Ages on BBC Four.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: In October 2019 he directed and narrated "Handmade in Bolton" on BBC Four, a short documentary series featuring Shaun Greenhalgh and fronted by Janina Ramirez.


title: Waldemar Januszczak

text: He currently produces content for the art channel Perspective, part of the Little Dot Studios Network (All3Media).


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887 – 7 March 1961) was an Indian freedom fighter and the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel, Pant was a key figure in the movement for India's Independence and later a pivotal figure in the Indian Government. He was one of the foremost political leaders of Uttar Pradesh (then known as United Provinces) and a key player in the unsuccessful movement to establish Hindi as the official language of Indian Union.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Today, several Indian hospitals, educational institutions and foundations bear his name. Pant received India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1957.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Govind Ballabh Pant was born on 10 September 1887 in Chweencha village near Pauri Garhwal. He was born in a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family that had migrated from the present day northern Karnataka to Kumaon region.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: His mother's name was Govindi Bai. His father Manorath Pant was a government official who was constantly on the move, and hence Govind was brought up by his maternal grandfather, Badri Dutt Joshi, an important government official locally, who played a significant part in moulding his personality and political views.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Pant studied at Allahabad University and subsequently worked as a lawyer in Kashipur. Here, he began active work against the British Raj in 1914, when he helped a local "parishad", or village council, in their successful challenge of "coolie begar", a law requiring locals to provide free transportation of the luggage of travelling British officials. In 1921, he entered politics and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Known as an extremely capable lawyer, Pant was appointed by the Congress party to initially represent Ramprasad Bismill, Ashfaqulla Khan and other revolutionaries involved in the Kakori case in the mid 1920s. He participated in the protests against Simon Commission in 1928. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his autobiography, mentions how Pant stood by him during the protests and his large figure made him an easy target for the police. In those protests he sustained severe injuries which prevented him from straightening his back for the rest of his life.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: In 1930, he was arrested and imprisoned for several weeks for organising a Salt March inspired by Gandhi's earlier actions. In 1933, he was arrested along with Harsh Dev Bahuguna (Gandhi of Choukot) and imprisoned for seven months for attending a session of the then-banned provincial Congress. In 1935, the ban was rescinded, and Pant joined the new Legislative Council. During the Second World War, Pant acted as the tiebreaker between Gandhi's faction, which advocated supporting the British Crown in their war effort, and Subhas Chandra Bose's faction, which advocated taking advantage of the situation to expel the British Raj by all means necessary.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: In 1934, the Congress ended its boycott of the legislatures and put up candidates, and Pant was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. He became deputy leader of the Congress party in the Assembly.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: In 1940, Pant was arrested and imprisoned for helping organise the Satyagraha movement. In 1942 he was arrested again, this time for signing the Quit India resolution, and spent three years in Ahmednagar Fort along with other members of the Congress working committee until March 1945, at which point Jawaharlal Nehru pleaded successfully for Pant's release, on grounds of failing health.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: In 1945, the British Labour government ordered new elections to the Provincial legislatures. The Congress won a majority in the 1946 elections in the United Provinces and Pant was again the Premier, continuing even after India's independence in 1947 till 1954.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: His judicious reforms and stable governance in the Uttar Pradesh stabilised the economic condition of the most populous State of India.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Pant was appointed Minister of Home Affairs in the Union Cabinet on 10 January 1955 in New Delhi by Jawaharlal Nehru. As Home Minister, his chief achievement was the re-organisation of States along linguistic lines. He was also responsible for the establishment of Hindi as an official language of the central government and a few states.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: In 1960, he suffered a heart attack. He was treated by top doctors in India, including his friend Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal. His health started deteriorating and he died on 7 March 1961 at the age of 73, from a cerebral stroke. At that time he was still in office as the Home Minister of India.


title: Govind Ballabh Pant

text: Mourning him, Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India was quoted as saying,"I had known Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant since 1922 and in this long period of association it had been my privilege to receive from him not only consideration but also affection. This is no time to assess his labour and his achievements. The grief is too intense for words. I can only pray for peace to his soul and strength to those who loved and admired him".


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The "King George V"-class battleships were a group of four dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the early 1910s that were sometimes termed super-dreadnoughts. The sister ships spent most of their careers assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Home and Grand Fleets, sometimes serving as flagships. In October 1914, "Audacious" struck a mine and sank. Aside from participating in the failed attempt to intercept the German ships that had bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in late 1914, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, the surviving ships' service during the First World War generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The three surviving ships were briefly reduced to reserve in 1919 before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1920–1921 where they played minor roles in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War and the Chanak Crisis of 1922. The first ship to return to Britain, , became a training ship in 1923 but the other two were placed into reserve again upon their return the following year. The imminent completion of the two s in 1927 forced the sale of "King George V" and for scrap at the end of 1926 while was converted into a target ship to comply with the tonnage limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: During the Second World War, "Centurion" was rearmed with light weapons and was converted into a blockship and was then modified into a decoy with dummy gun turrets. "Centurion" was sent to the Mediterranean in 1942 to escort a convoy to Malta, although the Italians quickly figured out the deception. The ship was deliberately sunk during the Invasion of Normandy in 1944 to form a breakwater.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: Ordered as part of the 1910–1911 Naval Programme, the "King George V" class was an enlarged version of the preceding with additional armour, a revised layout of the secondary armament and improved fire-control arrangements. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . They displaced at normal load and at deep load. Their crew numbered around 869 officers and ratings upon completion and 1,114 in 1916.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: Sea trials with the battlecruiser showed that the placement of the fore funnel between the forward superstructure and the foremast meant that hot clinkers and flue gases from the boilers made the spotting top on the foremast completely unworkable when the forward boilers were alight and that the upper bridge could easily be rendered uninhabitable, depending on the wind. The "King George V" class also used the same arrangement and they were altered while under construction to remedy the problem at a cost of approximately £20,000 per ship. The fore funnel was moved aft and a makeshift foremast was built from one of the struts of the original tripod mast. The spotting tower at the rear of the conning tower was removed, the conning tower enlarged, and the coincidence rangefinder was moved from the foremast spotting top to the roof of the conning tower.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The ships of the "King George V" class were powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines. The outer propeller shafts were coupled to the high-pressure turbines in the outer engine rooms and these exhausted into low-pressure turbines in the centre engine room which drove the inner shafts. The turbines used steam provided by 18 water-tube boilers. They were rated at and were intended to give the battleships a maximum speed of . During their sea trials, the ships exceeded their designed speed and horsepower, reaching a maximum of . They carried a maximum of of coal and an additional of fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. This gave them a range of at a cruising speed of .


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The "King George V" class was equipped with ten 45-calibre breech-loading (BL) 13.5-inch Mark V gun in five hydraulically powered, centreline, twin-gun turrets, designated 'A', 'B', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y' from front to rear. The guns had a maximum elevation of +20° which gave them a range of . Their gunsights, however, were limited to +15° until super-elevating prisms were installed by 1916 to allow full elevation. In contrast to the "Orion"s, the loading machinery of these turrets was modified to accommodate longer and heavier projectiles, some more than those of the "Orion"s, at a muzzle velocity of about at a rate of two rounds per minute. The ships carried 100 shells per gun.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: Training exercises had shown that destroyer and torpedo boats attacked more frequently from the frontal arc, so the sixteen 50-calibre BL four-inch (102 mm) Mark VII guns of the secondary armament was re-arranged to improve fire distribution ahead. Eight of these were mounted in the forward superstructure, four in the aft superstructure, and four in casemates in the side of the hull abreast of the forward main gun turrets, all in single mounts. The guns in the hull casemates were frequently unusable in heavy seas and were later removed during the war. The Mark VII guns had a maximum elevation of +15° which gave them a range of . They fired projectiles at a muzzle velocity of . They were provided with 150 rounds per gun. Four 3-pounder () saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 14 torpedoes were provided.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The ships of the "King George V" class were some of the first battleships in the RN to receive the full suite of fire-control equipment used during the First World War. The control position for the main armament was located in the conning tower. Data from a coincidence rangefinder (an unstabilized Barr and Stroud instrument in and stabilized Argo units in the other ships) on the roof of the conning tower, together with the target's speed and course information, was input into a Dumaresq mechanical computer and electrically transmitted to a Dreyer Fire-control Table (a Mark III system in "King George V" and Mark II Tables in the others with an Argo range clock replacing the Dreyer-Elphinstone model in the Mark III) located in the transmitting station located on the main deck. Wind speed and direction was called down to the transmitting station by either voicepipe or sound-powered telephone. The fire-control table integrated all the data and converted it into elevation and deflection data for use by the guns. The target's data was also graphically recorded on a plotting table to assist the gunnery officer in predicting the movement of the target. As a backup, two turrets in each ship could take over if necessary.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: Fire-control technology advanced quickly during the years immediately preceding World War I, and the development of the director firing system was a major advance. This consisted of a fire-control director mounted high in the ship which electrically provided elevation and training angles to the turrets via pointer on a dial, which the turret crewmen only had to follow. The guns were fired simultaneously, which aided in spotting the shell splashes and minimised the effects of the roll on the dispersion of the shells. The weight of the director and the enlarged spotting top proved to be more than the unsupported foremast could bear, and it had to be reinforced when the directors were installed in 1913–1914 on the roof of the spotting top. The mast of "King George V" used flanges, but the other three ships received half-height tripod legs. The former ship's mast was rebuilt into a full-height tripod in 1918. Available sources do not acknowledge that was fitted with a director before her loss, but photographic evidence clearly shows one visible as she was sinking.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The "King George V"s had a waterline belt of Krupp cemented armour that was thick between the fore and rear barbettes. It reduced to outside the central armoured citadel, but did not reach the bow or stern. The belt covered the side of the hull from above the waterline to below it. Above this was a strake of armour. The fore and aft oblique bulkheads connected the waterline and upper armour belts to the 'A' and 'Y' barbettes. The exposed faces of the barbettes were protected by armour 9 to 10 inches thick above the main deck that thinned to below it. The gun turrets had faces sides with 3- to 4-inch roofs. The guns in the forward superstructure were protected by armour thick.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The four armoured decks ranged in thickness from with the greater thicknesses outside the central armoured citadel. The front and sides of the conning tower were protected by 11-inch plates, although the roof was 3 inches thick. The gunnery control tower behind and above the conning tower had 4-inch sides and the torpedo-control tower aft had 6-inch sides and a 3-inch roof. Unlike the "Orion"s, the anti-torpedo bulkheads were extended to cover the engine rooms, as well as the magazines with thicknesses ranging from . The boiler uptakes were protected by armour plates.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: By October 1914, a pair of QF anti-aircraft (AA) guns were installed aboard each ship. About of additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and "King George V" was fitted to tow kite balloons around the same time. By April 1917, the ships had exchanged a 4-inch AA gun for one of the 3-inch guns and the four 4-inch guns in the hull casemates had been removed. The stern torpedo tube was removed during 1917–1918 and one or two flying-off platforms were fitted aboard each ship in 1918; these were mounted on turret roofs and extended onto the gun barrels. "King George V" had them on 'B' and 'Q' turrets, "Centurion" on 'B' and 'X' turrets and "Ajax" had one on 'B'.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: While conducting her sea trials on the night of 9/10 December, "Centurion" accidentally rammed and sank the Italian steamer and she was under repair until March 1913. All four ships of the "King George V" class were assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron upon commissioning, commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender, and "King George V" was the squadron flagship by 18 February 1913. "Centurion" was present to receive the President of France, Raymond Poincaré, at Spithead on 24 June 1913. The sisters represented the Royal Navy during the celebrations of the re-opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal in Kiel, Germany, 23–30 June 1914, held in conjunction with Kiel Week.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: Between 17 and 20 July 1914, the "King George V"s took part in a test mobilisation and fleet review as part of the British response to the July Crisis. Afterwards, they were ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to Scapa Flow to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the Imperial German Navy. After the British declaration of war on Germany on 4 August, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Admiral Jellicoe. According to pre-war doctrine, the role of the Grand Fleet was to fight a decisive battle against the German High Seas Fleet. This grand battle was slow to happen, however, because of the Germans' reluctance to commit their battleships against the superior British force. As a result, the Grand Fleet spent its time training in the North Sea, punctuated by the occasional mission to intercept a German raid or major fleet sortie. While the 2nd Battle Squadron was conducting gunnery training off the northern coast of Ireland on 27 October, "Audacious" struck a mine and sank; all of her crew was successfully rescued before she capsized. "King George V" developed problems with her condensers in November. This forced the ship to be intermittently withdrawn from operations over the next several months while the condensers had their tubes replaced.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans for a German attack on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in mid-December using the four battlecruisers of "Konteradmiral" (Rear-Admiral) Franz von Hipper's I Scouting Group. The radio messages did not mention that the High Seas Fleet with fourteen dreadnoughts and eight predreadnoughts would reinforce Hipper. The ships of both sides departed their bases on 15 December, with the British intending to ambush the German ships on their return voyage. They mustered the six dreadnoughts of the 2nd Battle Squadron, including the three surviving "King George V"s, and the four battlecruisers of Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The screening forces of each side blundered into each other during the early morning darkness and heavy weather of 16 December. The Germans got the better of the initial exchange of fire, severely damaging several British destroyers, but Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, commander of the High Seas Fleet, ordered his ships to turn away, concerned about the possibility of a massed attack by British destroyers in the dawn's light. A series of miscommunications and mistakes by the British allowed Hipper's ships to avoid an engagement with Beatty's forces.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the German High Seas Fleet departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May 1916 in support of Hipper's battlecruisers which were to act as bait. Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation, so the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: Once Jellicoe's ships had rendezvoused with the 2nd Battle Squadron, coming from Cromarty, Scotland, on the morning of 31 May, he organised the main body of the Grand Fleet in parallel columns of divisions of four dreadnoughts each. The two divisions of the 2nd Battle Squadron were on his left (east), the 4th Battle Squadron was in the centre and the 1st Battle Squadron on the right. When Jellicoe ordered the Grand Fleet to deploy to the left and form line astern in anticipation of encountering the High Seas Fleet, this naturally placed the 2nd Battle Squadron at the head of the line of battle. The sisters were able to fire a few volleys at the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group without effect early in the battle, but the manoeuvers of their escorting light cruisers frequently blocked their views of the German ships. Coupled with the visibility problems from the smoke and mist, none of the "King George V"s were able to fire more than 19 rounds from their main guns.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August 1916 to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions. Along with the rest of the Grand Fleet, they sortied on the afternoon of 23 April 1918 after radio transmissions revealed that the High Seas Fleet was at sea after a failed attempt to intercept the regular British convoy to Norway. The Germans were too far ahead of the British to be caught, and no shots were fired. The sisters were present at Rosyth, Scotland, when the German fleet surrendered there on 21 November.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The sisters remained with the 2nd Battle Squadron into early 1919, after which "King George V" became the flagship of the 3rd Battle Squadron until that unit was disbanded later that year. The ship then became flagship of the Reserve Fleet and served until late 1920. In the meantime, "Ajax" had been transferred to 4th Battle Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet by mid-1919 and sometimes served as the Fleet's flagship. "Centurion" followed in early 1920, although she spent a lot of time in reserve in Malta. The sisters played minor roles in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in the Black Sea in 1919–1920. "King George V" joined them in the 4th Battle Squadron in early 1921. After striking a rock in early September 1922, she was in Smyrna, Turkey, receiving temporary repairs when the Great Fire of Smyrna occurred later that month and evacuated some refugees when she sailed for permanent repairs at Malta. Her sisters were in Turkish waters during the Chanak Crisis around the same time. "King George V" was the first of the trio to return home in early 1923 and she served a training ship until she was sold for scrap at the end of 1926. "Ajax" and "Centurion" followed in April 1924, although they were placed in reserve, with the latter serving as the flagship of the Reserve Fleet. Like "King George V", "Ajax" was sold for scrap at the end of 1926.


title: King George V-class battleship (1911)

text: The British tonnage allowance granted by the Washington Naval Treaty permitted them to keep the three sisters in service until the two were completed in 1927. While "King George V" and "Ajax" were scrapped, "Centurion" was demilitarized by the removal of her armament and was converted into a radio-controlled target ship. In addition to being used as a target for surface ships, "Centurion" was used to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of aerial bombing. During the Second World War, she was rearmed with light weapons and was converted into a blockship in 1941. In preparation for that operation (subsequently cancelled), she was modified into a decoy with dummy gun turrets in an attempt to fool the Axis powers. "Centurion" was sent to the Mediterranean in 1942 to escort a convoy to Malta, although the Italians may have figured out the deception. The ship was scuttled off Omaha Beach in June 1944 to form a breakwater to protect a mulberry harbour built to supply the forces ashore.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke Thomas is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. He was introduced as a supporting character of Batman, his first appearance being in 2013 in "Batman" (vol. 2) #21, before later leading a youth vigilante movement inspired by Robin, in the comic book "We Are... Robin," in May 2015. He officially became Batman's newest partner and joined the Batman family in 2016.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: The character would be a staple in Batman comics and "Detective Comics", and went on in a new role as Gotham's daylight protector: The Signal.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke Thomas first appeared as an unnamed child in "Batman" (vol. 2) #21 (March 2014), being saved by Batman. His first official named appearance was in "Batman" (vol. 2) #30, revealing they had met before his prior appearance, as his parents saved Bruce Wayne's life.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: He did not appear in comics again until "" (October 2014), where the Joker abducted him and his parents in an attempt to psychologically torture Batman. He returns as a staple in DC Comics in "We Are... Robin", joining the teen vigilante group and being trained by previous official Robins during Robin War. His official debut as a part of the Batman family occurred in 2016, with "Batman: Rebirth" #1. He later makes a new mantle "The Signal" in the mini series "Batman and The Signal".


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke's first appearance is as an unnamed child, fishing in the derelict Gotham City. He is approached by thugs wanting to take his food, who are stopped by the sudden appearance of Batman. Duke tells him that the Riddler claims that he is dead, to which Batman replies that it means he will not see him coming.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: A later issue shows a flashback, revealing that Duke's parents saved Bruce Wayne in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane caused by the Riddler. Duke tells him that he is training his mind to be able to make an unsolvable riddle that will set the city free, showcasing his heroic nature.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: The Joker releases a deadly pathogen on Gotham City, which mimics his laugh gas on a much larger and infective scale. In the ensuing pandemonium, he kidnaps the Thomas family due to their connection with Bruce Wayne. He sets up an elaborate stage on which to reenact the night the Waynes died, even going as far as to use an infected Joe Chill, the man who originally killed his parents, in order to emotionally torture Bruce.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Several months later, Duke is in the foster care system. He rebels as he feels frustrated by the lack of care and empathy the city has been granting to the Joker's victims, resulting in his parents still being missing. Alongside this, Gotham City appears to have been abandoned by Batman. However Alfred Pennyworth in disguise has been supplying teens fighting back against crime and corruption with Robin insignia and instructions via an app called "The Nest", starting the group known as We Are Robin.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After assisting the group, Duke is approached by Alfred, disguised as a police interrogator. He encourages Duke to take his life into his own hands and to fight for the fate of the city, offering him help finding his parents if he helps stop a cult from detonating bombs around the city. Duke accepts, making him an unofficial Robin. He leads part of the group to the bombs inside a train station. While the rest of the group is above ground fighting off the cultists, they are able to defuse one bomb. As they debate about how to defuse the second, they are sent a message from the nest, telling them to give up and get on the next train. Meanwhile, above ground the GCPD reveals a "new" Batman, who is simply Jim Gordon in a robotic suit. He is instructed to treat the Robins as criminals. One member, Troy, stays behind, and attempts to defuse the bomb in the same manner as the first one, causing it to detonate and kill him. Duke and his new friends are devastated, and become suspicious of The Nest, until Alfred provides them gear, and draws on their individual experiences to encourage them to keep fighting for their city.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After the events of "Robin War", most Robins go back to their normal lives. Duke resumes his search for his parents, and finds them in a temporary shelter. But, due to long exposure to the Joker virus, they will suffer from the effects permanently. Meanwhile, John "Smiley" Bender Jr., a teen with Möbius syndrome, whose parents forced him into surgery that left him with a permanent smile, kills them after getting out of juvie. Holding the Joker as an idol, he starts a gang and begins terrorizing Gotham. Smiley invades Duke's school, forcing him and his friends to take action. After taking him down, they are approached by Alfred once more, where they officially renounce being Robins, instead deciding to rely on themselves and each other.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Shortly after the death of Troy, a Robin outside of Duke's group accidentally kills a robber and police officer. Combining the two with public push, the Robin laws go into effect, making it illegal for teens to wear the Robin colors and insignia. It is quickly revealed that this is the result of manipulations by the Court of Owls, as the councilwoman who headed the legislation, Noctua, wishes to earn a place in the society.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke hosts a meeting of the remaining Robins, calling for whoever accidentally committed the crime to come forward. However the real Robin, Damian Wayne, crashes the meeting. Objecting to the use of his title while he was away, he challenges the Robins to prove themselves in a fight against him. The commotion is noticed by the GCPD, who send "Batman" to deal with them. He is quickly struck down by Damian, but before the fight can resume, Red Hood and Red Robin put a stop to it. They calm Damian down and call the first Robin, Dick Grayson.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Afterwards, Travis, one of the Robins, tells Duke that he was the one who killed the officer and robber. Duke seeing that it was an accident and that Travis is burdened by the guilt, encourages him to turn himself in and Travis agrees. While on his way, Travis is killed by a Talon in order to sow more public unrest. The official Robins train the group. Despite having faked his death and using a face changer, Duke recognizes Dick Grayson and reveals this during a training session. Duke and his friends are chosen as the best of the group, and are taken on a mission to try and get information. However Dick has been feeding information to the police, as to have the Robins arrested and safe from the Court of Owls.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: The original Robins, with help from Duke and his friends, manage to break out and free the rest of the Robins. They tell the others to go home, as the Court of Owls is too deadly of an enemy for them. Thanks to information from Duke's friend Riko, they make their way to Gotham Academy. On the way, Damian sneaks away and is manipulated into joining the court in order to protect Gotham. He, alongside several Talons, fight against the others once they reach Gotham Academy, seeming to take them out with ease. Duke refuses to believe that Damian has genuinely joined the court, getting back up to continue fighting him. He calls Damian by name, saying that he knows of Bruce Wayne's amnesia as the result of sacrificing himself, and how Damian does not need to live up to that. This causes Damian to snap out of the Court's manipulations. The Robins that went home see the destruction throughout the city, they decide to rally once more and the tides turn against the Court, temporarily sending them back underground.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After "Robin War" a new threat arises in a man who is doling out devices that give powers, however, they are experimental and are just as likely to kill their host. He calls himself Mister Bloom.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After overhearing a conversation between Bruce and Jim Gordon, Duke becomes drawn to the mystery. He steals a neutralized device given to Bruce, as Bruce is reluctant to be involved in the case. He first shows the device to his older friend Daryl Gutierrez, a tech genius working as an engineer for the GCPD, who is unable to identify it.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke turns to other sources, tracking a trail to the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge. He finds a book containing information on Penguin's own investigations on Bloom. The Penguin and his gang find Duke in the study, nearly capturing him. He barely escapes, only to be seemly apprehended by guards outside. Until Bruce Wayne takes them down. Bruce had discovered the device missing, and since Duke had used the Fox Center's computers for his research, was able to deduce what he was doing and follow him.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: He expresses concern for Duke, he continues to press when Duke tries to avoid the conversation, asking why Duke has treated him coldly. Duke becomes upset, as he is aware of Bruce's former identity as Batman while Bruce is not. He tells Bruce that he does not take a real look at his life, saying that his denial is based in selfishness. He tells Bruce that anyone can be who he is now, but in his old life only he could be him, and that he used to inspire the whole city. He continues with his speech, causing a spark in Bruce's memory when he saves Duke from an incoming train. Duke, feeling no better, tells Bruce to stay away.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After a text from Daryl, he visits his parents. Devastated by their mental state. Afterwards he sneaks onto the GCPD blimp Daryl was piloting, he informs Daryl of their condition.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: He tells Daryl that it almost made him give up hope and vigilantism entirely, however, he went over the evidence he stole from the Iceberg Lounge one last time, and noticed that it contained the names of the nominees for the grant that Daryl won years before. He asks Daryl what is going on, Daryl snaps and his form begins to mutilate to where he looks eerily similar to Bloom. He reveals that he was the "original" Bloom, having initially created the devices after . Believing that with powers people would band together to protect each other. But his first test with his cousin yielded fatal results. Which made Daryl burn the remaining devices.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After Batman's disappearance following , he turned towards his experiments again. This time using unidentified and near death patients. There was only one success, who became horrifically deformed, and slaughtered the other patients. The patient somehow recognized Daryl as the source of what happened to them, and decided to take the Bloom moniker, along with the rest of the devices.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Daryl insists that he can stop Bloom and perfect the devices. Duke tries to reason with him, saying that powers are not necessary and all you need is good people. Daryl mocks him and the Robin movement. He moves to take and dispose of a Robin pin that Duke gave him, but Duke takes advantage of his distraction to incapacitate him and take control of the airship.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: During Daryl's confession, Bloom has begun widespread havoc across the city. Introducing handpicked convicts they have used the devices on. They inform the populace that they have hidden devices all over the city, and that they now have a programmed thrall to encourage their use, as the use of them makes Bloom stronger. Along with sabotaging the GCPD's atom collider, which could cause a black hole.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke directs the airship to where Bruce, having remembered being Batman, is struggling to hold them off. Duke uses the high powered magnets in the ship to grab onto Bloom. The more Bloom struggles, the stronger the magnets get, this also disables the thrall, leading to people removing their devices and diverting power from Bloom. Gordon uses a dampener on the collider, and the resounding shock wave kills Bloom. Leaving Gotham in peace once more.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke becomes an official member of the Batman Family. After accepting Bruce's offer to train under him, Duke moves into Wayne Manor and begins working alongside all of Gotham's vigilantes. He is a heavy feature in "All-Star Batman", assisting Bruce in dealing with Two-Face, Victor Zsasz, Hugo Strange, and Mr. Freeze.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Leading into the events of "Dark Nights: Metal", while Batman was on a mission related to the mysteries surrounding Nth Metal, Duke was tasked to guard the Batcave. This led to a confrontation with the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who had been sent by The Guardians of the Universe to investigate sinister cosmic omens pointing to that location. Duke joined the investigation and together they found a secret level of Batcave. In the hidden level were various clues that Batman had collected and stored over the years related to Nth Metal, as well as a prison holding the Joker.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: The Joker taunts the heroes into freeing him using the secrets he has learned from the cave. He reveals the origins of metahumans, and that Batman recruited Duke because Duke and his mother are metahumans who are connected to a "Dark Crisis". In the chaos of their fight, The Joker destroyed Batman's machines before escaping the two heroes and vanishing from the cave entirely. Batman arrives and confirms there is some truth to what the Joker said. Duke's powers begin to manifest, and using a Green Lantern ring and the power of the Shazam's dagger, the trio unknowingly set off the chain of events leading to the invasion of Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After studying under Batman for over a year, Bruce surprised him with his very own base of operation and an upgraded suit; congratulating him for completing his training. Duke took the codename The Signal and began his mission as the daylight protector of Gotham, recruiting his former Robin gang teammates Riko Sheridan and Izzy Ortiz for technical support.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke's first solo mission as The Signal was to investigate the sudden spike in dead metahuman bodies being discovered all throughout The Narrows. This led Signal into conflict with The Null, a metahuman from the Arkham Juvenile Detention Center aka "Juvie Arkham". After defeating Null, Signal decided to investigate further into Juvie Arkham, which had once been the old Gotham solarium before being reworked to house metahuman delinquents. Duke used his Ghost Vision to infiltrate Juvie Arkham and walked straight into an ambush. Luckily, Detective Aisi arrived just in time to help Signal make a narrow escape.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Later, The Signal met up with Detective Aisi to compare notes. Using his photokinetic sight to examine a tissue sample from one of the dead metahumans, Signal discovered trace amounts of Nth metal embedded in the skin of the sample. The metal and the sample appeared to be react Duke but also to something in the air. That is when Signal noticed a strange solar pattern radiating from the Gotham Proper housing project. Signal theorized someone must be using Gotham Proper to direct supercharged solar energy toward different sections of the city like a sundial, creating unstable metahumans across The Narrows.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke returns to the Batcave to bring his new theory to Bruce when the bat-computer is hijacked by someone calling himself Gnomon. He shows them a live broadcasts of The Narrows overrun with innumerable metahumans, all chanting Duke's name, as they wreak havoc across the city. Gnomon reveals that he is the one creating the metahumans. Gnomon claimed to have created the metahumans for Duke as a gift, asking Duke to join him. Duke and Bruce head out as Batman & The Signal to stop the villain.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: When Batman and The Signal arrive on the scene the Batfamily are spread thin. The duo split up, with Duke making his way to confront Gnomon at Gotham Proper. Signal arrived at Gotham Proper just as Detective Aisi and the GCPD cleared the area, and the two enter the building to confront Gnomon together. In the solar observatory, Gnomon reveals he is Duke's father and that years ago his mother, Elaine, fled to Gotham to hide Duke from him. Signal can sense everything Gnomon says is true due to their genetic connection but summons the resolve to stop Gnomon anyway. Signal, with the help of Detective Aisi, manages to defeat Gnomon, who manages to escape capture.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: The next day, after a breakfast with the Batfamily, Bruce congratulates Duke on a successful first day before Duke goes to see his still jokerized parents. Duke then meets up with Detective Aisi, ready to start a new day and get back on the job as the Signal.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Some time after the events of "Justice League: No Justice", the villain Karma lured Duke into a trap that blew up a building, killing a civilian, in the process. This attack left Duke in critical condition and kicked off a series of terrorist attacks by the villain in order to isolate Batman him from his allies. Batman responded by re-forming The Outsiders and conceded leadership of the group to Black Lightning, fearing he might compromise the team. Enlisting the help of Katana, Cassandra Cain, and a recovered Duke, the Outsiders took down Karma and officially forming the newest iteration of The Outsiders.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Still traumatized from the Karma attack, Duke and the Outsiders find themselves in a proxy war between Batman and Ra's al Ghul over the metahuman Sofia Ramos. Ra's manipulates the Outsiders, planting the cyborg Kaliber in their ranks in order to get to Sofia, in order to keep them busy and disrupt their team.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: With Katana and Black Lightning preoccupied by Sofia Ramos and Kaliber, Duke was captured by Ra's' acolyte, Ishmael. Ishmael reveals he was reborn in the Lazarus Pit, changing his initial ability to steal metahuman powers into the ability to evolve and change metahuman powers. Ishmael and Ra's see potential in Duke and plan to use Ishmael's powers to evolve Duke's powers for Ra's ends. Ishmael chained, beat Duke and modifies his metahuman from his light to dark. Cassandra Cain tracks down Ishmael, defeating him in single combat, and rescuing her partner. Duke tells her he is no longer able to see the light and all he can see is darkness.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Following the transformation of his powers, Duke would defy Batman's instruction and test his new abilities on his own until Lady Shiva joined the team. taking Duke under her wing, Shiva would begin to oversee his and Cassandra's training. The Outsiders re-group and eventually defeat Ra's before pairing off and each going their separate way. Duke and Cassandra head back to Gotham together.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: During the events of "Death Metal", Prime Earth is destroyed and rewritten by the super celestial Perpetua following the defeat of the Justice League in the "Justice/Doom War". As she destroys the rest of the Multiverse to remake it in her own image, The Batman Who Laughs and his army of Dark Multiverse Batmen enforce her rule. All resistance was crushed and the surviving heroes of Prime Earth were either been forced into servitude or imprisoned on New Apokolips. Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman eventually manage to free the heroes and stormed Castle Bats (formerly Gotham City) to obtain the power necessary to restore the Multiverse; just as the Batman Who Laughs usurps Perpetua as the supreme being and becomes The Darkest Knight.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: While Wonder Woman's team enacted her plan, The Signal, Orphan, Spoiler, and Red Robin fought to reclaim the section of Castle Bats that was once The Narrows. Guarding the area was Quietus, an evil Lazarus Pit infused amalgamation of Duke Thomas, Ra's al Ghul, and Batman. Quietus initially overpowered Duke and his team, using the waters of the Lazarus Pits to torture Duke with twisted visions of his history from the Dark Multiverse. Duke persevered, embracing both the light and dark powers and tapping into a new level of powers. With his newfound strength, and the aid of his team, Duke defeated Quietus and successfully reclaimed The Narrows for Gotham.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: After The Darkest Knight kills Perpetua the final showdown between Woman Woman and the heroes of the Multiverse vs The Darkest Knight and his nightmarish Last 52 multiverse began. Signal was at ground zero and is the first of the heroes to witness the arrival of the earths from the dark multiverse carrying The Darkest Knight's armies. He is seen fighting a Dark Multiverse Martian Manhunter, Evil Robins, and even a variant of the Murder Machine. Ultimately Wonder Woman defeats The Darkest Knight and Omniverse is restored. The Signal is seen among the heroes at the Hall of Justice listening Superman's speech celebrating their victory.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke's powers come from the metagene, a genetic variation caused by naturally occurring traces of Nth metal in the bloodstream. Duke inherited this genetic trait from both parents, Elaine Thomas and Gnomon, and his powers are photokinetic in nature. Gnomon has claimed that Duke possesses his immortal blood, implying Duke may possess similar immortality. His powers were originally limited to manipulating the way he processes light, but, after experiencing the touch of Ishmael, they have "evolved" into manipulating light and darkness in more abstract ways. Metahumans also appear to react on a cellular level to Duke's presence, their powers increasing in close proximity to him. It is unclear, however, to what extent he affects their actual powers.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Photokinesis: Duke is a metahuman with the photokinetic ability to absorb, redistribute, and manipulate both light and darkness. Duke's most notable ability is his "Ghost Vision", the ability to perceive the "ghosts" of where light has been to effectively see a few minutes into the past. he can also glimpse into the future by sensing the "ghosts" of where light will be. Duke's photokinetic vision is not limited to his Ghost Vision, his eyes possess a superior sensory array compared to normal humans and can detect changes or variations in light invisible to the naked eye. He can process light faster than humanly possible to the point that he can track the movement of light. he can also manipulate the light around him to radiate light, illuminate reflective surfaces (such as his chest plate) and even render himself completely invisible. Duke can also manipulate the way he processes light absorbed through his eyes to perform a variety of visual tasks, such as:


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Darkness manipulation: Duke's photokinetic powers include the ability to manipulate shadows and darkness. Duke can absorb darkness in the same way he absorbs light, describing his dark powers as "behaving like a tide" that pushes and pulls shadows toward himself. Duke can pull shadows into himself, revealing more light, or expel shadows from himself, enveloping everything in a wave of darkness, as well as shape and manipulate darkness to terrify and ensnare enemies or to augment his melee combat. Duke can also travel using shadows, which he can use to coordinate attacks with his allies or to make hasty escapes. Duke can also generate darkness that sparks with photoelectricity.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Photo-Umbrakinetic movement: By combining all of his photokinetic abilities, Duke can envision a path then move using light and shadows to near instantly traverse that distance. When using this ability everything around Duke appears to slow to a standstill.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Healing Factor: Gnomon, Duke's biological father, claims to be an immortal of over a thousand years and that Duke possess his "infinite blood", implying Duke may possess similar immortality. This claim is supported when it is discovered that Duke's powers allow him to heal rapidly in dire situations.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke's greatest asset is his intellect and his ability to lead. As a child, he mentally trained himself with riddles and puzzles, in an attempt to one day be able to give the Riddler a riddle he could not solve. Duke was a child prodigy, going on to compete for a Genius grant against the likes of gifted engineer Daryl Gutierrez (Mr. Bloom) at age 12. His quick-wit makes him a talented detective, figuring out the identities of Bruce Wayne as Batman, Dick Grayson as Agent 37, Damian Wayne as Robin, and Alfred as "The Nest" behind the "We Are Robin" movement. He has also developed into a charismatic leader, able to regularly gain the trust and loyalty of others, and persuading them over to his cause. Under his leadership, Duke's faction of the Robin gang rose above any others and were the driving force behind the entire "We Are Robin" movement. His ability to coordinate and rally those under his command makes him a formidable field commander, even when working with other, more experienced, Bat-family members. Duke's knack for leadership has been recognized by Batman, who has actually been training Duke for Justice League level leadership.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke's a highly skilled and relatively seasoned hand-to-hand combatant. As a civilian Duke demonstrated considerable fighting skills, able to hold his own against multiple opponents at once even without training. As part of the "We Are Robin" gang, Duke became proficient in the use of nunchaku and went on to receive training from Agent 37, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin during the events of "Robin War". After leaving the Robin movement Duke went on to receive training from Bruce Wayne, studying every discipline Bruce studied to become Batman; including training in various martial arts and gaining access to drives that contained all of Batman's contingency plans, journal entries, and personal insights over the years. Duke's precognition and enhanced visual senses make him uniquely perceptive in a fight, able to detect weak points, and react to attacks faster than normally possible by slowing down his perception. He can even slow his perception down enough to catch flying projectiles. Since joining the Outsiders, Duke's training has been overseen by both Katana and Black Lightning and he trains with Cassandra Cain on a regular basis. During this time Duke demonstrated the ability to use his shadow abilities to augment his melee combat to an extent. Lady Shiva personally mentored Duke on how to best use his new powers.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke has a number of supporting characters such as Detective Aisi, Izzy Ortiz, Riko Sheridan, and the rest of his former We Are Robin gang.


title: Duke Thomas (character)

text: Duke's family, particularly his mother Elaine Thomas, are key to his character. Elaine's mysterious past, and Duke's biological father being revealed to be Gnomon, have made Duke a person of interested to various immortals throughout the DC Universe, such as Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul and The Immortal Man. Duke eventually moved to The Narrows to live with his cousin Jay, after training under Batman and living at Wayne Manor as a ward.


title: Jake Ejercito

text: Juan Emilio Enriquez Ejercito (; born March 27, 1990), professionally known as Jake Ejercito, is a Filipino actor and model. He is the son of former actor and Philippine President Joseph Estrada.


title: Jake Ejercito

text: Ejercito made guest appearances as Jake, a classmate to Maine Mendoza's character Yaya Dub, in "Eat Bulaga!"'s "Kalyeserye" segment in 2016. In the same year, he later appeared in the said variety show's Lenten specials and was awarded Best New Male TV Personality in the 30th PMPC Star Awards for Television for his appearance in the episode "God Gave Me You".


title: Jake Ejercito

text: Ejercito is one of three children of Joseph Estrada and Laarni Enriquez. He is a brother to Jerika Ejercito and Jacob Ejercito. Through his father, he has multiple half-siblings.


title: Jake Ejercito

text: Ejercito has a daughter, Ellie (born November 2011), with actress Andi Eigenmann. He broke up with Eigenmann in 2014, but he continues to co-parent Ellie with her.


title: Guitar Hero II

text: Guitar Hero II is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the "Guitar Hero" series and is the sequel to 2005's "Guitar Hero". It was first released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2006, and then for the Xbox 360 in April 2007, with additional content not originally in the PlayStation 2 version.


title: Guitar Hero II

text: Like in the original "Guitar Hero", the player uses a peripheral in the shape of a solid-body electric guitar to simulate playing rock music as notes scroll towards the player. Most of the gameplay from the original game remains intact, and provides new modes and note combinations. The game features more than 40 popular licensed songs, many of them cover versions recorded for the game, spanning five decades (from the 1960s to the 2000s). The PlayStation 2 version of "Guitar Hero II" can be purchased individually or in a bundle that packages the game with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. The Xbox 360 version of the game is offered in a bundle that packages the game with a white Gibson Explorer guitar controller.


title: Guitar Hero II

text: Since its release, "Guitar Hero II" has been met with both critical and commercial success, helping the "Guitar Hero" series become a cultural phenomenon. As of December 1, 2007, the game has sold 3.1 million copies. It has spawned the "expansion" title "" for the PlayStation 2. A sequel, "", was released in 2007.


title: Guitar Hero II

text: The surprise success of "Guitar Hero" readily led to the development of a sequel for the game. According to developer John Tam, the team felt they "hit the sweet spot" of genres and decades within the set list and wanted to maintain that for the sequel. The costs of obtaining licensing rights for music from "big bands" such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Metallica, in addition to the lack of understanding of how the music would be used prevented these groups from being used in "Guitar Hero". However, Tam notes that with the success of "Guitar Hero", "They understand that we're not going to embarrass their music, we're going to actually pay homage to their music and get it to the point where people are going to fall in love with their music and understand their music in a totally different way than they've ever experienced it before." They also had requests by artists to include master tracks within the game.