800 m). In the summer, they occupy estuaries and the waters of the continental shelf, and on occasion, they even swim up the rivers. A number of incidents have been reported where groups or individuals have been found hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the ocean. One such example comes from 9 June 2006, when a young beluga carcass was found in the Tanana River near Fairbanks in central Alaska, nearly 1700 km from the nearest ocean habitat. Belugas sometimes follow migrating fish, leading Alaska state biologist Tom Seaton to speculate it had followed migrating salmon up the river at some point in the previous autumn.","Beluga whale\n\nThe rivers they most often travel up include: the Northern Dvina, the Mezen, the Pechora, the Ob and the Yenisei in Asia; the Yukon and the Kuskokwim in Alaska, and the Saint Lawrence in Canada. Spending time in a river has been shown to stimulate an animal's metabolism and facilitates the seasonal renewal of the epidermal layer. In addition, the rivers represent a safe haven for newborn calves where they will not be preyed upon by killer whales. Calves often return to the same estuary as their mother in the summer, meeting her sometimes even after becoming fully mature.","Beluga whale\n\nThe migration season is relatively predictable, as it is basically determined by the amount of daylight and not by other variable physical or biological factors, such as the condition of the sea ice. Vagrants may travel further south to areas such as Irish and Scottish waters, islands of Orkney and Hebrides, and to Japanese waters. There had been several vagrant individuals demonstrated seasonal residencies at Volcano Bay, and a unique whale were used to return annually to areas adjacent to Shibetsu in Nemuro Strait in the 2000s. On rarer occasions, individuals of vagrancy can reach the Korean Peninsula. A few other individuals have been confirmed to return to the coasts of Hokkaido, including brackish waters such as Lake Notoro.","Beluga whale\n\nSome populations are not migratory and certain resident groups will stay in well-defined areas, for example in Cook Inlet, the estuary of the Saint Lawrence River and Cumberland Sound. The population in Cook Inlet stays in the waters furthest inside the inlet during the summer and until the end of autumn, then during the winter, they disperse to the deeper water in the centre of the inlet, but without completely leaving it.","Beluga whale\n\nIn April, the animals that spend the winter in the centre and southwest of the Bering Sea move to the north coast of Alaska and the east coast of Russia. The populations living in the Ungava Bay and the eastern and western sides of Hudson Bay overwinter together beneath the sea ice in Hudson Strait. The populations of the White Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea overwinter in the Barents Sea. In the spring, the groups separate and migrate to their respective summer sites.","Beluga whale\n\nHabitat","Beluga whale\n\nBelugas exploit a varied range of habitats; they are most commonly seen in shallow waters close to the coast, but they have also been reported to live for extended periods in deeper water, where they feed and give birth to their young.","Beluga whale\n\nIn coastal areas, they can be found in coves, fjords, canals, bays, and shallow waters in the Arctic Ocean that are continuously lit by sunlight. They are also often seen during the summer in river estuaries, where they feed, socialize, and give birth to young. These waters usually have a temperature between 8 and 10 °C. The mudflats of Cook Inlet in Alaska are a popular location for these animals to spend the first few months of summer. In the eastern Beaufort Sea, female belugas with their young and immature males prefer the open waters close to land; the adult males live in waters covered by ice near to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, while the younger males and females with slightly older young can be found nearer to the ice shelf. Generally, the use of different habitats in summer reflects differences in feeding habits, risk from predators, and reproductive factors for each of the subpopulations.","Beluga whale\n\nPopulation","Beluga whale\n\nThe global beluga population is made up of a number of subpopulations. The scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission recognises these 29 subpopulations:","Beluga whale\n\nThe estimate of population sizes is complicated because the boundaries for some of these groups overlap geographically or seasonally. The IUCN estimated the world beluga population in 2008 to be well in excess of 150,000.","Beluga whale\n\nThreats","Beluga whale\n\nHunting","Beluga whale\n\nThe native populations of the Canadian, Alaskan, and Russian Arctic regions hunt belugas for their meat, blubber, and skin. The cured skin is the only cetacean skin that is sufficiently thick to be used as leather. Belugas were easy prey for hunters due to their predictable migration patterns and the high population density in estuaries and surrounding coastal areas during the summer.","Beluga whale\n\nCommercial whaling by European and American whalers during the 18th and 19th centuries decreased beluga populations in the Canadian Arctic. The animals were hunted for their meat and blubber, while the Europeans used the oil from the melon as a lubricant for clocks, machinery, and lighting in lighthouses. Mineral oil replaced whale oil in the 1860s, but the hunting of these animals continued unabated. In 1863, the cured skin could be used to make horse harnesses, machine belts for saw mills, and shoelaces. These manufactured items ensured the hunting of belugas continued for the rest of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Between 1868 and 1911, Scottish and American whalers killed more than 20,000 belugas in Lancaster Sound and Davis Strait.","Beluga whale\n\nDuring the 1920s, fishermen in the Saint Lawrence River estuary considered belugas to be a threat to the fishing industry, as they eat large quantities of cod, salmon, tuna, and other fish caught by the local fishermen. The presence of belugas in the estuary was, therefore, considered to be undesirable; in 1928, the Government of Quebec offered a reward of 15 dollars for each dead beluga. The Quebec Department of Fisheries launched a study into the influence of these cetaceans on local fish populations in 1938. The unrestricted killing of belugas continued into the 1950s, when the supposed voracity of the belugas was found to be overestimated and did not adversely affect fish populations. L'Isle-aux-Coudres is the setting for the classic 1963 National Film Board of Canada documentary Pour la suite du monde, which depicts a one-off resurrection of the beluga hunt.","Beluga whale\n\nThe Arctic's native peoples still carry out subsistence hunting of belugas to obtain food and raw materials. This practice is a part of their culture, but doubts still remain whether the number of whales killed may be sustainable. The number of animals killed is about 200 to 550 in Alaska and around 1,000 in Canada. However, in areas such as Cook Inlet, Ungava Bay, and western Greenland, previous levels of commercial whaling have put the species in danger of extinction, and continued hunting by the native peoples may mean some populations will continue to decline. The Canadian sites are the focus of discussions between the local communities and the Canadian government, with the objective of permitting sustainable hunting that does not put the species at risk of extinction.","Beluga whale\n\nPredation","Beluga whale\n\nDuring the winter, belugas commonly become trapped in the ice without being able to escape to open water, which may be several kilometres away. Polar bears take particular advantage of these situations and are able to locate the belugas using their sense of smell. The bears swipe at the belugas and drag them onto the ice to eat them. They are able to capture large individuals in this way; in one documented incident, a bear weighing between 150 and 180 kg was able to capture an animal that weighed 935 kg.","Beluga whale\n\nKiller whales are able to capture both young and adult belugas. They live in all the seas of the world and share the same habitat as belugas in the sub-Arctic region. Attacks on belugas by killer whales have been reported in the waters of Greenland, Russia, Canada, and Alaska. A number of killings have been recorded in Cook Inlet, and experts are concerned the predation by killer whales will impede the recovery of this subpopulation, which has already been badly depleted by hunting. The killer whales arrive at the beginning of August, but the belugas are occasionally able to hear their presence and evade them. The groups near to or under the sea ice have a degree of protection, as the killer whale's large dorsal fin, up to 2 m in length, impedes their movement under the ice and does not allow them to get sufficiently close to the breathing holes in the ice.","Beluga whale\n\nContamination","Beluga whale\n\nThe beluga is considered an excellent sentinel species (indicator of environment health and changes), because it is long-lived, at the top of the food web, bears large amounts of fat and blubber, relatively well-studied for a cetacean, and still somewhat common.","Beluga whale\n\nHuman pollution can be a threat to belugas' health when they congregate in river estuaries. Chemical substances such as DDT and heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium have been found in individuals of the Saint Lawrence River population. Local beluga carcasses contain so many contaminants, they are treated as toxic waste. Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls between 240 and 800 ppm have been found in belugas' brains, liver and muscles, with the highest levels found in males. These levels are significantly greater than those found in Arctic populations. These substances have a proven adverse effect on these cetaceans, as they cause cancers, reproductive diseases, and the deterioration of the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to pneumonias, ulcers, cysts, tumours, and bacterial infections. Although the populations that inhabit the river estuaries run the greatest risk of contamination, high levels of zinc, cadmium, mercury, and selenium have also been found in the muscles, livers, and kidneys of animals that live in the open sea.","Beluga whale\n\nFrom a sample of 129 beluga adults from the Saint Lawrence River examined between 1983 and 1999, a total of 27% had suffered cancer. This is a higher percentage than that documented for other populations of this species and is much higher than for other cetaceans and for the majority of terrestrial mammals; in fact, the rate is only comparable to the levels found in humans and some domesticated animals. For example, the rate of intestinal cancer in the sample is much higher than for humans. This condition is thought to be directly related to environmental contamination, in this case by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and coincides with the high incidence of this disease in humans residing in the area. The prevalence of tumours suggests the contaminants identified in the animals that inhabit the estuary are having a direct carcinogenic effect or they are at least causing an immunological deterioration that is reducing the inhabitants' resistance to the disease.","Beluga whale\n\nIndirect human disturbance may also be a threat. While some populations tolerate small boats, most actively try to avoid ships. Whale-watching has become a booming activity in the St. Lawrence and Churchill River areas, and acoustic contamination from this activity appears to have an effect on belugas. For example, a correlation appears to exist between the passage of belugas across the mouth of the Saguenay River, which has decreased by 60%, and the increase in the use of recreational motorboats in the area. A dramatic decrease has also been recorded in the number of calls between animals (decreasing from 3.4 to 10.5 calls/min to 0 or","Beluga whale\n\nPapillomaviruses have been found in the stomachs of belugas in the Saint Lawrence River. Animals in this location have also been recorded as suffering infections caused by herpesviruses and in certain cases to be suffering from encephalitis caused by the protozoan Sarcocystis. Cases have been recorded of ciliate protozoa colonising the spiracle of certain individuals, but they not thought to be pathogens or at least they are not very harmful.","Beluga whale\n\nThe bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, which probably comes from eating infected fish, poses a threat to belugas kept in captivity, causing anorexia and dermal plaques and lesions that can lead to septicemia. This condition can cause death if it is not diagnosed and treated in time with antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin.","Beluga whale\n\nA study of infections caused by parasitic worms in a number of individuals of both sexes found the presence of larvae from a species from the Contracaecum genus in their stomachs and intestines, Anisakis simplex in their stomachs, Pharurus pallasii in their ear canals, Hadwenius seymouri in their intestines, and Leucasiella arctica in their rectums.","Beluga whale\n\nRelationship with humans","Beluga whale\n\nCaptivity","Beluga whale\n\nBelugas were among the first whale species to be kept in captivity. The first beluga was shown at Barnum's Museum in New York City in 1861. For most of the 20th century, Canada was the predominant source for belugas destined for exhibition. Until the early 1960s, they were taken from the St. Lawrence River estuary (famously captured in the film documentary Pour la suite du monde) and from 1967 from the Churchill River estuary. This continued until 1992, when the practice was banned. Since Canada ceased to be the supplier of these animals, Russia has become the largest provider. Individuals are caught in the Amur River delta and the far eastern seas of the country, and then are either transported domestically to aquaria in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi, or exported to foreign nations, including Canada.","Beluga whale\n\nToday, it remains one of the few whale species kept at aquaria and marine parks across North America, Europe, and Asia. As of 2006, 30 belugas were in Canada and 28 in the United States, and 42 deaths in captivity had been reported up to that time. A single specimen can reportedly fetch up to US$100,000 on the market. The beluga's popularity with visitors reflects its attractive colour and its range of facial expressions. The latter is possible because while most cetacean \"smiles\" are fixed, the extra movement afforded by the beluga's unfused cervical vertebrae allows a greater range of apparent expression.","Beluga whale\n\nTo provide some enrichment while in captivity, aquaria train belugas to perform behaviors for the public and for medical exams, such as blood draws and ultrasound, provide toys, and allow the public to play recorded or live music.","Beluga whale\n\nMost belugas found in aquaria are caught in the wild, as captive-breeding programs have not had much success so far. For example, despite best efforts, as of 2010, only two male whales had been successfully used as stud animals in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums beluga population, Nanuq at SeaWorld San Diego and Naluark at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, USA. Nanuq has fathered 10 calves, five of which survived birth. Naluark at Shedd Aquarium has fathered four living offspring. Naluark has been relocated to Mystic Aquarium in the hope that he will breed with two of their females. The first beluga calf born in captivity in Europe was born in L'Oceanogràfic marine park in Valencia, Spain, in November 2006. However, the calf died 25 days later after suffering metabolic complications, infections, and not being able to feed properly.","Beluga whale\n\nBetween 1960 and 1992, the United States Navy carried out a program that included the study of marine mammals' abilities with echolocation, with the objective of improving the detection of underwater objects. The program started with dolphins, but a large number of belugas were also used from 1975 on. The program included training these mammals to carry equipment and material to divers working under water, the location of lost objects, surveillance of ships and submarines, and underwater monitoring using cameras held in their mouths. A similar program was implemented by the Russian Navy during the Cold War, in which belugas were also trained for antimining operations in Arctic waters.","Beluga whale\n\nIn 2009 during a free-diving competition in a tank of icy water in Harbin, China, a captive beluga brought a cramp-paralyzed diver from the bottom of the pool up to the surface by holding her foot in its mouth, saving the diver's life.","Beluga whale\n\nWhale watching","Beluga whale\n\nWhale watching has become an important activity in the recovery of the economies of towns in Hudson Bay near to the Saint Lawrence and Churchill Rivers. The best time to see belugas is during the summer, when they meet in large numbers in the estuaries of the rivers and in their summer habitats. The animals are easily seen due to their high numbers and their curiosity regarding the presence of humans.","Beluga whale\n\nHowever, the boats' presence poses a threat to the animals, as it distracts them from important activities such as feeding, social interaction and reproduction. In addition, the noise produced by the motors has an adverse effect on their auditory function and reduces their ability to detect their prey, communicate, and navigate. To protect these marine animals during whale-watching activities, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published a “Guide for observing marine life”. The guide recommends boats carrying the whale watchers keep their distance from the cetaceans and it expressly prohibits chasing, harassing, obstructing, touching, or feeding them.","Beluga whale\n\nSome regular migrations do occur into Russian EEZ of Sea of Japan such as to Rudnaya Bay, where diving with wild belugas became a less-known but popular attraction.","Beluga whale\n\nHuman speech","Beluga whale\n\nMale belugas in captivity can mimic the pattern of human speech, several octaves lower than typical whale calls. It is not the first time a beluga has been known to sound human, and they often shout like children, in the wild. One captive beluga, after overhearing divers using an underwater communication system, caused one of the divers to surface by imitating their order to get out of the water. Subsequent recordings confirmed that the beluga had become skilled at imitating the patterns and frequency of human speech. After several years, this beluga ceased making these sounds.","Beluga whale\n\nConservation status","Beluga whale\n\nAs of 2008, the beluga is listed as \"near threatened\" by the IUCN due to uncertainty about threats to their numbers and the number of belugas over parts of its range (especially the Russian Arctic), and the expectation that if current conservation efforts cease, especially hunting management, the beluga population is likely to qualify for \"threatened\" status within five years. Prior to 2008, the beluga was listed as \"vulnerable\", a higher level of concern. IUCN cited the stability of the largest subpopulations and improved census methods that indicate a larger population than previously estimated.","Beluga whale\n\nSubpopulations are subject to differing levels of threat and warrant individual assessment. The nonmigratory Cook Inlet subpopulation is listed as \"Critically Endangered\" by the IUCN as of 2006 and is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act as of October 2008. \nThis was due to overharvesting of belugas prior to 1998. The population has failed to recover, though the reported harvest has been small. The most recently published estimate as of May 2008 was 302 (CV=0.16) in 2006. In addition, the National Marine Fisheries Service indicated the 2007 aerial survey's point estimate was 375.","Beluga whale\n\nLegal protection","Beluga whale\n\nThe US Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 outlawing the persecution and hunting of all marine mammals within US coastal waters. The act has been amended a number of times to permit subsistence hunting by native peoples, temporary capture of restricted numbers for research, education and public display, and to decriminalise the accidental capture of individuals during fishing operations. The act also states that all whales in US territorial waters are under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of NOAA.","Beluga whale\n\nTo prevent hunting, belugas are protected under the 1986 International Moratorium on Commercial Whaling; however, hunting of small numbers of belugas is still allowed. Since it is very difficult to know the exact population of belugas because their habitats include inland waters away from the ocean, they easily come in contact with oil and gas development centres. To prevent whales from coming in contact with industrial waste, the Alaskan and Canadian governments are relocating sites where whales and waste come in contact.","Beluga whale\n\nThe beluga whale is listed on appendix II\"[http://www.cms.int/documents/appendix/Appendices_COP9_E.pdf Appendix II]\" of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). As amended by the Conference of the Parties in 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008. Effective: 5 March 2009. of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is listed on Appendix II as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements. All toothed whales are protected under the CITES that was signed in 1973 to regulate the commercial exploitation of certain species.","Beluga whale\n\nThe isolated beluga population in the Saint Lawrence River has been legally protected since 1983. In 1988 Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada, a governmental agency that supervises national parks, implemented the Saint Lawrence Action Plan with the aim of reducing industrial contamination by 90% by 1993; as of 1992, the emissions had been reduced by 59%.","Beluga whale\n\nCultural references","Beluga whale\n\nPour la suite du monde, is a Canadian documentary film released in 1963 about traditional beluga hunting carried out by the inhabitants of L'Isle-aux-Coudres on the Saint Lawrence River.","Beluga whale\n\nWhite Whale Records was an American record company that operated between 1965 and 1971 in Los Angeles, California, it was the record company of The Turtles. The company's logo was the silhouette of a beluga with the words \"White Whale\" above it.","Beluga whale\n\nThe children's singer Raffi released an album called Baby Beluga in 1980. The album starts with the sound of whales communicating, and includes songs representing the ocean and whales playing. The song \"Baby Beluga\" was composed after Raffi saw a recently born beluga calf in Vancouver Aquarium.","Beluga whale\n\nYamaha's Beluga motorcycle (Riva 80/CV80) which had an 80-cc engine was produced from 1981 until 1987 and sold throughout the world, particularly in Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Japan.","Beluga whale\n\nThe Beluga class submarine (project 1710 Mackerel) was an experimental Russian submarine whose prototype operated until 1997, with the whole project being discontinued in the mid-2000s.","Beluga whale\n\nThe fuselage design of the Airbus Beluga, one of the world's biggest cargo planes, is very similar to that of a beluga; it was originally called the Super Transporter, but the nickname Beluga became more popular and was then officially adopted.","Beluga whale\n\nThe German company SkySails GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of the Beluga Shipping group based in Hamburg, tested a new propulsion system for ships that involved a large wing similar to that used in paragliding and which has demonstrated a reduction in fuel use between 10% and 35%. The programme to prove the efficiency of the system was called Project Beluga, as it involved the ship MS Beluga Skysails. The company's insignia, a beluga's tailfin, was printed on the giant wing, which had a surface area of 160 m2.","Beluga whale\n\nA 2002 episode of science fiction series Dark Angel titled \"Dawg Day Afternoon\" claims that beluga whales are the result of a hybridisation between a humpback whale and a dolphin.","Beluga whale\n\nIn the Disney/Pixar film Finding Dory, the character Bailey is a beluga whale."],"string":"[\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), or cachalot, is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of genus Physeter, and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nMature males average 16 m in length but some may reach , with the head representing up to one-third of the animal's length. Plunging to 2250 m, it is the second deepest diving mammal, following only the Cuvier's beaked whale. The sperm whale's clicking vocalization, a form of echolocation and communication, may be as loud as 230 decibels (re 1 µPa at 1 m) underwater. It has the largest brain of any animal on Earth, more than five times heavier than a human's. Sperm whales can live for more than 60 years.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale can be found anywhere in the open ocean. Females and young males live together in groups while mature males live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature sperm whale has few natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of orcas.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nFrom the early eighteenth century through the late 20th, the species was a prime target of whalers. The head of the whale contains a liquid wax called spermaceti, from which the whale derives its name. Spermaceti was used in lubricants, oil lamps, and candles. Ambergris, a waste product from its digestive system, is still used as a fixative in perfumes. Occasionally the sperm whale's great size allowed it to defend itself effectively against whalers. The species is now protected by a whaling moratorium, and is currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nTaxonomy and naming\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nEtymology\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe name sperm whale is a clip of spermaceti whale. Spermaceti, originally mistakenly identified as the whales' semen, is the semi-liquid, waxy substance found within the whale's head (see below). \\nThe sperm whale is also known as the \\\"cachalot\\\", which is thought to derive from the archaic French for \\\"tooth\\\" or \\\"big teeth\\\", as preserved for example in ' in the Gascon dialect (a word of either Romance or Basque origin). The etymological dictionary of Corominas says the origin is uncertain, but it suggests that it comes from the Vulgar Latin ', plural of ', \\\"sword hilt\\\". The word cachalot came to English via French from Spanish or Portuguese ', perhaps from Galician/Portuguese ', \\\"big head\\\". The term is retained in the Russian word for the animal, ('), as well as in many other languages.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe scientific genus name Physeter comes from Greek ' (), meaning \\\"blowpipe, blowhole (of a whale)\\\", or – as a pars pro toto – \\\"whale\\\".\\nThe specific name macrocephalus is Latinized from the Greek ' (, meaning \\\"big-headed\\\"), from ' (, \\\"large\\\") + ' (, \\\"head\\\").\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIts synonymous specific name catodon means \\\"down-tooth\\\", from the Greek elements ' (\\\"below\\\") and ' (\\\"tooth\\\"); so named because it has visible teeth only in its lower jaw. (See: Teeth)\\nAnother synonym australasianus (\\\"Australasian\\\") was applied to sperm whales in the southern hemisphere.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nTaxonomy\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale belongs to the order Cetartiodactyla, the order containing all cetaceans and even-toed ungulates. It is a member of the unranked clade Cetacea, with all the whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and further classified into Odontoceti, containing all the toothed whales and dolphins. It is the sole extant species of its genus, Physeter, in the family Physeteridae. Two species of the related extant genus Kogia, the pygmy sperm whale Kogia breviceps and the dwarf sperm whale K. simus, are placed either in this family or in the family Kogiidae. In some taxonomic schemes the families Kogiidae and Physeteridae are combined as the superfamily Physeteroidea (see the separate entry on the sperm whale family).\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale is one of the species originally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in his eighteenth century work, Systema Naturae. He recognised four species in the genus Physeter. Experts soon realised that just one such species exists, although there has been debate about whether this should be named P. catodon or P. macrocephalus, two of the names used by Linnaeus. Both names are still used, although most recent authors now accept macrocephalus as the valid name, limiting catodons status to a lesser synonym.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nBiology\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nExternal appearance\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale is the largest toothed whale, with adult males measuring up to long and weighing up to 57000 kg. By contrast, the second largest toothed whale, Baird's Beaked Whale measures and weighs up to 15 ST. The Nantucket Whaling Museum has a -long jawbone. The museum claims that this individual was 80 ft long; the whale that sank the Essex (one of the incidents behind Moby-Dick) was claimed to be 85 ft. A similar size is reported from a jawbone from the British Natural History Museum. A 67-foot specimen is reported from a Soviet whaling fleet near the Kurile Islands in 1950. There is disagreement on the claims of adult males approaching or exceeding 80 ft in length.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nExtensive whaling may have decreased their size, as males were highly sought, primarily after World War II. Today, males do not usually exceed in length or 51000 kg in weight. Another view holds that exploitation by overwhaling had virtually no effect on the size of the bull sperm whales, and their size may have actually increased in current times on the basis of density dependent effects. Old males taken at Solander Islands were recorded to be extremely large and unusually rich in blubbers.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIt is among the most sexually dimorphic of all cetaceans. At birth both sexes are about the same size, but mature males are typically 30% to 50% longer and three times as massive as females.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale's unique body is unlikely to be confused with any other species. The sperm whale's distinctive shape comes from its very large, block-shaped head, which can be one-quarter to one-third of the animal's length. The S-shaped blowhole is located very close to the front of the head and shifted to the whale's left. This gives rise to a distinctive bushy, forward-angled spray.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale's flukes (tail lobes) are triangular and very thick. Proportionally, they are larger than that of any other cetacean, and are very flexible. The whale lifts its flukes high out of the water as it begins a feeding dive. It has a series of ridges on the back's caudal third instead of a dorsal fin. The largest ridge was called the 'hump' by whalers, and can be mistaken for a dorsal fin because of its shape and size.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIn contrast to the smooth skin of most large whales, its back skin is usually wrinkly and has been likened to a prune by whale-watching enthusiasts. Albinos have been reported.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSkeleton\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe ribs are bound to the spine by flexible cartilage, which allows the ribcage to collapse rather than snap under high pressure. While sperm whales are well adapted to diving, repeated dives to great depths have long-term effects. Bones show the same pitting that signals decompression sickness in humans. Older skeletons showed the most extensive pitting, whereas calves showed no damage. This damage may indicate that sperm whales are susceptible to decompression sickness, and sudden surfacing could be lethal to them.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nLike all cetaceans, the spine of the sperm whale has reduced zygapophysial joints, of which the remnants are modified and are positioned higher on the vertebral dorsal spinous process, hugging it laterally, to prevent extensive lateral bending and facilitate more dorso-ventral bending. These evolutionary modifications make the spine more flexible but weaker than the spines of terrestrial vertebrates.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAs with other toothed whales, the skull of the sperm whale is asymmetrical so as to aid echolocation. Sound waves that strike the whale from different directions will not be channeled in the same way. Within the basin of the cranium, the openings of the bony narial tubes (from which the nasal passages spring) are skewed towards the left side of the skull.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nJaws and teeth\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale's lower jaw is very narrow and underslung. The sperm whale has 18 to 26 teeth on each side of its lower jaw which fit into sockets in the upper jaw. The teeth are cone-shaped and weigh up to 1 kg each. The teeth are functional, but do not appear to be necessary for capturing or eating squid, as well-fed animals have been found without teeth or even with deformed jaws. One hypothesis is that the teeth are used in aggression between males. Mature males often show scars which seem to be caused by the teeth. Rudimentary teeth are also present in the upper jaw, but these rarely emerge into the mouth. Analyzing the teeth is the preferred method for determining a whale's age. Like the age-rings in a tree, the teeth build distinct layers of cementum and dentine as they grow.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nBrain\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe brain is the largest known of any modern or extinct animal, weighing on average about , more than five times heavier than a human's, and has a volume of about 8,000 cm3. Although larger brains generally correlate with higher intelligence, it is not the only factor. Elephants and dolphins also have larger brains than humans.Whitehead, p. 323 The sperm whale has a lower encephalization quotient than many other whale and dolphin species, lower than that of non-human anthropoid apes, and much lower than humans'.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale's cerebrum is the largest in all mammalia, both in absolute and relative terms. The olfactory system is reduced, suggesting that the sperm whale has a poor sense of taste and smell. By contrast, the auditory system is enlarged. The pyramidal tract is poorly developed, reflecting the reduction of its limbs.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nBiological systems\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale respiratory system has adapted to cope with drastic pressure changes when diving. The flexible ribcage allows lung collapse, reducing nitrogen intake, and metabolism can decrease to conserve oxygen. Between dives, the sperm whale surfaces to breathe for about eight minutes before diving again. Odontoceti (toothed whales) breathe air at the surface through a single, S-shaped blowhole, which is extremely skewed to the left. Sperm whales spout (breathe) 3–5 times per minute at rest, increasing to 6–7 times per minute after a dive. The blow is a noisy, single stream that rises up to 2 m or more above the surface and points forward and left at a 45° angle. On average, females and juveniles blow every 12.5 seconds before dives, while large males blow every 17.5 seconds before dives. A sperm whale killed 160 km south of Durban, South Africa after a 1-hour, 50-minute dive was found with two dogfish (Scymnodon sp.), usually found at the sea floor, in its belly.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale has the longest intestinal system in the world, exceeding 300 m in larger specimens. Similar to ruminants the sperm whale has four stomachs. The first secretes no gastric juices and has very thick muscular walls to crush the food (since whales cannot chew) and resist the claw and sucker attacks of swallowed squid. The second stomach is larger and is where digestion takes place. Undigested squid beaks accumulate in the second stomach – as many as 18,000 have been found in some dissected specimens. Most squid beaks are vomited by the whale, but some occasionally make it to the hindgut. Such beaks precipitate the formation of ambergris.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIn 1959, the heart of a 22 MT male taken by whalers was measured to be 116 kg, about 0.5% of its total mass. The circulatory system has a number of specific adaptations for the aquatic environment. The diameter of the aortic arch increases as it leaves the heart. This bulbous expansion acts as a windkessel, ensuring a steady blood flow as the heart rate slows during diving. The arteries that leave the aortic arch are positioned symmetrically. There is no costocervical artery. There is no direct connection between the internal carotid artery and the vessels of the brain. Their circulatory system has adapted to dive at great depths, as much as 2250 m. Myoglobin, which stores oxygen in muscle tissue, is much more abundant than in terrestrial animals. The blood has a high density of red blood cells, which contain oxygen-carrying haemoglobin. The oxygenated blood can be directed towards only the brain and other essential organs when oxygen levels deplete. The spermaceti organ may also play a role by adjusting buoyancy (see below). The arterial retia mirabilia are extraordinarily well-developed. The complex arterial retia mirabilia of the sperm whale are more extensive and larger than those of any other cetacean.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSenses\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSpermaceti organ and melon\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAtop the whale's skull is positioned a large complex of organs filled with a liquid mixture of fats and waxes called spermaceti. The purpose of this complex is to generate powerful and focused clicking sounds, which the sperm whale uses for echolocation and communication.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe spermaceti organ is like a large barrel of spermaceti. Its surrounding wall, known as the case, is extremely tough and fibrous. The case can hold within it up to 1,900 litres of spermaceti. It is proportionately larger in males.Whitehead, p. 321 This oil is a mixture of triglycerides and wax esters. The proportion of wax esters in the spermaceti organ increases with the age of the whale: 38–51% in calves, 58–87% in adult females, and 71–94% in adult males.Perrin, p. 1164 The spermaceti at the core of the organ has a higher wax content than the outer areas. The speed of sound in spermaceti is 2,684 m/s (at 40 kHz, 36 °C), making it nearly twice as fast as in the oil in a dolphin's melon.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nBelow the spermaceti organ lies the \\\"junk\\\" which consists of compartments of spermaceti separated by cartilage. It is analogous to the melon found in other toothed whales. The structure of the junk redistributes physical stress across the skull and may have evolved to protect the head during ramming.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nRunning through the head are two air passages. The left passage runs alongside the spermaceti organ and goes directly to the blowhole, whilst the right passage runs underneath the spermaceti organ and passes air through a pair of phonic lips and into the distal sac at the very front of the nose. The distal sac is connected to the blowhole and the terminus of the left passage. When the whale is submerged, it can close the blowhole, and air that passes through the phonic lips can circulate back to the lungs. The sperm whale, unlike other odontocetes, has only one pair of phonic lips, whereas all other toothed whales have two, and it is located at the front of the nose instead of behind the melon.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAt the posterior end of this spermaceti complex is the frontal sac, which covers the concave surface of the cranium. The posterior wall of the frontal sac is covered with fluid–filled knobs, which are about 4–13 mm in diameter and separated by narrow grooves. The anterior wall is smooth. The knobbly surface reflects sound waves that come through the spermaceti organ from the phonic lips. The grooves between the knobs trap a film of air that is consistent whatever the orientation or depth of the whale, making it an excellent sound mirror.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe spermaceti organs may also help adjust the whale's buoyancy. It is hypothesized that before the whale dives, cold water enters the organ, and it is likely that the blood vessels constrict, reducing blood flow, and, hence, temperature. The wax therefore solidifies and reduces in volume. The increase in specific density generates a down force of about 392 N and allows the whale to dive with less effort. During the hunt, oxygen consumption, together with blood vessel dilation, produces heat and melts the spermaceti, increasing its buoyancy and enabling easy surfacing. However, more recent work has found many problems with this theory including the lack of anatomical structures for the actual heat exchange.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nHerman Melville's fictional story Moby Dick suggests that the \\\"case\\\" containing the spermaceti serves as a battering ram for use in fights between males. Apart from a few famous instances such as the well-documented sinking of the ships Essex and Ann Alexander by attackers estimated to weigh only one-fifth as much as the ships, this hypothesis is not well supported in current scientific literature.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nFile:Sperm whale phonic lips (NASA).jpg|The phonic lips.\\nFile:Sperm whale exposed frontal sac.jpg|The frontal sac, exposed. Its surface is covered with fluid-filled knobs.\\nFile:Sperm whale frontal sac surface close-up.jpg|A piece of the posterior wall of the frontal sac. The grooves between the knobs trap a consistent film of air, making it an excellent sound mirror.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nEyes and vision\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale's eye does not differ greatly from those of other toothed whales except in size. It is the largest among the toothed whales, weighing about 170 g. It is overall ellipsoid in shape, compressed along the visual axis, measuring about 7×7×3 cm. The cornea is elliptical and the lens is spherical. The sclera is very hard and thick, roughly 1 cm anteriorly and 3 cm posteriorly. There are no ciliary muscles. The choroid is very thick and contains a fibrous tapetum lucidum. Like other toothed whales, the sperm whale can retract and protrude its eyes thanks to a 2-cm-thick retractor muscle attached around the eye at the equator.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAccording to Fristrup and Harbison (2002), \\nsperm whales eyes afford good vision and sensitivity to light. They conjectured that sperm whales use vision to hunt squid, either by detecting silhouettes from below or by detecting bioluminescence. If sperm whales detect silhouettes, Fristrup and Harbison suggested that they hunt upside down, allowing them to use the forward parts of the ventral visual fields for binocular vision.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSleeping\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nFor some time researchers have been aware that pods of sperm whales may sleep for short periods, assuming a vertical position with their heads just below or at the surface. A 2008 study published in Current Biology recorded evidence that whales may sleep with both sides of the brain. It appears that some whales may fall into a deep sleep for about 7 percent of the time, most often between 6 p.m. and midnight.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nGenetics\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales have 21 pairs of chromosomes (2n=42). The genome of live whales can be examined by recovering shed skin.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nVocalization complex\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nMechanism\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nWhen echolocating, the sperm whale emits a directionally focused beam of broadband clicks. Clicks are generated by forcing air through a pair of phonic lips (also known as \\\"monkey lips\\\" or \\\"museau de singe\\\") at the front end of the nose, just below the blowhole. The sound then travels backwards along the length of the nose through the spermaceti organ. Most of the sound energy is then reflected off the frontal sac at the cranium and into the melon, whose lens-like structure focuses it. Some of the sound will reflect back into the spermaceti organ and back towards the front of the whale's nose, where it will be reflected through the spermaceti organ a third time. This back and forth reflection which happens on the scale of a few milliseconds creates a multi-pulse click structure. This multi-pulse click structure allows researchers to measure the whale's spermaceti organ using only the sound of its clicks. Because the interval between pulses of a sperm whale's click is related to the length of the sound producing organ, an individual whale's click is unique to that individual.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nHowever, if the whale matures and the size of the spermaceti organ increases, the tone of the whale's click will also change. The lower jaw is the primary reception path for the echoes. A continuous fat-filled canal transmits received sounds to the inner ear.Whitlow, W. \\\"Echolocation\\\", pp. 359–367 in Perrin\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe source of the air forced through the phonic lips is the right nasal passage. While the left nasal passage opens to the blow hole, the right nasal passage has evolved to supply air to the phonic lips. It is thought that the nostrils of the land-based ancestor of the sperm whale migrated through evolution to their current functions, the left nostril becoming the blowhole and the right nostril becoming the phonic lips.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAir that passes through the phonic lips passes into the distal sac, then back down through the left nasal passage. This recycling of air allows the whale to continuously generate clicks for as long as it is submerged.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nTypes of vocalization\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nA creak is a rapid series of high-frequency clicks that sounds somewhat like a creaky door hinge. It is typically used when homing in on prey.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nA coda is a short pattern of 3 to 20 clicks that is used in social situations. They were once thought to be a way by which individuals identified themselves, but individuals have been observed producing multiple codas, and the same codas are used by multiple individuals.Whitehead, p. 141 However, each click contains a physical signature which suggests that clicks can be used to identify individuals. Geographically separate pods exhibit distinct dialects.Whitehead, p. 131 Large males are generally solitary and rarely produce codas. In breeding grounds, codas are almost entirely produced by adult females. Despite evidence that sperm whales share similar codas, it is still unknown whether sperm whales possess individually specific coda repertoires or whether individuals make codas at different rates.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSlow clicks are heard only in the presence of males (it is not certain whether females occasionally make them). Males make a lot of slow clicks in breeding grounds (74% of the time), both near the surface and at depth, which suggests they are primarily mating signals. Outside breeding grounds, slow clicks are rarely heard, and usually near the surface.Whitehead, p. 144\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nEcology\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nDistribution\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales are among the most cosmopolitan species. They prefer ice-free waters over 1000 m deep. Although both sexes range through temperate and tropical oceans and seas, only adult males populate higher latitudes.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThey are relatively abundant from the poles to the equator and are found in all the oceans. They inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, but not the Black Sea, while their presence in the Red Sea is uncertain. The shallow entrances to both the Black Sea and the Red Sea may account for their absence. The Black Sea's lower layers are also anoxic and contain high concentrations of sulphur compounds such as hydrogen sulphide.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nPopulations are denser close to continental shelves and canyons. Sperm whales are usually found in deep, off-shore waters, but may be seen closer to shore, in areas where the continental shelf is small and drops quickly to depths of 310 to. Coastal areas with significant sperm whale populations include the Azores and Dominica. In Asian waters, whales are also observed regularly in coastal waters in places such as Commander and Kuril Islands, Shiretoko Peninsula, off Kinkasan, vicinity to Tokyo Bay and Boso Peninsula to Izu and Izu Islands, Volcano Islands, Yakushima and Tokara Islands to Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Northern Mariana Islands, and so forth. Historical catch records suggest there could have been smaller aggression grounds in the Sea of Japan as well.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nGrown males are known to enter surprisingly shallow bays to rest (whales will be in state of rest during these occasions). There are unique, coastal groups reported from various areas among the globe such as Scotland, Shiretoko Peninsula, off Kaikoura, in Davao Gulf. Such costal groups were more abundant in pre-whaling days.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nDiet\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales usually dive between 300 to, and sometimes 1 to, in search of food. Such dives can last more than an hour. They feed on several species, notably the giant squid, but also the colossal squid, octopuses, and fish like demersal rays, but their diet is mainly medium-sized squid. Some prey may be taken accidentally while eating other items. Most of what is known about deep sea squid has been learned from specimens in captured sperm whale stomachs, although more recent studies analysed feces. One study, carried out around the Galápagos, found that squid from the genera Histioteuthis (62%), Ancistrocheirus (16%), and Octopoteuthis (7%) weighing between 12 and were the most commonly taken. Battles between sperm whales and giant squid or colossal squid have never been observed by humans; however, white scars are believed to be caused by the large squid. One study published in 2010 collected evidence that suggests that female sperm whales may collaborate when hunting Humboldt squid. Tagging studies have shown that sperm whales hunt upside down at the bottom of their deep dives. It is suggested that the whales can see the squid silhouetted above them against the dim surface light.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAn older study, examining whales captured by the New Zealand whaling fleet in the Cook Strait region, found a 1.69:1 ratio of squid to fish by weight. Sperm whales sometimes take sablefish and toothfish from long lines. Long-line fishing operations in the Gulf of Alaska complain that sperm whales take advantage of their fishing operations to eat desirable species straight off the line, sparing the whales the need to hunt. However, the amount of fish taken is very little compared to what the sperm whale needs per day. Video footage has been captured of a large male sperm whale \\\"bouncing\\\" a long line, to gain the fish. Sperm whales are believed to prey on the megamouth shark, a rare and large deep-sea species discovered in the 1970s. In one case, three sperm whales were observed attacking or playing with a megamouth.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sharp beak of a consumed squid lodged in the whale's intestine may lead to the production of ambergris, analogous to the production of pearls. The irritation of the intestines caused by squid beaks stimulates the secretion of this lubricant-like substance. Sperm whales are prodigious feeders and eat around 3% of their body weight per day. The total annual consumption of prey by sperm whales worldwide is estimated to be about 91 e6t. In comparison, human consumption of seafood is estimated to be 115 e6t.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales hunt through echolocation. Their clicks are among the most powerful sounds in the animal kingdom (see above). It has been hypothesised that it can stun prey with its clicks. Experimental studies attempting to duplicate this effect have been unable to replicate the supposed injuries, casting doubt on this idea.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIt has been stated that sperm whales, as well as other large cetaceans, help fertilise the surface of the ocean by consuming nutrients in the depths and transporting those nutrients to the oceans' surface when they defecate, an effect known as the whale pump. This fertilises phytoplankton and other plants on the surface of the ocean and contributes to ocean productivity and the drawdown of atmospheric carbon.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nLife cycle\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales can live 70 years or more. They are a prime example of a species that has been K-selected, meaning their reproductive strategy is associated with stable environmental conditions and comprises a low birth rate, significant parental aid to offspring, slow maturation, and high longevity.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nHow they choose mates has not been definitively determined. Males will fight with each other over females, and males will mate with multiple females, making them polygynous, but they do not dominate the group like a harem.Whitehead, p. 276 Males do not provide paternal care to their offspring.Whitehead, p. 343\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nFemales become fertile at around 9 years of age.Whitehead, p. 122 The oldest pregnant female ever recorded was 41 years old.Whitehead, p. 123 Gestation requires 14 to 16 months, producing a single calf. Sexually mature females give birth once every 4 to 20 years (pregnancy rates were higher during the whaling era). Birth is a social event, as the mother and calf need others to protect them from predators. The other adults may jostle and bite the newborn in its first hours.Whitehead, p. 185\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nLactation proceeds for 19 to 42 months, but calves, rarely, may suckle up to 13 years. Like other whales, the sperm whale's milk has a higher fat content than that of terrestrial mammals: about 36%, compared to 4% in cow milk. This gives it a consistency similar to cottage cheese, which prevents it from dissolving in the water before the calf can eat it. It has an energy content of roughly 3,840 kcal/kg, compared to just 640 kcal/kg in cow milk. Calves may be allowed to suckle from females other than their mothers.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nMales become sexually mature at 18 years. Upon reaching sexual maturity, males move to higher latitudes, where the water is colder and feeding is more productive. Females remain at lower latitudes. Males reach their full size at about age 50.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSocial behaviour\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nRelations within the species\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAdult males who are not breeding live solitary lives, whereas females and juvenile males live together in groups. The main driving force for the sexual segregation of adult sperm whales is scramble competition for mesopelagic squid.Whitehead, p. 347 Females and their young remain in groups, while mature males leave their \\\"natal unit\\\" somewhere between 4 and 21 years of age. Mature males sometimes form loose bachelor groups with other males of similar age and size. As males grow older, they typically live solitary lives. Mature males have beached themselves together, suggesting a degree of cooperation which is not yet fully understood. The whales rarely, if ever, leave their group.Whitehead, p. 232\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nA social unit is a group of sperm whales who live and travel together over a period of years. Individuals rarely, if ever, join or leave a social unit. There is a huge variance in the size of social units. They are most commonly between six and nine individuals in size but can have more than twenty.Whitehead, p. 233 Unlike orcas, sperm whales within a social unit show no significant tendency to associate with their genetic relatives.Whitehead, p. 235 Females and calves spend about three quarters of their time foraging and a quarter of their time socializing. Socializing usually takes place in the afternoon.Whitehead, p. 204\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nWhen sperm whales socialize, they emit complex patterns of clicks called codas. They will spend much of the time rubbing against each other. Tracking of diving whales suggests that groups engage in herding of prey, similar to bait balls created by other species, though the research needs to be confirmed by tracking the prey.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nRelations with other species\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe most common natural predator of sperm whales is the orca, but pilot whales and false killer whales sometimes harass them. Orcas prey on target groups of females with young, usually making an effort to extract and kill a calf. The adults will protect their calves or an injured adult by encircling them. They may face inwards with their tails out (the 'marguerite formation', named after the flower). The heavy and powerful tail of an adult whale can deliver lethal blows. Alternatively, they may face outwards (the 'heads-out formation'). Other than sperm whales, southern right whales had been observed to perform similar formations.Ponnampalam S.L., 2016, [https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B682wgTUA8QiWHFYYmhBdWJWWm8/view No Danger in Sight? An Observation of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Marguerite Formation off Muscat, Sultanate of Oman] However, formations in non dangerous situations have been recorded as well. Early whalers exploited this behaviour, attracting a whole unit by injuring one of its members. If the orca pod is extremely large, its members may sometimes be able to kill adult female sperm whales. Solitary mature males are known to interfere and come to the aid of vulnerable groups nearby.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIndividual large mature male sperm whales have no non-human predators, and are believed to be too large, powerful and aggressive to be threatened by orcas. In addition, male sperm whales have been observed to attack and intimidate orca pods. An incident was filmed from a long-line trawler: an orca pod was systematically taking fish caught on the trawler's long lines (as the lines were being pulled into the ship) when a male sperm whale appeared to repeatedly charge the orca pod in an attempt to drive them away; it was speculated by the film crew that the sperm whale was attempting to access the same fish. The orcas employed a tail outward and tail slapping defensive position against the bull sperm whale similar to that used by female sperm whales against attacking orcas.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales are not known for forging bonds with other species, but it was observed that a bottlenose dolphin with spinal deformity had been accepted into a pod of sperm whales. They are known to swim alongside other cetaceans such as humpback, fin, minke, pilot, and orca whales on occasion.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nEvolutionary history\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nFossil record\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAlthough the fossil record is poor, several extinct genera have been assigned to the clade Physeteroidea, which includes the last common ancestor of the modern sperm whale, pygmy sperm whales, dwarf sperm whales, and extinct physeteroids. These fossils include Ferecetotherium, Idiorophus, Diaphorocetus, Aulophyseter, Orycterocetus, Scaldicetus, Placoziphius, Zygophyseter and Acrophyseter. Ferecetotherium, found in Azerbaijan and dated to the late Oligocene (about ), is the most primitive fossil that has been found which possesses sperm whale-specific features such as an asymmetric rostrum (\\\"beak\\\" or \\\"snout\\\"). Most sperm whale fossils date from the Miocene period, . Diaphorocetus, from Argentina, has been dated to the early Miocene. Fossil sperm whales from the Middle Miocene include Aulophyseter, Idiorophus and Orycterocetus, all of which were found on the west coast of the United States, and Scaldicetus, found in Europe and Japan. Orycterocetus fossils have also been found in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to the west coast of the United States. Placoziphius, found in Europe, and Acrophyseter, from Peru, are dated to the late Miocene.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nFossil sperm whales differ from modern sperm whales in tooth count and the shape of the face and jaws. For example, Scaldicetus had a tapered rostrum. Genera from the Oligocene and early and middle Miocene, with the possible exception of Aulophyseter, had teeth in their upper jaws. Acrophyseter, from the late Miocene, also had teeth in both the upper and lower jaws as well as a short rostrum and an upward curving mandible (lower jaw). These anatomical differences suggest that fossil species may not have necessarily been deep-sea squid eaters like the modern sperm whale, but that some genera mainly ate fish. Zygophyseter, dated from the middle to late Miocene and found in southern Italy, had teeth in both jaws and appears to have been adapted to feed on large prey, rather like the modern Orca (Killer Whale). Other fossil sperm whales with adaptations similar to this are collectively known as killer sperm whales.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nPhylogeny\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe traditional view has been that Mysticeti (baleen whales) and Odontoceti (toothed whales) arose from more primitive whales early in the Oligocene period, and that the super-family Physeteroidea, which contains the sperm whale, dwarf sperm whale, and pygmy sperm whale, diverged from other toothed whales soon after that, over .Mchedlidze, G. \\\"Sperm whales, evolution\\\", pp. 1172–1174 in Perrin From 1993 to 1996, molecular phylogenetics analyses by Milinkovitch and colleagues, based on comparing the genes of various modern whales, suggested that the sperm whales are more closely related to the baleen whales than they are to other toothed whales, which would have meant that Odontoceti were not monophyletic; in other words, it did not consist of a single ancestral toothed whale species and all its descendants. However, more recent studies, based on various combinations of comparative anatomy and molecular phylogenetics, criticised Milinkovitch's analysis on technical grounds and reaffirmed that the Odontoceti are monophyletic.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThese analyses also confirm that there was a rapid evolutionary radiation (diversification) of the Physeteroidea in the Miocene period. The Kogiidae (dwarf and pygmy sperm whales) diverged from the Physeteridae (true sperm whales) at least .\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nRelationship with humans\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whaling\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSpermaceti, obtained primarily from the spermaceti organ, and sperm oil, obtained primarily from the blubber in the body, were much sought after by eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century whalers. These substances found a variety of commercial applications, such as candles, soap, cosmetics, machine oil, other specialised lubricants, lamp oil, pencils, crayons, leather waterproofing, rust-proofing materials and many pharmaceutical compounds. Ambergris, a solid, waxy, flammable substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales, was also sought as a fixative in perfumery.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nPrior to the early eighteenth century, hunting was mostly by indigenous Indonesians. Legend has it that sometime in the early eighteenth century, around 1712, Captain Christopher Hussey, while cruising for right whales near shore, was blown offshore by a northerly wind, where he encountered a sperm whale pod and killed one. Although the story may not be true, sperm whales were indeed soon exploited by American whalers. Judge Paul Dudley, in his Essay upon the Natural History of Whales (1725), states that one Atkins, ten or twelve years in the trade, was among the first to catch sperm whales sometime around 1720 off the New England coast.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThere were only a few recorded catches during the first few decades (1709–1730s) of offshore sperm whaling. Instead, sloops concentrated on Nantucket Shoals, where they would have taken right whales or went to the Davis Strait region to catch bowhead whales. By the early 1740s, with the advent of spermaceti candles (before 1743), American vessels began to focus on sperm whales. The diary of Benjamin Bangs (1721–1769) shows that, along with the bumpkin sloop he sailed, he found three other sloops flensing sperm whales off the coast of North Carolina in late May 1743. On returning to Nantucket in the summer 1744 on a subsequent voyage, he noted that \\\"45 spermacetes are brought in here this day,\\\" another indication that American sperm whaling was in full swing.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nAmerican sperm whaling soon spread from the east coast of the American colonies to the Gulf Stream, the Grand Banks, West Africa (1763), the Azores (1765), and the South Atlantic (1770s). From 1770 to 1775 Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island ports produced 45,000 barrels of sperm oil annually, compared to 8,500 of whale oil. In the same decade, the British began sperm whaling, employing American ships and personnel. By the following decade, the French had entered the trade, also employing American expertise. Sperm whaling increased until the mid-nineteenth century. Spermaceti oil was important in public lighting (for example, in lighthouses, where it was used in the United States until 1862, when it was replaced by lard oil, in turn replaced by petroleum) and for lubricating the machines (such as those used in cotton mills) of the Industrial Revolution. Sperm whaling declined in the second half of the nineteenth century, as petroleum came into broader use. In that sense, petroleum use may be said to have protected whale populations from even greater exploitation. Sperm whaling in the eighteenth century began with small sloops carrying only one or two whaleboats.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe fleet's scope and size increased over time, and larger ships entered the fishery. In the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century sperm whaling ships sailed to the equatorial Pacific, the Indian Ocean, Japan, the coast of Arabia, Australia and New Zealand. Hunting could be dangerous to the crew, since sperm whales (especially bulls) will readily fight to defend themselves against attack, unlike most baleen whales. When dealing with a threat, sperm whales will use their huge head effectively as a battering ram. Arguably the most famous sperm whale counter-attack occurred on 20 November 1820, when a whale claimed to be about long rammed and sank the Nantucket whaleship Essex. Only 8 out of 21 sailors survived to be rescued by other ships. This instance is popularly believed to have inspired Herman Melville's famous book Moby-Dick.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale's ivory-like teeth were often sought by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century whalers, who used them to produce inked carvings known as scrimshaw. Thirty teeth of the sperm whale can be used for ivory. Each of these teeth, up to 20 cm and 8 cm across, are hollow for the first half of their length. Like walrus ivory, sperm whale ivory has two distinct layers. However, sperm whale ivory contains a much thicker inner layer. Though a widely practised art in the nineteenth century, scrimshaw using genuine sperm whale ivory declined substantially after the retirement of the whaling fleets in the 1880s. Currently the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), prevents the sales of or trade in sperm whale ivory harvested after 1973 or scrimshaw crafted from it.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nModern whaling was more efficient than open-boat whaling, employing steam-powered ships and exploding harpoons. Initially, modern whaling activity focused on large baleen whales, but as these populations were taken, sperm whaling increased. Spermaceti, the fine waxy oil produced by sperm whales, was in high demand. In both the 1941 to 1942 and 1942 to 1943 seasons, Norwegian expeditions took over 3,000 sperm whales off the coast of Peru alone. After the war, whaling continued unabated to obtain oil for cosmetics and high-performance machinery, such as automobile transmissions.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe hunting led to the near extinction of large whales, including sperm whales, until bans on whale oil use were instituted in 1972. The International Whaling Commission gave the species full protection in 1985 but hunting by Japan in the northern Pacific Ocean continued until 1988.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nIt is estimated that the historic worldwide population numbered 1,100,000 before commercial sperm whaling began in the early eighteenth century. By 1880 it had declined by an estimated 29 percent. From that date until 1946, the population appears to have partially recovered as whaling activity decreased, and after World War II, the whale population increases to 33 percent of the pre-whaling population. Between 184,000 and 236,000 sperm whales were killed by the various whaling nations in the nineteenth century, while in the twentieth century, at least 770,000 were taken, the majority between 1946 and 1980.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales increase levels of primary production and carbon export by depositing iron-rich faeces into surface waters of the Southern Ocean. The iron-rich faeces cause phytoplankton to grow and take up more carbon from the atmosphere. When the phytoplankton dies, it sinks to the deep ocean and takes the atmospheric carbon with it. By reducing the abundance of sperm whales in the Southern Ocean, whaling has resulted in an extra 2 million tonnes of carbon remaining in the atmosphere each year.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nRemaining sperm whale populations are large enough that the species' conservation status is rated as vulnerable rather than endangered. However, the recovery from centuries of commercial whaling is a slow process, particularly in the South Pacific, where the toll on breeding-age males was severe.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nCurrent conservation status\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe total number of sperm whales in the world is unknown, but is thought to be in the hundreds of thousands. The conservation outlook is brighter than for many other whales. Commercial whaling has ceased, and the species is protected almost worldwide, though records indicate that in the eleven-year period starting from 2000, Japan has caught 51 sperm whales. Fishermen do not target the creatures sperm whales eat, but long-line fishing operations in the Gulf of Alaska have complained about sperm whales stealing fish from their lines.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nCurrently, entanglement in fishing nets and collisions with ships represent the greatest threats to the sperm whale population. Other threats include ingestion of marine debris, ocean noise, and chemical pollution. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) regards the sperm whale as being \\\"Vulnerable\\\". The species is listed as endangered on the United States Endangered Species Act.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales are listed on Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is listed on Appendix I as this species has been categorized as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant proportion of their range and CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them. It is listed on Appendix II as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements. It is also covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS) and the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (Pacific Cetaceans MOU).\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nCultural importance\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nRope-mounted teeth are important cultural objects throughout the Pacific. In New Zealand, the Māori know them as \\\"rei puta\\\"; such whale tooth pendants were rare objects because sperm whales were not actively hunted in traditional Māori society. Whale ivory and bone were taken from beached whales. In Fiji the teeth are known as tabua, traditionally given as gifts for atonement or esteem (called sevusevu), and were important in negotiations between rival chiefs. Friedrich Ratzel in The History of Mankind reported in 1896 that, in Fiji, whales' or cachalots' teeth were the most-demanded article of ornament or value. They occurred often in necklaces. Today the tabua remains an important item in Fijian life. The teeth were originally rare in Fiji and Tonga, which exported teeth, but with the Europeans' arrival, teeth flooded the market and this \\\"currency\\\" collapsed. The oversupply led in turn to the development of the European art of scrimshaw.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nHerman Melville's novel Moby-Dick is based on a true story about a sperm whale that attacked and sank the whaleship Essex. Melville associated the sperm whale with the Bible's Leviathan. The fearsome reputation perpetuated by Melville was based on bull whales' ability to fiercely defend themselves from attacks by early whalers, occasionally resulting in the destruction of the whaling ships.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe sperm whale was designated as the Connecticut state animal by the CT General Assembly in 1975. It was selected because of its specific contribution to the state's history and because of its present-day plight as an endangered species.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nWatching sperm whales\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nSperm whales are not the easiest of whales to watch, due to their long dive times and ability to travel long distances underwater. However, due to the distinctive look and large size of the whale, watching is increasingly popular. Sperm whale watchers often use hydrophones to listen to the clicks of the whales and locate them before they surface. Popular locations for sperm whale watching include the town of Kaikoura on New Zealand's South Island, Andenes and Tromsø in Arctic Norway; as well as the Azores, where the continental shelf is so narrow that whales can be observed from the shore, and Dominica where a long-term scientific research program, The Dominica Sperm Whale Project, has been in operation since 2005.\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nPlastic waste\",\n \"Sperm whale\\n\\nThe introduction of plastic waste to the ocean environment by humans is new. Sperm whales are now occasionally found with pieces of plastic in their stomachs.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga whale or white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. This marine mammal is commonly referred to as the beluga, melonhead, or sea canary due to its high-pitched twitter.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIt is adapted to life in the Arctic, so has anatomical and physiological characteristics that differentiate it from other cetaceans. Amongst these are its unmistakable all-white colour and the absence of a dorsal fin. It possesses a distinctive protuberance at the front of its head which houses an echolocation organ called the melon, which in this species is large and plastic (deformable). The beluga's body size is between that of a dolphin's and a true whale's, with males growing up to long and weighing up to 1600 kg. This whale has a stocky body. A large percentage of its weight is blubber, as is true of many cetaceans. Its sense of hearing is highly developed and its echolocation (sonar) allows it to move about and find blowholes under sheet ice.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas are gregarious and form groups of up to 10 animals on average, although during the summer, they can gather in the hundreds or even thousands in estuaries and shallow coastal areas. They are slow swimmers, but can dive to 700 m below the surface. They are opportunistic feeders and their diets vary according to their locations and the season. They mainly eat fish, crustaceans, and other deep-sea invertebrates.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe majority of belugas live in the Arctic Ocean and the seas and coasts around North America, Russia and Greenland; their worldwide population is thought to number around 150,000. They are migratory and the majority of groups spend the winter around the Arctic ice cap; when the sea ice melts in summer, they move to warmer river estuaries and coastal areas. Some populations are sedentary and do not migrate over great distances during the year.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe native peoples of North America and Russia have hunted belugas for many centuries. They were also hunted commercially during the 19th century and part of the 20th century. Whale hunting has been under international control since 1973. Currently, only certain Inuit and Alaska Native groups are allowed to carry out subsistence hunting of belugas. Other threats include natural predators (polar bears and killer whales), contamination of rivers (e.g. with PCBs, which bioaccumulate up the food chain, and infectious diseases.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nFrom a conservation perspective, the beluga was placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List in 2008 as being \\\"near threatened\\\"; the subpopulation from the Cook Inlet in Alaska is considered Critically Endangered and is under the protection of the United States' Endangered Species Act. Of seven Canadian beluga populations, the two inhabiting eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay are listed as endangered.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas are one of the cetaceans most commonly kept in captivity in aquariums and wildlife parks in North America, Europe, and Asia; they are popular with the public due to their colour and expression.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nTaxonomy\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga was first described in 1776 by Peter Simon Pallas. It is a member of the Monodontidae family, which is in turn part of the toothed whale parvorder. The Irrawaddy dolphin was once placed in the same family; recent genetic evidence suggests these dolphins belong to the Delphinidae family. The narwhal is the only other species within the Monodontidae besides the beluga. A skull has been discovered with intermediate characteristics supporting the hypothesis that hybridization is possible between these two families.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe name of the genus, Delphinapterus, means \\\"dolphin without fin\\\" (from the Greek δελφίν (delphin), dolphin and απτερος (apteros), without fin) and the species name leucas means \\\"white\\\" (from the Greek λευκας (leukas), white). The Red List of Threatened Species gives both beluga and white whale as common names, though the former is now more popular. The English name comes from the Russian белуха (belukha), which derives from the word белый (bélyj), meaning \\\"white\\\". The name beluga in Russian refers to an unrelated species, a fish, beluga sturgeon.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe whale is also colloquially known as the sea canary on account of its high-pitched squeaks, squeals, clucks, and whistles. A Japanese researcher says he taught a beluga to \\\"talk\\\" by using these sounds to identify three different objects, offering hope that humans may one day be able to communicate effectively with sea mammals. A similar observation has been made by Canadian researchers, where a beluga which died in 2007 \\\"talked\\\" when he was still a subadult. Another example is NOC, a beluga whale that could mimic the rhythm and tone of human language. Beluga whales in the wild have been reported to imitate human voices.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nEvolution\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nMitochondrial DNA studies have shown modern cetaceans last shared a common ancestor between 30 and 34 million years ago. The family Monodontidae separated relatively early from the other odontoceti; it split from the Delphinoidea between 11 and 15 million years ago, and from the Phocoenidae, its closest relatives in evolutionary terms, more recently still.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga's earliest known ancestor is the prehistoric Denebola brachycephala from the late Miocene period (9–10 million years ago). A single fossil from the Baja California Peninsula indicates the family once inhabited warmer waters. The fossil record also indicates, in comparatively recent times, the beluga's range varied with that of the polar ice packs expanding during ice ages and contracting when the ice retreated. Counter-evidence to this theory comes from the finding in 1849 of fossilised beluga bones in Vermont in the United States, 240 km from the Atlantic Ocean. The bones were discovered during construction of the first railroad between Rutland and Burlington in Vermont, when workers unearthed the bones of a mysterious animal in Charlotte. Buried nearly 10 ft below the surface in a thick blue clay, these bones were unlike those of any animal previously discovered in Vermont. Experts identified the bones as those of a beluga. Because Charlotte is over 150 mi from the nearest ocean, early naturalists were at a loss to explain the presence of the bones of a marine mammal buried beneath the fields of rural Vermont.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe remains were found to be preserved in the sediments of the Champlain Sea, an extension of the Atlantic Ocean within the continent resulting from the rise in sea level at the end of the ice ages some 12,000 years ago. Today, the Charlotte whale is the official Vermont State Fossil (making Vermont the only state whose official fossil is that of a still extant animal).\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nDescription\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIts body is round, particularly when well fed, and tapers less smoothly to the head than the tail. The sudden tapering to the base of its neck gives it the appearance of shoulders, unique among cetaceans. The tailfin grows and becomes increasingly and ornately curved as the animal ages. The flippers are broad and short—making them almost square-shaped.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nLongevity\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nPreliminary investigations suggested a beluga's life expectancy was rarely more than 30 years. The method used to calculate the age of a beluga is based on counting the layers of dentin and dental cement in a specimen's teeth, which were originally thought to be deposited once or twice a year. The layers can be readily identified as one layer consists of opaque dense material and the other is transparent and less dense. It is therefore possible to estimate the age of the individual by extrapolating the number of layers identified and the estimated frequency with which the deposits are laid down. A 2006 study using radiocarbon dating of the dentine layers showed the deposit of this material occurs with a lesser frequency (once per year) than was previously thought. The study therefore estimated belugas can live for 70 or 80 years.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSize\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe species presents a moderate degree of sexual dimorphism, as the males are 25% longer than the females and are sturdier. Adult male belugas can range from , while the females measure 3 to. Males weigh between 1100 and, occasionally up to 1900 kg while females weigh between 700 and. They rank as mid-sized species among toothed whales.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBoth sexes reach their maximum size by the time they are 10 years old. The beluga's body shape is stocky and fusiform (cone-shaped with the point facing backwards), and they frequently have folds of fat, particularly along the ventral surface. Between 40% and 50% of their body weight is fat, which is a higher proportion than for cetaceans that do not inhabit the Arctic, where fat only represents 30% of body weight. The fat forms a layer that covers all of the body except the head, and it can be up to 15 cm thick. It acts as insulation in waters with temperatures between 0 and 18 °C, as well as being an important reserve during periods without food.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nColor\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe adult beluga is rarely mistaken for any other species, because it is completely white or whitish-grey in colour. Calves are usually born grey, and by the time they are a month old, have turned dark grey or blue grey. They then start to progressively lose their pigmentation until they attain their distinctive white colouration, at the age of seven years in females and 9 in males. The white colouration of the skin is an adaptation to life in the Arctic that allows belugas to camouflage themselves in the polar ice caps as protection against their main predators, polar bears and killer whales. Unlike other cetaceans, the belugas seasonally shed their skin. During the winter, the epidermis thickens and the skin can become yellowish, mainly on the back and fins. When they migrate to the estuaries during the summer, they rub themselves on the gravel of the riverbeds to remove the cutaneous covering.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nHead and neck\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nLike most toothed whales, it has a compartment found at the centre of the forehead that contains an organ used for echolocation called a melon, which contains fatty tissue. The shape of the beluga's head is unlike that of any other cetacean, as the melon is extremely bulbous, lobed, and visible as a large frontal prominence. Another distinctive characteristic it possesses is the melon is malleable; its shape is changed during the emission of sounds. The beluga is able to change the shape of its head by blowing air around its sinuses to focus the emitted sounds. This organ contains fatty acids, mainly isovaleric acid (60.1%) and long-chain branched acids (16.9%), a very different composition from its body fat, and which could play a role in its echolocation system.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nUnlike many dolphins and whales, the seven vertebrae in the neck are not fused together, allowing the animal to turn its head laterally without needing to rotate its body. This gives the head a lateral manoeuvrability that allows an improved field of view and movement and helps in catching prey and evading predators in deep water. The rostrum has about eight to 10 small, blunt, and slightly curved teeth on each side of the jaw and a total of 36 to 40 teeth. Belugas do not use their teeth to chew, but for catching hold of their prey; they then tear them up and swallow them nearly whole. Belugas only have a single spiracle, which is located on the top of the head behind the melon, and has a muscular covering, allowing it to be completely sealed. Under normal conditions, the spiracle is closed and an animal must contract the muscular covering to open the spiracle. A beluga's thyroid gland is larger than that of terrestrial mammals – weighing three times more than that of a horse – which helps it to maintain a greater metabolism during the summer when it lives in river estuaries.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIt is the marine cetacean that most frequently develops hyperplastic and neoplastic lesions of the thyroid.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nFins\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe fins retain the bony vestiges of the beluga's mammalian ancestors, and are firmly bound together by connective tissue. The fins are small in relation to the size of the body, rounded and oar-shaped, and slightly curled at the tips. These versatile extremities are mainly used as a rudder to control direction, to work in synchrony with the tailfin and for agile movement in shallow waters up to 3 m deep. The fins also contain a mechanism for regulating body temperature, as the arteries feeding the fin's muscles are surrounded by veins that dilate or contract to gain or lose heat. The tailfin is flat with two oar-like lobes, it does not have any bones, and is made up of hard, dense, fibrous connective tissue. The tailfin has a distinctive curvature along the lower edge. The longitudinal muscles of the back provide the ascending and descending movement of the tailfin, which has a similar thermoregulation mechanism to the pectoral fins.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas have a dorsal ridge, rather than a dorsal fin. The absence of the dorsal fin is reflected in the genus name of the species—apterus the Greek word for \\\"wingless\\\". The evolutionary preference for a dorsal ridge rather than a fin is believed to be an adaptation to under-ice conditions, or possibly as a way of preserving heat. The crest is hard and, along with the head, can be used to open holes in ice up to 8 cm thick.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSenses\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga has a very specialized sense of hearing and its auditory cortex is highly developed. It can hear sounds within the range of 1.2 to 120 kHz, with the greatest sensitivity between 10 and 75 kHz, where the average hearing range for humans is 0.02 to 20 kHz. The majority of sounds are most probably received by the lower jaw and transmitted towards the middle ear. In the toothed whales, the lower jawbone is broad with a cavity at its base, which projects towards the place where it joins the cranium. A fatty deposit inside this small cavity connects to the middle ear. Toothed whales also possess a small external auditory hole a few centimetres behind their eyes; each hole communicates with an external auditory conduit and an eardrum. It is not known if these organs are functional or simply vestigial.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas are able to see within and outside of water, but their vision is relatively poor when compared to dolphins. Their eyes are especially adapted to seeing under water, although when they come into contact with the air, the crystalline lens and the cornea adjust to overcome the associated myopia (the range of vision under water is short). A beluga's retina has cones and rods, which also suggests they can see in low light. The presence of cone cells indicates they can see colours, although this suggestion has not been confirmed. Glands located in the medial corner of their eyes secrete an oily, gelatinous substance that lubricates the eye and helps flush out foreign bodies. This substance forms a film that protects the cornea and the conjunctiva from pathogenic organisms.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nStudies on captive animals show they seek frequent physical contact with other belugas. Areas in the mouth have been found that could act as chemoreceptors for different tastes, and they can detect the presence of blood in water, which causes them to react immediately by displaying typical alarm behaviour. Like the other toothed whales, their brains lack olfactory bulbs and olfactory nerves, which suggests they do not have a sense of smell.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBehaviour\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThese cetaceans are highly sociable and they regularly form small groups, or pods, that may contain between two and 25 individuals, with an average of 10 members. Pods tend to be unstable, meaning individuals tend to move from pod to pod. Radio tracking has even shown belugas can start out in one pod and within a few days be hundreds of miles away from that pod. These pods contain animals of both sexes, and are led by a dominant male. Many hundreds and even thousands of individuals can be present when the pods join together in river estuaries during the summer. This can represent a significant proportion of the total population and is when they are most vulnerable to being hunted.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThey are cooperative animals and frequently hunt in coordinated groups. The animals in a pod are very sociable and often chase each other as if they are playing or fighting, and they often rub against each other.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIn captivity, they can be seen to be constantly playing, vocalizing, and swimming around each other. They show a great deal of curiosity towards humans and frequently approach the windows in the tanks to observe them. Belugas may also playfully spit at humans or other whales. It is not unusual for an aquarium handler to be drenched by one of his charges. Some researchers believe spitting originated with blowing sand away from crustaceans at the sea bottom.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas also show a great degree of curiosity towards humans in the wild, and frequently swim alongside boats. They also play with objects they find in the water; in the wild, they do this with wood, plants, dead fish, and bubbles they have created. During the breeding season, adults have been observed carrying objects such as plants, nets, and even the skeleton of a dead reindeer on their heads and backs. Captive females have also been observed displaying this behaviour, carrying items such as floats and buoys, after they have lost a calf; experts consider this interaction with the objects could be acting as a substitute behaviour.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSwimming and diving\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas are slower swimmers than the other toothed whales, such as the killer whale and the common bottlenose dolphin, because they are less hydrodynamic and have limited movement of their tailfins, which produce the greatest thrust. They frequently swim at between 3 and, although they are able to maintain a speed of 22 km/h for up to 15 min. Unlike most cetaceans, they are capable of swimming backwards. Belugas swim on the surface between 5% and 10% of the time, while for the rest of the time they swim at a depth sufficient to cover their bodies. They do not jump out of the water like dolphins or killer whales.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThese animals usually only dive to depths to 20 m, although they are capable of diving to greater depths. Individual captive animals have been recorded at depths between 400 and 647 m below sea level, while animals in the wild have been recorded as diving to a depth of more than 700 m, with the greatest recorded depth being 872 m. A dive normally lasts 3 to 5 min, but can last up to 18 min. In the shallower water of the estuaries, a diving session may last around two minutes; the sequence consists of five or six rapid, shallow dives followed by a deeper dive lasting up to one minute. The average number of dives per day varies between 31 and 51.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nAll cetaceans, including belugas, have physiological adaptations designed to conserve oxygen while they are under water. During a dive, these animals will reduce their heart rate from 100 beats a minute to between 12 and 20. Blood flow is diverted away from certain tissues and organs and towards the brain, heart and lungs, which require a constant oxygen supply. The amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood is 5.5%, which is greater than that found in land-based mammals and is similar to that of Weddell seals (a diving marine mammal). One study found a female beluga had 16.5 l of oxygen dissolved in her blood. Lastly, the beluga's muscles contain high levels of the protein myoglobin, which stores oxygen in muscle. Myoglobin concentrations are several times greater than for terrestrial mammals, which help prevent oxygen deficiency during dives.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBeluga whales often accompany bowhead whales, for curiosity and to secure polynya feasible to breathe as bowheads are capable of breaking through ice from underwater by headbutting.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nDiet\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas play an important role in the structure and function of marine resources in the Arctic Ocean, as they are the most abundant toothed whales in the region. They are opportunistic feeders; their feeding habits depend on their locations and the season. For example, when they are in the Beaufort Sea, they mainly eat Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and the stomachs of belugas caught near Greenland were found to contain rose fish (Sebastes marinus), Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), and northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis), while in Alaska their staple diet is Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). In general, the diets of these cetaceans consist mainly of fish; apart from those previously mentioned, other fish they feed on include capelin (Mallotus villosus), smelt, sole, flounder, herring, sculpin, and other types of salmon. They also consume a great quantity of invertebrates, apart from shrimp, such as squid, crabs, clams, octopus, sea snails, bristle worms, and other deep-sea species. Animals in captivity eat 2.5% to 3.0% of their body weight per day, which equates to 18.2 to 27.2 kg.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nForaging on the seabed typically takes place at depths between 20 and 40 m, although they can dive to depths of 700 m in search of food. Their flexible necks provide a wide range of movement while they are searching for food on the ocean floor. Some animals have been observed to suck up water and then forcefully expel it to uncover their prey hidden in the silt on the seabed. As their teeth are neither large nor sharp, belugas must use suction to bring their prey into their mouths; it also means their prey has to be consumed whole, which in turn means it cannot be too large or the belugas run the risk of it getting stuck in their throats. They also join together into coordinated groups of five or more to feed on shoals of fish by steering the fish into shallow water, where the belugas then attack them. For example, in the estuary of the Amur River, where they mainly feed on salmon, groups of six or eight individuals join together to surround a shoal of fish and prevent their escape. Individuals then take turns feeding on the fish.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nReproduction\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nEstimations of the age of sexual maturity for beluga whales vary considerably; the majority of authors estimate males reach sexual maturity when they are between four and seven years old, and females reach maturity when they are between four and nine years old. The average age at which females first give birth is 8.5 years and fertility begins to decrease when they are 25, with no births recorded for females older than 41.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nFemale belugas typically give birth to one calf every three years. Most mating occurs usually February through May, but some mating occurs at other times of year. The beluga may have delayed implantation. Gestation has been estimated to last 12.0 to 14.5 months, but information derived from captive females suggests a longer gestation period up to 475 days (15.8 months).\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nCalves are born over a protracted period that varies by location. In the Canadian Arctic, calves are born between March and September, while in Hudson Bay, the peak calving period is in late June, and in Cumberland Sound, most calves are born from late July to early August. Births usually take place in bays or estuaries where the water is warm with a temperature of 10 to 15 °C. Newborns are about long, weigh about 80 kg, and are grey in colour. They are able to swim alongside their mothers immediately after birth. The newborn calves nurse under water and initiate lactation a few hours after birth; thereafter, they feed at intervals around an hour. Studies of captive females have indicated their milk composition varies between individuals and with the stage of lactation; it has an average content of 28% fat, 11% protein, 60.3% water, and less than 1% residual solids. The milk contains about 92 cal per ounce.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe calves remain dependent on their mothers for nursing for the first year, when their teeth appear. After this, they start to supplement their diets with shrimp and small fish. The majority of the calves continue nursing until they are 20 months old, although occasionally lactation can continue for more than two years, and lactational anoestrus may not occur. Alloparenting (care by females different from the mother) has been observed in captive belugas, including spontaneous and long-term milk production. This suggests this behaviour, which is also seen in other mammals, may be present in belugas in the wild.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nCommunication and echolocation\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas use sounds and echolocation for movement, communication, to find breathing holes in the ice, and to hunt in dark or turbid waters. They produce a rapid sequence of clicks that pass through the melon, which acts as an acoustic lens to focus the sounds into a beam that is projected forward through the surrounding water. These sounds spread through the water at a speed of nearly 1.6 km per second, some four times faster than the speed of sound in the air. The sound waves rebound from objects in the water and return as echoes that are heard and interpreted by the animal. This enables them to determine the distance, speed, size, shape, and even the internal structure of the objects within the beam of sound. They also use this ability when moving around the thick ice sheets of the Arctic, to find areas of unfrozen water for breathing, or air pockets trapped under the frozen sheet ice.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSome evidence indicates belugas are highly sensitive to the noise pollution produced by humans. In one study, the maximum frequencies produced by an individual located in San Diego Bay, California, were between 40 and 60 kHz. The same individual produced sounds with a maximum frequency of 100 to 120 kHz on being transferred to Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii. The difference in frequencies is thought to be a response to the difference in environmental noise in the two areas.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThese cetaceans communicate using sounds of such high frequency; their calls sometimes sound like bird songs, so belugas have been given the nickname \\\"canaries of the sea\\\". Like the other toothed whales, belugas do not possess vocal cords and the sounds are probably produced by the movement of air between the nasal sacks, which are located near to the blowhole.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas are amongst the most vocal cetaceans. They use their vocalisations for echolocation, during mating, and in communication. They possess a large repertoire, as they can emit up to 11 different sounds, such as cackles, whistles, trills, and squawks. They also make sounds by grinding their teeth or splashing, but they rarely use body language to make visual displays with their pectoral fins or tailfins, nor do they perform somersaults or jumps in the way other species do, such as dolphins.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nDistribution\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga inhabits a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. During the summer, they can mainly be found in the deep waters ranging from 76°N to 80°N, particularly along the coasts of Alaska, northern Canada, western Greenland, and northern Russia. The southernmost extent of their range includes isolated populations in the St. Lawrence River in the Atlantic, and the Amur River delta, the Shantar Islands, and the waters surrounding Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nMigration\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas have a seasonal migratory pattern. When the summer sites become blocked with ice during the autumn, they move to spend the winter in the open sea alongside the pack ice or in areas covered with ice, surviving by using polynyas to surface and breathe. In summer after the sheet ice has melted, they move to coastal areas with shallower water (1–3 m deep), although sometimes they migrate towards deeper waters (>800 m). In the summer, they occupy estuaries and the waters of the continental shelf, and on occasion, they even swim up the rivers. A number of incidents have been reported where groups or individuals have been found hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the ocean. One such example comes from 9 June 2006, when a young beluga carcass was found in the Tanana River near Fairbanks in central Alaska, nearly 1700 km from the nearest ocean habitat. Belugas sometimes follow migrating fish, leading Alaska state biologist Tom Seaton to speculate it had followed migrating salmon up the river at some point in the previous autumn.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe rivers they most often travel up include: the Northern Dvina, the Mezen, the Pechora, the Ob and the Yenisei in Asia; the Yukon and the Kuskokwim in Alaska, and the Saint Lawrence in Canada. Spending time in a river has been shown to stimulate an animal's metabolism and facilitates the seasonal renewal of the epidermal layer. In addition, the rivers represent a safe haven for newborn calves where they will not be preyed upon by killer whales. Calves often return to the same estuary as their mother in the summer, meeting her sometimes even after becoming fully mature.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe migration season is relatively predictable, as it is basically determined by the amount of daylight and not by other variable physical or biological factors, such as the condition of the sea ice. Vagrants may travel further south to areas such as Irish and Scottish waters, islands of Orkney and Hebrides, and to Japanese waters. There had been several vagrant individuals demonstrated seasonal residencies at Volcano Bay, and a unique whale were used to return annually to areas adjacent to Shibetsu in Nemuro Strait in the 2000s. On rarer occasions, individuals of vagrancy can reach the Korean Peninsula. A few other individuals have been confirmed to return to the coasts of Hokkaido, including brackish waters such as Lake Notoro.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSome populations are not migratory and certain resident groups will stay in well-defined areas, for example in Cook Inlet, the estuary of the Saint Lawrence River and Cumberland Sound. The population in Cook Inlet stays in the waters furthest inside the inlet during the summer and until the end of autumn, then during the winter, they disperse to the deeper water in the centre of the inlet, but without completely leaving it.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIn April, the animals that spend the winter in the centre and southwest of the Bering Sea move to the north coast of Alaska and the east coast of Russia. The populations living in the Ungava Bay and the eastern and western sides of Hudson Bay overwinter together beneath the sea ice in Hudson Strait. The populations of the White Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea overwinter in the Barents Sea. In the spring, the groups separate and migrate to their respective summer sites.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nHabitat\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas exploit a varied range of habitats; they are most commonly seen in shallow waters close to the coast, but they have also been reported to live for extended periods in deeper water, where they feed and give birth to their young.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIn coastal areas, they can be found in coves, fjords, canals, bays, and shallow waters in the Arctic Ocean that are continuously lit by sunlight. They are also often seen during the summer in river estuaries, where they feed, socialize, and give birth to young. These waters usually have a temperature between 8 and 10 °C. The mudflats of Cook Inlet in Alaska are a popular location for these animals to spend the first few months of summer. In the eastern Beaufort Sea, female belugas with their young and immature males prefer the open waters close to land; the adult males live in waters covered by ice near to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, while the younger males and females with slightly older young can be found nearer to the ice shelf. Generally, the use of different habitats in summer reflects differences in feeding habits, risk from predators, and reproductive factors for each of the subpopulations.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nPopulation\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe global beluga population is made up of a number of subpopulations. The scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission recognises these 29 subpopulations:\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe estimate of population sizes is complicated because the boundaries for some of these groups overlap geographically or seasonally. The IUCN estimated the world beluga population in 2008 to be well in excess of 150,000.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThreats\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nHunting\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe native populations of the Canadian, Alaskan, and Russian Arctic regions hunt belugas for their meat, blubber, and skin. The cured skin is the only cetacean skin that is sufficiently thick to be used as leather. Belugas were easy prey for hunters due to their predictable migration patterns and the high population density in estuaries and surrounding coastal areas during the summer.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nCommercial whaling by European and American whalers during the 18th and 19th centuries decreased beluga populations in the Canadian Arctic. The animals were hunted for their meat and blubber, while the Europeans used the oil from the melon as a lubricant for clocks, machinery, and lighting in lighthouses. Mineral oil replaced whale oil in the 1860s, but the hunting of these animals continued unabated. In 1863, the cured skin could be used to make horse harnesses, machine belts for saw mills, and shoelaces. These manufactured items ensured the hunting of belugas continued for the rest of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Between 1868 and 1911, Scottish and American whalers killed more than 20,000 belugas in Lancaster Sound and Davis Strait.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nDuring the 1920s, fishermen in the Saint Lawrence River estuary considered belugas to be a threat to the fishing industry, as they eat large quantities of cod, salmon, tuna, and other fish caught by the local fishermen. The presence of belugas in the estuary was, therefore, considered to be undesirable; in 1928, the Government of Quebec offered a reward of 15 dollars for each dead beluga. The Quebec Department of Fisheries launched a study into the influence of these cetaceans on local fish populations in 1938. The unrestricted killing of belugas continued into the 1950s, when the supposed voracity of the belugas was found to be overestimated and did not adversely affect fish populations. L'Isle-aux-Coudres is the setting for the classic 1963 National Film Board of Canada documentary Pour la suite du monde, which depicts a one-off resurrection of the beluga hunt.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe Arctic's native peoples still carry out subsistence hunting of belugas to obtain food and raw materials. This practice is a part of their culture, but doubts still remain whether the number of whales killed may be sustainable. The number of animals killed is about 200 to 550 in Alaska and around 1,000 in Canada. However, in areas such as Cook Inlet, Ungava Bay, and western Greenland, previous levels of commercial whaling have put the species in danger of extinction, and continued hunting by the native peoples may mean some populations will continue to decline. The Canadian sites are the focus of discussions between the local communities and the Canadian government, with the objective of permitting sustainable hunting that does not put the species at risk of extinction.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nPredation\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nDuring the winter, belugas commonly become trapped in the ice without being able to escape to open water, which may be several kilometres away. Polar bears take particular advantage of these situations and are able to locate the belugas using their sense of smell. The bears swipe at the belugas and drag them onto the ice to eat them. They are able to capture large individuals in this way; in one documented incident, a bear weighing between 150 and 180 kg was able to capture an animal that weighed 935 kg.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nKiller whales are able to capture both young and adult belugas. They live in all the seas of the world and share the same habitat as belugas in the sub-Arctic region. Attacks on belugas by killer whales have been reported in the waters of Greenland, Russia, Canada, and Alaska. A number of killings have been recorded in Cook Inlet, and experts are concerned the predation by killer whales will impede the recovery of this subpopulation, which has already been badly depleted by hunting. The killer whales arrive at the beginning of August, but the belugas are occasionally able to hear their presence and evade them. The groups near to or under the sea ice have a degree of protection, as the killer whale's large dorsal fin, up to 2 m in length, impedes their movement under the ice and does not allow them to get sufficiently close to the breathing holes in the ice.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nContamination\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga is considered an excellent sentinel species (indicator of environment health and changes), because it is long-lived, at the top of the food web, bears large amounts of fat and blubber, relatively well-studied for a cetacean, and still somewhat common.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nHuman pollution can be a threat to belugas' health when they congregate in river estuaries. Chemical substances such as DDT and heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium have been found in individuals of the Saint Lawrence River population. Local beluga carcasses contain so many contaminants, they are treated as toxic waste. Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls between 240 and 800 ppm have been found in belugas' brains, liver and muscles, with the highest levels found in males. These levels are significantly greater than those found in Arctic populations. These substances have a proven adverse effect on these cetaceans, as they cause cancers, reproductive diseases, and the deterioration of the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to pneumonias, ulcers, cysts, tumours, and bacterial infections. Although the populations that inhabit the river estuaries run the greatest risk of contamination, high levels of zinc, cadmium, mercury, and selenium have also been found in the muscles, livers, and kidneys of animals that live in the open sea.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nFrom a sample of 129 beluga adults from the Saint Lawrence River examined between 1983 and 1999, a total of 27% had suffered cancer. This is a higher percentage than that documented for other populations of this species and is much higher than for other cetaceans and for the majority of terrestrial mammals; in fact, the rate is only comparable to the levels found in humans and some domesticated animals. For example, the rate of intestinal cancer in the sample is much higher than for humans. This condition is thought to be directly related to environmental contamination, in this case by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and coincides with the high incidence of this disease in humans residing in the area. The prevalence of tumours suggests the contaminants identified in the animals that inhabit the estuary are having a direct carcinogenic effect or they are at least causing an immunological deterioration that is reducing the inhabitants' resistance to the disease.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIndirect human disturbance may also be a threat. While some populations tolerate small boats, most actively try to avoid ships. Whale-watching has become a booming activity in the St. Lawrence and Churchill River areas, and acoustic contamination from this activity appears to have an effect on belugas. For example, a correlation appears to exist between the passage of belugas across the mouth of the Saguenay River, which has decreased by 60%, and the increase in the use of recreational motorboats in the area. A dramatic decrease has also been recorded in the number of calls between animals (decreasing from 3.4 to 10.5 calls/min to 0 or\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nPapillomaviruses have been found in the stomachs of belugas in the Saint Lawrence River. Animals in this location have also been recorded as suffering infections caused by herpesviruses and in certain cases to be suffering from encephalitis caused by the protozoan Sarcocystis. Cases have been recorded of ciliate protozoa colonising the spiracle of certain individuals, but they not thought to be pathogens or at least they are not very harmful.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, which probably comes from eating infected fish, poses a threat to belugas kept in captivity, causing anorexia and dermal plaques and lesions that can lead to septicemia. This condition can cause death if it is not diagnosed and treated in time with antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nA study of infections caused by parasitic worms in a number of individuals of both sexes found the presence of larvae from a species from the Contracaecum genus in their stomachs and intestines, Anisakis simplex in their stomachs, Pharurus pallasii in their ear canals, Hadwenius seymouri in their intestines, and Leucasiella arctica in their rectums.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nRelationship with humans\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nCaptivity\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBelugas were among the first whale species to be kept in captivity. The first beluga was shown at Barnum's Museum in New York City in 1861. For most of the 20th century, Canada was the predominant source for belugas destined for exhibition. Until the early 1960s, they were taken from the St. Lawrence River estuary (famously captured in the film documentary Pour la suite du monde) and from 1967 from the Churchill River estuary. This continued until 1992, when the practice was banned. Since Canada ceased to be the supplier of these animals, Russia has become the largest provider. Individuals are caught in the Amur River delta and the far eastern seas of the country, and then are either transported domestically to aquaria in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi, or exported to foreign nations, including Canada.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nToday, it remains one of the few whale species kept at aquaria and marine parks across North America, Europe, and Asia. As of 2006, 30 belugas were in Canada and 28 in the United States, and 42 deaths in captivity had been reported up to that time. A single specimen can reportedly fetch up to US$100,000 on the market. The beluga's popularity with visitors reflects its attractive colour and its range of facial expressions. The latter is possible because while most cetacean \\\"smiles\\\" are fixed, the extra movement afforded by the beluga's unfused cervical vertebrae allows a greater range of apparent expression.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nTo provide some enrichment while in captivity, aquaria train belugas to perform behaviors for the public and for medical exams, such as blood draws and ultrasound, provide toys, and allow the public to play recorded or live music.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nMost belugas found in aquaria are caught in the wild, as captive-breeding programs have not had much success so far. For example, despite best efforts, as of 2010, only two male whales had been successfully used as stud animals in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums beluga population, Nanuq at SeaWorld San Diego and Naluark at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, USA. Nanuq has fathered 10 calves, five of which survived birth. Naluark at Shedd Aquarium has fathered four living offspring. Naluark has been relocated to Mystic Aquarium in the hope that he will breed with two of their females. The first beluga calf born in captivity in Europe was born in L'Oceanogràfic marine park in Valencia, Spain, in November 2006. However, the calf died 25 days later after suffering metabolic complications, infections, and not being able to feed properly.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nBetween 1960 and 1992, the United States Navy carried out a program that included the study of marine mammals' abilities with echolocation, with the objective of improving the detection of underwater objects. The program started with dolphins, but a large number of belugas were also used from 1975 on. The program included training these mammals to carry equipment and material to divers working under water, the location of lost objects, surveillance of ships and submarines, and underwater monitoring using cameras held in their mouths. A similar program was implemented by the Russian Navy during the Cold War, in which belugas were also trained for antimining operations in Arctic waters.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIn 2009 during a free-diving competition in a tank of icy water in Harbin, China, a captive beluga brought a cramp-paralyzed diver from the bottom of the pool up to the surface by holding her foot in its mouth, saving the diver's life.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nWhale watching\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nWhale watching has become an important activity in the recovery of the economies of towns in Hudson Bay near to the Saint Lawrence and Churchill Rivers. The best time to see belugas is during the summer, when they meet in large numbers in the estuaries of the rivers and in their summer habitats. The animals are easily seen due to their high numbers and their curiosity regarding the presence of humans.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nHowever, the boats' presence poses a threat to the animals, as it distracts them from important activities such as feeding, social interaction and reproduction. In addition, the noise produced by the motors has an adverse effect on their auditory function and reduces their ability to detect their prey, communicate, and navigate. To protect these marine animals during whale-watching activities, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published a “Guide for observing marine life”. The guide recommends boats carrying the whale watchers keep their distance from the cetaceans and it expressly prohibits chasing, harassing, obstructing, touching, or feeding them.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSome regular migrations do occur into Russian EEZ of Sea of Japan such as to Rudnaya Bay, where diving with wild belugas became a less-known but popular attraction.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nHuman speech\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nMale belugas in captivity can mimic the pattern of human speech, several octaves lower than typical whale calls. It is not the first time a beluga has been known to sound human, and they often shout like children, in the wild. One captive beluga, after overhearing divers using an underwater communication system, caused one of the divers to surface by imitating their order to get out of the water. Subsequent recordings confirmed that the beluga had become skilled at imitating the patterns and frequency of human speech. After several years, this beluga ceased making these sounds.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nConservation status\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nAs of 2008, the beluga is listed as \\\"near threatened\\\" by the IUCN due to uncertainty about threats to their numbers and the number of belugas over parts of its range (especially the Russian Arctic), and the expectation that if current conservation efforts cease, especially hunting management, the beluga population is likely to qualify for \\\"threatened\\\" status within five years. Prior to 2008, the beluga was listed as \\\"vulnerable\\\", a higher level of concern. IUCN cited the stability of the largest subpopulations and improved census methods that indicate a larger population than previously estimated.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nSubpopulations are subject to differing levels of threat and warrant individual assessment. The nonmigratory Cook Inlet subpopulation is listed as \\\"Critically Endangered\\\" by the IUCN as of 2006 and is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act as of October 2008. \\nThis was due to overharvesting of belugas prior to 1998. The population has failed to recover, though the reported harvest has been small. The most recently published estimate as of May 2008 was 302 (CV=0.16) in 2006. In addition, the National Marine Fisheries Service indicated the 2007 aerial survey's point estimate was 375.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nLegal protection\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe US Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 outlawing the persecution and hunting of all marine mammals within US coastal waters. The act has been amended a number of times to permit subsistence hunting by native peoples, temporary capture of restricted numbers for research, education and public display, and to decriminalise the accidental capture of individuals during fishing operations. The act also states that all whales in US territorial waters are under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of NOAA.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nTo prevent hunting, belugas are protected under the 1986 International Moratorium on Commercial Whaling; however, hunting of small numbers of belugas is still allowed. Since it is very difficult to know the exact population of belugas because their habitats include inland waters away from the ocean, they easily come in contact with oil and gas development centres. To prevent whales from coming in contact with industrial waste, the Alaskan and Canadian governments are relocating sites where whales and waste come in contact.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe beluga whale is listed on appendix II\\\"[http://www.cms.int/documents/appendix/Appendices_COP9_E.pdf Appendix II]\\\" of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). As amended by the Conference of the Parties in 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008. Effective: 5 March 2009. of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is listed on Appendix II as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements. All toothed whales are protected under the CITES that was signed in 1973 to regulate the commercial exploitation of certain species.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe isolated beluga population in the Saint Lawrence River has been legally protected since 1983. In 1988 Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada, a governmental agency that supervises national parks, implemented the Saint Lawrence Action Plan with the aim of reducing industrial contamination by 90% by 1993; as of 1992, the emissions had been reduced by 59%.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nCultural references\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nPour la suite du monde, is a Canadian documentary film released in 1963 about traditional beluga hunting carried out by the inhabitants of L'Isle-aux-Coudres on the Saint Lawrence River.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nWhite Whale Records was an American record company that operated between 1965 and 1971 in Los Angeles, California, it was the record company of The Turtles. The company's logo was the silhouette of a beluga with the words \\\"White Whale\\\" above it.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe children's singer Raffi released an album called Baby Beluga in 1980. The album starts with the sound of whales communicating, and includes songs representing the ocean and whales playing. The song \\\"Baby Beluga\\\" was composed after Raffi saw a recently born beluga calf in Vancouver Aquarium.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nYamaha's Beluga motorcycle (Riva 80/CV80) which had an 80-cc engine was produced from 1981 until 1987 and sold throughout the world, particularly in Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Japan.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe Beluga class submarine (project 1710 Mackerel) was an experimental Russian submarine whose prototype operated until 1997, with the whole project being discontinued in the mid-2000s.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe fuselage design of the Airbus Beluga, one of the world's biggest cargo planes, is very similar to that of a beluga; it was originally called the Super Transporter, but the nickname Beluga became more popular and was then officially adopted.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nThe German company SkySails GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of the Beluga Shipping group based in Hamburg, tested a new propulsion system for ships that involved a large wing similar to that used in paragliding and which has demonstrated a reduction in fuel use between 10% and 35%. The programme to prove the efficiency of the system was called Project Beluga, as it involved the ship MS Beluga Skysails. The company's insignia, a beluga's tailfin, was printed on the giant wing, which had a surface area of 160 m2.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nA 2002 episode of science fiction series Dark Angel titled \\\"Dawg Day Afternoon\\\" claims that beluga whales are the result of a hybridisation between a humpback whale and a dolphin.\",\n \"Beluga whale\\n\\nIn the Disney/Pixar film Finding Dory, the character Bailey is a beluga whale.\"\n]","isConversational":false}}},{"rowIdx":137694,"cells":{"id":{"kind":"string","value":"qg_3404"},"question":{"kind":"string","value":"What part of the human body is affected by meningitis?"},"answer":{"kind":"string","value":"Brain"},"answer_aliases":{"kind":"list like","value":["brain marrow","vertebrate brain","visual verbal ability","brain cell","mind myths","brainy","mammalian brain","brain","brain functions","encephalon","brain function","brain metabolism"],"string":"[\n \"brain marrow\",\n \"vertebrate brain\",\n \"visual verbal ability\",\n \"brain cell\",\n \"mind myths\",\n \"brainy\",\n \"mammalian brain\",\n \"brain\",\n \"brain functions\",\n \"encephalon\",\n \"brain function\",\n \"brain metabolism\"\n]","isConversational":false},"documents":{"kind":"list like","value":["Human body\n\nThe human body is the entire structure of a human being and comprises a head, neck, trunk (which includes the thorax and abdomen), arms and hands, legs and feet.\nEvery part of the body is composed of various types of cells, the fundamental unit of life.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd\nSearch&dbbooks&doptcmdl\nGenBookHL&termCell+Movements+and+the+Shaping+of+the+Vertebrate+Body+AND+mboc4%5Bbook%5D+AND+374635%5Buid%5D&rid\nmboc4.section.3919 Cell Movements and the Shaping of the Vertebrate Body] in Chapter 21 of [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmdSearch&db\nbooks&doptcmdlGenBookHL&term\ncell+biology+AND+mboc4%5Bbook%5D+AND+373693%5Buid%5D&ridmboc4 Molecular Biology of the Cell] fourth edition, edited by Bruce Alberts (2002) published by Garland Science. The Alberts text discusses how the \"cellular building blocks\" move to shape developing embryos. It is also common to describe small molecules such as amino acids as \"[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd\nSearch&dbbooks&doptcmdl\nGenBookHL&term%22all+cells%22+AND+mboc4%5Bbook%5D+AND+372023%5Buid%5D&rid\nmboc4.section.4#23 molecular building blocks]\".","Human body\n\nAt maturity, the estimated average number of cells in the body is given as 37.2 trillion. This number is stated to be of partial data and to be used as a starting point for further calculations. The number given is arrived at by totalling the cell numbers of all the organs of the body and cell types. The composition of the human body is made up of a number of certain elements including carbon, calcium and phosphorus.","Human body\n\nThe study of the human body involves anatomy and physiology. The human body can show anatomical non-pathological anomalies known as variations which need to be able to be recognised. Physiology focuses on the systems and their organs of the human body and their functions. Many systems and mechanisms interact in order to maintain homeostasis.","Human body\n\nStructure","Human body\n\nSkeletal structure frames the overall shape of the body and does not alter much over a lifetime. General body shape (and female body shape) is influenced by the distribution of muscle and fat tissue and is also affected by various hormones. The average height of an adult male human (in developed countries) is about and the adult female is about . Height is largely determined by genes and diet. Body type and body composition are influenced by factors such as genetics, diet, and exercise.","Human body\n\nThe human body has several body cavities the largest of which is the abdominopelvic cavity. These cavities house the various body organs including the spinal cord which also accommodates the production and flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system of the brain.","Human body\n\nMany other smaller cavities exist throughout the body called sinuses, which have varied functions. Sinuses in general usage refers to the paranasal sinuses which are involved in the condition sinusitis. The paranasal sinuses are four pairs of vital air-cavities in the cranial bones. These air-filled spaces are paired between the eyes, above the eyes, deeper behind the eyes and around the nasal cavity.","Human body\n\nComposition","Human body\n\nThe average adult body contains between 5 and 5.5 litres of blood and approximately 10 litres of interstitial fluid.","Human body\n\nThe composition of the human body can be referred to in terms of its water content, elements content, tissue types or material types. The adult human body contains approximately 60% water, and so makes up a significant proportion of the body, both in terms of weight and volume. Water content can vary from a high 75% in a newborn infant to a lower 45% in an obese person. (These figures are necessarily statistical averages).","Human body\n\nThe vast majority of cells in the human body are not human at all; rather they are of bacteria, archaea, and methanogens such as Methanobrevibacter smithii. The largest proportion of these form the gut flora. The whole population of microbiota include microorganisms of the skin and other body parts and this altogether is termed as the human microbiome.","Human body\n\nThe proportions of the elements of the body can be referred to in terms of the main elements, minor ones and trace elements. Material type may also be referred to as including water, protein, connective tissue, fats, carbohydrates and bone.","Human body\n\nHuman anatomy","Human body\n\nHuman anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, \"dissection\", from ἀνά, \"up\", and τέμνειν, \"cut\") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy (histology) Gross anatomy (also called topographical anatomy, regional anatomy, or anthropotomy) is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye. Microscopic anatomy involves the use of microscopes to study minute anatomical structures, and is the field of histology which studies the organization of tissues at all levels, from cell biology (previously called cytology), to organs. Anatomy, human physiology (the study of function), and biochemistry (the study of the chemistry of living structures) are complementary basic medical sciences, that are generally taught together (or in tandem) to students studying medicine.","Human body\n\nIn some of its facets human anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, through common roots in evolution; for example, much of the human body maintains the ancient segmental pattern that is present in all vertebrates with basic units being repeated, which is particularly obvious in the vertebral column and in the ribcage, and which can be traced from the somitogenesis stage in very early embryos.","Human body\n\nGenerally, physicians, dentists, physiotherapists, nurses, paramedics, radiographers, other health professionals, and students of certain biological sciences, learn gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy from anatomical models, skeletons, textbooks, diagrams, photographs, lectures, and tutorials. The study of microscopic anatomy (or histology) can be aided by practical experience in examining histological preparations (or slides) under a microscope; and in addition, medical and dental students generally also learn anatomy with practical experience of dissection and inspection of cadavers (corpses). A thorough working knowledge of anatomy is required for all medical doctors, especially surgeons, and doctors working in some diagnostic specialities, such as histopathology and radiology.","Human body\n\nHuman anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry are basic medical sciences, generally taught to medical students in their first year at medical school. Human anatomy can be taught regionally or systemically; that is, respectively, studying anatomy by bodily regions such as the head and chest, or studying by specific systems, such as the nervous or respiratory systems. The major anatomy textbook, Gray's Anatomy, has recently been reorganized from a systems format to a regional format, in line with modern teaching.","Human body\n\nAnatomical variations","Human body\n\nIn human anatomy, the term anatomical variation refers to a non-pathologic anatomic structure that is different from normal. The possible anatomic variations in each organ and its arterial and venous supply must be known by physicians, such as surgeons or radiologists, in order to identify them. Unlike congenital anomalies, anatomic variations are typically inconsequential and do not constitute a disorder. Accessory muscles are rare anatomical duplicates of muscle that can occur and only require treatment where function is impaired. The accessory soleus muscle in the ankle is one such variation and one which does not need to be rectified. Another more common variation found in around ten per cent of the population is the accessory spleen.","Human body\n\nHuman physiology","Human body\n\nHuman physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. Physiology focuses principally at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically related and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.","Human body\n\nThe study of how physiology is altered in disease is pathophysiology.","Human body\n\nSystems","Human body\n\nThe human body consists of many interacting systems. Each system contributes to the maintenance of homeostasis, of itself, other systems, and the entire body. A system consists of two or more organs, which are functional collections of tissue. Systems do not work in isolation, and the well-being of the person depends upon the well-being of all the interacting body systems. Some combining systems are referred to by their joint names such as the nervous system and the endocrine system known together as the neuroendocrine system.","Human body\n\nFile:Organ Systems I.jpg\nFile:Organ Systems II.jpg","Human body\n\nHomeostasis","Human body\n\nThe term homeostasis refers to a system that regulates its internal environment and maintains a stable, relatively constant condition; such as maintaining an equal temperature, or acid balance pH. This is required for the body to function properly. Without a relatively constant pH, temperature, blood flow, and position, survival would be impossible.","Human body\n\nMany interacting systems and mechanisms act to maintain the human's internal environment. The nervous system receives information from the body and transmits this to the brain via neurotransmitters. The endocrine system may release hormones to help regulate blood pressure and volume. Cell metabolism may help to maintain the blood's pH.","Human body\n\nSociety and culture","Human body\n\nDepiction","Human body\n\nAnatomy has become a key part of the visual arts. Basic concepts of how muscles and bones function and change with movement are vital in drawing, painting or animating a human figure. Many books (such as \"Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form\") have been written as guides to drawing the human body anatomically correctly. Leonardo da Vinci sought to improve his art through a better understanding of human anatomy. In the process he advanced both human anatomy and its representation in art.","Human body\n\nBecause the structure of living organisms is complex, anatomy is organized by levels, from the smallest components of cells to the largest organs and their relationship to others.","Human body\n\nAppearance","Human body\n\nHistory of anatomy","Human body\n\nThe history of anatomy has been characterized, over a long period of time, by an ongoing, developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures in the human body. Methods have advanced dramatically, from the simple examination by dissection of animals and cadavers (corpses), to the development and use of the microscope, to the far more technological advances of the electron microscope and other complex techniques developed since the beginning of the 20th century. During the 19th and early 20th centuries it was the most prominent biological field of scientific study.","Human body\n\nHistory of physiology","Human body\n\nThe study of human physiology dates back to at least 420 B.C. and the time of Hippocrates, the father of western medicine. The critical thinking of Aristotle and his emphasis on the relationship between structure and function marked the beginning of physiology in Ancient Greece, while Claudius Galenus (c. 126–199 A.D.), known as Galen, was the first to use experiments to probe the function of the body. Galen was the founder of experimental physiology. The medical world moved on from Galenism only with the appearance of Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey.","Human body\n\nFollowing from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance brought an increase of physiological research in the Western world that triggered the modern study of anatomy and physiology. Andreas Vesalius was an author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica. Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy. Anatomist William Harvey described the circulatory system in the 17th century, demonstrating the fruitful combination of close observations and careful experiments to learn about the functions of the body, which was fundamental to the development of experimental physiology. Herman Boerhaave is sometimes referred to as a father of physiology due to his exemplary teaching in Leiden and textbook Institutiones medicae (1708).","Human body\n\nIn the 18th century, important works in this field were done by Pierre Cabanis, a French doctor and physiologist.","Human body\n\nIn the 19th century, physiological knowledge began to accumulate at a rapid rate, in particular with the 1838 appearance of the Cell theory of Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann. It radically stated that organisms are made up of units called cells. Claude Bernard's (1813–1878) further discoveries ultimately led to his concept of milieu interieur (internal environment), which would later be taken up and championed as \"homeostasis\" by American physiologist Walter Cannon (1871–1945).","Human body\n\nIn the 20th century, biologists also became interested in how organisms other than human beings function, eventually spawning the fields of comparative physiology and ecophysiology. Major figures in these fields include Knut Schmidt-Nielsen and George Bartholomew. Most recently, evolutionary physiology has become a distinct subdiscipline.","Human body\n\nThe biological basis of the study of physiology, integration refers to the overlap of many functions of the systems of the human body, as well as its accompanied form. It is achieved through communication that occurs in a variety of ways, both electrical and chemical.","Human body\n\nIn terms of the human body, the endocrine and nervous systems play major roles in the reception and transmission of signals that integrate function. Homeostasis is a major aspect with regard to the interactions in the body.","Human body\n\nGallery","Human body\n\nHuman body external features:","Human body\n\nBlack human body features-en.svg\nHuman body features-en.svg\nHuman Body.jpg","Meningitis\n\nMeningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting, and an inability to tolerate light or loud noises. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. If a rash is present, it may indicate a particular cause of meningitis; for instance, meningitis caused by meningococcal bacteria may be accompanied by a characteristic rash.","Meningitis\n\nThe inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs. Meningitis can be life-threatening because of the inflammation's proximity to the brain and spinal cord; therefore, the condition is classified as a medical emergency. A lumbar puncture diagnoses or excludes meningitis. A needle is inserted into the spinal canal to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), that envelops the brain and spinal cord. The CSF is examined in a medical laboratory.","Meningitis\n\nSome forms of meningitis are preventable by immunization with the meningococcal, mumps, pneumococcal, and Hib vaccines. Giving antibiotics to people with significant exposure to certain types of meningitis may also be useful. The first treatment in acute meningitis consists of promptly giving antibiotics and sometimes antiviral drugs. Corticosteroids can also be used to prevent complications from excessive inflammation. Meningitis can lead to serious long-term consequences such as deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, or cognitive deficits, especially if not treated quickly.","Meningitis\n\nIn 2013 meningitis occurred in about 16 million people worldwide. This resulted in 303,000 deaths – down from 464,000 deaths in 1990. With appropriate treatment the risk of death in bacterial meningitis is less than 15%. Outbreaks of bacterial meningitis occur between December and June each year in an area of sub-Saharan Africa known as the meningitis belt. Smaller outbreaks may also occur in other areas of the world. The word meningitis is from Greek μῆνιγξ méninx, \"membrane\" and the medical suffix -itis, \"inflammation\".","Meningitis\n\nSigns and symptoms","Meningitis\n\nClinical features","Meningitis\n\nIn adults, the most common symptom of meningitis is a severe headache, occurring in almost 90% of cases of bacterial meningitis, followed by nuchal rigidity (the inability to flex the neck forward passively due to increased neck muscle tone and stiffness). The classic triad of diagnostic signs consists of nuchal rigidity, sudden high fever, and altered mental status; however, all three features are present in only 44–46% of bacterial meningitis cases. If none of the three signs are present, acute meningitis is extremely unlikely. Other signs commonly associated with meningitis include photophobia (intolerance to bright light) and phonophobia (intolerance to loud noises). Small children often do not exhibit the aforementioned symptoms, and may only be irritable and look unwell. The fontanelle (the soft spot on the top of a baby's head) can bulge in infants aged up to 6 months. Other features that distinguish meningitis from less severe illnesses in young children are leg pain, cold extremities, and an abnormal skin color.","Meningitis\n\nNuchal rigidity occurs in 70% of bacterial meningitis in adults. Other signs of meningism include the presence of positive Kernig's sign or Brudziński sign. Kernig's sign is assessed with the person lying supine, with the hip and knee flexed to 90 degrees. In a person with a positive Kernig's sign, pain limits passive extension of the knee. A positive Brudzinski's sign occurs when flexion of the neck causes involuntary flexion of the knee and hip. Although Kernig's sign and Brudzinski's sign are both commonly used to screen for meningitis, the sensitivity of these tests is limited. They do, however, have very good specificity for meningitis: the signs rarely occur in other diseases. Another test, known as the \"jolt accentuation maneuver\" helps determine whether meningitis is present in those reporting fever and headache. A person is asked to rapidly rotate the head horizontally; if this does not make the headache worse, meningitis is unlikely.","Meningitis\n\nMeningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (known as \"meningococcal meningitis\") can be differentiated from meningitis with other causes by a rapidly spreading petechial rash, which may precede other symptoms. The rash consists of numerous small, irregular purple or red spots (\"petechiae\") on the trunk, lower extremities, mucous membranes, conjuctiva, and (occasionally) the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. The rash is typically non-blanching; the redness does not disappear when pressed with a finger or a glass tumbler. Although this rash is not necessarily present in meningococcal meningitis, it is relatively specific for the disease; it does, however, occasionally occur in meningitis due to other bacteria. Other clues on the cause of meningitis may be the skin signs of hand, foot and mouth disease and genital herpes, both of which are associated with various forms of viral meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nEarly complications","Meningitis\n\nAdditional problems may occur in the early stage of the illness. These may require specific treatment, and sometimes indicate severe illness or worse prognosis. The infection may trigger sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response syndrome of falling blood pressure, fast heart rate, high or abnormally low temperature, and rapid breathing. Very low blood pressure may occur at an early stage, especially but not exclusively in meningococcal meningitis; this may lead to insufficient blood supply to other organs. Disseminated intravascular coagulation, the excessive activation of blood clotting, may obstruct blood flow to organs and paradoxically increase the bleeding risk. Gangrene of limbs can occur in meningococcal disease. Severe meningococcal and pneumococcal infections may result in hemorrhaging of the adrenal glands, leading to Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, which is often fatal.","Meningitis\n\nThe brain tissue may swell, pressure inside the skull may increase and the swollen brain may herniate through the skull base. This may be noticed by a decreasing level of consciousness, loss of the pupillary light reflex, and abnormal posturing. The inflammation of the brain tissue may also obstruct the normal flow of CSF around the brain (hydrocephalus). Seizures may occur for various reasons; in children, seizures are common in the early stages of meningitis (in 30% of cases) and do not necessarily indicate an underlying cause. Seizures may result from increased pressure and from areas of inflammation in the brain tissue. Focal seizures (seizures that involve one limb or part of the body), persistent seizures, late-onset seizures and those that are difficult to control with medication indicate a poorer long-term outcome.","Meningitis\n\nInflammation of the meninges may lead to abnormalities of the cranial nerves, a group of nerves arising from the brain stem that supply the head and neck area and which control, among other functions, eye movement, facial muscles, and hearing. Visual symptoms and hearing loss may persist after an episode of meningitis. Inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) or its blood vessels (cerebral vasculitis), as well as the formation of blood clots in the veins (cerebral venous thrombosis), may all lead to weakness, loss of sensation, or abnormal movement or function of the part of the body supplied by the affected area of the brain.","Meningitis\n\nCauses","Meningitis\n\nMeningitis is typically caused by an infection with microorganisms. Most infections are due to viruses, with bacteria, fungi, and protozoa being the next most common causes. It may also result from various non-infectious causes. The term aseptic meningitis refers to cases of meningitis in which no bacterial infection can be demonstrated. This type of meningitis is usually caused by viruses but it may be due to bacterial infection that has already been partially treated, when bacteria disappear from the meninges, or pathogens infect a space adjacent to the meninges (e.g. sinusitis). Endocarditis (an infection of the heart valves which spreads small clusters of bacteria through the bloodstream) may cause aseptic meningitis. Aseptic meningitis may also result from infection with spirochetes, a type of bacteria that includes Treponema pallidum (the cause of syphilis) and Borrelia burgdorferi (known for causing Lyme disease). Meningitis may be encountered in cerebral malaria (malaria infecting the brain) or amoebic meningitis, meningitis due to infection with amoebae such as Naegleria fowleri, contracted from freshwater sources.","Meningitis\n\nBacterial","Meningitis\n\nThe types of bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis vary according to the infected individual's age group. \n*In premature babies and newborns up to three months old, common causes are group B streptococci (subtypes III which normally inhabit the vagina and are mainly a cause during the first week of life) and bacteria that normally inhabit the digestive tract such as Escherichia coli (carrying the K1 antigen). Listeria monocytogenes (serotype IVb) is transmitted by the mother before birth and may cause meningitis in the newborn. \n*Older children are more commonly affected by Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (serotypes 6, 9, 14, 18 and 23) and those under five by Haemophilus influenzae type B (in countries that do not offer vaccination). \n*In adults, Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae together cause 80% of bacterial meningitis cases. Risk of infection with Listeria monocytogenes is increased in persons over 50 years old. The introduction of pneumococcal vaccine has lowered rates of pneumococcal meningitis in both children and adults.","Meningitis\n\nRecent skull trauma potentially allows nasal cavity bacteria to enter the meningeal space. Similarly, devices in the brain and meninges, such as cerebral shunts, extraventricular drains or Ommaya reservoirs, carry an increased risk of meningitis. In these cases, the persons are more likely to be infected with Staphylococci, Pseudomonas, and other Gram-negative bacteria. These pathogens are also associated with meningitis in people with an impaired immune system. An infection in the head and neck area, such as otitis media or mastoiditis, can lead to meningitis in a small proportion of people. Recipients of cochlear implants for hearing loss are more at risk for pneumococcal meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nTuberculous meningitis, which is meningitis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is more common in people from countries in which tuberculosis is endemic, but is also encountered in persons with immune problems, such as AIDS.","Meningitis\n\nRecurrent bacterial meningitis may be caused by persisting anatomical defects, either congenital or acquired, or by disorders of the immune system. Anatomical defects allow continuity between the external environment and the nervous system. The most common cause of recurrent meningitis is a skull fracture, particularly fractures that affect the base of the skull or extend towards the sinuses and petrous pyramids. Approximately 59% of recurrent meningitis cases are due to such anatomical abnormalities, 36% are due to immune deficiencies (such as complement deficiency, which predisposes especially to recurrent meningococcal meningitis), and 5% are due to ongoing infections in areas adjacent to the meninges.","Meningitis\n\nViral","Meningitis\n\nViruses that cause meningitis include enteroviruses, herpes simplex virus (generally type 2, which produces most genital sores; less commonly type 1), varicella zoster virus (known for causing chickenpox and shingles), mumps virus, HIV, and LCMV. Mollaret's meningitis is a chronic recurrent form of herpes meningitis; it is thought to be caused by herpes simplex virus type 2.","Meningitis\n\nFungal","Meningitis\n\nThere are a number of risk factors for fungal meningitis, including the use of immunosuppressants (such as after organ transplantation), HIV/AIDS, and the loss of immunity associated with aging. It is uncommon in those with a normal immune system but has occurred with medication contamination. Symptom onset is typically more gradual, with headaches and fever being present for at least a couple of weeks before diagnosis. The most common fungal meningitis is cryptococcal meningitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans. In Africa, cryptococcal meningitis is now the most common cause of meningitis in multiple studies, and it accounts for 20–25% of AIDS-related deaths in Africa. Other less common fungal pathogens which can cause meningitis include: Coccidioides immitis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Candida species.","Meningitis\n\nParasitic","Meningitis\n\nA parasitic cause is often assumed when there is a predominance of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the CSF. The most common parasites implicated are Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Gnathostoma spinigerum, Schistosoma, as well as the conditions cysticercosis, toxocariasis, baylisascariasis, paragonimiasis, and a number of rarer infections and noninfective conditions.","Meningitis\n\nNon-infectious","Meningitis\n\nMeningitis may occur as the result of several non-infectious causes: spread of cancer to the meninges (malignant or neoplastic meningitis) and certain drugs (mainly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and intravenous immunoglobulins). It may also be caused by several inflammatory conditions, such as sarcoidosis (which is then called neurosarcoidosis), connective tissue disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, and certain forms of vasculitis (inflammatory conditions of the blood vessel wall), such as Behçet's disease. Epidermoid cysts and dermoid cysts may cause meningitis by releasing irritant matter into the subarachnoid space. Rarely, migraine may cause meningitis, but this diagnosis is usually only made when other causes have been eliminated.","Meningitis\n\nMechanism","Meningitis\n\nThe meninges comprise three membranes that, together with the cerebrospinal fluid, enclose and protect the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system). The pia mater is a very delicate impermeable membrane that firmly adheres to the surface of the brain, following all the minor contours. The arachnoid mater (so named because of its spider-web-like appearance) is a loosely fitting sac on top of the pia mater. The subarachnoid space separates the arachnoid and pia mater membranes and is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. The outermost membrane, the dura mater, is a thick durable membrane, which is attached to both the arachnoid membrane and the skull.","Meningitis\n\nIn bacterial meningitis, bacteria reach the meninges by one of two main routes: through the bloodstream or through direct contact between the meninges and either the nasal cavity or the skin. In most cases, meningitis follows invasion of the bloodstream by organisms that live upon mucous surfaces such as the nasal cavity. This is often in turn preceded by viral infections, which break down the normal barrier provided by the mucous surfaces. Once bacteria have entered the bloodstream, they enter the subarachnoid space in places where the blood–brain barrier is vulnerable—such as the choroid plexus. Meningitis occurs in 25% of newborns with bloodstream infections due to group B streptococci; this phenomenon is less common in adults. Direct contamination of the cerebrospinal fluid may arise from indwelling devices, skull fractures, or infections of the nasopharynx or the nasal sinuses that have formed a tract with the subarachnoid space (see above); occasionally, congenital defects of the dura mater can be identified.","Meningitis\n\nThe large-scale inflammation that occurs in the subarachnoid space during meningitis is not a direct result of bacterial infection but can rather largely be attributed to the response of the immune system to the entry of bacteria into the central nervous system. When components of the bacterial cell membrane are identified by the immune cells of the brain (astrocytes and microglia), they respond by releasing large amounts of cytokines, hormone-like mediators that recruit other immune cells and stimulate other tissues to participate in an immune response. The blood–brain barrier becomes more permeable, leading to \"vasogenic\" cerebral edema (swelling of the brain due to fluid leakage from blood vessels). Large numbers of white blood cells enter the CSF, causing inflammation of the meninges and leading to \"interstitial\" edema (swelling due to fluid between the cells). In addition, the walls of the blood vessels themselves become inflamed (cerebral vasculitis), which leads to decreased blood flow and a third type of edema, \"cytotoxic\" edema.","Meningitis\n\nThe three forms of cerebral edema all lead to increased intracranial pressure; together with the lowered blood pressure often encountered in acute infection, this means that it is harder for blood to enter the brain, consequently brain cells are deprived of oxygen and undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death).","Meningitis\n\nIt is recognized that administration of antibiotics may initially worsen the process outlined above, by increasing the amount of bacterial cell membrane products released through the destruction of bacteria. Particular treatments, such as the use of corticosteroids, are aimed at dampening the immune system's response to this phenomenon.","Meningitis\n\nDiagnosis","Meningitis\n\nBlood tests and imaging","Meningitis\n\nIn someone suspected of having meningitis, blood tests are performed for markers of inflammation (e.g. C-reactive protein, complete blood count), as well as blood cultures.","Meningitis\n\nThe most important test in identifying or ruling out meningitis is analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid through lumbar puncture (LP, spinal tap). However, lumbar puncture is contraindicated if there is a mass in the brain (tumor or abscess) or the intracranial pressure (ICP) is elevated, as it may lead to brain herniation. If someone is at risk for either a mass or raised ICP (recent head injury, a known immune system problem, localizing neurological signs, or evidence on examination of a raised ICP), a CT or MRI scan is recommended prior to the lumbar puncture. – formal guideline at This applies in 45% of all adult cases. If a CT or MRI is required before LP, or if LP proves difficult, professional guidelines suggest that antibiotics should be administered first to prevent delay in treatment, especially if this may be longer than 30 minutes. Often, CT or MRI scans are performed at a later stage to assess for complications of meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nIn severe forms of meningitis, monitoring of blood electrolytes may be important; for example, hyponatremia is common in bacterial meningitis, due to a combination of factors, including dehydration, the inappropriate secretion of the antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), or overly aggressive intravenous fluid administration.","Meningitis\n\nLumbar puncture","Meningitis\n\nA lumbar puncture is done by positioning the person, usually lying on the side, applying local anesthetic, and inserting a needle into the dural sac (a sac around the spinal cord) to collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). When this has been achieved, the \"opening pressure\" of the CSF is measured using a manometer. The pressure is normally between 6 and 18 cm water (cmH2O); in bacterial meningitis the pressure is usually elevated. In cryptococcal meningitis, intracranial pressure is markedly elevated. The initial appearance of the fluid may prove an indication of the nature of the infection: cloudy CSF indicates higher levels of protein, white and red blood cells and/or bacteria, and therefore may suggest bacterial meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nThe CSF sample is examined for presence and types of white blood cells, red blood cells, protein content and glucose level. Gram staining of the sample may demonstrate bacteria in bacterial meningitis, but absence of bacteria does not exclude bacterial meningitis as they are only seen in 60% of cases; this figure is reduced by a further 20% if antibiotics were administered before the sample was taken. Gram staining is also less reliable in particular infections such as listeriosis. Microbiological culture of the sample is more sensitive (it identifies the organism in 70–85% of cases) but results can take up to 48 hours to become available. The type of white blood cell predominantly present (see table) indicates whether meningitis is bacterial (usually neutrophil-predominant) or viral (usually lymphocyte-predominant), although at the beginning of the disease this is not always a reliable indicator. Less commonly, eosinophils predominate, suggesting parasitic or fungal etiology, among others.","Meningitis\n\nThe concentration of glucose in CSF is normally above 40% of that in blood. In bacterial meningitis it is typically lower; the CSF glucose level is therefore divided by the blood glucose (CSF glucose to serum glucose ratio). A ratio ≤0.4 is indicative of bacterial meningitis; in the newborn, glucose levels in CSF are normally higher, and a ratio below 0.6 (60%) is therefore considered abnormal. High levels of lactate in CSF indicate a higher likelihood of bacterial meningitis, as does a higher white blood cell count. If lactate levels are less than 35 mg/dl and the person has not previously received antibiotics then this may rule out bacterial meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nVarious other specialized tests may be used to distinguish between different types of meningitis. A latex agglutination test may be positive in meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli and group B streptococci; its routine use is not encouraged as it rarely leads to changes in treatment, but it may be used if other tests are not diagnostic. Similarly, the limulus lysate test may be positive in meningitis caused by Gram-negative bacteria, but it is of limited use unless other tests have been unhelpful. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique used to amplify small traces of bacterial DNA in order to detect the presence of bacterial or viral DNA in cerebrospinal fluid; it is a highly sensitive and specific test since only trace amounts of the infecting agent's DNA is required. It may identify bacteria in bacterial meningitis and may assist in distinguishing the various causes of viral meningitis (enterovirus, herpes simplex virus 2 and mumps in those not vaccinated for this). Serology (identification of antibodies to viruses) may be useful in viral meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nIf tuberculous meningitis is suspected, the sample is processed for Ziehl-Neelsen stain, which has a low sensitivity, and tuberculosis culture, which takes a long time to process; PCR is being used increasingly. Diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis can be made at low cost using an India ink stain of the CSF; however, testing for cryptococcal antigen in blood or CSF is more sensitive, particularly in people with AIDS.","Meningitis\n\nA diagnostic and therapeutic difficulty is \"partially treated meningitis\", where there are meningitis symptoms after receiving antibiotics (such as for presumptive sinusitis). When this happens, CSF findings may resemble those of viral meningitis, but antibiotic treatment may need to be continued until there is definitive positive evidence of a viral cause (e.g. a positive enterovirus PCR).","Meningitis\n\nPostmortem","Meningitis\n\nMeningitis can be diagnosed after death has occurred. The findings from a post mortem are usually a widespread inflammation of the pia mater and arachnoid layers of the meninges. Neutrophil granulocytes tend to have migrated to the cerebrospinal fluid and the base of the brain, along with cranial nerves and the spinal cord, may be surrounded with pus — as may the meningeal vessels.","Meningitis\n\nPrevention","Meningitis\n\nFor some causes of meningitis, protection can be provided in the long term through vaccination, or in the short term with antibiotics. Some behavioral measures may also be effective.","Meningitis\n\nBehavioral","Meningitis\n\nBacterial and viral meningitis are contagious; however, neither is as contagious as the common cold or flu. Both can be transmitted through droplets of respiratory secretions during close contact such as kissing, sneezing or coughing on someone, but cannot be spread by only breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been. Viral meningitis is typically caused by enteroviruses, and is most commonly spread through fecal contamination. The risk of infection can be decreased by changing the behavior that led to transmission.","Meningitis\n\nVaccination","Meningitis\n\nSince the 1980s, many countries have included immunization against Haemophilus influenzae type B in their routine childhood vaccination schemes. This has practically eliminated this pathogen as a cause of meningitis in young children in those countries. In the countries in which the disease burden is highest, however, the vaccine is still too expensive. Similarly, immunization against mumps has led to a sharp fall in the number of cases of mumps meningitis, which prior to vaccination occurred in 15% of all cases of mumps.","Meningitis\n\nMeningococcus vaccines exist against groups A, B, C, W135 and Y. In countries where the vaccine for meningococcus group C was introduced, cases caused by this pathogen have decreased substantially. A quadrivalent vaccine now exists, which combines all four vaccines. Immunization with the ACW135Y vaccine against four strains is now a visa requirement for taking part in Hajj. Development of a vaccine against group B meningococci has proved much more difficult, as its surface proteins (which would normally be used to make a vaccine) only elicit a weak response from the immune system, or cross-react with normal human proteins. Still, some countries (New Zealand, Cuba, Norway and Chile) have developed vaccines against local strains of group B meningococci; some have shown good results and are used in local immunization schedules. Two new vaccines, both approved in 2014, are effective against a wider range of group B meningococci strains.","Meningitis\n\nIn Africa, until recently, the approach for prevention and control of meningococcal epidemics was based on early detection of the disease and emergency reactive mass vaccination of the at-risk population with bivalent A/C or trivalent A/C/W135 polysaccharide vaccines, though the introduction of MenAfriVac (meningococcus group A vaccine) has demonstrated effectiveness in young people and has been described as a model for product development partnerships in resource-limited settings.","Meningitis\n\nRoutine vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), which is active against seven common serotypes of this pathogen, significantly reduces the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis. The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, which covers 23 strains, is only administered to certain groups (e.g. those who have had a splenectomy, the surgical removal of the spleen); it does not elicit a significant immune response in all recipients, e.g. small children. Childhood vaccination with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin has been reported to significantly reduce the rate of tuberculous meningitis, but its waning effectiveness in adulthood has prompted a search for a better vaccine.","Meningitis\n\nAntibiotics","Meningitis\n\nShort-term antibiotic prophylaxis is another method of prevention, particularly of meningococcal meningitis. In cases of meningococcal meningitis, preventative treatment in close contacts with antibiotics (e.g. rifampicin, ciprofloxacin or ceftriaxone) can reduce their risk of contracting the condition, but does not protect against future infections. Resistance to rifampicin has been noted to increase after use, which has caused some to recommend considering other agents. While antibiotics are frequently used in an attempt to prevent meningitis in those with a basilar skull fracture there is not enough evidence to determine whether this is beneficial or harmful. This applies to those with or without a CSF leak.","Meningitis\n\nManagement","Meningitis\n\nMeningitis is potentially life-threatening and has a high mortality rate if untreated; delay in treatment has been associated with a poorer outcome. Thus, treatment with wide-spectrum antibiotics should not be delayed while confirmatory tests are being conducted. If meningococcal disease is suspected in primary care, guidelines recommend that benzylpenicillin be administered before transfer to hospital. Intravenous fluids should be administered if hypotension (low blood pressure) or shock are present. In children routine intravenous fluids for two days may improve outcomes in those who arrive at hospital after being sick for some time. Given that meningitis can cause a number of early severe complications, regular medical review is recommended to identify these complications early and to admit the person to an intensive care unit if deemed necessary.","Meningitis\n\nMechanical ventilation may be needed if the level of consciousness is very low, or if there is evidence of respiratory failure. If there are signs of raised intracranial pressure, measures to monitor the pressure may be taken; this would allow the optimization of the cerebral perfusion pressure and various treatments to decrease the intracranial pressure with medication (e.g. mannitol). Seizures are treated with anticonvulsants. Hydrocephalus (obstructed flow of CSF) may require insertion of a temporary or long-term drainage device, such as a cerebral shunt.","Meningitis\n\nBacterial meningitis","Meningitis\n\nAntibiotics","Meningitis\n\nEmpiric antibiotics (treatment without exact diagnosis) should be started immediately, even before the results of the lumbar puncture and CSF analysis are known. The choice of initial treatment depends largely on the kind of bacteria that cause meningitis in a particular place and population. For instance, in the United Kingdom empirical treatment consists of a third-generation cefalosporin such as cefotaxime or ceftriaxone. In the USA, where resistance to cefalosporins is increasingly found in streptococci, addition of vancomycin to the initial treatment is recommended. Chloramphenicol, either alone or in combination with ampicillin, however, appears to work equally well.","Meningitis\n\nEmpirical therapy may be chosen on the basis of the person's age, whether the infection was preceded by a head injury, whether the person has undergone recent neurosurgery and whether or not a cerebral shunt is present. In young children and those over 50 years of age, as well as those who are immunocompromised, the addition of ampicillin is recommended to cover Listeria monocytogenes. Once the Gram stain results become available, and the broad type of bacterial cause is known, it may be possible to change the antibiotics to those likely to deal with the presumed group of pathogens. The results of the CSF culture generally take longer to become available (24–48 hours). Once they do, empiric therapy may be switched to specific antibiotic therapy targeted to the specific causative organism and its sensitivities to antibiotics. For an antibiotic to be effective in meningitis it must not only be active against the pathogenic bacterium but also reach the meninges in adequate quantities; some antibiotics have inadequate penetrance and therefore have little use in meningitis. Most of the antibiotics used in meningitis have not been tested directly on people with meningitis in clinical trials.","Meningitis\n\nRather, the relevant knowledge has mostly derived from laboratory studies in rabbits. Tuberculous meningitis requires prolonged treatment with antibiotics. While tuberculosis of the lungs is typically treated for six months, those with tuberculous meningitis are typically treated for a year or longer.","Meningitis\n\nSteroids","Meningitis\n\nAdditional treatment with corticosteroids (usually dexamethasone) has shown some benefits, such as a reduction of hearing loss, and better short term neurological outcomes in adolescents and adults from high-income countries with low rates of HIV. Some research has found reduced rates of death while other research has not. They also appear to be beneficial in those with tuberculosis meningitis, at least in those who are HIV negative.","Meningitis\n\nProfessional guidelines therefore recommend the commencement of dexamethasone or a similar corticosteroid just before the first dose of antibiotics is given, and continued for four days. Given that most of the benefit of the treatment is confined to those with pneumococcal meningitis, some guidelines suggest that dexamethasone be discontinued if another cause for meningitis is identified. The likely mechanism is suppression of overactive inflammation.","Meningitis\n\nAdditional treatment with corticosteroids have a different role in children than in adults. Though the benefit of corticosteroids has been demonstrated in adults as well as in children from high-income countries, their use in children from low-income countries is not supported by the evidence; the reason for this discrepancy is not clear. Even in high-income countries, the benefit of corticosteroids is only seen when they are given prior to the first dose of antibiotics, and is greatest in cases of H. influenzae meningitis, the incidence of which has decreased dramatically since the introduction of the Hib vaccine. Thus, corticosteroids are recommended in the treatment of pediatric meningitis if the cause is H. influenzae, and only if given prior to the first dose of antibiotics; other uses are controversial.","Meningitis\n\nViral meningitis","Meningitis\n\nViral meningitis typically only requires supportive therapy; most viruses responsible for causing meningitis are not amenable to specific treatment. Viral meningitis tends to run a more benign course than bacterial meningitis. Herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus may respond to treatment with antiviral drugs such as aciclovir, but there are no clinical trials that have specifically addressed whether this treatment is effective. Mild cases of viral meningitis can be treated at home with conservative measures such as fluid, bedrest, and analgesics.","Meningitis\n\nFungal meningitis","Meningitis\n\nFungal meningitis, such as cryptococcal meningitis, is treated with long courses of high dose antifungals, such as amphotericin B and flucytosine. Raised intracranial pressure is common in fungal meningitis, and frequent (ideally daily) lumbar punctures to relieve the pressure are recommended, or alternatively a lumbar drain.","Meningitis\n\nPrognosis","Meningitis\n\nUntreated, bacterial meningitis is almost always fatal. Viral meningitis, in contrast, tends to resolve spontaneously and is rarely fatal. With treatment, mortality (risk of death) from bacterial meningitis depends on the age of the person and the underlying cause. Of newborns, 20–30% may die from an episode of bacterial meningitis. This risk is much lower in older children, whose mortality is about 2%, but rises again to about 19–37% in adults. Risk of death is predicted by various factors apart from age, such as the pathogen and the time it takes for the pathogen to be cleared from the cerebrospinal fluid, the severity of the generalized illness, a decreased level of consciousness or an abnormally low count of white blood cells in the CSF. Meningitis caused by H. influenzae and meningococci has a better prognosis than cases caused by group B streptococci, coliforms and S. pneumonia. In adults, too, meningococcal meningitis has a lower mortality (3–7%) than pneumococcal disease.","Meningitis\n\nIn children there are several potential disabilities which may result from damage to the nervous system, including sensorineural hearing loss, epilepsy, learning and behavioral difficulties, as well as decreased intelligence. These occur in about 15% of survivors. Some of the hearing loss may be reversible. In adults, 66% of all cases emerge without disability. The main problems are deafness (in 14%) and cognitive impairment (in 10%).","Meningitis\n\nTuberculous meningitis in children continues to be associated with a significant risk of death even with treatment (19%), and a significant proportion of the surviving children have ongoing neurological problems. Just over a third of all cases survives with no problems.","Meningitis\n\nEpidemiology","Meningitis\n\nAlthough meningitis is a notifiable disease in many countries, the exact incidence rate is unknown. In 2013 meningitis resulted in 303,000 deaths – down from 464,000 deaths in 1990. In 2010 it was estimated that meningitis resulted in 420,000 deaths, excluding cryptococcal meningitis.","Meningitis\n\nBacterial meningitis occurs in about 3 people per 100,000 annually in Western countries. Population-wide studies have shown that viral meningitis is more common, at 10.9 per 100,000, and occurs more often in the summer. In Brazil, the rate of bacterial meningitis is higher, at 45.8 per 100,000 annually. Sub-Saharan Africa has been plagued by large epidemics of meningococcal meningitis for over a century, leading to it being labeled the \"meningitis belt\". Epidemics typically occur in the dry season (December to June), and an epidemic wave can last two to three years, dying out during the intervening rainy seasons. Attack rates of 100–800 cases per 100,000 are encountered in this area, which is poorly served by medical care. These cases are predominantly caused by meningococci. The largest epidemic ever recorded in history swept across the entire region in 1996–1997, causing over 250,000 cases and 25,000 deaths.","Meningitis\n\nMeningococcal disease occurs in epidemics in areas where many people live together for the first time, such as army barracks during mobilization, college campuses and the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Although the pattern of epidemic cycles in Africa is not well understood, several factors have been associated with the development of epidemics in the meningitis belt. They include: medical conditions (immunological susceptibility of the population), demographic conditions (travel and large population displacements), socioeconomic conditions (overcrowding and poor living conditions), climatic conditions (drought and dust storms), and concurrent infections (acute respiratory infections).","Meningitis\n\nThere are significant differences in the local distribution of causes for bacterial meningitis. For instance, while N. meningitides groups B and C cause most disease episodes in Europe, group A is found in Asia and continues to predominate in Africa, where it causes most of the major epidemics in the meningitis belt, accounting for about 80% to 85% of documented meningococcal meningitis cases.","Meningitis\n\nHistory","Meningitis\n\nSome suggest that Hippocrates may have realized the existence of meningitis, and it seems that meningism was known to pre-Renaissance physicians such as Avicenna. The description of tuberculous meningitis, then called \"dropsy in the brain\", is often attributed to Edinburgh physician Sir Robert Whytt in a posthumous report that appeared in 1768, although the link with tuberculosis and its pathogen was not made until the next century.","Meningitis\n\nIt appears that epidemic meningitis is a relatively recent phenomenon. The first recorded major outbreak occurred in Geneva in 1805. Several other epidemics in Europe and the United States were described shortly afterward, and the first report of an epidemic in Africa appeared in 1840. African epidemics became much more common in the 20th century, starting with a major epidemic sweeping Nigeria and Ghana in 1905–1908.","Meningitis\n\nThe first report of bacterial infection underlying meningitis was by the Austrian bacteriologist Anton Weichselbaum, who in 1887 described the meningococcus. Mortality from meningitis was very high (over 90%) in early reports. In 1906, antiserum was produced in horses; this was developed further by the American scientist Simon Flexner and markedly decreased mortality from meningococcal disease. In 1944, penicillin was first reported to be effective in meningitis. The introduction in the late 20th century of Haemophilus vaccines led to a marked fall in cases of meningitis associated with this pathogen, and in 2002, evidence emerged that treatment with steroids could improve the prognosis of bacterial meningitis."],"string":"[\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe human body is the entire structure of a human being and comprises a head, neck, trunk (which includes the thorax and abdomen), arms and hands, legs and feet.\\nEvery part of the body is composed of various types of cells, the fundamental unit of life.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd\\nSearch&dbbooks&doptcmdl\\nGenBookHL&termCell+Movements+and+the+Shaping+of+the+Vertebrate+Body+AND+mboc4%5Bbook%5D+AND+374635%5Buid%5D&rid\\nmboc4.section.3919 Cell Movements and the Shaping of the Vertebrate Body] in Chapter 21 of [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmdSearch&db\\nbooks&doptcmdlGenBookHL&term\\ncell+biology+AND+mboc4%5Bbook%5D+AND+373693%5Buid%5D&ridmboc4 Molecular Biology of the Cell] fourth edition, edited by Bruce Alberts (2002) published by Garland Science. The Alberts text discusses how the \\\"cellular building blocks\\\" move to shape developing embryos. It is also common to describe small molecules such as amino acids as \\\"[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd\\nSearch&dbbooks&doptcmdl\\nGenBookHL&term%22all+cells%22+AND+mboc4%5Bbook%5D+AND+372023%5Buid%5D&rid\\nmboc4.section.4#23 molecular building blocks]\\\".\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nAt maturity, the estimated average number of cells in the body is given as 37.2 trillion. This number is stated to be of partial data and to be used as a starting point for further calculations. The number given is arrived at by totalling the cell numbers of all the organs of the body and cell types. The composition of the human body is made up of a number of certain elements including carbon, calcium and phosphorus.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe study of the human body involves anatomy and physiology. The human body can show anatomical non-pathological anomalies known as variations which need to be able to be recognised. Physiology focuses on the systems and their organs of the human body and their functions. Many systems and mechanisms interact in order to maintain homeostasis.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nStructure\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nSkeletal structure frames the overall shape of the body and does not alter much over a lifetime. General body shape (and female body shape) is influenced by the distribution of muscle and fat tissue and is also affected by various hormones. The average height of an adult male human (in developed countries) is about and the adult female is about . Height is largely determined by genes and diet. Body type and body composition are influenced by factors such as genetics, diet, and exercise.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe human body has several body cavities the largest of which is the abdominopelvic cavity. These cavities house the various body organs including the spinal cord which also accommodates the production and flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system of the brain.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nMany other smaller cavities exist throughout the body called sinuses, which have varied functions. Sinuses in general usage refers to the paranasal sinuses which are involved in the condition sinusitis. The paranasal sinuses are four pairs of vital air-cavities in the cranial bones. These air-filled spaces are paired between the eyes, above the eyes, deeper behind the eyes and around the nasal cavity.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nComposition\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe average adult body contains between 5 and 5.5 litres of blood and approximately 10 litres of interstitial fluid.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe composition of the human body can be referred to in terms of its water content, elements content, tissue types or material types. The adult human body contains approximately 60% water, and so makes up a significant proportion of the body, both in terms of weight and volume. Water content can vary from a high 75% in a newborn infant to a lower 45% in an obese person. (These figures are necessarily statistical averages).\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe vast majority of cells in the human body are not human at all; rather they are of bacteria, archaea, and methanogens such as Methanobrevibacter smithii. The largest proportion of these form the gut flora. The whole population of microbiota include microorganisms of the skin and other body parts and this altogether is termed as the human microbiome.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe proportions of the elements of the body can be referred to in terms of the main elements, minor ones and trace elements. Material type may also be referred to as including water, protein, connective tissue, fats, carbohydrates and bone.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHuman anatomy\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHuman anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, \\\"dissection\\\", from ἀνά, \\\"up\\\", and τέμνειν, \\\"cut\\\") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy (histology) Gross anatomy (also called topographical anatomy, regional anatomy, or anthropotomy) is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye. Microscopic anatomy involves the use of microscopes to study minute anatomical structures, and is the field of histology which studies the organization of tissues at all levels, from cell biology (previously called cytology), to organs. Anatomy, human physiology (the study of function), and biochemistry (the study of the chemistry of living structures) are complementary basic medical sciences, that are generally taught together (or in tandem) to students studying medicine.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nIn some of its facets human anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, through common roots in evolution; for example, much of the human body maintains the ancient segmental pattern that is present in all vertebrates with basic units being repeated, which is particularly obvious in the vertebral column and in the ribcage, and which can be traced from the somitogenesis stage in very early embryos.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nGenerally, physicians, dentists, physiotherapists, nurses, paramedics, radiographers, other health professionals, and students of certain biological sciences, learn gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy from anatomical models, skeletons, textbooks, diagrams, photographs, lectures, and tutorials. The study of microscopic anatomy (or histology) can be aided by practical experience in examining histological preparations (or slides) under a microscope; and in addition, medical and dental students generally also learn anatomy with practical experience of dissection and inspection of cadavers (corpses). A thorough working knowledge of anatomy is required for all medical doctors, especially surgeons, and doctors working in some diagnostic specialities, such as histopathology and radiology.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHuman anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry are basic medical sciences, generally taught to medical students in their first year at medical school. Human anatomy can be taught regionally or systemically; that is, respectively, studying anatomy by bodily regions such as the head and chest, or studying by specific systems, such as the nervous or respiratory systems. The major anatomy textbook, Gray's Anatomy, has recently been reorganized from a systems format to a regional format, in line with modern teaching.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nAnatomical variations\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nIn human anatomy, the term anatomical variation refers to a non-pathologic anatomic structure that is different from normal. The possible anatomic variations in each organ and its arterial and venous supply must be known by physicians, such as surgeons or radiologists, in order to identify them. Unlike congenital anomalies, anatomic variations are typically inconsequential and do not constitute a disorder. Accessory muscles are rare anatomical duplicates of muscle that can occur and only require treatment where function is impaired. The accessory soleus muscle in the ankle is one such variation and one which does not need to be rectified. Another more common variation found in around ten per cent of the population is the accessory spleen.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHuman physiology\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHuman physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. Physiology focuses principally at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically related and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe study of how physiology is altered in disease is pathophysiology.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nSystems\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe human body consists of many interacting systems. Each system contributes to the maintenance of homeostasis, of itself, other systems, and the entire body. A system consists of two or more organs, which are functional collections of tissue. Systems do not work in isolation, and the well-being of the person depends upon the well-being of all the interacting body systems. Some combining systems are referred to by their joint names such as the nervous system and the endocrine system known together as the neuroendocrine system.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nFile:Organ Systems I.jpg\\nFile:Organ Systems II.jpg\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHomeostasis\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe term homeostasis refers to a system that regulates its internal environment and maintains a stable, relatively constant condition; such as maintaining an equal temperature, or acid balance pH. This is required for the body to function properly. Without a relatively constant pH, temperature, blood flow, and position, survival would be impossible.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nMany interacting systems and mechanisms act to maintain the human's internal environment. The nervous system receives information from the body and transmits this to the brain via neurotransmitters. The endocrine system may release hormones to help regulate blood pressure and volume. Cell metabolism may help to maintain the blood's pH.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nSociety and culture\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nDepiction\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nAnatomy has become a key part of the visual arts. Basic concepts of how muscles and bones function and change with movement are vital in drawing, painting or animating a human figure. Many books (such as \\\"Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form\\\") have been written as guides to drawing the human body anatomically correctly. Leonardo da Vinci sought to improve his art through a better understanding of human anatomy. In the process he advanced both human anatomy and its representation in art.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nBecause the structure of living organisms is complex, anatomy is organized by levels, from the smallest components of cells to the largest organs and their relationship to others.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nAppearance\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHistory of anatomy\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe history of anatomy has been characterized, over a long period of time, by an ongoing, developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures in the human body. Methods have advanced dramatically, from the simple examination by dissection of animals and cadavers (corpses), to the development and use of the microscope, to the far more technological advances of the electron microscope and other complex techniques developed since the beginning of the 20th century. During the 19th and early 20th centuries it was the most prominent biological field of scientific study.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHistory of physiology\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe study of human physiology dates back to at least 420 B.C. and the time of Hippocrates, the father of western medicine. The critical thinking of Aristotle and his emphasis on the relationship between structure and function marked the beginning of physiology in Ancient Greece, while Claudius Galenus (c. 126–199 A.D.), known as Galen, was the first to use experiments to probe the function of the body. Galen was the founder of experimental physiology. The medical world moved on from Galenism only with the appearance of Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nFollowing from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance brought an increase of physiological research in the Western world that triggered the modern study of anatomy and physiology. Andreas Vesalius was an author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica. Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy. Anatomist William Harvey described the circulatory system in the 17th century, demonstrating the fruitful combination of close observations and careful experiments to learn about the functions of the body, which was fundamental to the development of experimental physiology. Herman Boerhaave is sometimes referred to as a father of physiology due to his exemplary teaching in Leiden and textbook Institutiones medicae (1708).\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nIn the 18th century, important works in this field were done by Pierre Cabanis, a French doctor and physiologist.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nIn the 19th century, physiological knowledge began to accumulate at a rapid rate, in particular with the 1838 appearance of the Cell theory of Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann. It radically stated that organisms are made up of units called cells. Claude Bernard's (1813–1878) further discoveries ultimately led to his concept of milieu interieur (internal environment), which would later be taken up and championed as \\\"homeostasis\\\" by American physiologist Walter Cannon (1871–1945).\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nIn the 20th century, biologists also became interested in how organisms other than human beings function, eventually spawning the fields of comparative physiology and ecophysiology. Major figures in these fields include Knut Schmidt-Nielsen and George Bartholomew. Most recently, evolutionary physiology has become a distinct subdiscipline.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nThe biological basis of the study of physiology, integration refers to the overlap of many functions of the systems of the human body, as well as its accompanied form. It is achieved through communication that occurs in a variety of ways, both electrical and chemical.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nIn terms of the human body, the endocrine and nervous systems play major roles in the reception and transmission of signals that integrate function. Homeostasis is a major aspect with regard to the interactions in the body.\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nGallery\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nHuman body external features:\",\n \"Human body\\n\\nBlack human body features-en.svg\\nHuman body features-en.svg\\nHuman Body.jpg\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting, and an inability to tolerate light or loud noises. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. If a rash is present, it may indicate a particular cause of meningitis; for instance, meningitis caused by meningococcal bacteria may be accompanied by a characteristic rash.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs. Meningitis can be life-threatening because of the inflammation's proximity to the brain and spinal cord; therefore, the condition is classified as a medical emergency. A lumbar puncture diagnoses or excludes meningitis. A needle is inserted into the spinal canal to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), that envelops the brain and spinal cord. The CSF is examined in a medical laboratory.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nSome forms of meningitis are preventable by immunization with the meningococcal, mumps, pneumococcal, and Hib vaccines. Giving antibiotics to people with significant exposure to certain types of meningitis may also be useful. The first treatment in acute meningitis consists of promptly giving antibiotics and sometimes antiviral drugs. Corticosteroids can also be used to prevent complications from excessive inflammation. Meningitis can lead to serious long-term consequences such as deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, or cognitive deficits, especially if not treated quickly.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn 2013 meningitis occurred in about 16 million people worldwide. This resulted in 303,000 deaths – down from 464,000 deaths in 1990. With appropriate treatment the risk of death in bacterial meningitis is less than 15%. Outbreaks of bacterial meningitis occur between December and June each year in an area of sub-Saharan Africa known as the meningitis belt. Smaller outbreaks may also occur in other areas of the world. The word meningitis is from Greek μῆνιγξ méninx, \\\"membrane\\\" and the medical suffix -itis, \\\"inflammation\\\".\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nSigns and symptoms\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nClinical features\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn adults, the most common symptom of meningitis is a severe headache, occurring in almost 90% of cases of bacterial meningitis, followed by nuchal rigidity (the inability to flex the neck forward passively due to increased neck muscle tone and stiffness). The classic triad of diagnostic signs consists of nuchal rigidity, sudden high fever, and altered mental status; however, all three features are present in only 44–46% of bacterial meningitis cases. If none of the three signs are present, acute meningitis is extremely unlikely. Other signs commonly associated with meningitis include photophobia (intolerance to bright light) and phonophobia (intolerance to loud noises). Small children often do not exhibit the aforementioned symptoms, and may only be irritable and look unwell. The fontanelle (the soft spot on the top of a baby's head) can bulge in infants aged up to 6 months. Other features that distinguish meningitis from less severe illnesses in young children are leg pain, cold extremities, and an abnormal skin color.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nNuchal rigidity occurs in 70% of bacterial meningitis in adults. Other signs of meningism include the presence of positive Kernig's sign or Brudziński sign. Kernig's sign is assessed with the person lying supine, with the hip and knee flexed to 90 degrees. In a person with a positive Kernig's sign, pain limits passive extension of the knee. A positive Brudzinski's sign occurs when flexion of the neck causes involuntary flexion of the knee and hip. Although Kernig's sign and Brudzinski's sign are both commonly used to screen for meningitis, the sensitivity of these tests is limited. They do, however, have very good specificity for meningitis: the signs rarely occur in other diseases. Another test, known as the \\\"jolt accentuation maneuver\\\" helps determine whether meningitis is present in those reporting fever and headache. A person is asked to rapidly rotate the head horizontally; if this does not make the headache worse, meningitis is unlikely.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (known as \\\"meningococcal meningitis\\\") can be differentiated from meningitis with other causes by a rapidly spreading petechial rash, which may precede other symptoms. The rash consists of numerous small, irregular purple or red spots (\\\"petechiae\\\") on the trunk, lower extremities, mucous membranes, conjuctiva, and (occasionally) the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. The rash is typically non-blanching; the redness does not disappear when pressed with a finger or a glass tumbler. Although this rash is not necessarily present in meningococcal meningitis, it is relatively specific for the disease; it does, however, occasionally occur in meningitis due to other bacteria. Other clues on the cause of meningitis may be the skin signs of hand, foot and mouth disease and genital herpes, both of which are associated with various forms of viral meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nEarly complications\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nAdditional problems may occur in the early stage of the illness. These may require specific treatment, and sometimes indicate severe illness or worse prognosis. The infection may trigger sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response syndrome of falling blood pressure, fast heart rate, high or abnormally low temperature, and rapid breathing. Very low blood pressure may occur at an early stage, especially but not exclusively in meningococcal meningitis; this may lead to insufficient blood supply to other organs. Disseminated intravascular coagulation, the excessive activation of blood clotting, may obstruct blood flow to organs and paradoxically increase the bleeding risk. Gangrene of limbs can occur in meningococcal disease. Severe meningococcal and pneumococcal infections may result in hemorrhaging of the adrenal glands, leading to Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, which is often fatal.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe brain tissue may swell, pressure inside the skull may increase and the swollen brain may herniate through the skull base. This may be noticed by a decreasing level of consciousness, loss of the pupillary light reflex, and abnormal posturing. The inflammation of the brain tissue may also obstruct the normal flow of CSF around the brain (hydrocephalus). Seizures may occur for various reasons; in children, seizures are common in the early stages of meningitis (in 30% of cases) and do not necessarily indicate an underlying cause. Seizures may result from increased pressure and from areas of inflammation in the brain tissue. Focal seizures (seizures that involve one limb or part of the body), persistent seizures, late-onset seizures and those that are difficult to control with medication indicate a poorer long-term outcome.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nInflammation of the meninges may lead to abnormalities of the cranial nerves, a group of nerves arising from the brain stem that supply the head and neck area and which control, among other functions, eye movement, facial muscles, and hearing. Visual symptoms and hearing loss may persist after an episode of meningitis. Inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) or its blood vessels (cerebral vasculitis), as well as the formation of blood clots in the veins (cerebral venous thrombosis), may all lead to weakness, loss of sensation, or abnormal movement or function of the part of the body supplied by the affected area of the brain.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nCauses\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningitis is typically caused by an infection with microorganisms. Most infections are due to viruses, with bacteria, fungi, and protozoa being the next most common causes. It may also result from various non-infectious causes. The term aseptic meningitis refers to cases of meningitis in which no bacterial infection can be demonstrated. This type of meningitis is usually caused by viruses but it may be due to bacterial infection that has already been partially treated, when bacteria disappear from the meninges, or pathogens infect a space adjacent to the meninges (e.g. sinusitis). Endocarditis (an infection of the heart valves which spreads small clusters of bacteria through the bloodstream) may cause aseptic meningitis. Aseptic meningitis may also result from infection with spirochetes, a type of bacteria that includes Treponema pallidum (the cause of syphilis) and Borrelia burgdorferi (known for causing Lyme disease). Meningitis may be encountered in cerebral malaria (malaria infecting the brain) or amoebic meningitis, meningitis due to infection with amoebae such as Naegleria fowleri, contracted from freshwater sources.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nBacterial\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe types of bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis vary according to the infected individual's age group. \\n*In premature babies and newborns up to three months old, common causes are group B streptococci (subtypes III which normally inhabit the vagina and are mainly a cause during the first week of life) and bacteria that normally inhabit the digestive tract such as Escherichia coli (carrying the K1 antigen). Listeria monocytogenes (serotype IVb) is transmitted by the mother before birth and may cause meningitis in the newborn. \\n*Older children are more commonly affected by Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (serotypes 6, 9, 14, 18 and 23) and those under five by Haemophilus influenzae type B (in countries that do not offer vaccination). \\n*In adults, Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae together cause 80% of bacterial meningitis cases. Risk of infection with Listeria monocytogenes is increased in persons over 50 years old. The introduction of pneumococcal vaccine has lowered rates of pneumococcal meningitis in both children and adults.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nRecent skull trauma potentially allows nasal cavity bacteria to enter the meningeal space. Similarly, devices in the brain and meninges, such as cerebral shunts, extraventricular drains or Ommaya reservoirs, carry an increased risk of meningitis. In these cases, the persons are more likely to be infected with Staphylococci, Pseudomonas, and other Gram-negative bacteria. These pathogens are also associated with meningitis in people with an impaired immune system. An infection in the head and neck area, such as otitis media or mastoiditis, can lead to meningitis in a small proportion of people. Recipients of cochlear implants for hearing loss are more at risk for pneumococcal meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nTuberculous meningitis, which is meningitis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is more common in people from countries in which tuberculosis is endemic, but is also encountered in persons with immune problems, such as AIDS.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nRecurrent bacterial meningitis may be caused by persisting anatomical defects, either congenital or acquired, or by disorders of the immune system. Anatomical defects allow continuity between the external environment and the nervous system. The most common cause of recurrent meningitis is a skull fracture, particularly fractures that affect the base of the skull or extend towards the sinuses and petrous pyramids. Approximately 59% of recurrent meningitis cases are due to such anatomical abnormalities, 36% are due to immune deficiencies (such as complement deficiency, which predisposes especially to recurrent meningococcal meningitis), and 5% are due to ongoing infections in areas adjacent to the meninges.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nViral\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nViruses that cause meningitis include enteroviruses, herpes simplex virus (generally type 2, which produces most genital sores; less commonly type 1), varicella zoster virus (known for causing chickenpox and shingles), mumps virus, HIV, and LCMV. Mollaret's meningitis is a chronic recurrent form of herpes meningitis; it is thought to be caused by herpes simplex virus type 2.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nFungal\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThere are a number of risk factors for fungal meningitis, including the use of immunosuppressants (such as after organ transplantation), HIV/AIDS, and the loss of immunity associated with aging. It is uncommon in those with a normal immune system but has occurred with medication contamination. Symptom onset is typically more gradual, with headaches and fever being present for at least a couple of weeks before diagnosis. The most common fungal meningitis is cryptococcal meningitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans. In Africa, cryptococcal meningitis is now the most common cause of meningitis in multiple studies, and it accounts for 20–25% of AIDS-related deaths in Africa. Other less common fungal pathogens which can cause meningitis include: Coccidioides immitis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Candida species.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nParasitic\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nA parasitic cause is often assumed when there is a predominance of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the CSF. The most common parasites implicated are Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Gnathostoma spinigerum, Schistosoma, as well as the conditions cysticercosis, toxocariasis, baylisascariasis, paragonimiasis, and a number of rarer infections and noninfective conditions.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nNon-infectious\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningitis may occur as the result of several non-infectious causes: spread of cancer to the meninges (malignant or neoplastic meningitis) and certain drugs (mainly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and intravenous immunoglobulins). It may also be caused by several inflammatory conditions, such as sarcoidosis (which is then called neurosarcoidosis), connective tissue disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, and certain forms of vasculitis (inflammatory conditions of the blood vessel wall), such as Behçet's disease. Epidermoid cysts and dermoid cysts may cause meningitis by releasing irritant matter into the subarachnoid space. Rarely, migraine may cause meningitis, but this diagnosis is usually only made when other causes have been eliminated.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMechanism\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe meninges comprise three membranes that, together with the cerebrospinal fluid, enclose and protect the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system). The pia mater is a very delicate impermeable membrane that firmly adheres to the surface of the brain, following all the minor contours. The arachnoid mater (so named because of its spider-web-like appearance) is a loosely fitting sac on top of the pia mater. The subarachnoid space separates the arachnoid and pia mater membranes and is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. The outermost membrane, the dura mater, is a thick durable membrane, which is attached to both the arachnoid membrane and the skull.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn bacterial meningitis, bacteria reach the meninges by one of two main routes: through the bloodstream or through direct contact between the meninges and either the nasal cavity or the skin. In most cases, meningitis follows invasion of the bloodstream by organisms that live upon mucous surfaces such as the nasal cavity. This is often in turn preceded by viral infections, which break down the normal barrier provided by the mucous surfaces. Once bacteria have entered the bloodstream, they enter the subarachnoid space in places where the blood–brain barrier is vulnerable—such as the choroid plexus. Meningitis occurs in 25% of newborns with bloodstream infections due to group B streptococci; this phenomenon is less common in adults. Direct contamination of the cerebrospinal fluid may arise from indwelling devices, skull fractures, or infections of the nasopharynx or the nasal sinuses that have formed a tract with the subarachnoid space (see above); occasionally, congenital defects of the dura mater can be identified.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe large-scale inflammation that occurs in the subarachnoid space during meningitis is not a direct result of bacterial infection but can rather largely be attributed to the response of the immune system to the entry of bacteria into the central nervous system. When components of the bacterial cell membrane are identified by the immune cells of the brain (astrocytes and microglia), they respond by releasing large amounts of cytokines, hormone-like mediators that recruit other immune cells and stimulate other tissues to participate in an immune response. The blood–brain barrier becomes more permeable, leading to \\\"vasogenic\\\" cerebral edema (swelling of the brain due to fluid leakage from blood vessels). Large numbers of white blood cells enter the CSF, causing inflammation of the meninges and leading to \\\"interstitial\\\" edema (swelling due to fluid between the cells). In addition, the walls of the blood vessels themselves become inflamed (cerebral vasculitis), which leads to decreased blood flow and a third type of edema, \\\"cytotoxic\\\" edema.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe three forms of cerebral edema all lead to increased intracranial pressure; together with the lowered blood pressure often encountered in acute infection, this means that it is harder for blood to enter the brain, consequently brain cells are deprived of oxygen and undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death).\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIt is recognized that administration of antibiotics may initially worsen the process outlined above, by increasing the amount of bacterial cell membrane products released through the destruction of bacteria. Particular treatments, such as the use of corticosteroids, are aimed at dampening the immune system's response to this phenomenon.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nDiagnosis\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nBlood tests and imaging\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn someone suspected of having meningitis, blood tests are performed for markers of inflammation (e.g. C-reactive protein, complete blood count), as well as blood cultures.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe most important test in identifying or ruling out meningitis is analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid through lumbar puncture (LP, spinal tap). However, lumbar puncture is contraindicated if there is a mass in the brain (tumor or abscess) or the intracranial pressure (ICP) is elevated, as it may lead to brain herniation. If someone is at risk for either a mass or raised ICP (recent head injury, a known immune system problem, localizing neurological signs, or evidence on examination of a raised ICP), a CT or MRI scan is recommended prior to the lumbar puncture. – formal guideline at This applies in 45% of all adult cases. If a CT or MRI is required before LP, or if LP proves difficult, professional guidelines suggest that antibiotics should be administered first to prevent delay in treatment, especially if this may be longer than 30 minutes. Often, CT or MRI scans are performed at a later stage to assess for complications of meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn severe forms of meningitis, monitoring of blood electrolytes may be important; for example, hyponatremia is common in bacterial meningitis, due to a combination of factors, including dehydration, the inappropriate secretion of the antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), or overly aggressive intravenous fluid administration.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nLumbar puncture\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nA lumbar puncture is done by positioning the person, usually lying on the side, applying local anesthetic, and inserting a needle into the dural sac (a sac around the spinal cord) to collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). When this has been achieved, the \\\"opening pressure\\\" of the CSF is measured using a manometer. The pressure is normally between 6 and 18 cm water (cmH2O); in bacterial meningitis the pressure is usually elevated. In cryptococcal meningitis, intracranial pressure is markedly elevated. The initial appearance of the fluid may prove an indication of the nature of the infection: cloudy CSF indicates higher levels of protein, white and red blood cells and/or bacteria, and therefore may suggest bacterial meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe CSF sample is examined for presence and types of white blood cells, red blood cells, protein content and glucose level. Gram staining of the sample may demonstrate bacteria in bacterial meningitis, but absence of bacteria does not exclude bacterial meningitis as they are only seen in 60% of cases; this figure is reduced by a further 20% if antibiotics were administered before the sample was taken. Gram staining is also less reliable in particular infections such as listeriosis. Microbiological culture of the sample is more sensitive (it identifies the organism in 70–85% of cases) but results can take up to 48 hours to become available. The type of white blood cell predominantly present (see table) indicates whether meningitis is bacterial (usually neutrophil-predominant) or viral (usually lymphocyte-predominant), although at the beginning of the disease this is not always a reliable indicator. Less commonly, eosinophils predominate, suggesting parasitic or fungal etiology, among others.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe concentration of glucose in CSF is normally above 40% of that in blood. In bacterial meningitis it is typically lower; the CSF glucose level is therefore divided by the blood glucose (CSF glucose to serum glucose ratio). A ratio ≤0.4 is indicative of bacterial meningitis; in the newborn, glucose levels in CSF are normally higher, and a ratio below 0.6 (60%) is therefore considered abnormal. High levels of lactate in CSF indicate a higher likelihood of bacterial meningitis, as does a higher white blood cell count. If lactate levels are less than 35 mg/dl and the person has not previously received antibiotics then this may rule out bacterial meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nVarious other specialized tests may be used to distinguish between different types of meningitis. A latex agglutination test may be positive in meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli and group B streptococci; its routine use is not encouraged as it rarely leads to changes in treatment, but it may be used if other tests are not diagnostic. Similarly, the limulus lysate test may be positive in meningitis caused by Gram-negative bacteria, but it is of limited use unless other tests have been unhelpful. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique used to amplify small traces of bacterial DNA in order to detect the presence of bacterial or viral DNA in cerebrospinal fluid; it is a highly sensitive and specific test since only trace amounts of the infecting agent's DNA is required. It may identify bacteria in bacterial meningitis and may assist in distinguishing the various causes of viral meningitis (enterovirus, herpes simplex virus 2 and mumps in those not vaccinated for this). Serology (identification of antibodies to viruses) may be useful in viral meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIf tuberculous meningitis is suspected, the sample is processed for Ziehl-Neelsen stain, which has a low sensitivity, and tuberculosis culture, which takes a long time to process; PCR is being used increasingly. Diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis can be made at low cost using an India ink stain of the CSF; however, testing for cryptococcal antigen in blood or CSF is more sensitive, particularly in people with AIDS.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nA diagnostic and therapeutic difficulty is \\\"partially treated meningitis\\\", where there are meningitis symptoms after receiving antibiotics (such as for presumptive sinusitis). When this happens, CSF findings may resemble those of viral meningitis, but antibiotic treatment may need to be continued until there is definitive positive evidence of a viral cause (e.g. a positive enterovirus PCR).\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nPostmortem\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningitis can be diagnosed after death has occurred. The findings from a post mortem are usually a widespread inflammation of the pia mater and arachnoid layers of the meninges. Neutrophil granulocytes tend to have migrated to the cerebrospinal fluid and the base of the brain, along with cranial nerves and the spinal cord, may be surrounded with pus — as may the meningeal vessels.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nPrevention\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nFor some causes of meningitis, protection can be provided in the long term through vaccination, or in the short term with antibiotics. Some behavioral measures may also be effective.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nBehavioral\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nBacterial and viral meningitis are contagious; however, neither is as contagious as the common cold or flu. Both can be transmitted through droplets of respiratory secretions during close contact such as kissing, sneezing or coughing on someone, but cannot be spread by only breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been. Viral meningitis is typically caused by enteroviruses, and is most commonly spread through fecal contamination. The risk of infection can be decreased by changing the behavior that led to transmission.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nVaccination\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nSince the 1980s, many countries have included immunization against Haemophilus influenzae type B in their routine childhood vaccination schemes. This has practically eliminated this pathogen as a cause of meningitis in young children in those countries. In the countries in which the disease burden is highest, however, the vaccine is still too expensive. Similarly, immunization against mumps has led to a sharp fall in the number of cases of mumps meningitis, which prior to vaccination occurred in 15% of all cases of mumps.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningococcus vaccines exist against groups A, B, C, W135 and Y. In countries where the vaccine for meningococcus group C was introduced, cases caused by this pathogen have decreased substantially. A quadrivalent vaccine now exists, which combines all four vaccines. Immunization with the ACW135Y vaccine against four strains is now a visa requirement for taking part in Hajj. Development of a vaccine against group B meningococci has proved much more difficult, as its surface proteins (which would normally be used to make a vaccine) only elicit a weak response from the immune system, or cross-react with normal human proteins. Still, some countries (New Zealand, Cuba, Norway and Chile) have developed vaccines against local strains of group B meningococci; some have shown good results and are used in local immunization schedules. Two new vaccines, both approved in 2014, are effective against a wider range of group B meningococci strains.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn Africa, until recently, the approach for prevention and control of meningococcal epidemics was based on early detection of the disease and emergency reactive mass vaccination of the at-risk population with bivalent A/C or trivalent A/C/W135 polysaccharide vaccines, though the introduction of MenAfriVac (meningococcus group A vaccine) has demonstrated effectiveness in young people and has been described as a model for product development partnerships in resource-limited settings.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nRoutine vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), which is active against seven common serotypes of this pathogen, significantly reduces the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis. The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, which covers 23 strains, is only administered to certain groups (e.g. those who have had a splenectomy, the surgical removal of the spleen); it does not elicit a significant immune response in all recipients, e.g. small children. Childhood vaccination with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin has been reported to significantly reduce the rate of tuberculous meningitis, but its waning effectiveness in adulthood has prompted a search for a better vaccine.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nAntibiotics\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nShort-term antibiotic prophylaxis is another method of prevention, particularly of meningococcal meningitis. In cases of meningococcal meningitis, preventative treatment in close contacts with antibiotics (e.g. rifampicin, ciprofloxacin or ceftriaxone) can reduce their risk of contracting the condition, but does not protect against future infections. Resistance to rifampicin has been noted to increase after use, which has caused some to recommend considering other agents. While antibiotics are frequently used in an attempt to prevent meningitis in those with a basilar skull fracture there is not enough evidence to determine whether this is beneficial or harmful. This applies to those with or without a CSF leak.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nManagement\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningitis is potentially life-threatening and has a high mortality rate if untreated; delay in treatment has been associated with a poorer outcome. Thus, treatment with wide-spectrum antibiotics should not be delayed while confirmatory tests are being conducted. If meningococcal disease is suspected in primary care, guidelines recommend that benzylpenicillin be administered before transfer to hospital. Intravenous fluids should be administered if hypotension (low blood pressure) or shock are present. In children routine intravenous fluids for two days may improve outcomes in those who arrive at hospital after being sick for some time. Given that meningitis can cause a number of early severe complications, regular medical review is recommended to identify these complications early and to admit the person to an intensive care unit if deemed necessary.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMechanical ventilation may be needed if the level of consciousness is very low, or if there is evidence of respiratory failure. If there are signs of raised intracranial pressure, measures to monitor the pressure may be taken; this would allow the optimization of the cerebral perfusion pressure and various treatments to decrease the intracranial pressure with medication (e.g. mannitol). Seizures are treated with anticonvulsants. Hydrocephalus (obstructed flow of CSF) may require insertion of a temporary or long-term drainage device, such as a cerebral shunt.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nBacterial meningitis\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nAntibiotics\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nEmpiric antibiotics (treatment without exact diagnosis) should be started immediately, even before the results of the lumbar puncture and CSF analysis are known. The choice of initial treatment depends largely on the kind of bacteria that cause meningitis in a particular place and population. For instance, in the United Kingdom empirical treatment consists of a third-generation cefalosporin such as cefotaxime or ceftriaxone. In the USA, where resistance to cefalosporins is increasingly found in streptococci, addition of vancomycin to the initial treatment is recommended. Chloramphenicol, either alone or in combination with ampicillin, however, appears to work equally well.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nEmpirical therapy may be chosen on the basis of the person's age, whether the infection was preceded by a head injury, whether the person has undergone recent neurosurgery and whether or not a cerebral shunt is present. In young children and those over 50 years of age, as well as those who are immunocompromised, the addition of ampicillin is recommended to cover Listeria monocytogenes. Once the Gram stain results become available, and the broad type of bacterial cause is known, it may be possible to change the antibiotics to those likely to deal with the presumed group of pathogens. The results of the CSF culture generally take longer to become available (24–48 hours). Once they do, empiric therapy may be switched to specific antibiotic therapy targeted to the specific causative organism and its sensitivities to antibiotics. For an antibiotic to be effective in meningitis it must not only be active against the pathogenic bacterium but also reach the meninges in adequate quantities; some antibiotics have inadequate penetrance and therefore have little use in meningitis. Most of the antibiotics used in meningitis have not been tested directly on people with meningitis in clinical trials.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nRather, the relevant knowledge has mostly derived from laboratory studies in rabbits. Tuberculous meningitis requires prolonged treatment with antibiotics. While tuberculosis of the lungs is typically treated for six months, those with tuberculous meningitis are typically treated for a year or longer.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nSteroids\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nAdditional treatment with corticosteroids (usually dexamethasone) has shown some benefits, such as a reduction of hearing loss, and better short term neurological outcomes in adolescents and adults from high-income countries with low rates of HIV. Some research has found reduced rates of death while other research has not. They also appear to be beneficial in those with tuberculosis meningitis, at least in those who are HIV negative.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nProfessional guidelines therefore recommend the commencement of dexamethasone or a similar corticosteroid just before the first dose of antibiotics is given, and continued for four days. Given that most of the benefit of the treatment is confined to those with pneumococcal meningitis, some guidelines suggest that dexamethasone be discontinued if another cause for meningitis is identified. The likely mechanism is suppression of overactive inflammation.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nAdditional treatment with corticosteroids have a different role in children than in adults. Though the benefit of corticosteroids has been demonstrated in adults as well as in children from high-income countries, their use in children from low-income countries is not supported by the evidence; the reason for this discrepancy is not clear. Even in high-income countries, the benefit of corticosteroids is only seen when they are given prior to the first dose of antibiotics, and is greatest in cases of H. influenzae meningitis, the incidence of which has decreased dramatically since the introduction of the Hib vaccine. Thus, corticosteroids are recommended in the treatment of pediatric meningitis if the cause is H. influenzae, and only if given prior to the first dose of antibiotics; other uses are controversial.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nViral meningitis\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nViral meningitis typically only requires supportive therapy; most viruses responsible for causing meningitis are not amenable to specific treatment. Viral meningitis tends to run a more benign course than bacterial meningitis. Herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus may respond to treatment with antiviral drugs such as aciclovir, but there are no clinical trials that have specifically addressed whether this treatment is effective. Mild cases of viral meningitis can be treated at home with conservative measures such as fluid, bedrest, and analgesics.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nFungal meningitis\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nFungal meningitis, such as cryptococcal meningitis, is treated with long courses of high dose antifungals, such as amphotericin B and flucytosine. Raised intracranial pressure is common in fungal meningitis, and frequent (ideally daily) lumbar punctures to relieve the pressure are recommended, or alternatively a lumbar drain.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nPrognosis\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nUntreated, bacterial meningitis is almost always fatal. Viral meningitis, in contrast, tends to resolve spontaneously and is rarely fatal. With treatment, mortality (risk of death) from bacterial meningitis depends on the age of the person and the underlying cause. Of newborns, 20–30% may die from an episode of bacterial meningitis. This risk is much lower in older children, whose mortality is about 2%, but rises again to about 19–37% in adults. Risk of death is predicted by various factors apart from age, such as the pathogen and the time it takes for the pathogen to be cleared from the cerebrospinal fluid, the severity of the generalized illness, a decreased level of consciousness or an abnormally low count of white blood cells in the CSF. Meningitis caused by H. influenzae and meningococci has a better prognosis than cases caused by group B streptococci, coliforms and S. pneumonia. In adults, too, meningococcal meningitis has a lower mortality (3–7%) than pneumococcal disease.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIn children there are several potential disabilities which may result from damage to the nervous system, including sensorineural hearing loss, epilepsy, learning and behavioral difficulties, as well as decreased intelligence. These occur in about 15% of survivors. Some of the hearing loss may be reversible. In adults, 66% of all cases emerge without disability. The main problems are deafness (in 14%) and cognitive impairment (in 10%).\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nTuberculous meningitis in children continues to be associated with a significant risk of death even with treatment (19%), and a significant proportion of the surviving children have ongoing neurological problems. Just over a third of all cases survives with no problems.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nEpidemiology\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nAlthough meningitis is a notifiable disease in many countries, the exact incidence rate is unknown. In 2013 meningitis resulted in 303,000 deaths – down from 464,000 deaths in 1990. In 2010 it was estimated that meningitis resulted in 420,000 deaths, excluding cryptococcal meningitis.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nBacterial meningitis occurs in about 3 people per 100,000 annually in Western countries. Population-wide studies have shown that viral meningitis is more common, at 10.9 per 100,000, and occurs more often in the summer. In Brazil, the rate of bacterial meningitis is higher, at 45.8 per 100,000 annually. Sub-Saharan Africa has been plagued by large epidemics of meningococcal meningitis for over a century, leading to it being labeled the \\\"meningitis belt\\\". Epidemics typically occur in the dry season (December to June), and an epidemic wave can last two to three years, dying out during the intervening rainy seasons. Attack rates of 100–800 cases per 100,000 are encountered in this area, which is poorly served by medical care. These cases are predominantly caused by meningococci. The largest epidemic ever recorded in history swept across the entire region in 1996–1997, causing over 250,000 cases and 25,000 deaths.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nMeningococcal disease occurs in epidemics in areas where many people live together for the first time, such as army barracks during mobilization, college campuses and the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Although the pattern of epidemic cycles in Africa is not well understood, several factors have been associated with the development of epidemics in the meningitis belt. They include: medical conditions (immunological susceptibility of the population), demographic conditions (travel and large population displacements), socioeconomic conditions (overcrowding and poor living conditions), climatic conditions (drought and dust storms), and concurrent infections (acute respiratory infections).\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThere are significant differences in the local distribution of causes for bacterial meningitis. For instance, while N. meningitides groups B and C cause most disease episodes in Europe, group A is found in Asia and continues to predominate in Africa, where it causes most of the major epidemics in the meningitis belt, accounting for about 80% to 85% of documented meningococcal meningitis cases.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nSome suggest that Hippocrates may have realized the existence of meningitis, and it seems that meningism was known to pre-Renaissance physicians such as Avicenna. The description of tuberculous meningitis, then called \\\"dropsy in the brain\\\", is often attributed to Edinburgh physician Sir Robert Whytt in a posthumous report that appeared in 1768, although the link with tuberculosis and its pathogen was not made until the next century.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nIt appears that epidemic meningitis is a relatively recent phenomenon. The first recorded major outbreak occurred in Geneva in 1805. Several other epidemics in Europe and the United States were described shortly afterward, and the first report of an epidemic in Africa appeared in 1840. African epidemics became much more common in the 20th century, starting with a major epidemic sweeping Nigeria and Ghana in 1905–1908.\",\n \"Meningitis\\n\\nThe first report of bacterial infection underlying meningitis was by the Austrian bacteriologist Anton Weichselbaum, who in 1887 described the meningococcus. Mortality from meningitis was very high (over 90%) in early reports. In 1906, antiserum was produced in horses; this was developed further by the American scientist Simon Flexner and markedly decreased mortality from meningococcal disease. In 1944, penicillin was first reported to be effective in meningitis. The introduction in the late 20th century of Haemophilus vaccines led to a marked fall in cases of meningitis associated with this pathogen, and in 2002, evidence emerged that treatment with steroids could improve the prognosis of bacterial meningitis.\"\n]","isConversational":false}}},{"rowIdx":137695,"cells":{"id":{"kind":"string","value":"qg_3405"},"question":{"kind":"string","value":"Established on September 25, 1890, Sequoia National Park is in what state?"},"answer":{"kind":"string","value":"California"},"answer_aliases":{"kind":"list like","value":["california state","califnornia","christianity in california","kalifoni","california united states","state of california","california united states of america","california s","california us","califórnia","taxifornia","californny","california province","california u s state","california u s","kalifornija","calif","charlie alpha","californiay","kalifornía","state of california united states","california chronic","california usa","ca state","california united states america","calfornia","golden state","31st state","city california","ca us","califronia","us ca","thirty first state","kalifòni","california"],"string":"[\n \"california state\",\n \"califnornia\",\n \"christianity in california\",\n \"kalifoni\",\n \"california united states\",\n \"state of california\",\n \"california united states of america\",\n \"california s\",\n \"california us\",\n \"califórnia\",\n \"taxifornia\",\n \"californny\",\n \"california province\",\n \"california u s state\",\n \"california u s\",\n \"kalifornija\",\n \"calif\",\n \"charlie alpha\",\n \"californiay\",\n \"kalifornía\",\n \"state of california united states\",\n \"california chronic\",\n \"california usa\",\n \"ca state\",\n \"california united states america\",\n \"calfornia\",\n \"golden state\",\n \"31st state\",\n \"city california\",\n \"ca us\",\n \"califronia\",\n \"us ca\",\n \"thirty first state\",\n \"kalifòni\",\n \"california\"\n]","isConversational":false},"documents":{"kind":"list like","value":["Sequoia National Park\n\nSequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13000 ft, the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14494 ft above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service together as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. They were designated the UNESCO Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 1976.","Sequoia National Park\n\nThe park is famous for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth. The General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five out of the ten largest trees in the world. The Giant Forest is connected by the Generals Highway to Kings Canyon National Park's General Grant Grove, home to the General Grant tree among other giant sequoias. The park's giant sequoia forests are part of 202430 acre of old-growth forests shared by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Indeed, the parks preserve a landscape that still resembles the southern Sierra Nevada before Euro-American settlement.","Sequoia National Park\n\nFront country","Sequoia National Park\n\nMany park visitors enter Sequoia National Park through its southern entrance near the town of Three Rivers at Ash Mountain at 1700 ft elevation. The lower elevations around Ash Mountain contain the only National Park Service-protected California Foothills ecosystem, consisting of blue oak woodlands, foothills chaparral, grasslands, yucca plants, and steep, mild river valleys. The region is also home to abundant : bobcats, foxes, ground squirrels, rattlesnakes, and mule deer are commonly seen in this area, and more rarely, reclusive mountain lions and the Pacific fisher are seen as well. The last California grizzly was killed in this park in 1922 (at Horse Corral Meadow). The California Black Oak is a key transition species between the chaparral and higher elevation conifer forest.","Sequoia National Park\n\nAt higher elevations in the front country, between 5500 and in elevation, the landscape becomes montane forest-dominated coniferous belt. Found here are Ponderosa, Jeffrey, sugar, and lodgepole pine trees, as well as abundant white and red fir. Found here too are the giant sequoia trees, the most massive living single-stem trees on earth. Between the trees, spring and summer snowmelts sometimes fan out to form lush, though delicate, meadows. In this region, visitors often see mule deer, Douglas squirrels, and American black bears, which sometimes break into unattended cars to eat food left by careless visitors. There are plans to reintroduce the bighorn sheep to this park.","Sequoia National Park\n\nBack country","Sequoia National Park\n\nThe vast majority of the park is roadless wilderness; no road crosses the Sierra Nevada within the park's boundaries. 84 percent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is designated wilderness and is accessible only by foot or by horseback.","Sequoia National Park\n\nSequoia's backcountry offers a vast expanse of high-alpine wonders. Covering the highest-elevation region of the High Sierra, the backcountry includes Mount Whitney on the eastern border of the park, accessible from the Giant Forest via the High Sierra Trail. On a traveler's path along this 35 mi backcountry trail, one passes through about 10 mi of montane forest before reaching the backcountry resort of Bearpaw Meadow, just short of the Great Western Divide.","Sequoia National Park\n\nContinuing along the High Sierra Trail over the Great Western Divide via Kaweah Gap, one passes from the Kaweah River Drainage, with its characteristic V-shaped river valleys, and into the Kern River drainage, where an ancient fault line has aided glaciers in the last ice age to create a U-shaped canyon that is almost perfectly straight for nearly 20 mi. On the floor of this canyon, at least two days hike from the nearest road, is the Kern Canyon hot spring, a popular resting point for weary backpackers. From the floor of Kern Canyon, the trail ascends again over 8000 ft to the summit of Mount Whitney. At Mount Whitney, the High Sierra Trail meets with the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, which continue northward along the Sierra crest and into the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park.","Sequoia National Park\n\nHuman history","Sequoia National Park\n\nThe area which now comprises Sequoia National Park was first home to Monachee (or Western Mono) Native Americans, who resided mainly in the Kaweah River drainage in the Foothills region of the park, though evidence of seasonal habitation exists even as high as the Giant Forest. In the summertime, Native Americans would travel over the high mountain passes to trade with tribes to the East. To this day, pictographs can be found at several sites within the park, notably at Hospital Rock and Potwisha, as well as bedrock mortars used to process acorns, a staple food for the Monachee people.","Sequoia National Park\n\nBy the time the first European settlers arrived in the area, smallpox had already spread to the region, decimating Native American populations. The first European settler to homestead in the area was Hale Tharp, who famously built a home out of a hollowed-out fallen giant sequoia log in the Giant Forest next to Log Meadow. Tharp allowed his cattle to graze the meadow, but at the same time had a respect for the grandeur of the forest and led early battles against logging in the area. From time to time, Tharp received visits from John Muir, who would stay at Tharp's log cabin. Tharp's Log can still be visited today in its original location in the Giant Forest.","Sequoia National Park\n\nHowever, Tharp's attempts to conserve the giant sequoias were at first met with only limited success. In the 1880s, white settlers seeking to create a utopian society founded the Kaweah Colony, which sought economic success in trading Sequoia timber. However, Sequoia trees, unlike their coast redwood relatives, were later discovered to splinter easily and therefore were ill-suited to timber harvesting, though thousands of trees were felled before logging operations finally ceased.","Sequoia National Park\n\nThe National Park Service incorporated the Giant Forest into Sequoia National Park in 1890, the year of its founding, promptly ceasing all logging operations in the Giant Forest. The park has expanded several times over the decades to its present size; one of the most recent expansions occurred in 1978, when grassroots efforts, spearheaded by the Sierra Club, fought off attempts by the Walt Disney Corporation to purchase a high-alpine former mining site south of the park for use as a ski resort. This site was annexed to the park to become Mineral King, the highest-elevation developed site within the park and a popular destination for backpackers.","Sequoia National Park\n\nGeology","Sequoia National Park\n\nSequoia National Park contains a significant portion of the Sierra Nevada. Included in the Park's mountainous landscape is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney, which rises to 14494 ft above sea level. The Great Western Divide parallels the Sierran crest. It is the mountains of the Great Western Divide that greet visitors in Mineral King and that can be seen from Moro Rock and the Giant Forest area. Peaks in the Great Western Divide climb to more than 12000 ft. Between these mountains lie deep canyons, including Tokopah Valley above Lodgepole, Deep Canyon on the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River and deep in the park's backcountry, Kern Canyon, which is more than 5000 ft deep for 30 mi.","Sequoia National Park\n\nMost of the mountains and canyons in the Sierra Nevada are formed in granitic rocks. These rocks, such as granite, diorite and monzonite, formed when molten rock cooled far beneath the surface of the earth. The molten rock was a by-product of a geologic process known as subduction. Powerful forces in the earth forced the landmass under the waters of the Pacific Ocean beneath and below an advancing North American Continent. Super-hot water driven from the subjecting ocean floor migrated upward and melted rock as it went. This process took place during the Cretaceous Period, 100 million years ago. Granitic rocks have speckled salt and pepper appearance because they contain various minerals including quartz, feldspars and micas. Valhalla or the Angel Wings are prominent cliffs that rise above the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River.","Sequoia National Park\n\nWhile geologists debate the details, it is clear that the Sierra Nevada is a young mountain range, probably not more than 10 million years old. Forces in the earth, probably associated with the development of the Great Basin, forced the mountains to grow and climb toward the sky. During the last 10 million years, at least four periods of glacial advance have coated the mountains in a thick mantle of ice. Glaciers form and develop during long periods of cool and wet weather. Glaciers move through the mountains like slow-motion rivers carving deep valleys and craggy peaks. The extensive history of glaciation within the range and the erosion resistant nature of the granitic rocks that make up most of the Sierra Nevada have together created a landscape of hanging valleys, waterfalls, craggy peaks, alpine lakes and glacial canyons.","Sequoia National Park\n\nPark caves, like most caves in the Sierra Nevada of California, are mostly solutional caves dissolved from marble. Marble rock is essentially limestone that was metamorphosed by the heat and pressure of the formation and uplift of the Sierra Nevada Batholith. The batholith's rapid uplift over the past 10 million years led to a rapid erosion of the metamorphic rocks in the higher elevations, exposing the granite beneath; therefore, most Sierra Nevada caves are found in the middle and lower elevations (below 7000 ft), though some caves are found in the park at elevations as high as 10000 ft such as the White Chief cave and Cirque cave in Mineral King. These caves are carved out of the rock by the abundant seasonal streams in the park; most of the larger park caves currently have or have had sinking streams running through them.","Sequoia National Park\n\nThe park is home to over 240 known caves, and potentially hundreds more. The caves in the park include California's longest cave at over 20 mi, Lilburn Cave, as well as recently discovered caves that remain strictly off-limits to all but a handful of specialists who visit on rare occasions to study cave geology and biology. The only commercial cave open to park visitors remains Crystal Cave, the park's second-longest at over and remarkably well-preserved for the volume of visitation it receives annually. It was discovered on April 28, 1918 by Alex Medley and Cassius Webster. The cave is a constant 48 F, and only accessible by guided tour.","Sequoia National Park\n\nCaves are discovered every year in the park; in fact, 17 have been discovered since 2003 alone. The most recently discovered major cave in the park, in September 2006, has been named Ursa Minor. Park caves are valued by scientists and cavers alike for their pristine beauty, variety, and endemic cave life.","Sequoia National Park\n\nWildlife","Sequoia National Park\n\nAnimals that inhabit this park are coyote, badger, black bear, sheep, deer, fox, cougar, eleven species of woodpecker, various species of turtle, three species of owl, opossum, various species of snake, wolverine, roadrunner, beaver, various species of frog, and muskrat.","Sequoia National Park\n\nPark attractions","Sequoia National Park\n\nIn addition to hiking, camping, fishing, and backpacking, the following attractions are highlights with many park visitors:","Sequoia National Park\n\n*Sherman Tree Trail An 0.8-mile roundtrip paved trail that descends from the parking lot to the base of the General Sherman tree and meanders through a grove of giant sequoia trees. *Tunnel Log is a tunnel cut through a fallen giant sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park. The tree, which measured 275 ft tall and 21 ft in diameter, fell across a park road in 1937 due to natural causes. The following year, a crew cut an 8 ft tall, 17 ft wide tunnel through the trunk, making the road passable again. *Tokopah Falls The trail to Tokopah Falls starts just beyond the Marble Fork Bridge in Lodgepole Campground. It is an easy 1.7 mile (one way) walk along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River to the impressive granite cliffs and waterfall of Tokopah Canyon. Tokopah Falls is 1,200 feet (365.8 meters) high, and is most impressive in early summer. *Crescent Meadow is a small, sequoia-rimmed meadow in the Giant Forest region of Sequoia National Park. This sierran montane meadow marks the western terminus of the High Sierra Trail, which stretches from the meadow across the Great Western Divide to Mount Whitney.","Sequoia National Park\n\nPioneer Hale Tharp homesteaded in this and nearby Log Meadow. Conservationist John Muir visited this meadow many times and praised it highly calling it the \"Gem of the Sierras\". The meadow lies at the end of a three-mile paved road which leaves the Generals Highway near the Giant Forest Museum. *Moro Rock is a granite dome located in the center of the park, at the head of Moro Creek, between Giant Forest and Crescent Meadow. A 400-step stairway, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is cut into and poured onto the rock, so that visitors can hike to the top. The stairway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The view from the rock encompasses much of the Park, including the Great Western Divide. It has an elevation of 6725 ft. * Campgrounds in the park include three in the foothills area: Potwisha (42 sites), Buckeye Flat (28 sites), and South Fork (10 sites). Four campgrounds are at higher, conifer-dominated elevations, ranging from 6650 to: Atwell Mill (21 sites), Cold Springs (40 sites), Lodgepole (214 sites), and Dorst Creek (204 sites).","Sequoia National Park\n\n* Giant Forest Museum offers information about giant sequoias and human history in the forest. The historic museum was built in 1928 by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood."],"string":"[\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nSequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13000 ft, the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14494 ft above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service together as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. They were designated the UNESCO Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 1976.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nThe park is famous for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth. The General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five out of the ten largest trees in the world. The Giant Forest is connected by the Generals Highway to Kings Canyon National Park's General Grant Grove, home to the General Grant tree among other giant sequoias. The park's giant sequoia forests are part of 202430 acre of old-growth forests shared by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Indeed, the parks preserve a landscape that still resembles the southern Sierra Nevada before Euro-American settlement.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nFront country\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nMany park visitors enter Sequoia National Park through its southern entrance near the town of Three Rivers at Ash Mountain at 1700 ft elevation. The lower elevations around Ash Mountain contain the only National Park Service-protected California Foothills ecosystem, consisting of blue oak woodlands, foothills chaparral, grasslands, yucca plants, and steep, mild river valleys. The region is also home to abundant : bobcats, foxes, ground squirrels, rattlesnakes, and mule deer are commonly seen in this area, and more rarely, reclusive mountain lions and the Pacific fisher are seen as well. The last California grizzly was killed in this park in 1922 (at Horse Corral Meadow). The California Black Oak is a key transition species between the chaparral and higher elevation conifer forest.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nAt higher elevations in the front country, between 5500 and in elevation, the landscape becomes montane forest-dominated coniferous belt. Found here are Ponderosa, Jeffrey, sugar, and lodgepole pine trees, as well as abundant white and red fir. Found here too are the giant sequoia trees, the most massive living single-stem trees on earth. Between the trees, spring and summer snowmelts sometimes fan out to form lush, though delicate, meadows. In this region, visitors often see mule deer, Douglas squirrels, and American black bears, which sometimes break into unattended cars to eat food left by careless visitors. There are plans to reintroduce the bighorn sheep to this park.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nBack country\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nThe vast majority of the park is roadless wilderness; no road crosses the Sierra Nevada within the park's boundaries. 84 percent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is designated wilderness and is accessible only by foot or by horseback.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nSequoia's backcountry offers a vast expanse of high-alpine wonders. Covering the highest-elevation region of the High Sierra, the backcountry includes Mount Whitney on the eastern border of the park, accessible from the Giant Forest via the High Sierra Trail. On a traveler's path along this 35 mi backcountry trail, one passes through about 10 mi of montane forest before reaching the backcountry resort of Bearpaw Meadow, just short of the Great Western Divide.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nContinuing along the High Sierra Trail over the Great Western Divide via Kaweah Gap, one passes from the Kaweah River Drainage, with its characteristic V-shaped river valleys, and into the Kern River drainage, where an ancient fault line has aided glaciers in the last ice age to create a U-shaped canyon that is almost perfectly straight for nearly 20 mi. On the floor of this canyon, at least two days hike from the nearest road, is the Kern Canyon hot spring, a popular resting point for weary backpackers. From the floor of Kern Canyon, the trail ascends again over 8000 ft to the summit of Mount Whitney. At Mount Whitney, the High Sierra Trail meets with the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, which continue northward along the Sierra crest and into the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nHuman history\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nThe area which now comprises Sequoia National Park was first home to Monachee (or Western Mono) Native Americans, who resided mainly in the Kaweah River drainage in the Foothills region of the park, though evidence of seasonal habitation exists even as high as the Giant Forest. In the summertime, Native Americans would travel over the high mountain passes to trade with tribes to the East. To this day, pictographs can be found at several sites within the park, notably at Hospital Rock and Potwisha, as well as bedrock mortars used to process acorns, a staple food for the Monachee people.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nBy the time the first European settlers arrived in the area, smallpox had already spread to the region, decimating Native American populations. The first European settler to homestead in the area was Hale Tharp, who famously built a home out of a hollowed-out fallen giant sequoia log in the Giant Forest next to Log Meadow. Tharp allowed his cattle to graze the meadow, but at the same time had a respect for the grandeur of the forest and led early battles against logging in the area. From time to time, Tharp received visits from John Muir, who would stay at Tharp's log cabin. Tharp's Log can still be visited today in its original location in the Giant Forest.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nHowever, Tharp's attempts to conserve the giant sequoias were at first met with only limited success. In the 1880s, white settlers seeking to create a utopian society founded the Kaweah Colony, which sought economic success in trading Sequoia timber. However, Sequoia trees, unlike their coast redwood relatives, were later discovered to splinter easily and therefore were ill-suited to timber harvesting, though thousands of trees were felled before logging operations finally ceased.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nThe National Park Service incorporated the Giant Forest into Sequoia National Park in 1890, the year of its founding, promptly ceasing all logging operations in the Giant Forest. The park has expanded several times over the decades to its present size; one of the most recent expansions occurred in 1978, when grassroots efforts, spearheaded by the Sierra Club, fought off attempts by the Walt Disney Corporation to purchase a high-alpine former mining site south of the park for use as a ski resort. This site was annexed to the park to become Mineral King, the highest-elevation developed site within the park and a popular destination for backpackers.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nGeology\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nSequoia National Park contains a significant portion of the Sierra Nevada. Included in the Park's mountainous landscape is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney, which rises to 14494 ft above sea level. The Great Western Divide parallels the Sierran crest. It is the mountains of the Great Western Divide that greet visitors in Mineral King and that can be seen from Moro Rock and the Giant Forest area. Peaks in the Great Western Divide climb to more than 12000 ft. Between these mountains lie deep canyons, including Tokopah Valley above Lodgepole, Deep Canyon on the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River and deep in the park's backcountry, Kern Canyon, which is more than 5000 ft deep for 30 mi.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nMost of the mountains and canyons in the Sierra Nevada are formed in granitic rocks. These rocks, such as granite, diorite and monzonite, formed when molten rock cooled far beneath the surface of the earth. The molten rock was a by-product of a geologic process known as subduction. Powerful forces in the earth forced the landmass under the waters of the Pacific Ocean beneath and below an advancing North American Continent. Super-hot water driven from the subjecting ocean floor migrated upward and melted rock as it went. This process took place during the Cretaceous Period, 100 million years ago. Granitic rocks have speckled salt and pepper appearance because they contain various minerals including quartz, feldspars and micas. Valhalla or the Angel Wings are prominent cliffs that rise above the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nWhile geologists debate the details, it is clear that the Sierra Nevada is a young mountain range, probably not more than 10 million years old. Forces in the earth, probably associated with the development of the Great Basin, forced the mountains to grow and climb toward the sky. During the last 10 million years, at least four periods of glacial advance have coated the mountains in a thick mantle of ice. Glaciers form and develop during long periods of cool and wet weather. Glaciers move through the mountains like slow-motion rivers carving deep valleys and craggy peaks. The extensive history of glaciation within the range and the erosion resistant nature of the granitic rocks that make up most of the Sierra Nevada have together created a landscape of hanging valleys, waterfalls, craggy peaks, alpine lakes and glacial canyons.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nPark caves, like most caves in the Sierra Nevada of California, are mostly solutional caves dissolved from marble. Marble rock is essentially limestone that was metamorphosed by the heat and pressure of the formation and uplift of the Sierra Nevada Batholith. The batholith's rapid uplift over the past 10 million years led to a rapid erosion of the metamorphic rocks in the higher elevations, exposing the granite beneath; therefore, most Sierra Nevada caves are found in the middle and lower elevations (below 7000 ft), though some caves are found in the park at elevations as high as 10000 ft such as the White Chief cave and Cirque cave in Mineral King. These caves are carved out of the rock by the abundant seasonal streams in the park; most of the larger park caves currently have or have had sinking streams running through them.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nThe park is home to over 240 known caves, and potentially hundreds more. The caves in the park include California's longest cave at over 20 mi, Lilburn Cave, as well as recently discovered caves that remain strictly off-limits to all but a handful of specialists who visit on rare occasions to study cave geology and biology. The only commercial cave open to park visitors remains Crystal Cave, the park's second-longest at over and remarkably well-preserved for the volume of visitation it receives annually. It was discovered on April 28, 1918 by Alex Medley and Cassius Webster. The cave is a constant 48 F, and only accessible by guided tour.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nCaves are discovered every year in the park; in fact, 17 have been discovered since 2003 alone. The most recently discovered major cave in the park, in September 2006, has been named Ursa Minor. Park caves are valued by scientists and cavers alike for their pristine beauty, variety, and endemic cave life.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nWildlife\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nAnimals that inhabit this park are coyote, badger, black bear, sheep, deer, fox, cougar, eleven species of woodpecker, various species of turtle, three species of owl, opossum, various species of snake, wolverine, roadrunner, beaver, various species of frog, and muskrat.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nPark attractions\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nIn addition to hiking, camping, fishing, and backpacking, the following attractions are highlights with many park visitors:\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\n*Sherman Tree Trail An 0.8-mile roundtrip paved trail that descends from the parking lot to the base of the General Sherman tree and meanders through a grove of giant sequoia trees. *Tunnel Log is a tunnel cut through a fallen giant sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park. The tree, which measured 275 ft tall and 21 ft in diameter, fell across a park road in 1937 due to natural causes. The following year, a crew cut an 8 ft tall, 17 ft wide tunnel through the trunk, making the road passable again. *Tokopah Falls The trail to Tokopah Falls starts just beyond the Marble Fork Bridge in Lodgepole Campground. It is an easy 1.7 mile (one way) walk along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River to the impressive granite cliffs and waterfall of Tokopah Canyon. Tokopah Falls is 1,200 feet (365.8 meters) high, and is most impressive in early summer. *Crescent Meadow is a small, sequoia-rimmed meadow in the Giant Forest region of Sequoia National Park. This sierran montane meadow marks the western terminus of the High Sierra Trail, which stretches from the meadow across the Great Western Divide to Mount Whitney.\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\nPioneer Hale Tharp homesteaded in this and nearby Log Meadow. Conservationist John Muir visited this meadow many times and praised it highly calling it the \\\"Gem of the Sierras\\\". The meadow lies at the end of a three-mile paved road which leaves the Generals Highway near the Giant Forest Museum. *Moro Rock is a granite dome located in the center of the park, at the head of Moro Creek, between Giant Forest and Crescent Meadow. A 400-step stairway, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is cut into and poured onto the rock, so that visitors can hike to the top. The stairway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The view from the rock encompasses much of the Park, including the Great Western Divide. It has an elevation of 6725 ft. * Campgrounds in the park include three in the foothills area: Potwisha (42 sites), Buckeye Flat (28 sites), and South Fork (10 sites). Four campgrounds are at higher, conifer-dominated elevations, ranging from 6650 to: Atwell Mill (21 sites), Cold Springs (40 sites), Lodgepole (214 sites), and Dorst Creek (204 sites).\",\n \"Sequoia National Park\\n\\n* Giant Forest Museum offers information about giant sequoias and human history in the forest. The historic museum was built in 1928 by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood.\"\n]","isConversational":false}}},{"rowIdx":137696,"cells":{"id":{"kind":"string","value":"qg_3406"},"question":{"kind":"string","value":"Last week, the Department of Justice released a detailed report on Operation Fast and Furious, which allowed what to be smuggled across the Mexican border?"},"answer":{"kind":"string","value":"Guns"},"answer_aliases":{"kind":"list like","value":["guns","gun"],"string":"[\n \"guns\",\n \"gun\"\n]","isConversational":false},"documents":{"kind":"list like","value":["ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n\"Gunwalking\", or \"letting guns walk\", was a tactic of the Arizona Field Office of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which ran a series of sting operations between 2006 and 2011 in the Tucson and Phoenix area where the ATF \"purposely allowed licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal straw buyers, hoping to track the guns to Mexican drug cartel leaders and arrest them.\" These operations were done under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico by interdicting straw purchasers and gun traffickers within the United States. The Jacob Chambers Case began in October 2009 and eventually became known in February 2010 as \"Operation Fast and Furious\" after agents discovered Chambers and the other suspects under investigation belonged to a car club.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe stated goal of allowing these purchases was to continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher-level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels, with the expectation that this would lead to their arrests and the dismantling of the cartels. The tactic was questioned during the operations by a number of people, including ATF field agents and cooperating licensed gun dealers. [http://oversight.house.gov/images/stories/Reports/ATF_Report.pdf The Department of Justice's Operation Fast and Furious: Accounts of ATF Agents], JOINT STAFF REPORT, Prepared for Rep. Darrell E. Issa and Senator Charles E. Grassley, 112th Congress, June 14, 2011. [http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/gunwalking_emails_041411.pdf Letter from Senator Charles Grasseley to Attorney General Eric Holder, Apr 13, 2011], on e-mails between \"Cooperating FFL\" and ATF David Voth. During Operation Fast and Furious, the largest \"gunwalking\" probe, the ATF monitored the sale of about 2,000 firearms, of which only 710 were recovered . A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high-level cartel figures had been arrested.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nGuns tracked by the ATF have been found at crime scenes on both sides of the Mexico–United States border, and the scene where United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed December 2010. The \"gunwalking\" operations became public in the aftermath of Terry's murder. Dissenting ATF agents came forward to Congress in response. According to Humberto Benítez Treviño, former Mexican Attorney General and chair of the justice committee in the Chamber of Deputies, related firearms have been found at numerous crime scenes in Mexico where at least 150 Mexican civilians were maimed or killed. Revelations of \"gunwalking\" led to controversy in both countries, and diplomatic relations were damaged.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAs a result of a dispute over the release of Justice Department documents related to the scandal, Attorney General Eric Holder became the first sitting member of the Cabinet of the United States to be held in contempt of Congress on June 28, 2012. Earlier that month, President Barack Obama had invoked executive privilege for the first time in his presidency over the same documents.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nBackground","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nATF \"gunwalking\" operations were, in part, a response to longstanding criticism of the bureau for focusing on relatively minor gun violations while failing to target high-level gun smuggling figures. U.S. firearms laws currently govern the possession and transfer of firearms and provide penalties for the violation of such laws. “Gun trafficking”, although not defined by statute, essentially includes the movement or diversion of firearms from legal to illegal markets. A 2009 GAO report on efforts to combat arms trafficking to Mexico notes that straw purchasing is not in itself illegal, although it is illegal to provide false information in connection with a purchase.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nFour federal statutes govern U.S. commerce of firearms domestically and internationally. Many states supplement these federal statutes and have firearms laws of their own that are stricter. For example, some states require permits to obtain firearms and impose a waiting period for firearm transfers. Domestic commerce and importations into the United States are generally regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). The exportation of firearms from the United States is regulated by the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 and, to a lesser extent, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nDefendants are often prosecuted and convicted under provisions of statutes such as the GCA that make it unlawful for certain persons to be in possession of firearms, govern the transaction process of obtaining firearms (e.g., straw purchases), and contain penalties for the use of a firearm in a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, or penalties for knowingly or fraudulently smuggling goods that would be contrary to U.S. law and regulation.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn a 2012 case in San Juan, Texas, under existing 1968 Gun Control Act provisions on straw purchasing (Title 18 United States Code, Section 924(a)(1)(A)), straw purchaser Taisa Garcia received 33 months and buyer Marco Villalobos received 46 months, plus two years supervision after release. In another Texas gun trafficking case, Oscar Bravo Hernandez received a sentence of 84 months for buying and sending to Mexico at least 55 firearms from a ring of nine straw purchasers who received sentences from 51 months for the most involved down to three years probation for the least involved.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAccording to twenty-year ATF veteran Jay Wachtel, letting guns \"walk\" has been a practice done in a controlled manner that involved surveillance and eventual seizure of the weapons. \"The idea was that you would follow it long enough until you were sure you had enough probable cause\" to initiate an arrest, Wachtel said. According to ATF field agents involved in Operation Fast and Furious, a part of Project Gunrunner, \"ATF agents were trained to interdict guns and prevent criminals from obtaining them\" and not to allow guns to walk and then disappear. ATF agents assigned to Phoenix from other districts to work on Fast and Furious were critical of the operation.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOperations","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThere have been allegations of \"gunwalking\" in at least 10 cities in five states. The most widely known and controversial operations took place in Arizona under the ATF's Phoenix, Arizona field division.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n2006–2008: Operation Wide Receiver and other probes","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOperation Wide Receiver","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe first known ATF \"gunwalking\" operation to Mexican drug cartels, named Operation Wide Receiver, began in early 2006 and ran into late 2007. Licensed dealer Mike Detty of Mad Dawg Global informed the ATF of a suspicious gun purchase that took place in February 2006 in Tucson, Arizona. In March he was hired as a confidential informant working with the ATF's Tucson office, part of their Phoenix, Arizona field division.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nWith the use of surveillance equipment, ATF agents monitored additional sales by Detty to straw purchasers. With assurance from ATF \"that Mexican officials would be conducting surveillance or interdictions when guns got to the other side of the border\", Detty would sell a total of about 450 guns during the operation. These included AR-15s, semi-automatic AK-pattern rifles, and Colt .38s. The majority of the guns were eventually lost as they moved into Mexico.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAs the later DOJ OIG Report documented, under Wide Receiver coordination of ATF Tucson with the ATF Mexico City Office (MCO) and with Mexican law enforcement had been haphazard. Discussions of getting tracking devices from Raytheon were not followed up. ATF field agents and the cooperating gun dealer had been told by ATF supervisors that the guns were being interdicted before they could reach Mexico, but only 64 of the 474 guns had actually been seized. The kingpin sought by walking the guns, Israel Egurrola-Leon, turned out to be the target of a larger drug case Operation Iron River run by OCDETF. After Operation Wide Receiver was ended, several attorneys at the Phoenix USAO who reviewed the Wide Receiver cases for prosecution found the cases had been so poorly managed that they were reluctant to bring any of them to trial.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAt the time, under the Bush administration Department of Justice (DOJ), no arrests or indictments were made. After President Barack Obama took office in 2009, the DOJ reviewed Wide Receiver and found that guns had been allowed into the hands of suspected gun traffickers. Indictments began in 2010, over three years after Wide Receiver concluded. , nine people had been charged with making false statements in acquisition of firearms and illicit transfer, shipment or delivery of firearms. As of November, charges against one defendant had been dropped; five of them had pleaded guilty, and one had been sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Two of them remained fugitives.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe Hernandez case","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAnother, smaller probe occurred in 2007 under the same ATF Phoenix field division. The Fidel Hernandez case began when the ATF identified Mexican suspects who bought weapons from a Phoenix gun shop over a span of several months. The probe ultimately involved over 200 guns, a dozen of which were lost in Mexico. On September 27, 2007, ATF agents saw the original suspects buying weapons at the same store and followed them toward the Mexican border. The ATF informed the Mexican government when the suspects successfully crossed the border, but Mexican law enforcement were unable to track them.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nLess than two weeks later, on October 6, William Newell, then ATF's Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Phoenix field division, shut down the operation at the behest of William Hoover, ATF's assistant director for the office of field operations. No charges were filed. Newell, who was Phoenix ATF SAC from June 2006 to May 2011, would later play a major role in Operation Fast and Furious.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe Hernandez case was referenced in a briefing paper prepared for Attorney General Michael Mukasey prior to his meeting with the Mexican Attorney General Medina Mora on November 16, 2007. The paper stated, \"ATF has recently worked jointly with Mexico on the first-ever attempt to have a controlled delivery of weapons being smuggled into Mexico by a major arms trafficker\" and that \"the first attempts at this controlled delivery have not been successful.\" The paper also stated, \"ATF would like to expand the possibility of such joint investigations and controlled deliveries -- since only then will it be possible to investigate an entire smuggling network, rather than arresting simply a single smuggler.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nInvestigators regarded the Hernandez Case as an example of \"controlled delivery\" with surveillance and involvement of Mexican authorities rather than \"gunwalking\" or failure to attempt interdiction.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe Medrano case","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe 2008 Alejandro Medrano case involved both ATF SAC William Newell and cooperating Tucson gun dealer Mike Detty of Operation Wide Receiver. ATF Phoenix allowed about 100 guns to be taken into Mexico over the objections of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel who became aware of the case. Phoenix ATF SAC Newell acknowledged to ICE \"that letting guns cross the border was part of ATF’s plan\". In August 2010, Medrano was sentenced to 46 months, his associate Hernan Ramos received 50 months and their fellow conspirators received prison terms from 14 to 30 months, but the target, a Sinaloa Cartel kingpin, Javier Elenes Ruiz, nicknamed \"Rambo,\" remained untouched inside Mexico.[http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/Fast%20and%20Furious.Minority%20Report.pdf Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona] (Report of the Minority Staff, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member; Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, January 2012)","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n2009–2011: Operation Fast and Furious","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn October 26, 2009, a teleconference was held at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. to discuss U.S. strategy for combating Mexican drug cartels. Participating in the meeting were Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, acting ATF Director Kenneth E. Melson, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Robert Mueller and the top federal prosecutors in the Southwestern border states. They decided on a strategy to identify and eliminate entire arms trafficking networks rather than low-level buyers. Those at the meeting apparently did not suggest using the \"gunwalking\" tactic, but Phoenix ATF supervisors would soon use it in an attempt to achieve the desired goals.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe strategy of targeting high-level individuals, which was already ATF policy, would be implemented by Bill Newell, special agent in charge of ATF's Phoenix field division. In order to accomplish it, the office decided to monitor suspicious firearms purchases which federal prosecutors had determined lacked sufficient evidence for prosecution, as laid out in a January 2010 briefing paper. This was said to be allowed under ATF regulations and given legal backing by U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke. It was additionally approved and funded by a Justice Department task force. However, long-standing DOJ and ATF policy has required suspected illegal arms shipments to be intercepted.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe operation began on October 31, 2009, when a local gun store reported to the Phoenix ATF that four individuals had purchased multiple AK-47 style rifles. In November 2009, the Phoenix office's Group VII, which would be the lead investigative group in Fast and Furious, began to follow a prolific gun trafficker. He had bought 34 firearms in 24 days, and he and his associates bought 212 more in the next month. The case soon grew to over two dozen straw purchasers, the most prolific of which would ultimately buy more than 600 weapons. The effort would come to be called Operation Fast and Furious for the successful film franchise, because some of the suspects under investigation operated out of an auto repair store and street raced.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nUnder the previous Operation Wide Receiver, there had been a formal ATF contract with the cooperating gun dealer and efforts were made to involve the ATF Mexico City Office (MCO) and Mexican law enforcement. Under Operation Fast and Furious, at Newell's insistence the cooperating gun dealers did not have contracts with ATF, and MCO and Mexican police were left in the dark.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAccording to internal ATF documents, the operation was initially run in conjunction with the Phoenix DEA Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). On January 26, 2010, ATF formally applied to the Justice Department in Washington for funding through the OCDETF program. When it won approval and received additional funding, Operation Fast and Furious was reorganized as a Strike Force that included agents from ATF, FBI, DEA, and the ICE component of the Department of Homeland Security, which would be run through the U.S. Attorney's office rather than the ATF. This new Strike Force designation allowed the operation to take advantage of sophisticated surveillance techniques such as federal wiretaps, which would require court orders and interaction from Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C. since federal law requires certain individuals to review evidence and certify the necessity of such techniques.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe dealers involved became concerned as months went by and the same individuals they reported to ATF as suspected straw purchasers returned and repeatedly bought identical weapons. As they later told the DOJ OIG, their previous experience was that after they reported a suspected straw to ATF, they did not see the straw again unless subpoenaed to testify against the straw at trial. One cooperating dealer expressed his concerns in a series of emails in April and June 2010 to GS David Voth, who assured the dealer that ATF was monitoring the suspects using a variety of techniques that he could not discuss in detail.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe tactic of letting guns walk, rather than interdicting them and arresting the buyers, led to controversy within the ATF. As the case continued, several members of Group VII, including John Dodson and Olindo Casa, became increasingly upset at the tactic of allowing guns to walk. Their standard Project Gunrunner training was to follow the straw purchasers to the hand-off to the cartel buyers, then arrest both parties and seize the guns. But according to Dodson, they watched guns being bought illegally and stashed on a daily basis, while their supervisors, including David Voth and Hope MacAllister, prevented the agents from intervening.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nHowever, other accounts of the operation insist that ATF agents were prevented from intervening not by ATF officials, but rather by federal prosecutors with the Attorney General's office, who were unsure of whether the agents had sufficient evidence to arrest suspected straw-buyers. According to some reports, many agents insisted they were prevented from making arrests because prosecutors were unwilling to engage in what could become a potentially contentious political battle over Second Amendment rights during an election year, particularly given the difficult nature of prosecuting straw buyers, and the weak penalties associated with it, even if successful. Instead, prosecutors instructed ATF agents not to make arrests, but rather continue collecting evidence in order to build a stronger case. One tactic proposed for doing so was a wiretap of suspected straw-buyers, in an attempt to link the suspects to criminal activities taking place on the Mexican side of the border. Between March 20 and July 30, 2010, nine wiretaps were sought and approved by Justice Department officials, resulting in a significant delay in concluding the case.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOne of the central targeted individuals was Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta. By December 2009, Celis-Acosta was being investigated by the ATF, which had placed a secret pole camera outside his Phoenix home to track his movements. Around this time, apparently by chance, ATF agents discovered Celis-Acosta was also a potential criminal target of the DEA, which was operating a wire room to monitor live wiretaps in order to track him. On April 2, 2010, Celis-Acosta was arrested on possession of cocaine and found in possession of a weapon purchased by Uriel Patino, who had already purchased at least 434 guns from cooperating gun dealers in the Phoenix area. By this time about a dozen ATF agents regularly surveilled Celis-Acosta as he recruited 20 friends and family to buy guns for him and regularly traveled to Texas to obtain funds from cartel associates to purchase firearms. On May 29, 2010, Celis-Acosta was detained in Lukeville, Arizona with 74 rounds of ammunition and 9 cell phones. He was then released by the chief ATF investigator on Fast and Furious, Hope MacAllister, after he promised to cooperate with her to find two specific Sinaloa cartel associates.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAfter the redetention and arrest of Celis-Acosta in February 2011, the ATF learned that the associates they were after were FBI/DEA paid informants, and one of them was Celis-Acosta's financier. Since they were informants, they were unindictable under Operation Fast and Furious.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nLater, the DOJ inspector General concluded: \"We did not find persuasive evidence that agents sought to seize firearms or make arrests during the investigative stage of the case and were rebuffed by the prosecutor. ... We found that the lack of seizures and arrests was primarily attributable to the pursuit of a strategic goal shared by both the [Phoenix] ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office—to eliminate a trafficking organization—and the belief that confronting subjects and seizing firearms could compromise that goal.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nBy June 2010, suspects had purchased 1,608 firearms at a cost of over US$1 million at Phoenix-area gun shops. At that time, the ATF was also aware of 179 of those weapons being found at crime scenes in Mexico, and 130 in the United States. As guns traced to Fast and Furious began turning up at violent crime scenes in Mexico, ATF agents stationed there also voiced opposition.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn the evening of December 14, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and others were patrolling Peck Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, 11 miles from the Mexican border. The group came across five suspected illegal immigrants. When they fired non-lethal beanbag guns, the suspects responded with their own weapons, leading to a firefight. Terry was shot and killed; four of the suspects were arrested and two AK-pattern rifles were found nearby. The Attorney General's office was immediately notified of the shooting incident by email. The rifles were traced within hours of the shooting to a Phoenix store involved in the Fast and Furious operation, but the bullet that killed Terry was too badly damaged to be conclusively linked to either gun. Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler and Deputy Chief of Staff Monty Wilkinson were informed about the guns, but they didn't believe the information was sufficiently important to alert the Attorney General about it or to make any further inquiry regarding the development.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAfter hearing of the incident, Dodson contacted ATF headquarters, ATF's chief counsel, the ATF ethics section and the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General, none of whom immediately responded. He and other agents then contacted Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa (R–IA), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who would become a major figure in the investigation of \"gunwalking.\" At the same time, information began leaking to various bloggers and Web sites.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn January 25, 2011, Burke announced the first details of the case to become officially public, marking the end of Operation Fast and Furious. At a news conference in Phoenix, he reported a 53-count indictment of 20 suspects for buying hundreds of guns intended for illegal export between September 2009 and December 2010. Newell, who was at the conference, called Fast and Furious a \"phenomenal case,\" while denying that guns had been deliberately allowed to walk into Mexico.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAltogether, about 2,000 firearms were bought by straw purchasers during Fast and Furious. These included AK-47 variants, Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles, .38 caliber revolvers, and FN Five-sevens. , 389 had been recovered in the US and 276 had been recovered in Mexico. The rest remained on the streets, unaccounted for. , the total number of recovered firearms was 710. Most of the guns went to the Sinaloa Cartel, while others made their way to El Teo and La Familia.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAlthough most weapons were purchased by suspects under investigation by the program, there have been reports of at least one instance of ATF agents being directly involved in the transfer of weapons. On April 13, 2010, ATF Agent John Dodson, with assistance from Agents Casa and Alt, directed a cooperating straw purchaser to give three guns to Isaiah Fernandez, a suspected gun trafficker, and had taped the conversations without prosecutor approval.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAfter being instructed by his superiors to obtain approval from prosecutors (albeit retroactively), Dodson's proposal was later rejected by his immediate superior David Voth, although he later received permission from Voth's supervisor after submitting a written proposal for the program. On June 1, 2010, Dodson used $2,500 of ATF funds to purchase six AK Draco pistols from local gun dealers, which he then gave to Mr. Fernandez, who reimbursed him for the expense of the guns, plus $700 for his assistance. Two days later, Agent Dodson went on a scheduled vacation without interdicting the weapons. As a result, the weapons were never recovered, no arrests were ever made, and the case was closed without charges being filed.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAccording to the DOJ OIG report, Agent Dodson, as the undercover posing as a straw buyer, was not expected to surveil the weapons after hand-off to Fernandez. Other ATF agents followed the weapons to a storage facility; then surveillance was terminated without interdiction. The Fernandez case was dropped from Fast and Furious after it was determined that Fernandez was not connected to Mexican cartels and had ceased buying guns for resale.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAftermath and reaction","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nFate of walked guns","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nSince the end of Operation Fast and Furious, related firearms have continued to be discovered in criminal hands. As reported in September 2011, the Mexican government stated that an undisclosed number of guns found at about 170 crime scenes were linked to Fast and Furious. U.S. Representative Darrell Issa (R–Calif.–49) estimated that more than 200 Mexicans were killed by guns linked to the operation. Reflecting on the operation, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the United States government is \"...losing the battle to stop the flow of illegal guns to Mexico,\" and that the effects of Operation Fast and Furious will most likely continue to be felt for years, as more walked guns appear at Mexican crime scenes.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn April 2011, a large cache of weapons, 40 traced to Fast and Furious but also including military-grade weapons difficult to obtain legally in the US such as an anti-aircraft machine gun and grenade launcher, was found in the home of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, a prominent Sinaloa Cartel member, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Torres Marrufo was indicted, but evaded law enforcement for a brief time. Finally, on February 4, 2012, Marrufo was arrested by the Mexican Police.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn May 29, 2011, four Mexican Federal Police helicopters attacked a cartel compound, where they were met with heavy fire, including from a .50 caliber rifle. According to a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, this rifle is likely linked to Fast and Furious.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThere have been questions raised over a possible connection between Fast and Furious and the death of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata on February 15, 2011. The gun used to kill Zapata was purchased by Otilio Osorio in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Texas (outside the area of responsibility for the ATF Phoenix field division which conducted Fast and Furious), and then smuggled into Mexico. Congressional investigators have stated that Osorio was known by the ATF to be a straw purchaser months before he purchased the gun used to kill Zapata, leading them to question ATF surveillance tactics and to suspect a Texas-based operation similar to Fast and Furious.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn addition to Otilio Osorio, a Texas-based drug and gun trafficker, Manuel Barba, was involved trafficking another of the guns recovered in the Zapata shooting. The timeline of this case, called \"Baytown Crew\", shows guns were allowed to walk during surveillance that began June 7, 2010. On August 20, 2010, Barba received a rifle later recovered in the Zapata ambush and sent it with nine others to Mexico. The warrant for Barba's arrest was issued February 14, 2011, the day before Zapata was shot. On January 30, 2012, Barba, who claimed to be working with Los Zetas in illegally exporting at least 44 weapons purchased through straw buyers, was sentenced to 100 months in prison.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn November 23, 2012, two firearms linked to the ATF were found at the scene of a shootout between Sinaloa cartel members and the Mexican military. One of the weapons was an AK-47 type rifle trafficked by Fast and Furious suspect Uriel Patino, and the other was an FN Herstal pistol originally purchased by an ATF agent. Mexican beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez and four others were killed.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOne of the nineteen guns Mexican authorities said they found at the hideout of Joaquin Guzman aka El Chapo, after his January 2016 capture, was associated with the Fast and Furious operation. The Justice Department confirmed that the .50-caliber rifle was bought in July 2010 in a straw purchase by someone not known to the ATF at the time, and stated the weapon was not associated with any other crime. In a letter to congressional leaders, Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik, head of the Justice Department’s legislative affairs office, wrote, \"ATF and the department deeply regret that firearms associated with Operation Fast and Furious have been used by criminals in the commission of violent crimes, particularly crimes resulting in the deaths of civilians and law enforcement officials.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nInvestigations and fallout","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn the U.S. Congress, Representative Darrell Issa (R–CA–49), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R–IA), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have been leading investigations of \"gunwalking\" operations. There have also been investigations by the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and others.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n2011","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn January 27, 2011, Grassley wrote a letter to ATF Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson requesting information about the ATF-sanctioned sale of hundreds of firearms to straw purchasers. The letter mentioned a number of allegations that walked guns were used in the fight that killed Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. A second letter from Grassley on January 31 accused the ATF of targeting whistleblowers.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn February 4, 2011, after review and comment from dozens of officials in the Justice Department Criminal Division, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, and ATF Headquarters, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich sent a response to Grassley regarding his two letters. Weich said claims \"...that (the) ATF ‘sanctioned’ or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them to Mexico [are] false. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico.” On February 28, Attorney General Eric Holder requested that the Department of Justice's Inspector General begin an investigation of Fast and Furious.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn March 22, 2011, President Barack Obama appeared on Univision and spoke about the \"gunwalking\" controversy. He said that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized Fast and Furious. He also stated, \"There may be a situation here in which a serious mistake was made, and if that's the case then we'll find out and we'll hold somebody accountable.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn May 3, 2011, Attorney General Holder testified to the House Judiciary Committee that he did not know who approved Fast and Furious, but that it was being investigated. He also stated that he \"probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,\" a claim which would later be questioned as explained below.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn June, ATF Agent Vince Cefalu, who helped to publicize Fast and Furious, was served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated retaliation. He had been at odds with ATF management since he filed a complaint over tactics in an unrelated case in 2005. The ATF denied that the firing was retaliation, and Cefalu's termination letter noted that he leaked documents to the Internet and showed a \"lack of candor\" in other operations.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn June 14, 2011, a preliminary joint staff report was released by Representative Issa and Senator Grassley. Among the findings: agents were told to stand down rather than interdict weapons, they complained about the strategy and were ignored, and Fast and Furious led to increased violence and death in Mexico. Agents were panicked, certain that \"someone was going to die.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nRepresentative Issa continued to hold hearings in June and July where ATF officials based in Phoenix and Mexico, and at headquarters in Washington, testified before the committee. ATF agent John Dodson stated that he and other agents were ordered to observe the activities of gun smugglers but not to intervene. He testified:","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nA second joint staff report was released by the Republicans on July 26.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn August, three important Fast and Furious supervisors were transferred to new management positions at ATF headquarters in Washington: William Newell and David Voth, field supervisors who oversaw the program from Phoenix, and William McMahon, an ATF deputy director of operations. The transfers were initially reported as promotions by the Los Angeles Times, but the ATF stated that they did not receive raises or take on greater responsibilities. In late August, it was announced that Acting ATF Director Melson had been reassigned to the Justice Department, and U.S. Attorney Burke announced his resignation after being questioned by Congressional investigators earlier that month.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn October, documents showing that Attorney General Holder's office had been sent briefings on Fast and Furious as early as July 2010, prompted questions about his May statement that he wasn't sure of the exact date, but had known about it for only a few weeks. The briefings were from the National Drug Intelligence Center and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. The Justice Department said that those briefings were about a different case started before Holder became Attorney General, and that while he had known about Fast and Furious, he didn't know the details of the tactics being used.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn October 31, 2011, after the release of subpoenaed documents, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer stated he found out about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver in April 2010, and that he wished he had alerted the deputy or the attorney general at the time. The following day, in testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in a hearing on International Organized Crime, when asked if he had reviewed the letter before it was sent to Senator Charles Grassley on February 4, 2011, denying gunwalking, Breuer replied, \"I cannot say for sure whether I saw a draft of the letter that was sent to you. What I can tell you, Senator, is that at that time I was in Mexico dealing with the very real issues that we're all so committed to.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn November 8, 2011, Holder stated for the first time in Congressional testimony that \"gunwalking\" was used in Fast and Furious. He remarked that the tactic is unacceptable, and that the operation was \"flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution.\" He further stated that his office had inaccurately described the program in previous letters sent to Congress, but that this was unintentional. Reiterating previous testimony, he said that he and other top officials had been unaware that the \"gunwalking\" tactic was being used. Holder stated that his staff had not showed him memos about the program, noting, \"There is nothing in any of those memos that indicates any of those inappropriate tactics that are of concern. Those things were not brought to my attention, and my staff, I think, made the correct decision in that regard.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThat same month, ex-US Attorney Burke admitted to leaking sensitive documents about ATF agent and whistleblower Dodson. Senator Grassley expressed concern that the Justice Department was using Burke as a scapegoat to protect higher officials and vowed to continue his probe.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn December 2, 2011, the Justice Department formally withdrew its statement from February 4, 2011, denying gunwalking due to inaccuracies.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nLater that month, documents showed that some ATF agents discussed using Fast and Furious to provide anecdotal cases to support controversial new rules about gun sales. The regulation, called Demand Letter 3, would require 8,500 firearms dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas that \"have a significant number of crime guns traced back to them from Mexico\" to report multiple rifle sales.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n2012","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nInvestigations by Congress and the DOJ Inspector General continued into 2012. In January, Patrick Cunningham, who was the criminal division chief at the Phoenix office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona and has since resigned, asserted his innocence and his constitutional right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying. Cunningham worked directly under Burke during Fast and Furious. He was subpoenaed because of the role he might have played in the operation, and in the letter sent from the DOJ to Senator Grassley in February 2011 that claimed the ATF did not allow weapons to be trafficked to Mexico.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn January 31, 2012, Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report titled, \"Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona\". The report concluded that there was no evidence of involvement by high-ranking appointees at the Justice Department in \"gunwalking.\" Rather, Operation Fast and Furious was just one of four such operations conducted over five years during the Bush and Obama administrations, and was only \"the latest in a series of fatally flawed operations run by ATF agents in Phoenix and the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn May, it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General had begun to investigate Fast and Furious, with a report expected in October. The DHS had Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assigned to the operation after becoming involved in late 2009.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn May 3, 2012, Congressman Issa released a memorandum to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that included a draft of a resolution to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt. In the memo, Issa described the connection between Operation Fast and Furious and the OCDETF program since at least January 2009, which would involve multiple executive agencies including the ATF, DOJ, DEA, FBI, ICE, and DHS. He questioned how, why, or if oversight by high level Justice Department did not occur in such an important case. He further described the tragic death of Brian Terry, the whistleblowers and their mistreatment, and the damage the operation had to US-Mexico relations.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn June 7, 2012, under the threat of being held in contempt of Congress for not turning over additional requested documents, Attorney General Holder appeared at his seventh Congressional hearing, where he continued to deny knowledge of \"gunwalking\" by high-level officials. By then, the Justice Department had turned over more than 7,000 pages of documents.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nDuring the June 12, 2012, Senate hearing, Eric Holder stated, \"If you want to talk about Fast and Furious, I'm the Attorney General that put an end to the misguided tactics that were used in Fast and Furious. An Attorney General who I suppose you would hold in higher regard was briefed on these kinds of tactics in an operation called Wide Receiver and did nothing to stop them—nothing. Three hundred guns, at least, walked in that instance.\" Holder cited a briefing paper on \"Wide Receiver\"; the DOJ Office of Legislative Affairs later clarified that the briefing paper was about the Fidel Hernandez case, prepared for Holder's predecessor, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey before his meeting with Mexican Attorney General Mora on November 16, 2007. The Hernandez Case had ended October 6, 2007, before Mukasey entered office November 9, 2007.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nThe office further explained, \"As Attorney General Holder also noted in his testimony, and as we have set forth in prior correspondence and testimony, he took measures and instituted a series of important reforms designed to ensure that the inappropriate tactics used in Fast and Furious, Wide Receiver, Hernandez, and other matters about which the Department has informed Congress are not repeated.\" The later DOJ OIG investigation concluded \"Attorney General Mukasey was not briefed about Operation Wide Receiver or gun \"walking,\" but on a different and traditional law enforcement tactic that was employed in a different case.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn June 20, 2012, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines to recommend that Holder be held in contempt. At issue were 1,300 pages of documents that had not been turned over to Congress by the DOJ. Earlier that day, President Obama had invoked executive privilege over those documents, marking the first time the privilege has been asserted during his presidency. Issa contends that the Obama executive privilege claim is a cover-up or an obstruction to the congressional probe. Issa said the department has identified \"140,000 pages of documents and communications responsive to the committee's subpoena.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn June 28, 2012, Holder became the first sitting member of the Cabinet of the United States to be held in criminal contempt of Congress by the House of Representatives for refusing to disclose internal Justice Department documents in response to a subpoena. The vote was 255–67 in favor, with 17 Democrats voting yes and a large number of Democrats walking off the floor in protest and refusing to vote. A civil contempt measure was also voted on and passed, 258–95. The civil contempt vote allows the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to go to court with a civil lawsuit to look into the US Justice Department's refusal to turn over some of the subpoenaed documents and to test Obama's assertion of executive privilege. Holder dismissed the votes as \"the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided—and politically motivated—investigation during an election year,\" and the White House called it \"political theater rather than legitimate congressional oversight.\" The National Rifle Association controversially lobbied for Holder to be held in contempt.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nIn June 2012, a six-month-long investigation by Fortune magazine stated that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, in contrast to most other reports. Agents interviewed during the investigation repeatedly asserted that only one isolated incident of \"gunwalking\" ever occurred, and was performed independently by ATF Agent John Dodson (who later appeared on CBS News as a whistleblower to denounce the gunwalking scandal) as part of an unauthorized solo action outside the larger Fast and Furious operation.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn July 31, 2012, the first part of a new three-part report, Fast and Furious: The Anatomy of a Failed Operation, was released by Republican lawmakers. The report singled out five ATF supervisors for responsibility in Fast and Furious, all of whom had been previously reassigned. The report also said that Fast and Furious resulted from a change in strategy by the Obama Administration. The Justice Department was dismissive of the report, saying that it contained \"distortions\" and \"debunked conspiracy theories,\" and that \"gunwalking\" tactics dated back to 2006. DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler, while critical of the report, did credit it for acknowledging that the idea for \"gun walking\"—allowing illegal sales of weapons on the border—originated under the Republican administration before Eric Holder took office in 2009. Schmaler noted that Holder moved swiftly to replace the ATF's management and instill reforms. On the same day, ATF Deputy Director William Hoover, who was one of the five blamed in the Congressional report, officially retired. The report included an appendix disputing claims in the Fortune article. Following its publication, Dodson's lawyer wrote the managing editor of Fortune stating the article was \"demonstrably false\" and that a retraction was in order.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAfter Fortune did not retract the article, Dodson sued for libel on October 12, 2012.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn September 19, 2012, the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz publicly released a 471-page report detailing the results of the Justice Department's own internal investigations. The Inspector General's report, which had access to evidence and interviews with witnesses not permitted in previous Congressional reports, recommended 14 federal officials for disciplinary action, ranging from ATF agents to federal prosecutors involved in the Fast and Furious operation. It found \"no evidence\" that Attorney General Holder knew about Fast and Furious before early 2011. It found no evidence that previous Attorneys General had been advised about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nWhile the OIG report found no evidence that higher officials at the Justice Department in Washington had authorized or approved of the tactics used in the Fast and Furious investigations, it did fault 14 lower officials for related failures, including failures to take note of \"red flags\" uncovered by the investigation, as well as failures to follow up on information produced through Operation Fast and Furious and its predecessor, Operation Wide Receiver. The report also noted ATF agents' apparent frustrations over legal obstacles from the Phoenix Attorney's Office to prosecuting suspected \"straw-buyers,\" while also criticizing the agents' failure to quickly intervene and interdict weapons obtained by low-level suspects in the case. The 14 Justice Department employees were referred for possible internal discipline. The Justice Department's Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer, an Obama administration presidential appointee, was cited for not alerting his bosses in 2010 to the flaws of Operation Wide Receiver. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein, who was responsible for authorizing a portion of the wiretap applications in Operation Fast and Furious and faulted in the report for not identifying the gunwalking tactics, resigned on the day of the report.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn December 4, 2012, the ATF Professional Review Board delivered its recommendations to high-level ATF managers, who will decide whether to accept them. The recommendations included firing William McMahon, ATF Deputy Assistant Director; Mark Chait, ATF Assistant Director for Field Operations; William Newell, Phoenix ATF Special Agent in Charge; and George Gillett, Newell's second in command. Two additional ATF employees, Phoenix supervisor David Voth and lead agent Hope McAllister, received recommendations for demotion and disciplinary transfer to another ATF post, respectively. It was reported the next day that McMahon had been fired. It was also announced that Gary Grindler, Eric Holder's chief of staff who was faulted in the OIG report, would be leaving the Justice Department. Later that month, the family of Brian Terry sued seven government officials and a gun shop involved in Operation Fast and Furious for negligence and wrongful death.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n2013","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAgent John Dodson's book on his experiences in Operation Fast and Furious was released by Simon and Schuster on December 3, 2013.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nRelated criminal prosecutions","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn July 9, 2012, an indictment charging five men in the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was unsealed. The FBI offered a reward of $250,000 per fugitive for information leading to their arrests. The indictment, originally handed up on November 7, 2011, charges Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and other crimes. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and is expected to be sentenced in March 2013. , another of the suspects is in custody, and three remain fugitives.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn October 15, 2012, Danny Cruz Morones, one of the twenty individuals indicted as a result of Fast and Furious, was sentenced to 57 months in prison. He was the first of the twenty to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty to straw purchasing and recruiting others to buy guns. According to prosecutors, he bought 27 AK-47s, and his recruits bought dozens more.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nOn December 12, Jaime Avila, Jr. received the maximum penalty of 57 months in prison for gun dealing and conspiracy. He pleaded guilty after two AK-47 type rifles purchased by him were found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's death. Federal prosecutors stated that, in addition to gun trafficking, he had recruited others to do the same. He was under ATF surveillance at the time.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nMexican reactions","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nAs more information on Operations Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver was revealed in 2011, Mexican officials, political commentators and media reacted with anger. Mexican officials stated in September that the U.S. government still had not briefed them on what went wrong nor had they apologized.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nDue to several failed attempts at coordinating with Mexican law enforcement in the apprehension of suspected arms traffickers in the Wide Receiver and Hernandez cases, and concerns about widespread corruption, details of Operation Fast and Furious were not shared with Mexican government officials, and they were deliberately kept out of the loop after related firearms began turning up at crime scenes and in criminal arsenals in 2010. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the ATF Mexico City Office (MCO) were also kept in the dark. According to Attorney General of Mexico Marisela Morales, the Mexican government was told about the undercover program in January 2011, but they were not provided details at the time.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nMorales stated, \"At no time did we know or were we made aware that there might have been arms trafficking permitted. In no way would we have allowed it, because it is an attack on the safety of Mexicans.\" In addition, she expressed that allowing weapons to \"walk\" would represent a \"betrayal\" of Mexico. Morales said that her office would search \"to the end\" in order to clarify what happened in Fast and Furious. In November 2011, it was reported that the Mexican Attorney General's office was seeking the extradition of six citizens of the United States implicated with smuggling weapons.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nMexican Senator Arturo Escobar stated after hearing about Operation Wide Receiver, \"We can no longer tolerate what is occurring. There must be condemnation from the state,\" and that the Mexican Senate condemned the actions of the ATF.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nJorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, president of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, said \"This is a serious violation of international law. What happens if next time they need to introduce trained assassins or nuclear weapons?\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nChihuahua state prosecutor Patricia Gonzalez, who had worked closely with the US for years, said, \"The basic ineptitude of these officials [who ordered the Fast and Furious operation] caused the death of my brother and surely thousands more victims.\" Her brother, Mario, had been kidnapped, tortured and killed by cartel hit men in October 2010. Later, two AK-47 rifles found among the several weapons recovered after a gunfight between police and cartel members were traced to the Fast and Furious program.","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nMexican Congressman Humberto Benítez Treviño, a former attorney general, called Fast and Furious \"a bad business that got out of hand.\" He had also characterized it as \"an undercover program that wasn't properly controlled.\"","ATF gunwalking scandal\n\nLike many politicians, Mexican pundits across the political spectrum expressed anger at news of both operations. La Jornada, a left-leaning newspaper, asked \"US: ally or enemy?\" The paper also argued that after news about Wide Receiver, the Mérida Initiative should be immediately suspended. A right-leaning paper accused the US of violating Mexican sovereignty. Manuel J. Jauregui of the Reforma newspaper wrote, \"In sum, the gringo government has been sending weapons to Mexico in a premeditated and systematic manner, knowing that their destinations were Mexican criminal organizations.\"","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Mexico–United States border is an international boundary running from Tijuana, Baja California, and Imperial Beach, California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. This border, separating Mexico and the United States from each other, traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to uninhabitable deserts. It is the most frequently crossed controlled international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe total length of the continental border is . From the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the course of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) to the border crossing at Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas; westward from that binational conurbation it crosses vast tracts of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts to the Colorado River Delta, westward to the binational conurbation of San Diego, California and Tijuana, Baja California, before reaching the Pacific Ocean.http://www.ibwc.gov/About_Us/about_us.html","Mexico–United States border\n\nGeography","Mexico–United States border\n\nBorder region","Mexico–United States border\n\nFollowing the 1970 Boundary Treaty between the United States and Mexico that settled all then pending boundary disputes and uncertainties related to the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) border, the international continental border extends , excluding the maritime boundaries of 29 km in the Pacific Ocean and 19 km in the Gulf of Mexico.","Mexico–United States border\n\nAccording to the International Boundary and Water Commission, this continental border follows the middle of the Rio Grande—according to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the two nations, \"along the deepest channel\" (also known as the thalweg)—from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico a distance of to a point just upstream of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. It then follows an alignment westward overland and it is marked by monuments for a distance of 859 km to the Colorado River, when it reaches its highest elevation at the intersection with the Continental Divide. Thence it follows the middle of that river northward a distance of 38 km, and then it again follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 227 km to the Pacific Ocean (excluding the maritime boundaries of 18 miles in the Pacific Ocean and 12 miles in the Gulf of Mexico).","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe official 'border region' extends 60 km north and south of the aforementioned boundaries and 60 km east into the Gulf of Mexico and 60 km west into the Pacific Ocean.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe region is characterized by deserts, rugged hills, abundant sunshine, and two major rivers—the Colorado and the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte)—which provide life-giving waters to the largely arid but fertile lands along the rivers in both countries.","Mexico–United States border\n\nFile:Patrolling Rio Grande @ Laredo.jpg|Border Patrol patrolling the Rio Grande in an airboat in Laredo, Texas\nFile:USA Mexico border New Mexico.JPG|The start of the border fence in the state of New Mexico—just west of El Paso, Texas\nFile:El Camino del Diablo, border patrol.jpg|U.S. Border Patrol helicopter along El Camino del Diablo, Arizona-Sonora border, 2004\nFile:Mexican-American border at Nogales.jpg|Border between Nogales, Arizona, on the left, and Nogales, Sonora, on the right\nFile:US-Mexico-Nogales-Border.jpg|On the left: Nogales, Arizona; on the right, Nogales, Sonora\nFile:Borderbeachtj.jpg|Beach in Tijuana at the border","Mexico–United States border\n\nBorder states","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe U.S. states along the border, from west to east, are California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Mexican states are Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.","Mexico–United States border\n\nIn the United States, Texas has the longest stretch of the border of any State, while California has the shortest. In Mexico, Chihuahua has the longest border, while Nuevo León has the shortest.","Mexico–United States border\n\nTexas borders four Mexican states—Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Chihuahua—the most of any U.S. state. New Mexico and Arizona each border two Mexican states (Chihuahua and Sonora; Sonora and Baja California, respectively). California borders only Baja California. Texas is more adjacent to Mexico than California.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThree Mexican states border two U.S. states each: Baja California borders California and Arizona; Sonora borders Arizona and New Mexico; and Chihuahua borders New Mexico and Texas. Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila each border only one U.S. state: Texas.","Mexico–United States border\n\nBorder Crossing Checkpoints","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe border separating Mexico and the United States is the most frequently crossed international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThere are 48 U.S.–Mexico border crossings with 330 ports of entry. From west to east, below is a list of the border city twinnings, which are municipalities connected by one or more legal border crossings.","Mexico–United States border\n\n* San Diego, California (San Ysidro) – Tijuana, Baja California (San Diego–Tijuana Metro.)\n* Cross Border Xpress, Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana International Airport, Baja California\n* Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana, Baja California\n* Tecate, California – Tecate, Baja California\n* Calexico, California – Mexicali, Baja California\n* Andrade, California – Los Algodones, Baja California\n* San Luis, Arizona – San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora\n* Lukeville, Arizona – Sonoyta, Sonora\n* Sasabe, Arizona – Altar, Sonora\n* Nogales, Arizona – Nogales, Sonora\n* Naco, Arizona – Naco, Sonora\n* Douglas, Arizona – Agua Prieta, Sonora\n* Antelope Wells, New Mexico – El Berrendo, Chihuahua\n* Columbus, New Mexico – Palomas, Chihuahua\n* Santa Teresa, New Mexico – San Jerónimo, Chihuahua\n* El Paso, Texas – Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (El Paso-Juarez)\n* Fabens, Texas – Práxedis G.","Mexico–United States border\n\nGuerrero, Chihuahua municipality\n* Fort Hancock, Texas – El Porvenir, Chihuahua\n* Presidio, Texas – Ojinaga, Chihuahua\n* Heath Canyon, Texas – La Linda, Coahuila (closed)\n* Del Rio, Texas – Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila\n* Eagle Pass, Texas – Piedras Negras, Coahuila\n* Laredo, Texas – Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas\n* Laredo, Texas – Colombia, Nuevo León\n* Falcon Heights, Texas – Presa Falcón, Tamaulipas\n* Roma, Texas – Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas\n* Rio Grande City, Texas – Ciudad Camargo, Tamaulipas\n* Los Ebanos, Texas – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas\n* Mission, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas\n* Hidalgo, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas\n* Pharr, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas\n* Donna, Texas – Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas\n* Progreso, Texas – Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas\n* Los Indios, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas\n* Brownsville, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe total population of the borderlands—defined as those counties and municipios lining the border on either side—stands at some 12 million people.","Mexico–United States border\n\nHistory","Mexico–United States border\n\nIn the mid-16th century, with the discovery of silver, settlers from a variety of countries and backgrounds began to arrive in the area. This period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different backgrounds. The area technically was part of the Kingdom of New Spain, but due to the lack of population and the diverse citizenry it had, it did not seem to belong to any country. This period lasted until the early 19th century at which point the United States bought the lands known as the Louisiana Purchase from France and began to expand steadily westward in its pursuit of Manifest Destiny.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe border itself was not clearly defined and remained so until the Mexican colony became independent from Spain and entered a period of political instability. Mexico attempted to create a buffer zone at the border that would prevent possible invasion from the North. The Mexican government encouraged thousands of their own citizens to settle in the region that is now known as Texas and even offered inexpensive land to settlers from the United States in exchange for populating the area. The influx of people did not provide the defense that Mexico had hoped for and instead Texas declared its independence in 1836. That independence lasted until 1845 when the United States annexed Texas.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe constant conflicts in the Texas region in the mid 19th century eventually led to the Mexican–American War, which began in 1846 and ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In the terms of the peace treaty, Mexico lost more than of land, 55% of its national territory, including what is today California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In addition, all disputes over Texas and the disputed territory between Rio Grande and Rio Nueces were abandoned. Five years later the Gadsden Purchase completed the creation of the current United States–Mexico border. The purchase was initially to accommodate a planned railway right-of-way. These purchases left approximately 300,000 people living in the once disputed lands, many of whom were Mexican nationals. Following the establishment of the current border a number of towns sprang up along this boundary and many of the Mexican citizens were given free land in the northern regions of Mexico in exchange for returning and repopulating the area.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and another treaty in 1884 were the agreements originally responsible for the settlement of the international border, both of which specified that the middle of Rio Grande was the border — irrespective of any alterations in the channels or banks. The Rio Grande shifted south between 1852 and 1868, with the most radical shift in the river occurring after a flood in 1864. By 1873 the moving river-center border had cut off approximately 600 acres of Mexican territory in the El Paso-Juarez area, in effect transferring the land to the United States. By a treaty negotiated in 1963, Mexico regained most of this land in what became known as the Chamizal dispute and transferred 264 acres in return to the United States. Border treaties are jointly administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which was established in 1889 to maintain the border, allocate river waters between the two nations, and provide for flood control and water sanitation. Once viewed as a model of international cooperation, in recent decades the IBWC has been heavily criticized as an institutional anachronism, by-passed by modern social, environmental and political issues.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe economic development of the border region on the Mexican side of the border depended largely on its proximity to the United States, due to its remoteness from commercial centers in Mexico. During the years of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, between 1876 and 1910, the border communities boomed, due mostly to close ties to the United States, and the Mexican government's support for financial investments from the United States. Railroads were built that connected the northern Mexican states more to the United States than to Mexico and the population grew tremendously. The mining industry also developed, as did the United States’ control of it. By the early 20th century companies from the United States controlled 81% of the mining industry and had invested five hundred million dollars in the Mexican economy overall, twenty-five percent of it in the border regions.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Mexican Revolution, caused at least partially by animosity towards foreign ownership of Mexican properties, began in 1910. The Revolution increased the political instability in Mexico, but did not significantly slow United States investment. It did reduce economic development within Mexico, however, and the border regions reflected this. As the infrastructure of communities on the United States side continued to improve, the Mexican side began to fall behind in the construction and maintenance of important transportation networks and systems necessary to municipal development.","Mexico–United States border\n\nSecurity","Mexico–United States border\n\nU.S.–Mexico border enforcement","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe U.S.–Mexico border has the highest number of legal crossings of any land border in the world. Over five million cars and trucks travel through the border annually. According to Vulliamy, one in five Mexican nationals will visit or work in the United States at one point in their lifetime. As of 2010, the border is guarded by more than twenty thousand Border Patrol agents, more than at any time in its history. However, they only have \"effective control\" of less than 700 mi of the 1954 mi of total border, with an ability to actually prevent or stop illegal entries along 129 mi of that border. The border is paralleled by United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints on major roads generally between 25 and 75 mi from the U.S. side of the border, and garitas generally within 50 km of the border on the Mexican side.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThere are an estimated half a million illegal entries into the United States each year. Border Patrol activity is concentrated around big border cities such as San Diego and El Paso which do have extensive border fencing. This means that the flow of illegal aliens is diverted into rural mountainous and desert areas, leading to several hundred migrant deaths along the Mexico–U.S. border of those attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico illegally and vice versa.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed providing for the construction of 700 mi of high-security fencing. Attempts to complete the construction of the United States–Mexico barrier have been challenged by the Mexican government and various U.S.–based organizations.","Mexico–United States border\n\nIn January 2013, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that the United States Border Patrol only intercepts sixty-one percent of individuals illegally crossing the border in 2011, which translated to 208,813 individuals not being apprehended. 85,827 of the 208,813 would go on to illegally enter the United States, while the rest returned into Mexico and America. The report also showed that the number of illegal border crossings has dropped.","Mexico–United States border\n\nBorder incursions","Mexico–United States border\n\nAccording to the United States Border Patrol, in the fiscal year of 2006, there were twenty-nine confirmed border incursions by Mexican government officials, of which seventeen were by armed individuals. Since 1996 there have been 253 incursions by Mexican government officials. In 2014, United States Department of Homeland Security informed United States Representative Duncan D. Hunter, that since 2004, there have been 300 documented border incursions, which resulted in 131 individuals being detained.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Washington Times has reported that on Sunday, August 3, 2008, Mexican military personnel who crossed into Arizona from Mexico encountered a U.S. Border Patrol agent, whom they held at gunpoint. The soldiers later returned to Mexico, as backup Border Patrol agents came to investigate.","Mexico–United States border\n\nDisagreements over need for more resources","Mexico–United States border\n\nProponents of greater spending on the border – especially politicians from border states – argue that continuing the buildup is necessary due to increased violence and drug trafficking from Mexico spilling over into the United States. However, critics such as the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) have argued that further buildup will have fewer desired effects and may even be counterproductive. Furthermore, WOLA has emphasized that the diminishing number of border crossings can only be partially attributed to US security measures. Unintentional factor such as weakening US economy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and increased violence in the north of Mexico has made attempting illegal border crossings more risky and less rewarding.","Mexico–United States border\n\nBorder Zone Policies","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security Secure Border Initiative","Mexico–United States border\n\nA National Border Patrol Strategic Plan was first developed in 1994 to deal with the perception that borders were being overrun by illegal immigrants and drug dealers. It was then updated in 2004 and 2012. In 2004 the updated strategy focused on command structures, intelligence and surveillance, enforcement and deployment of U.S. Border Patrol agents to better respond to threats at the border. The strategic planning led to broader policy development for the Department of Homeland Security which led to the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) in 2005 to secure U.S. borders and reduce illegal migration. The main components of SBI dealt with staffing concerns, removal capacity, surveillance and tactical infrastructure and interior enforcement.","Mexico–United States border\n\nAn additional component was “high consequence enforcement”, which was not the subject of a formal public policy document. There was the allowance, historically, for voluntary returns of individuals apprehended at the border by Border Patrol agents. These voluntary returns, after the SBI of 2005, were limited to three “high consequence outcomes”.","Mexico–United States border\n\nOne \"high consequence outcome\" was formal removal, which meant the individual would be deemed ineligible for a visa for at least five years and subject to criminal charges if caught re-entering illegally. The Immigration and Nationality Act permitted aliens to be formally removed with “limited judicial processing” known as expedited removal. The Department of Homeland Security has expanded between 2002 and 2006, expedited removal for “certain aliens that entered within previous two weeks and were apprehended within 100 miles of the border”.","Mexico–United States border\n\nAnother “high consequence outcome” is the increase in criminal charges. Department of Homeland Security has also worked with the Department of Justice to increase the number of apprehended individuals crossing the border illegally who are charged with criminal offenses. Most of these cases are prosecuted under Operation Streamline. The third “high consequence outcome” is known as remote repatriation. This is the return of apprehended Mexicans to remote locations by Border Patrol rather than the nearest Mexican port of entry.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe 100 Mile Border Zone","Mexico–United States border\n\nRegulations establishing the 100 mile zone were adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice as the result of an interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1953. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) officials have authority for stop and search within this 100 miles from any external boundary. This allows for CBP officials to enter private property without a warrant within 25 miles of the border as well as the operation of checkpoints.","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable search and seizure; however, according to the government this Amendment does not fully apply at borders or border crossings (also known as ports of entry). This means that much of the U.S. population is subject to CBP regulations for stop and search. The 100 Mile Border Zone includes two thirds of the population, a majority of the largest cities in the U.S. and several entire states (namely Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New Jersey).","Mexico–United States border\n\nThere are some limits to CBP officials ability to stop and search. For instance CBP officials are not allowed to pull anyone over without a reasonable suspicion of immigration violation or crime, or search vehicles without warrant or probable cause. The ACLU, however, found that CBP officials routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of authority, and this is compounded by inadequate training, lack of oversight and failure to hold officials accountable for abuse - incidence of abuse is common.","Mexico–United States border\n\nOperation Streamline","Mexico–United States border\n\nOperation Streamline refers collectively to zero-tolerance policies implemented at the U.S.-Mexico border that seek to remove undocumented immigrants through an expedited process if they have arrived with missing or fraudulent identification or have previously been convicted for an immigration crime.","Mexico–United States border\n\nHistory","Mexico–United States border\n\nOperation Streamline was first implemented in Del Rio, Texas in 2005. The program has since expanded to four out of the five federal judicial districts on the U.S.-Mexico border: Yuma, AZ; Laredo, TX; Tucson, AZ; and Rio Grande Valley, TX.","Mexico–United States border\n\nPreviously, immigrants apprehended at the border were either given the option to voluntarily return to their home country or they were placed in civil immigration proceedings. After Operation Streamline was implemented, nearly all people apprehended at the border who are suspected of having crossed illegally are subject to criminal prosecution. Defendants who are charged with crossing into the U.S. illegally are tried en masse to determine their guilt. Defense attorneys often are responsible for representing anywhere from six to forty immigrants at once. Around 99% of defendants in Operation Streamline proceedings plead guilty. The defendants are charged with a misdemeanor if convicted of crossing the border illegally for the first time, and a felony if it is a repeat offense.","Mexico–United States border\n\nIn December, 2009, it was decided in United States v. Roblero-Solis that en masse judicial proceedings like those in Operation Streamline violated Rule 11 in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 11 states that the court must determine that a guilty plea is voluntarily made by addressing the defendant personally in court. The Roblero-Solis case determined that “personally” means that the judge must address the defendant in a person-to-person manner. Though many courts have changed their procedures to adapt to the ruling, there are still forms of en masse trials practiced at the border.","Mexico–United States border\n\nSupport and Criticisms","Mexico–United States border\n\nProponents of Operation Streamline claim that the harsher prosecution has been an important factor in deterring immigrants from crossing the border illegally. Apprehensions have decreased in certain sectors after 2005, which is seen as a sign of success. For example, the Del Rio, Texas sector saw a decline from 2005 to 2009 of 75% (from 68,510 to 17,082). Similarly, apprehensions declined in Yuma, Arizona by 95% (from 138,438 to 6,951) from 2006 to 2009.","Mexico–United States border\n\nCriticisms of Operation Streamline point to the program’s heavy use of federal court and enforcement resources as a negative aspect. In addition, the prosecution of all illegal border crossings takes the focus away from prosecuting more serious crimes. They claim that the program’s cost is too high for the effectiveness of the work it is accomplishing. In response to the claim that Operation Streamline is an effective deterrent, critics of the program claim that the incentives to cross the border in order to work or be with family are much stronger.","Mexico–United States border\n\nEnvironment","Mexico–United States border\n\nHistory","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Agreement on Cooperation for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Border Area, known as the La Paz Agreement, was signed into law on August 14, 1983 and became enforceable on February 16, 1984. This agreement to protect the environment is the political foundation between the U.S. and Mexico for 4 subsequent programs. Each program has addressed environmental destruction in the border region resulting from the rise of the maquiladora industries, those who migrated to Northern Mexico to work in the industries, the lack of infrastructure to accommodate the people, Mexico's lax regulations concerning all these factors, the resulting spillover into the U.S., and the U.S.'s own environmentally destructive tendencies. The programs were: IBEP (1992), Border XXI (1996), Border 2012 (2003) and Border 2020 (2012).","Mexico–United States border\n\nTravel","Mexico–United States border\n\nWestern Hemisphere Travel Initiative","Mexico–United States border\n\nIn late 2006, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a rule regarding new identification requirements for U.S. citizens and international travelers entering the United States implemented on January 23, 2007; this final rule and first phase of the WHTI specifies nine forms of identification—one of which is required to enter the United States by air: a valid passport; a passport card; a state enhanced driver's license or state enhanced non-driver ID card (available in Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Washington ) approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security; a trusted traveler program card (NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI); an enhanced tribal identification card; a Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card;\nForm I-872 – American Indian Card; a valid Merchant Mariner Document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or a valid U.S. military identification card when traveling on official orders.","Mexico–United States border\n\nBusiest border","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe Mexico–United States border is the world's busiest border, specifically the crossing at San Diego, California to Tijuana, Mexico, known as the San Ysidro Port of Entry. In the U.S., Interstate 5 crosses directly to Tijuana, and the highway's southern terminus is this crossing. In 2005, more than 17 million vehicles and 50 million people entered the U.S. through San Ysidro. Among those who enter the United States through San Ysidro are \"transfronterizos\", American citizens who live in Mexico and attend school in the United States.","Mexico–United States border\n\nAlong the Mexican coast of Baja California, there are neighborhoods of Americans living in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, and Ensenada, whose residents commute to the United States daily to work. Additionally, many Mexicans also enter the United States to commute daily to work. In 1999, 7.6% of the labor force of Tijuana was employed in San Diego.","Mexico–United States border\n\nMexico–United States barrier","Mexico–United States border\n\nThe U.S. government had plans in 2006, during the Bush administration, to erect a border fence along the U.S.–Mexico border. The controversial proposal included creating many individual fences. Almost 600 miles of fence was constructed, with each of the individual fences composed of steel and concrete. In between these fences are infrared cameras and sensors, National Guard soldiers, and SWAT teams on alert, giving rise to the term \"virtual fence\". Construction on the fence began in 2006, with each mile costing the U.S. government about $2.8 million. In 2010, the initiative was terminated due to costs, after having completed 640 mi of either barrier fence or vehicle barriers, that were either new or had been rebuilt over older, inferior fencing. The Boeing-built SBI-net systems of using radar, watchtowers, and sensors (without a fence or physical barrier) were scrapped for being over budget, full of glitches, and far behind schedule.","Mexico–United States border\n\nFile:US-Mexico border fence.jpg|The U.S.–Mexico border fence near El Paso, Texas\nFile:BorderAtJacumba.jpg|Portion of border near Jacumba, California in 2003\nFile:BorderAtJacumba2.jpg|Portion of border near Jacumba, California in 2009 with enhanced security","Mexico–United States border\n\nAnimals","Mexico–United States border\n\nWhen animals are imported from one country to another, there is the possibility that diseases and parasites can move with them. Thus, most countries impose animal health regulations on the import of animals. Most animals imported to the United States must be accompanied by import permits obtained in advance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and/or health certification papers from the country of origin.","Mexico–United States border\n\nVeterinary inspections are often required, and are available only at designated ports; advance contact with port veterinarians is recommended. Animals crossing the United States-Mexico border may have a country of origin other than the country where they present for inspection. Such animals include those from the U.S. that cross to Mexico and return, and animals from other countries that travel overland through Mexico or the U.S. before crossing the border.","Mexico–United States border\n\nCrossing from Mexico to the United States","Mexico–United States border\n\nAPHIS imposes precautions to keep out several equine diseases, including glanders, dourine, equine infectious anemia (EIA), equine piroplasmosis (EP), Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE), and contagious equine metritis (CEM). APHIS also checks horses to prevent the introduction of ticks and other parasites. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors look for horses and livestock that stray across the border carrying ticks. These animals are often called wetstock, and the inspectors are referred to as tickriders.","Mexico–United States border\n\nPer APHIS, horses originating from Canada can enter the United States with a Canadian government veterinary health certificate and a negative test for EIA. Horses from Mexico must have a health certificate; pass negative tests for EIA, dourine, glanders, and EP at a USDA import center; and undergo precautionary treatments for external parasites at the port of entry. Horses from other Western Hemisphere countries must have the same tests as those from Mexico and, except for horses from Argentina, must be held in quarantine for at least seven days as a check for VEE.","Mexico–United States border\n\nAPHIS imposes similar testing and certification requirements on horses from other parts of the world but without the quarantine for VEE. These horses are held in quarantine—usually three days—or until tests are completed. Because the disease equine piroplasmosis (equine babesiosis) is endemic in Mexico but not established in the United States, transportation of horses from Mexico to the United States requires evaluation of horses for the presence of this disease.","Mexico–United States border\n\nTransportation of horses from Mexico to the United States normally requires at least three days in quarantine, which is incompatible with most recreational equestrian travel across the border. A leading exception to this rule is the special waiver obtained by riders participating in the Cabalgata Binacional Villista (see cavalcade).","Mexico–United States border\n\nCrossing from the United States to Mexico","Mexico–United States border\n\nImport from the United States to Mexico requires evidence within the prior 45 days of freedom from equine infectious anemia, among other requirements."],"string":"[\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\n\\\"Gunwalking\\\", or \\\"letting guns walk\\\", was a tactic of the Arizona Field Office of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which ran a series of sting operations between 2006 and 2011 in the Tucson and Phoenix area where the ATF \\\"purposely allowed licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal straw buyers, hoping to track the guns to Mexican drug cartel leaders and arrest them.\\\" These operations were done under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico by interdicting straw purchasers and gun traffickers within the United States. The Jacob Chambers Case began in October 2009 and eventually became known in February 2010 as \\\"Operation Fast and Furious\\\" after agents discovered Chambers and the other suspects under investigation belonged to a car club.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe stated goal of allowing these purchases was to continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher-level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels, with the expectation that this would lead to their arrests and the dismantling of the cartels. The tactic was questioned during the operations by a number of people, including ATF field agents and cooperating licensed gun dealers. [http://oversight.house.gov/images/stories/Reports/ATF_Report.pdf The Department of Justice's Operation Fast and Furious: Accounts of ATF Agents], JOINT STAFF REPORT, Prepared for Rep. Darrell E. Issa and Senator Charles E. Grassley, 112th Congress, June 14, 2011. [http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/gunwalking_emails_041411.pdf Letter from Senator Charles Grasseley to Attorney General Eric Holder, Apr 13, 2011], on e-mails between \\\"Cooperating FFL\\\" and ATF David Voth. During Operation Fast and Furious, the largest \\\"gunwalking\\\" probe, the ATF monitored the sale of about 2,000 firearms, of which only 710 were recovered . A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high-level cartel figures had been arrested.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nGuns tracked by the ATF have been found at crime scenes on both sides of the Mexico–United States border, and the scene where United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed December 2010. The \\\"gunwalking\\\" operations became public in the aftermath of Terry's murder. Dissenting ATF agents came forward to Congress in response. According to Humberto Benítez Treviño, former Mexican Attorney General and chair of the justice committee in the Chamber of Deputies, related firearms have been found at numerous crime scenes in Mexico where at least 150 Mexican civilians were maimed or killed. Revelations of \\\"gunwalking\\\" led to controversy in both countries, and diplomatic relations were damaged.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAs a result of a dispute over the release of Justice Department documents related to the scandal, Attorney General Eric Holder became the first sitting member of the Cabinet of the United States to be held in contempt of Congress on June 28, 2012. Earlier that month, President Barack Obama had invoked executive privilege for the first time in his presidency over the same documents.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nBackground\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nATF \\\"gunwalking\\\" operations were, in part, a response to longstanding criticism of the bureau for focusing on relatively minor gun violations while failing to target high-level gun smuggling figures. U.S. firearms laws currently govern the possession and transfer of firearms and provide penalties for the violation of such laws. “Gun trafficking”, although not defined by statute, essentially includes the movement or diversion of firearms from legal to illegal markets. A 2009 GAO report on efforts to combat arms trafficking to Mexico notes that straw purchasing is not in itself illegal, although it is illegal to provide false information in connection with a purchase.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nFour federal statutes govern U.S. commerce of firearms domestically and internationally. Many states supplement these federal statutes and have firearms laws of their own that are stricter. For example, some states require permits to obtain firearms and impose a waiting period for firearm transfers. Domestic commerce and importations into the United States are generally regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). The exportation of firearms from the United States is regulated by the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 and, to a lesser extent, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nDefendants are often prosecuted and convicted under provisions of statutes such as the GCA that make it unlawful for certain persons to be in possession of firearms, govern the transaction process of obtaining firearms (e.g., straw purchases), and contain penalties for the use of a firearm in a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, or penalties for knowingly or fraudulently smuggling goods that would be contrary to U.S. law and regulation.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn a 2012 case in San Juan, Texas, under existing 1968 Gun Control Act provisions on straw purchasing (Title 18 United States Code, Section 924(a)(1)(A)), straw purchaser Taisa Garcia received 33 months and buyer Marco Villalobos received 46 months, plus two years supervision after release. In another Texas gun trafficking case, Oscar Bravo Hernandez received a sentence of 84 months for buying and sending to Mexico at least 55 firearms from a ring of nine straw purchasers who received sentences from 51 months for the most involved down to three years probation for the least involved.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAccording to twenty-year ATF veteran Jay Wachtel, letting guns \\\"walk\\\" has been a practice done in a controlled manner that involved surveillance and eventual seizure of the weapons. \\\"The idea was that you would follow it long enough until you were sure you had enough probable cause\\\" to initiate an arrest, Wachtel said. According to ATF field agents involved in Operation Fast and Furious, a part of Project Gunrunner, \\\"ATF agents were trained to interdict guns and prevent criminals from obtaining them\\\" and not to allow guns to walk and then disappear. ATF agents assigned to Phoenix from other districts to work on Fast and Furious were critical of the operation.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOperations\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThere have been allegations of \\\"gunwalking\\\" in at least 10 cities in five states. The most widely known and controversial operations took place in Arizona under the ATF's Phoenix, Arizona field division.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\n2006–2008: Operation Wide Receiver and other probes\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOperation Wide Receiver\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe first known ATF \\\"gunwalking\\\" operation to Mexican drug cartels, named Operation Wide Receiver, began in early 2006 and ran into late 2007. Licensed dealer Mike Detty of Mad Dawg Global informed the ATF of a suspicious gun purchase that took place in February 2006 in Tucson, Arizona. In March he was hired as a confidential informant working with the ATF's Tucson office, part of their Phoenix, Arizona field division.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nWith the use of surveillance equipment, ATF agents monitored additional sales by Detty to straw purchasers. With assurance from ATF \\\"that Mexican officials would be conducting surveillance or interdictions when guns got to the other side of the border\\\", Detty would sell a total of about 450 guns during the operation. These included AR-15s, semi-automatic AK-pattern rifles, and Colt .38s. The majority of the guns were eventually lost as they moved into Mexico.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAs the later DOJ OIG Report documented, under Wide Receiver coordination of ATF Tucson with the ATF Mexico City Office (MCO) and with Mexican law enforcement had been haphazard. Discussions of getting tracking devices from Raytheon were not followed up. ATF field agents and the cooperating gun dealer had been told by ATF supervisors that the guns were being interdicted before they could reach Mexico, but only 64 of the 474 guns had actually been seized. The kingpin sought by walking the guns, Israel Egurrola-Leon, turned out to be the target of a larger drug case Operation Iron River run by OCDETF. After Operation Wide Receiver was ended, several attorneys at the Phoenix USAO who reviewed the Wide Receiver cases for prosecution found the cases had been so poorly managed that they were reluctant to bring any of them to trial.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAt the time, under the Bush administration Department of Justice (DOJ), no arrests or indictments were made. After President Barack Obama took office in 2009, the DOJ reviewed Wide Receiver and found that guns had been allowed into the hands of suspected gun traffickers. Indictments began in 2010, over three years after Wide Receiver concluded. , nine people had been charged with making false statements in acquisition of firearms and illicit transfer, shipment or delivery of firearms. As of November, charges against one defendant had been dropped; five of them had pleaded guilty, and one had been sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Two of them remained fugitives.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe Hernandez case\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAnother, smaller probe occurred in 2007 under the same ATF Phoenix field division. The Fidel Hernandez case began when the ATF identified Mexican suspects who bought weapons from a Phoenix gun shop over a span of several months. The probe ultimately involved over 200 guns, a dozen of which were lost in Mexico. On September 27, 2007, ATF agents saw the original suspects buying weapons at the same store and followed them toward the Mexican border. The ATF informed the Mexican government when the suspects successfully crossed the border, but Mexican law enforcement were unable to track them.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nLess than two weeks later, on October 6, William Newell, then ATF's Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Phoenix field division, shut down the operation at the behest of William Hoover, ATF's assistant director for the office of field operations. No charges were filed. Newell, who was Phoenix ATF SAC from June 2006 to May 2011, would later play a major role in Operation Fast and Furious.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe Hernandez case was referenced in a briefing paper prepared for Attorney General Michael Mukasey prior to his meeting with the Mexican Attorney General Medina Mora on November 16, 2007. The paper stated, \\\"ATF has recently worked jointly with Mexico on the first-ever attempt to have a controlled delivery of weapons being smuggled into Mexico by a major arms trafficker\\\" and that \\\"the first attempts at this controlled delivery have not been successful.\\\" The paper also stated, \\\"ATF would like to expand the possibility of such joint investigations and controlled deliveries -- since only then will it be possible to investigate an entire smuggling network, rather than arresting simply a single smuggler.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nInvestigators regarded the Hernandez Case as an example of \\\"controlled delivery\\\" with surveillance and involvement of Mexican authorities rather than \\\"gunwalking\\\" or failure to attempt interdiction.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe Medrano case\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe 2008 Alejandro Medrano case involved both ATF SAC William Newell and cooperating Tucson gun dealer Mike Detty of Operation Wide Receiver. ATF Phoenix allowed about 100 guns to be taken into Mexico over the objections of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel who became aware of the case. Phoenix ATF SAC Newell acknowledged to ICE \\\"that letting guns cross the border was part of ATF’s plan\\\". In August 2010, Medrano was sentenced to 46 months, his associate Hernan Ramos received 50 months and their fellow conspirators received prison terms from 14 to 30 months, but the target, a Sinaloa Cartel kingpin, Javier Elenes Ruiz, nicknamed \\\"Rambo,\\\" remained untouched inside Mexico.[http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/Fast%20and%20Furious.Minority%20Report.pdf Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona] (Report of the Minority Staff, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member; Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, January 2012)\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\n2009–2011: Operation Fast and Furious\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn October 26, 2009, a teleconference was held at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. to discuss U.S. strategy for combating Mexican drug cartels. Participating in the meeting were Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, acting ATF Director Kenneth E. Melson, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Robert Mueller and the top federal prosecutors in the Southwestern border states. They decided on a strategy to identify and eliminate entire arms trafficking networks rather than low-level buyers. Those at the meeting apparently did not suggest using the \\\"gunwalking\\\" tactic, but Phoenix ATF supervisors would soon use it in an attempt to achieve the desired goals.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe strategy of targeting high-level individuals, which was already ATF policy, would be implemented by Bill Newell, special agent in charge of ATF's Phoenix field division. In order to accomplish it, the office decided to monitor suspicious firearms purchases which federal prosecutors had determined lacked sufficient evidence for prosecution, as laid out in a January 2010 briefing paper. This was said to be allowed under ATF regulations and given legal backing by U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke. It was additionally approved and funded by a Justice Department task force. However, long-standing DOJ and ATF policy has required suspected illegal arms shipments to be intercepted.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe operation began on October 31, 2009, when a local gun store reported to the Phoenix ATF that four individuals had purchased multiple AK-47 style rifles. In November 2009, the Phoenix office's Group VII, which would be the lead investigative group in Fast and Furious, began to follow a prolific gun trafficker. He had bought 34 firearms in 24 days, and he and his associates bought 212 more in the next month. The case soon grew to over two dozen straw purchasers, the most prolific of which would ultimately buy more than 600 weapons. The effort would come to be called Operation Fast and Furious for the successful film franchise, because some of the suspects under investigation operated out of an auto repair store and street raced.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nUnder the previous Operation Wide Receiver, there had been a formal ATF contract with the cooperating gun dealer and efforts were made to involve the ATF Mexico City Office (MCO) and Mexican law enforcement. Under Operation Fast and Furious, at Newell's insistence the cooperating gun dealers did not have contracts with ATF, and MCO and Mexican police were left in the dark.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAccording to internal ATF documents, the operation was initially run in conjunction with the Phoenix DEA Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). On January 26, 2010, ATF formally applied to the Justice Department in Washington for funding through the OCDETF program. When it won approval and received additional funding, Operation Fast and Furious was reorganized as a Strike Force that included agents from ATF, FBI, DEA, and the ICE component of the Department of Homeland Security, which would be run through the U.S. Attorney's office rather than the ATF. This new Strike Force designation allowed the operation to take advantage of sophisticated surveillance techniques such as federal wiretaps, which would require court orders and interaction from Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C. since federal law requires certain individuals to review evidence and certify the necessity of such techniques.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe dealers involved became concerned as months went by and the same individuals they reported to ATF as suspected straw purchasers returned and repeatedly bought identical weapons. As they later told the DOJ OIG, their previous experience was that after they reported a suspected straw to ATF, they did not see the straw again unless subpoenaed to testify against the straw at trial. One cooperating dealer expressed his concerns in a series of emails in April and June 2010 to GS David Voth, who assured the dealer that ATF was monitoring the suspects using a variety of techniques that he could not discuss in detail.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe tactic of letting guns walk, rather than interdicting them and arresting the buyers, led to controversy within the ATF. As the case continued, several members of Group VII, including John Dodson and Olindo Casa, became increasingly upset at the tactic of allowing guns to walk. Their standard Project Gunrunner training was to follow the straw purchasers to the hand-off to the cartel buyers, then arrest both parties and seize the guns. But according to Dodson, they watched guns being bought illegally and stashed on a daily basis, while their supervisors, including David Voth and Hope MacAllister, prevented the agents from intervening.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nHowever, other accounts of the operation insist that ATF agents were prevented from intervening not by ATF officials, but rather by federal prosecutors with the Attorney General's office, who were unsure of whether the agents had sufficient evidence to arrest suspected straw-buyers. According to some reports, many agents insisted they were prevented from making arrests because prosecutors were unwilling to engage in what could become a potentially contentious political battle over Second Amendment rights during an election year, particularly given the difficult nature of prosecuting straw buyers, and the weak penalties associated with it, even if successful. Instead, prosecutors instructed ATF agents not to make arrests, but rather continue collecting evidence in order to build a stronger case. One tactic proposed for doing so was a wiretap of suspected straw-buyers, in an attempt to link the suspects to criminal activities taking place on the Mexican side of the border. Between March 20 and July 30, 2010, nine wiretaps were sought and approved by Justice Department officials, resulting in a significant delay in concluding the case.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOne of the central targeted individuals was Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta. By December 2009, Celis-Acosta was being investigated by the ATF, which had placed a secret pole camera outside his Phoenix home to track his movements. Around this time, apparently by chance, ATF agents discovered Celis-Acosta was also a potential criminal target of the DEA, which was operating a wire room to monitor live wiretaps in order to track him. On April 2, 2010, Celis-Acosta was arrested on possession of cocaine and found in possession of a weapon purchased by Uriel Patino, who had already purchased at least 434 guns from cooperating gun dealers in the Phoenix area. By this time about a dozen ATF agents regularly surveilled Celis-Acosta as he recruited 20 friends and family to buy guns for him and regularly traveled to Texas to obtain funds from cartel associates to purchase firearms. On May 29, 2010, Celis-Acosta was detained in Lukeville, Arizona with 74 rounds of ammunition and 9 cell phones. He was then released by the chief ATF investigator on Fast and Furious, Hope MacAllister, after he promised to cooperate with her to find two specific Sinaloa cartel associates.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAfter the redetention and arrest of Celis-Acosta in February 2011, the ATF learned that the associates they were after were FBI/DEA paid informants, and one of them was Celis-Acosta's financier. Since they were informants, they were unindictable under Operation Fast and Furious.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nLater, the DOJ inspector General concluded: \\\"We did not find persuasive evidence that agents sought to seize firearms or make arrests during the investigative stage of the case and were rebuffed by the prosecutor. ... We found that the lack of seizures and arrests was primarily attributable to the pursuit of a strategic goal shared by both the [Phoenix] ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office—to eliminate a trafficking organization—and the belief that confronting subjects and seizing firearms could compromise that goal.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nBy June 2010, suspects had purchased 1,608 firearms at a cost of over US$1 million at Phoenix-area gun shops. At that time, the ATF was also aware of 179 of those weapons being found at crime scenes in Mexico, and 130 in the United States. As guns traced to Fast and Furious began turning up at violent crime scenes in Mexico, ATF agents stationed there also voiced opposition.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn the evening of December 14, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and others were patrolling Peck Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, 11 miles from the Mexican border. The group came across five suspected illegal immigrants. When they fired non-lethal beanbag guns, the suspects responded with their own weapons, leading to a firefight. Terry was shot and killed; four of the suspects were arrested and two AK-pattern rifles were found nearby. The Attorney General's office was immediately notified of the shooting incident by email. The rifles were traced within hours of the shooting to a Phoenix store involved in the Fast and Furious operation, but the bullet that killed Terry was too badly damaged to be conclusively linked to either gun. Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler and Deputy Chief of Staff Monty Wilkinson were informed about the guns, but they didn't believe the information was sufficiently important to alert the Attorney General about it or to make any further inquiry regarding the development.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAfter hearing of the incident, Dodson contacted ATF headquarters, ATF's chief counsel, the ATF ethics section and the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General, none of whom immediately responded. He and other agents then contacted Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa (R–IA), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who would become a major figure in the investigation of \\\"gunwalking.\\\" At the same time, information began leaking to various bloggers and Web sites.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn January 25, 2011, Burke announced the first details of the case to become officially public, marking the end of Operation Fast and Furious. At a news conference in Phoenix, he reported a 53-count indictment of 20 suspects for buying hundreds of guns intended for illegal export between September 2009 and December 2010. Newell, who was at the conference, called Fast and Furious a \\\"phenomenal case,\\\" while denying that guns had been deliberately allowed to walk into Mexico.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAltogether, about 2,000 firearms were bought by straw purchasers during Fast and Furious. These included AK-47 variants, Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles, .38 caliber revolvers, and FN Five-sevens. , 389 had been recovered in the US and 276 had been recovered in Mexico. The rest remained on the streets, unaccounted for. , the total number of recovered firearms was 710. Most of the guns went to the Sinaloa Cartel, while others made their way to El Teo and La Familia.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAlthough most weapons were purchased by suspects under investigation by the program, there have been reports of at least one instance of ATF agents being directly involved in the transfer of weapons. On April 13, 2010, ATF Agent John Dodson, with assistance from Agents Casa and Alt, directed a cooperating straw purchaser to give three guns to Isaiah Fernandez, a suspected gun trafficker, and had taped the conversations without prosecutor approval.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAfter being instructed by his superiors to obtain approval from prosecutors (albeit retroactively), Dodson's proposal was later rejected by his immediate superior David Voth, although he later received permission from Voth's supervisor after submitting a written proposal for the program. On June 1, 2010, Dodson used $2,500 of ATF funds to purchase six AK Draco pistols from local gun dealers, which he then gave to Mr. Fernandez, who reimbursed him for the expense of the guns, plus $700 for his assistance. Two days later, Agent Dodson went on a scheduled vacation without interdicting the weapons. As a result, the weapons were never recovered, no arrests were ever made, and the case was closed without charges being filed.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAccording to the DOJ OIG report, Agent Dodson, as the undercover posing as a straw buyer, was not expected to surveil the weapons after hand-off to Fernandez. Other ATF agents followed the weapons to a storage facility; then surveillance was terminated without interdiction. The Fernandez case was dropped from Fast and Furious after it was determined that Fernandez was not connected to Mexican cartels and had ceased buying guns for resale.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAftermath and reaction\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nFate of walked guns\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nSince the end of Operation Fast and Furious, related firearms have continued to be discovered in criminal hands. As reported in September 2011, the Mexican government stated that an undisclosed number of guns found at about 170 crime scenes were linked to Fast and Furious. U.S. Representative Darrell Issa (R–Calif.–49) estimated that more than 200 Mexicans were killed by guns linked to the operation. Reflecting on the operation, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the United States government is \\\"...losing the battle to stop the flow of illegal guns to Mexico,\\\" and that the effects of Operation Fast and Furious will most likely continue to be felt for years, as more walked guns appear at Mexican crime scenes.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn April 2011, a large cache of weapons, 40 traced to Fast and Furious but also including military-grade weapons difficult to obtain legally in the US such as an anti-aircraft machine gun and grenade launcher, was found in the home of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, a prominent Sinaloa Cartel member, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Torres Marrufo was indicted, but evaded law enforcement for a brief time. Finally, on February 4, 2012, Marrufo was arrested by the Mexican Police.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn May 29, 2011, four Mexican Federal Police helicopters attacked a cartel compound, where they were met with heavy fire, including from a .50 caliber rifle. According to a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, this rifle is likely linked to Fast and Furious.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThere have been questions raised over a possible connection between Fast and Furious and the death of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata on February 15, 2011. The gun used to kill Zapata was purchased by Otilio Osorio in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Texas (outside the area of responsibility for the ATF Phoenix field division which conducted Fast and Furious), and then smuggled into Mexico. Congressional investigators have stated that Osorio was known by the ATF to be a straw purchaser months before he purchased the gun used to kill Zapata, leading them to question ATF surveillance tactics and to suspect a Texas-based operation similar to Fast and Furious.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn addition to Otilio Osorio, a Texas-based drug and gun trafficker, Manuel Barba, was involved trafficking another of the guns recovered in the Zapata shooting. The timeline of this case, called \\\"Baytown Crew\\\", shows guns were allowed to walk during surveillance that began June 7, 2010. On August 20, 2010, Barba received a rifle later recovered in the Zapata ambush and sent it with nine others to Mexico. The warrant for Barba's arrest was issued February 14, 2011, the day before Zapata was shot. On January 30, 2012, Barba, who claimed to be working with Los Zetas in illegally exporting at least 44 weapons purchased through straw buyers, was sentenced to 100 months in prison.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn November 23, 2012, two firearms linked to the ATF were found at the scene of a shootout between Sinaloa cartel members and the Mexican military. One of the weapons was an AK-47 type rifle trafficked by Fast and Furious suspect Uriel Patino, and the other was an FN Herstal pistol originally purchased by an ATF agent. Mexican beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez and four others were killed.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOne of the nineteen guns Mexican authorities said they found at the hideout of Joaquin Guzman aka El Chapo, after his January 2016 capture, was associated with the Fast and Furious operation. The Justice Department confirmed that the .50-caliber rifle was bought in July 2010 in a straw purchase by someone not known to the ATF at the time, and stated the weapon was not associated with any other crime. In a letter to congressional leaders, Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik, head of the Justice Department’s legislative affairs office, wrote, \\\"ATF and the department deeply regret that firearms associated with Operation Fast and Furious have been used by criminals in the commission of violent crimes, particularly crimes resulting in the deaths of civilians and law enforcement officials.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nInvestigations and fallout\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn the U.S. Congress, Representative Darrell Issa (R–CA–49), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R–IA), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have been leading investigations of \\\"gunwalking\\\" operations. There have also been investigations by the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and others.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\n2011\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn January 27, 2011, Grassley wrote a letter to ATF Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson requesting information about the ATF-sanctioned sale of hundreds of firearms to straw purchasers. The letter mentioned a number of allegations that walked guns were used in the fight that killed Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. A second letter from Grassley on January 31 accused the ATF of targeting whistleblowers.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn February 4, 2011, after review and comment from dozens of officials in the Justice Department Criminal Division, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, and ATF Headquarters, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich sent a response to Grassley regarding his two letters. Weich said claims \\\"...that (the) ATF ‘sanctioned’ or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them to Mexico [are] false. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico.” On February 28, Attorney General Eric Holder requested that the Department of Justice's Inspector General begin an investigation of Fast and Furious.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn March 22, 2011, President Barack Obama appeared on Univision and spoke about the \\\"gunwalking\\\" controversy. He said that neither he nor Attorney General Holder authorized Fast and Furious. He also stated, \\\"There may be a situation here in which a serious mistake was made, and if that's the case then we'll find out and we'll hold somebody accountable.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn May 3, 2011, Attorney General Holder testified to the House Judiciary Committee that he did not know who approved Fast and Furious, but that it was being investigated. He also stated that he \\\"probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,\\\" a claim which would later be questioned as explained below.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn June, ATF Agent Vince Cefalu, who helped to publicize Fast and Furious, was served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated retaliation. He had been at odds with ATF management since he filed a complaint over tactics in an unrelated case in 2005. The ATF denied that the firing was retaliation, and Cefalu's termination letter noted that he leaked documents to the Internet and showed a \\\"lack of candor\\\" in other operations.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn June 14, 2011, a preliminary joint staff report was released by Representative Issa and Senator Grassley. Among the findings: agents were told to stand down rather than interdict weapons, they complained about the strategy and were ignored, and Fast and Furious led to increased violence and death in Mexico. Agents were panicked, certain that \\\"someone was going to die.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nRepresentative Issa continued to hold hearings in June and July where ATF officials based in Phoenix and Mexico, and at headquarters in Washington, testified before the committee. ATF agent John Dodson stated that he and other agents were ordered to observe the activities of gun smugglers but not to intervene. He testified:\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nA second joint staff report was released by the Republicans on July 26.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn August, three important Fast and Furious supervisors were transferred to new management positions at ATF headquarters in Washington: William Newell and David Voth, field supervisors who oversaw the program from Phoenix, and William McMahon, an ATF deputy director of operations. The transfers were initially reported as promotions by the Los Angeles Times, but the ATF stated that they did not receive raises or take on greater responsibilities. In late August, it was announced that Acting ATF Director Melson had been reassigned to the Justice Department, and U.S. Attorney Burke announced his resignation after being questioned by Congressional investigators earlier that month.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn October, documents showing that Attorney General Holder's office had been sent briefings on Fast and Furious as early as July 2010, prompted questions about his May statement that he wasn't sure of the exact date, but had known about it for only a few weeks. The briefings were from the National Drug Intelligence Center and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. The Justice Department said that those briefings were about a different case started before Holder became Attorney General, and that while he had known about Fast and Furious, he didn't know the details of the tactics being used.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn October 31, 2011, after the release of subpoenaed documents, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer stated he found out about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver in April 2010, and that he wished he had alerted the deputy or the attorney general at the time. The following day, in testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in a hearing on International Organized Crime, when asked if he had reviewed the letter before it was sent to Senator Charles Grassley on February 4, 2011, denying gunwalking, Breuer replied, \\\"I cannot say for sure whether I saw a draft of the letter that was sent to you. What I can tell you, Senator, is that at that time I was in Mexico dealing with the very real issues that we're all so committed to.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn November 8, 2011, Holder stated for the first time in Congressional testimony that \\\"gunwalking\\\" was used in Fast and Furious. He remarked that the tactic is unacceptable, and that the operation was \\\"flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution.\\\" He further stated that his office had inaccurately described the program in previous letters sent to Congress, but that this was unintentional. Reiterating previous testimony, he said that he and other top officials had been unaware that the \\\"gunwalking\\\" tactic was being used. Holder stated that his staff had not showed him memos about the program, noting, \\\"There is nothing in any of those memos that indicates any of those inappropriate tactics that are of concern. Those things were not brought to my attention, and my staff, I think, made the correct decision in that regard.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThat same month, ex-US Attorney Burke admitted to leaking sensitive documents about ATF agent and whistleblower Dodson. Senator Grassley expressed concern that the Justice Department was using Burke as a scapegoat to protect higher officials and vowed to continue his probe.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn December 2, 2011, the Justice Department formally withdrew its statement from February 4, 2011, denying gunwalking due to inaccuracies.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nLater that month, documents showed that some ATF agents discussed using Fast and Furious to provide anecdotal cases to support controversial new rules about gun sales. The regulation, called Demand Letter 3, would require 8,500 firearms dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas that \\\"have a significant number of crime guns traced back to them from Mexico\\\" to report multiple rifle sales.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\n2012\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nInvestigations by Congress and the DOJ Inspector General continued into 2012. In January, Patrick Cunningham, who was the criminal division chief at the Phoenix office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona and has since resigned, asserted his innocence and his constitutional right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying. Cunningham worked directly under Burke during Fast and Furious. He was subpoenaed because of the role he might have played in the operation, and in the letter sent from the DOJ to Senator Grassley in February 2011 that claimed the ATF did not allow weapons to be trafficked to Mexico.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn January 31, 2012, Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report titled, \\\"Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona\\\". The report concluded that there was no evidence of involvement by high-ranking appointees at the Justice Department in \\\"gunwalking.\\\" Rather, Operation Fast and Furious was just one of four such operations conducted over five years during the Bush and Obama administrations, and was only \\\"the latest in a series of fatally flawed operations run by ATF agents in Phoenix and the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn May, it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General had begun to investigate Fast and Furious, with a report expected in October. The DHS had Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assigned to the operation after becoming involved in late 2009.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn May 3, 2012, Congressman Issa released a memorandum to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that included a draft of a resolution to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt. In the memo, Issa described the connection between Operation Fast and Furious and the OCDETF program since at least January 2009, which would involve multiple executive agencies including the ATF, DOJ, DEA, FBI, ICE, and DHS. He questioned how, why, or if oversight by high level Justice Department did not occur in such an important case. He further described the tragic death of Brian Terry, the whistleblowers and their mistreatment, and the damage the operation had to US-Mexico relations.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn June 7, 2012, under the threat of being held in contempt of Congress for not turning over additional requested documents, Attorney General Holder appeared at his seventh Congressional hearing, where he continued to deny knowledge of \\\"gunwalking\\\" by high-level officials. By then, the Justice Department had turned over more than 7,000 pages of documents.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nDuring the June 12, 2012, Senate hearing, Eric Holder stated, \\\"If you want to talk about Fast and Furious, I'm the Attorney General that put an end to the misguided tactics that were used in Fast and Furious. An Attorney General who I suppose you would hold in higher regard was briefed on these kinds of tactics in an operation called Wide Receiver and did nothing to stop them—nothing. Three hundred guns, at least, walked in that instance.\\\" Holder cited a briefing paper on \\\"Wide Receiver\\\"; the DOJ Office of Legislative Affairs later clarified that the briefing paper was about the Fidel Hernandez case, prepared for Holder's predecessor, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey before his meeting with Mexican Attorney General Mora on November 16, 2007. The Hernandez Case had ended October 6, 2007, before Mukasey entered office November 9, 2007.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nThe office further explained, \\\"As Attorney General Holder also noted in his testimony, and as we have set forth in prior correspondence and testimony, he took measures and instituted a series of important reforms designed to ensure that the inappropriate tactics used in Fast and Furious, Wide Receiver, Hernandez, and other matters about which the Department has informed Congress are not repeated.\\\" The later DOJ OIG investigation concluded \\\"Attorney General Mukasey was not briefed about Operation Wide Receiver or gun \\\"walking,\\\" but on a different and traditional law enforcement tactic that was employed in a different case.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn June 20, 2012, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines to recommend that Holder be held in contempt. At issue were 1,300 pages of documents that had not been turned over to Congress by the DOJ. Earlier that day, President Obama had invoked executive privilege over those documents, marking the first time the privilege has been asserted during his presidency. Issa contends that the Obama executive privilege claim is a cover-up or an obstruction to the congressional probe. Issa said the department has identified \\\"140,000 pages of documents and communications responsive to the committee's subpoena.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn June 28, 2012, Holder became the first sitting member of the Cabinet of the United States to be held in criminal contempt of Congress by the House of Representatives for refusing to disclose internal Justice Department documents in response to a subpoena. The vote was 255–67 in favor, with 17 Democrats voting yes and a large number of Democrats walking off the floor in protest and refusing to vote. A civil contempt measure was also voted on and passed, 258–95. The civil contempt vote allows the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to go to court with a civil lawsuit to look into the US Justice Department's refusal to turn over some of the subpoenaed documents and to test Obama's assertion of executive privilege. Holder dismissed the votes as \\\"the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided—and politically motivated—investigation during an election year,\\\" and the White House called it \\\"political theater rather than legitimate congressional oversight.\\\" The National Rifle Association controversially lobbied for Holder to be held in contempt.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nIn June 2012, a six-month-long investigation by Fortune magazine stated that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, in contrast to most other reports. Agents interviewed during the investigation repeatedly asserted that only one isolated incident of \\\"gunwalking\\\" ever occurred, and was performed independently by ATF Agent John Dodson (who later appeared on CBS News as a whistleblower to denounce the gunwalking scandal) as part of an unauthorized solo action outside the larger Fast and Furious operation.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn July 31, 2012, the first part of a new three-part report, Fast and Furious: The Anatomy of a Failed Operation, was released by Republican lawmakers. The report singled out five ATF supervisors for responsibility in Fast and Furious, all of whom had been previously reassigned. The report also said that Fast and Furious resulted from a change in strategy by the Obama Administration. The Justice Department was dismissive of the report, saying that it contained \\\"distortions\\\" and \\\"debunked conspiracy theories,\\\" and that \\\"gunwalking\\\" tactics dated back to 2006. DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler, while critical of the report, did credit it for acknowledging that the idea for \\\"gun walking\\\"—allowing illegal sales of weapons on the border—originated under the Republican administration before Eric Holder took office in 2009. Schmaler noted that Holder moved swiftly to replace the ATF's management and instill reforms. On the same day, ATF Deputy Director William Hoover, who was one of the five blamed in the Congressional report, officially retired. The report included an appendix disputing claims in the Fortune article. Following its publication, Dodson's lawyer wrote the managing editor of Fortune stating the article was \\\"demonstrably false\\\" and that a retraction was in order.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAfter Fortune did not retract the article, Dodson sued for libel on October 12, 2012.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn September 19, 2012, the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz publicly released a 471-page report detailing the results of the Justice Department's own internal investigations. The Inspector General's report, which had access to evidence and interviews with witnesses not permitted in previous Congressional reports, recommended 14 federal officials for disciplinary action, ranging from ATF agents to federal prosecutors involved in the Fast and Furious operation. It found \\\"no evidence\\\" that Attorney General Holder knew about Fast and Furious before early 2011. It found no evidence that previous Attorneys General had been advised about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nWhile the OIG report found no evidence that higher officials at the Justice Department in Washington had authorized or approved of the tactics used in the Fast and Furious investigations, it did fault 14 lower officials for related failures, including failures to take note of \\\"red flags\\\" uncovered by the investigation, as well as failures to follow up on information produced through Operation Fast and Furious and its predecessor, Operation Wide Receiver. The report also noted ATF agents' apparent frustrations over legal obstacles from the Phoenix Attorney's Office to prosecuting suspected \\\"straw-buyers,\\\" while also criticizing the agents' failure to quickly intervene and interdict weapons obtained by low-level suspects in the case. The 14 Justice Department employees were referred for possible internal discipline. The Justice Department's Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer, an Obama administration presidential appointee, was cited for not alerting his bosses in 2010 to the flaws of Operation Wide Receiver. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein, who was responsible for authorizing a portion of the wiretap applications in Operation Fast and Furious and faulted in the report for not identifying the gunwalking tactics, resigned on the day of the report.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn December 4, 2012, the ATF Professional Review Board delivered its recommendations to high-level ATF managers, who will decide whether to accept them. The recommendations included firing William McMahon, ATF Deputy Assistant Director; Mark Chait, ATF Assistant Director for Field Operations; William Newell, Phoenix ATF Special Agent in Charge; and George Gillett, Newell's second in command. Two additional ATF employees, Phoenix supervisor David Voth and lead agent Hope McAllister, received recommendations for demotion and disciplinary transfer to another ATF post, respectively. It was reported the next day that McMahon had been fired. It was also announced that Gary Grindler, Eric Holder's chief of staff who was faulted in the OIG report, would be leaving the Justice Department. Later that month, the family of Brian Terry sued seven government officials and a gun shop involved in Operation Fast and Furious for negligence and wrongful death.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\n2013\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAgent John Dodson's book on his experiences in Operation Fast and Furious was released by Simon and Schuster on December 3, 2013.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nRelated criminal prosecutions\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn July 9, 2012, an indictment charging five men in the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was unsealed. The FBI offered a reward of $250,000 per fugitive for information leading to their arrests. The indictment, originally handed up on November 7, 2011, charges Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and other crimes. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and is expected to be sentenced in March 2013. , another of the suspects is in custody, and three remain fugitives.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn October 15, 2012, Danny Cruz Morones, one of the twenty individuals indicted as a result of Fast and Furious, was sentenced to 57 months in prison. He was the first of the twenty to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty to straw purchasing and recruiting others to buy guns. According to prosecutors, he bought 27 AK-47s, and his recruits bought dozens more.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nOn December 12, Jaime Avila, Jr. received the maximum penalty of 57 months in prison for gun dealing and conspiracy. He pleaded guilty after two AK-47 type rifles purchased by him were found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's death. Federal prosecutors stated that, in addition to gun trafficking, he had recruited others to do the same. He was under ATF surveillance at the time.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nMexican reactions\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nAs more information on Operations Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver was revealed in 2011, Mexican officials, political commentators and media reacted with anger. Mexican officials stated in September that the U.S. government still had not briefed them on what went wrong nor had they apologized.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nDue to several failed attempts at coordinating with Mexican law enforcement in the apprehension of suspected arms traffickers in the Wide Receiver and Hernandez cases, and concerns about widespread corruption, details of Operation Fast and Furious were not shared with Mexican government officials, and they were deliberately kept out of the loop after related firearms began turning up at crime scenes and in criminal arsenals in 2010. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the ATF Mexico City Office (MCO) were also kept in the dark. According to Attorney General of Mexico Marisela Morales, the Mexican government was told about the undercover program in January 2011, but they were not provided details at the time.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nMorales stated, \\\"At no time did we know or were we made aware that there might have been arms trafficking permitted. In no way would we have allowed it, because it is an attack on the safety of Mexicans.\\\" In addition, she expressed that allowing weapons to \\\"walk\\\" would represent a \\\"betrayal\\\" of Mexico. Morales said that her office would search \\\"to the end\\\" in order to clarify what happened in Fast and Furious. In November 2011, it was reported that the Mexican Attorney General's office was seeking the extradition of six citizens of the United States implicated with smuggling weapons.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nMexican Senator Arturo Escobar stated after hearing about Operation Wide Receiver, \\\"We can no longer tolerate what is occurring. There must be condemnation from the state,\\\" and that the Mexican Senate condemned the actions of the ATF.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nJorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, president of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, said \\\"This is a serious violation of international law. What happens if next time they need to introduce trained assassins or nuclear weapons?\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nChihuahua state prosecutor Patricia Gonzalez, who had worked closely with the US for years, said, \\\"The basic ineptitude of these officials [who ordered the Fast and Furious operation] caused the death of my brother and surely thousands more victims.\\\" Her brother, Mario, had been kidnapped, tortured and killed by cartel hit men in October 2010. Later, two AK-47 rifles found among the several weapons recovered after a gunfight between police and cartel members were traced to the Fast and Furious program.\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nMexican Congressman Humberto Benítez Treviño, a former attorney general, called Fast and Furious \\\"a bad business that got out of hand.\\\" He had also characterized it as \\\"an undercover program that wasn't properly controlled.\\\"\",\n \"ATF gunwalking scandal\\n\\nLike many politicians, Mexican pundits across the political spectrum expressed anger at news of both operations. La Jornada, a left-leaning newspaper, asked \\\"US: ally or enemy?\\\" The paper also argued that after news about Wide Receiver, the Mérida Initiative should be immediately suspended. A right-leaning paper accused the US of violating Mexican sovereignty. Manuel J. Jauregui of the Reforma newspaper wrote, \\\"In sum, the gringo government has been sending weapons to Mexico in a premeditated and systematic manner, knowing that their destinations were Mexican criminal organizations.\\\"\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Mexico–United States border is an international boundary running from Tijuana, Baja California, and Imperial Beach, California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. This border, separating Mexico and the United States from each other, traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to uninhabitable deserts. It is the most frequently crossed controlled international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe total length of the continental border is . From the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the course of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) to the border crossing at Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas; westward from that binational conurbation it crosses vast tracts of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts to the Colorado River Delta, westward to the binational conurbation of San Diego, California and Tijuana, Baja California, before reaching the Pacific Ocean.http://www.ibwc.gov/About_Us/about_us.html\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nGeography\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nBorder region\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nFollowing the 1970 Boundary Treaty between the United States and Mexico that settled all then pending boundary disputes and uncertainties related to the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) border, the international continental border extends , excluding the maritime boundaries of 29 km in the Pacific Ocean and 19 km in the Gulf of Mexico.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAccording to the International Boundary and Water Commission, this continental border follows the middle of the Rio Grande—according to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the two nations, \\\"along the deepest channel\\\" (also known as the thalweg)—from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico a distance of to a point just upstream of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. It then follows an alignment westward overland and it is marked by monuments for a distance of 859 km to the Colorado River, when it reaches its highest elevation at the intersection with the Continental Divide. Thence it follows the middle of that river northward a distance of 38 km, and then it again follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 227 km to the Pacific Ocean (excluding the maritime boundaries of 18 miles in the Pacific Ocean and 12 miles in the Gulf of Mexico).\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe official 'border region' extends 60 km north and south of the aforementioned boundaries and 60 km east into the Gulf of Mexico and 60 km west into the Pacific Ocean.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe region is characterized by deserts, rugged hills, abundant sunshine, and two major rivers—the Colorado and the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte)—which provide life-giving waters to the largely arid but fertile lands along the rivers in both countries.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nFile:Patrolling Rio Grande @ Laredo.jpg|Border Patrol patrolling the Rio Grande in an airboat in Laredo, Texas\\nFile:USA Mexico border New Mexico.JPG|The start of the border fence in the state of New Mexico—just west of El Paso, Texas\\nFile:El Camino del Diablo, border patrol.jpg|U.S. Border Patrol helicopter along El Camino del Diablo, Arizona-Sonora border, 2004\\nFile:Mexican-American border at Nogales.jpg|Border between Nogales, Arizona, on the left, and Nogales, Sonora, on the right\\nFile:US-Mexico-Nogales-Border.jpg|On the left: Nogales, Arizona; on the right, Nogales, Sonora\\nFile:Borderbeachtj.jpg|Beach in Tijuana at the border\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nBorder states\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe U.S. states along the border, from west to east, are California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Mexican states are Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nIn the United States, Texas has the longest stretch of the border of any State, while California has the shortest. In Mexico, Chihuahua has the longest border, while Nuevo León has the shortest.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nTexas borders four Mexican states—Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Chihuahua—the most of any U.S. state. New Mexico and Arizona each border two Mexican states (Chihuahua and Sonora; Sonora and Baja California, respectively). California borders only Baja California. Texas is more adjacent to Mexico than California.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThree Mexican states border two U.S. states each: Baja California borders California and Arizona; Sonora borders Arizona and New Mexico; and Chihuahua borders New Mexico and Texas. Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila each border only one U.S. state: Texas.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nBorder Crossing Checkpoints\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe border separating Mexico and the United States is the most frequently crossed international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThere are 48 U.S.–Mexico border crossings with 330 ports of entry. From west to east, below is a list of the border city twinnings, which are municipalities connected by one or more legal border crossings.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\n* San Diego, California (San Ysidro) – Tijuana, Baja California (San Diego–Tijuana Metro.)\\n* Cross Border Xpress, Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana International Airport, Baja California\\n* Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana, Baja California\\n* Tecate, California – Tecate, Baja California\\n* Calexico, California – Mexicali, Baja California\\n* Andrade, California – Los Algodones, Baja California\\n* San Luis, Arizona – San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora\\n* Lukeville, Arizona – Sonoyta, Sonora\\n* Sasabe, Arizona – Altar, Sonora\\n* Nogales, Arizona – Nogales, Sonora\\n* Naco, Arizona – Naco, Sonora\\n* Douglas, Arizona – Agua Prieta, Sonora\\n* Antelope Wells, New Mexico – El Berrendo, Chihuahua\\n* Columbus, New Mexico – Palomas, Chihuahua\\n* Santa Teresa, New Mexico – San Jerónimo, Chihuahua\\n* El Paso, Texas – Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (El Paso-Juarez)\\n* Fabens, Texas – Práxedis G.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nGuerrero, Chihuahua municipality\\n* Fort Hancock, Texas – El Porvenir, Chihuahua\\n* Presidio, Texas – Ojinaga, Chihuahua\\n* Heath Canyon, Texas – La Linda, Coahuila (closed)\\n* Del Rio, Texas – Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila\\n* Eagle Pass, Texas – Piedras Negras, Coahuila\\n* Laredo, Texas – Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas\\n* Laredo, Texas – Colombia, Nuevo León\\n* Falcon Heights, Texas – Presa Falcón, Tamaulipas\\n* Roma, Texas – Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas\\n* Rio Grande City, Texas – Ciudad Camargo, Tamaulipas\\n* Los Ebanos, Texas – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas\\n* Mission, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas\\n* Hidalgo, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas\\n* Pharr, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas\\n* Donna, Texas – Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas\\n* Progreso, Texas – Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas\\n* Los Indios, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas\\n* Brownsville, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe total population of the borderlands—defined as those counties and municipios lining the border on either side—stands at some 12 million people.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nIn the mid-16th century, with the discovery of silver, settlers from a variety of countries and backgrounds began to arrive in the area. This period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different backgrounds. The area technically was part of the Kingdom of New Spain, but due to the lack of population and the diverse citizenry it had, it did not seem to belong to any country. This period lasted until the early 19th century at which point the United States bought the lands known as the Louisiana Purchase from France and began to expand steadily westward in its pursuit of Manifest Destiny.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe border itself was not clearly defined and remained so until the Mexican colony became independent from Spain and entered a period of political instability. Mexico attempted to create a buffer zone at the border that would prevent possible invasion from the North. The Mexican government encouraged thousands of their own citizens to settle in the region that is now known as Texas and even offered inexpensive land to settlers from the United States in exchange for populating the area. The influx of people did not provide the defense that Mexico had hoped for and instead Texas declared its independence in 1836. That independence lasted until 1845 when the United States annexed Texas.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe constant conflicts in the Texas region in the mid 19th century eventually led to the Mexican–American War, which began in 1846 and ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In the terms of the peace treaty, Mexico lost more than of land, 55% of its national territory, including what is today California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In addition, all disputes over Texas and the disputed territory between Rio Grande and Rio Nueces were abandoned. Five years later the Gadsden Purchase completed the creation of the current United States–Mexico border. The purchase was initially to accommodate a planned railway right-of-way. These purchases left approximately 300,000 people living in the once disputed lands, many of whom were Mexican nationals. Following the establishment of the current border a number of towns sprang up along this boundary and many of the Mexican citizens were given free land in the northern regions of Mexico in exchange for returning and repopulating the area.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and another treaty in 1884 were the agreements originally responsible for the settlement of the international border, both of which specified that the middle of Rio Grande was the border — irrespective of any alterations in the channels or banks. The Rio Grande shifted south between 1852 and 1868, with the most radical shift in the river occurring after a flood in 1864. By 1873 the moving river-center border had cut off approximately 600 acres of Mexican territory in the El Paso-Juarez area, in effect transferring the land to the United States. By a treaty negotiated in 1963, Mexico regained most of this land in what became known as the Chamizal dispute and transferred 264 acres in return to the United States. Border treaties are jointly administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which was established in 1889 to maintain the border, allocate river waters between the two nations, and provide for flood control and water sanitation. Once viewed as a model of international cooperation, in recent decades the IBWC has been heavily criticized as an institutional anachronism, by-passed by modern social, environmental and political issues.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe economic development of the border region on the Mexican side of the border depended largely on its proximity to the United States, due to its remoteness from commercial centers in Mexico. During the years of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, between 1876 and 1910, the border communities boomed, due mostly to close ties to the United States, and the Mexican government's support for financial investments from the United States. Railroads were built that connected the northern Mexican states more to the United States than to Mexico and the population grew tremendously. The mining industry also developed, as did the United States’ control of it. By the early 20th century companies from the United States controlled 81% of the mining industry and had invested five hundred million dollars in the Mexican economy overall, twenty-five percent of it in the border regions.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Mexican Revolution, caused at least partially by animosity towards foreign ownership of Mexican properties, began in 1910. The Revolution increased the political instability in Mexico, but did not significantly slow United States investment. It did reduce economic development within Mexico, however, and the border regions reflected this. As the infrastructure of communities on the United States side continued to improve, the Mexican side began to fall behind in the construction and maintenance of important transportation networks and systems necessary to municipal development.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nSecurity\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nU.S.–Mexico border enforcement\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe U.S.–Mexico border has the highest number of legal crossings of any land border in the world. Over five million cars and trucks travel through the border annually. According to Vulliamy, one in five Mexican nationals will visit or work in the United States at one point in their lifetime. As of 2010, the border is guarded by more than twenty thousand Border Patrol agents, more than at any time in its history. However, they only have \\\"effective control\\\" of less than 700 mi of the 1954 mi of total border, with an ability to actually prevent or stop illegal entries along 129 mi of that border. The border is paralleled by United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints on major roads generally between 25 and 75 mi from the U.S. side of the border, and garitas generally within 50 km of the border on the Mexican side.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThere are an estimated half a million illegal entries into the United States each year. Border Patrol activity is concentrated around big border cities such as San Diego and El Paso which do have extensive border fencing. This means that the flow of illegal aliens is diverted into rural mountainous and desert areas, leading to several hundred migrant deaths along the Mexico–U.S. border of those attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico illegally and vice versa.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed providing for the construction of 700 mi of high-security fencing. Attempts to complete the construction of the United States–Mexico barrier have been challenged by the Mexican government and various U.S.–based organizations.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nIn January 2013, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that the United States Border Patrol only intercepts sixty-one percent of individuals illegally crossing the border in 2011, which translated to 208,813 individuals not being apprehended. 85,827 of the 208,813 would go on to illegally enter the United States, while the rest returned into Mexico and America. The report also showed that the number of illegal border crossings has dropped.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nBorder incursions\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAccording to the United States Border Patrol, in the fiscal year of 2006, there were twenty-nine confirmed border incursions by Mexican government officials, of which seventeen were by armed individuals. Since 1996 there have been 253 incursions by Mexican government officials. In 2014, United States Department of Homeland Security informed United States Representative Duncan D. Hunter, that since 2004, there have been 300 documented border incursions, which resulted in 131 individuals being detained.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Washington Times has reported that on Sunday, August 3, 2008, Mexican military personnel who crossed into Arizona from Mexico encountered a U.S. Border Patrol agent, whom they held at gunpoint. The soldiers later returned to Mexico, as backup Border Patrol agents came to investigate.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nDisagreements over need for more resources\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nProponents of greater spending on the border – especially politicians from border states – argue that continuing the buildup is necessary due to increased violence and drug trafficking from Mexico spilling over into the United States. However, critics such as the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) have argued that further buildup will have fewer desired effects and may even be counterproductive. Furthermore, WOLA has emphasized that the diminishing number of border crossings can only be partially attributed to US security measures. Unintentional factor such as weakening US economy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and increased violence in the north of Mexico has made attempting illegal border crossings more risky and less rewarding.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nBorder Zone Policies\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Department of Homeland Security Secure Border Initiative\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nA National Border Patrol Strategic Plan was first developed in 1994 to deal with the perception that borders were being overrun by illegal immigrants and drug dealers. It was then updated in 2004 and 2012. In 2004 the updated strategy focused on command structures, intelligence and surveillance, enforcement and deployment of U.S. Border Patrol agents to better respond to threats at the border. The strategic planning led to broader policy development for the Department of Homeland Security which led to the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) in 2005 to secure U.S. borders and reduce illegal migration. The main components of SBI dealt with staffing concerns, removal capacity, surveillance and tactical infrastructure and interior enforcement.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAn additional component was “high consequence enforcement”, which was not the subject of a formal public policy document. There was the allowance, historically, for voluntary returns of individuals apprehended at the border by Border Patrol agents. These voluntary returns, after the SBI of 2005, were limited to three “high consequence outcomes”.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nOne \\\"high consequence outcome\\\" was formal removal, which meant the individual would be deemed ineligible for a visa for at least five years and subject to criminal charges if caught re-entering illegally. The Immigration and Nationality Act permitted aliens to be formally removed with “limited judicial processing” known as expedited removal. The Department of Homeland Security has expanded between 2002 and 2006, expedited removal for “certain aliens that entered within previous two weeks and were apprehended within 100 miles of the border”.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAnother “high consequence outcome” is the increase in criminal charges. Department of Homeland Security has also worked with the Department of Justice to increase the number of apprehended individuals crossing the border illegally who are charged with criminal offenses. Most of these cases are prosecuted under Operation Streamline. The third “high consequence outcome” is known as remote repatriation. This is the return of apprehended Mexicans to remote locations by Border Patrol rather than the nearest Mexican port of entry.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe 100 Mile Border Zone\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nRegulations establishing the 100 mile zone were adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice as the result of an interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1953. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) officials have authority for stop and search within this 100 miles from any external boundary. This allows for CBP officials to enter private property without a warrant within 25 miles of the border as well as the operation of checkpoints.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable search and seizure; however, according to the government this Amendment does not fully apply at borders or border crossings (also known as ports of entry). This means that much of the U.S. population is subject to CBP regulations for stop and search. The 100 Mile Border Zone includes two thirds of the population, a majority of the largest cities in the U.S. and several entire states (namely Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New Jersey).\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThere are some limits to CBP officials ability to stop and search. For instance CBP officials are not allowed to pull anyone over without a reasonable suspicion of immigration violation or crime, or search vehicles without warrant or probable cause. The ACLU, however, found that CBP officials routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of authority, and this is compounded by inadequate training, lack of oversight and failure to hold officials accountable for abuse - incidence of abuse is common.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nOperation Streamline\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nOperation Streamline refers collectively to zero-tolerance policies implemented at the U.S.-Mexico border that seek to remove undocumented immigrants through an expedited process if they have arrived with missing or fraudulent identification or have previously been convicted for an immigration crime.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nOperation Streamline was first implemented in Del Rio, Texas in 2005. The program has since expanded to four out of the five federal judicial districts on the U.S.-Mexico border: Yuma, AZ; Laredo, TX; Tucson, AZ; and Rio Grande Valley, TX.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nPreviously, immigrants apprehended at the border were either given the option to voluntarily return to their home country or they were placed in civil immigration proceedings. After Operation Streamline was implemented, nearly all people apprehended at the border who are suspected of having crossed illegally are subject to criminal prosecution. Defendants who are charged with crossing into the U.S. illegally are tried en masse to determine their guilt. Defense attorneys often are responsible for representing anywhere from six to forty immigrants at once. Around 99% of defendants in Operation Streamline proceedings plead guilty. The defendants are charged with a misdemeanor if convicted of crossing the border illegally for the first time, and a felony if it is a repeat offense.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nIn December, 2009, it was decided in United States v. Roblero-Solis that en masse judicial proceedings like those in Operation Streamline violated Rule 11 in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 11 states that the court must determine that a guilty plea is voluntarily made by addressing the defendant personally in court. The Roblero-Solis case determined that “personally” means that the judge must address the defendant in a person-to-person manner. Though many courts have changed their procedures to adapt to the ruling, there are still forms of en masse trials practiced at the border.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nSupport and Criticisms\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nProponents of Operation Streamline claim that the harsher prosecution has been an important factor in deterring immigrants from crossing the border illegally. Apprehensions have decreased in certain sectors after 2005, which is seen as a sign of success. For example, the Del Rio, Texas sector saw a decline from 2005 to 2009 of 75% (from 68,510 to 17,082). Similarly, apprehensions declined in Yuma, Arizona by 95% (from 138,438 to 6,951) from 2006 to 2009.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nCriticisms of Operation Streamline point to the program’s heavy use of federal court and enforcement resources as a negative aspect. In addition, the prosecution of all illegal border crossings takes the focus away from prosecuting more serious crimes. They claim that the program’s cost is too high for the effectiveness of the work it is accomplishing. In response to the claim that Operation Streamline is an effective deterrent, critics of the program claim that the incentives to cross the border in order to work or be with family are much stronger.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nEnvironment\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Agreement on Cooperation for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment in the Border Area, known as the La Paz Agreement, was signed into law on August 14, 1983 and became enforceable on February 16, 1984. This agreement to protect the environment is the political foundation between the U.S. and Mexico for 4 subsequent programs. Each program has addressed environmental destruction in the border region resulting from the rise of the maquiladora industries, those who migrated to Northern Mexico to work in the industries, the lack of infrastructure to accommodate the people, Mexico's lax regulations concerning all these factors, the resulting spillover into the U.S., and the U.S.'s own environmentally destructive tendencies. The programs were: IBEP (1992), Border XXI (1996), Border 2012 (2003) and Border 2020 (2012).\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nTravel\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nWestern Hemisphere Travel Initiative\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nIn late 2006, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a rule regarding new identification requirements for U.S. citizens and international travelers entering the United States implemented on January 23, 2007; this final rule and first phase of the WHTI specifies nine forms of identification—one of which is required to enter the United States by air: a valid passport; a passport card; a state enhanced driver's license or state enhanced non-driver ID card (available in Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Washington ) approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security; a trusted traveler program card (NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI); an enhanced tribal identification card; a Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card;\\nForm I-872 – American Indian Card; a valid Merchant Mariner Document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or a valid U.S. military identification card when traveling on official orders.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nBusiest border\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe Mexico–United States border is the world's busiest border, specifically the crossing at San Diego, California to Tijuana, Mexico, known as the San Ysidro Port of Entry. In the U.S., Interstate 5 crosses directly to Tijuana, and the highway's southern terminus is this crossing. In 2005, more than 17 million vehicles and 50 million people entered the U.S. through San Ysidro. Among those who enter the United States through San Ysidro are \\\"transfronterizos\\\", American citizens who live in Mexico and attend school in the United States.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAlong the Mexican coast of Baja California, there are neighborhoods of Americans living in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, and Ensenada, whose residents commute to the United States daily to work. Additionally, many Mexicans also enter the United States to commute daily to work. In 1999, 7.6% of the labor force of Tijuana was employed in San Diego.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nMexico–United States barrier\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nThe U.S. government had plans in 2006, during the Bush administration, to erect a border fence along the U.S.–Mexico border. The controversial proposal included creating many individual fences. Almost 600 miles of fence was constructed, with each of the individual fences composed of steel and concrete. In between these fences are infrared cameras and sensors, National Guard soldiers, and SWAT teams on alert, giving rise to the term \\\"virtual fence\\\". Construction on the fence began in 2006, with each mile costing the U.S. government about $2.8 million. In 2010, the initiative was terminated due to costs, after having completed 640 mi of either barrier fence or vehicle barriers, that were either new or had been rebuilt over older, inferior fencing. The Boeing-built SBI-net systems of using radar, watchtowers, and sensors (without a fence or physical barrier) were scrapped for being over budget, full of glitches, and far behind schedule.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nFile:US-Mexico border fence.jpg|The U.S.–Mexico border fence near El Paso, Texas\\nFile:BorderAtJacumba.jpg|Portion of border near Jacumba, California in 2003\\nFile:BorderAtJacumba2.jpg|Portion of border near Jacumba, California in 2009 with enhanced security\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAnimals\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nWhen animals are imported from one country to another, there is the possibility that diseases and parasites can move with them. Thus, most countries impose animal health regulations on the import of animals. Most animals imported to the United States must be accompanied by import permits obtained in advance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and/or health certification papers from the country of origin.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nVeterinary inspections are often required, and are available only at designated ports; advance contact with port veterinarians is recommended. Animals crossing the United States-Mexico border may have a country of origin other than the country where they present for inspection. Such animals include those from the U.S. that cross to Mexico and return, and animals from other countries that travel overland through Mexico or the U.S. before crossing the border.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nCrossing from Mexico to the United States\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAPHIS imposes precautions to keep out several equine diseases, including glanders, dourine, equine infectious anemia (EIA), equine piroplasmosis (EP), Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE), and contagious equine metritis (CEM). APHIS also checks horses to prevent the introduction of ticks and other parasites. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors look for horses and livestock that stray across the border carrying ticks. These animals are often called wetstock, and the inspectors are referred to as tickriders.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nPer APHIS, horses originating from Canada can enter the United States with a Canadian government veterinary health certificate and a negative test for EIA. Horses from Mexico must have a health certificate; pass negative tests for EIA, dourine, glanders, and EP at a USDA import center; and undergo precautionary treatments for external parasites at the port of entry. Horses from other Western Hemisphere countries must have the same tests as those from Mexico and, except for horses from Argentina, must be held in quarantine for at least seven days as a check for VEE.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nAPHIS imposes similar testing and certification requirements on horses from other parts of the world but without the quarantine for VEE. These horses are held in quarantine—usually three days—or until tests are completed. Because the disease equine piroplasmosis (equine babesiosis) is endemic in Mexico but not established in the United States, transportation of horses from Mexico to the United States requires evaluation of horses for the presence of this disease.\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nTransportation of horses from Mexico to the United States normally requires at least three days in quarantine, which is incompatible with most recreational equestrian travel across the border. A leading exception to this rule is the special waiver obtained by riders participating in the Cabalgata Binacional Villista (see cavalcade).\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nCrossing from the United States to Mexico\",\n \"Mexico–United States border\\n\\nImport from the United States to Mexico requires evidence within the prior 45 days of freedom from equine infectious anemia, among other requirements.\"\n]","isConversational":false}}},{"rowIdx":137697,"cells":{"id":{"kind":"string","value":"qg_3407"},"question":{"kind":"string","value":"Now a National Historic Site, at what Washington DC location (10th St NW) did the first presidential assassination take place?"},"answer":{"kind":"string","value":"Ford's Theater"},"answer_aliases":{"kind":"list like","value":["ford s theater","fords theatre","ford s theatre society","ford s theatre national historic site","ford s theatre lincoln museum","fords theater","ford s theatre national historic site district of columbia","ford s new theatre","ford s theatre","ford s athenaeum","house where lincoln died"],"string":"[\n \"ford s theater\",\n \"fords theatre\",\n \"ford s theatre society\",\n \"ford s theatre national historic site\",\n \"ford s theatre lincoln museum\",\n \"fords theater\",\n \"ford s theatre national historic site district of columbia\",\n \"ford s new theatre\",\n \"ford s theatre\",\n \"ford s athenaeum\",\n \"house where lincoln died\"\n]","isConversational":false},"documents":{"kind":"list like","value":["Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as \"Washington\", \"the District\", or simply \"D.C.\", is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. Named in honor of George Washington, one of the United States' founding fathers and the leader of the American Continental Army who won the Revolutionary War, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the District.","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington had an estimated population of 672,228 as of July 2015. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the country.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups, and professional associations.","Washington, D.C.\n\nA locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973. However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, but the District has no representation in the U.S. Senate. The District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.","Washington, D.C.\n\nHistory","Washington, D.C.\n\nVarious tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people (also known as the Conoy) inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century. One group known as the Nacotchtank (also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries) maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland.","Washington, D.C.\n\nIn his Federalist No. 43, published January 23, 1788, James Madison argued that the new federal government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance and safety. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia. Known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security.","Washington, D.C.\n\nArticle One, Section Eight, of the Constitution permits the establishment of a \"District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States\". However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital. In what is now known as the Compromise of 1790, Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson came to an agreement that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing the new national capital in the Southern United States.","Washington, D.C.\n\nFoundation","Washington, D.C.\n\nOn July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, who signed the bill into law on July 16. Formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 mi on each side, totaling 100 sqmi.","Washington, D.C.\n\nTwo pre-existing settlements were included in the territory: the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, and the city of Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1749. During 1791–92, Andrew Ellicott and several assistants, including a free African American astronomer named Benjamin Banneker, surveyed the borders of the federal district and placed boundary stones at every mile point. Many of the stones are still standing.","Washington, D.C.\n\nA new federal city was then constructed on the north bank of the Potomac, to the east of Georgetown. On September 9, 1791, the three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The federal district was named Columbia, which was a poetic name for the United States commonly in use at that time. Congress held its first session in Washington on November 17, 1800.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCongress passed the Organic Act of 1801, which officially organized the District and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government. Further, the unincorporated area within the District was organized into two counties: the County of Washington to the east of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west. After the passage of this Act, citizens living in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which therefore ended their representation in Congress.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOn August 24–25, 1814, in a raid known as the Burning of Washington, British forces invaded the capital during the War of 1812. The Capitol, Treasury, and White House were burned and gutted during the attack. Most government buildings were repaired quickly; however, the Capitol was largely under construction at the time and was not completed in its current form until 1868.","Washington, D.C.\n\nRetrocession and the Civil War","Washington, D.C.\n\nIn the 1830s, the District's southern territory of Alexandria went into economic decline partly due to neglect by Congress. The city of Alexandria was a major market in the American slave trade, and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in the District, further depressing the economy. Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to take back the land it had donated to form the District, through a process known as retrocession.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Virginia General Assembly voted in February 1846 to accept the return of Alexandria and on July 9, 1846, Congress agreed to return all the territory that had been ceded by Virginia. Therefore, the District's current area consists only of the land originally donated by Maryland. Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the District, although not slavery itself.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the District's population, including a large influx of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the District of Columbia and freed about 3,100 enslaved persons, nine months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1868, Congress granted the District's African American male residents the right to vote in municipal elections.","Washington, D.C.\n\nGrowth and redevelopment","Washington, D.C.\n\nBy 1870, the District's population had grown 75% from the previous census to nearly 132,000 residents. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation. Some members of Congress suggested moving the capital further west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider such a proposal.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCongress passed the Organic Act of 1871, which repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd to the position of governor in 1873. Shepherd authorized large-scale projects that greatly modernized Washington, but ultimately bankrupted the District government. In 1874, Congress replaced the territorial government with an appointed three-member Board of Commissioners.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe city's first motorized streetcars began service in 1888 and generated growth in areas of the District beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries. Washington's urban plan was expanded throughout the District in the following decades. Georgetown was formally annexed by the City of Washington in 1895. However, the city had poor housing conditions and strained public works. Washington was the first city in the nation to undergo urban renewal projects as part of the \"City Beautiful movement\" in the early 1900s.","Washington, D.C.\n\nIncreased federal spending as a result of the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in Washington. World War II further increased government activity, adding to the number of federal employees in the capital; by 1950, the District's population reached its peak of 802,178 residents.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCivil rights and home rule era","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1961, granting the District three votes in the Electoral College for the election of president and vice president, but still no voting representation in Congress.","Washington, D.C.\n\nAfter the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in the District, primarily in the U Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, centers of black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until more than 13,600 federal troops stopped the violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned; rebuilding was not completed until the late 1990s.","Washington, D.C.\n\nIn 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and 13-member council for the District. In 1975, Walter Washington became the first elected and first black mayor of the District.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOn September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and deliberately crashed the plane into the Pentagon in nearby Arlington, Virginia. United Airlines Flight 93, believed to be destined for Washington, D.C., crashed in Pennsylvania when passengers tried to recover control of the plane from hijackers.","Washington, D.C.\n\nGeography","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., is located in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. East Coast. Due to the District of Columbia retrocession, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (10.67%) is water. The District is bordered by Montgomery County, Maryland, to the northwest; Prince George's County, Maryland, to the east; and Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, to the south and west.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe south bank of the Potomac River forms the District's border with Virginia and has two major tributaries: the Anacostia River and Rock Creek. Tiber Creek, a natural watercourse that once passed through the National Mall, was fully enclosed underground during the 1870s. The creek also formed a portion of the now-filled Washington City Canal, which allowed passage through the city to the Anacostia River from 1815 until the 1850s. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal starts in Georgetown and was used during the 19th century to bypass the Great Falls of the Potomac River, located upstream (northwest) of Washington at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe highest natural elevation in the District is 409 ft above sea level at Fort Reno Park in upper northwest Washington. The lowest point is sea level at the Potomac River. The geographic center of Washington is near the intersection of 4th and L Streets NW. Contrary to the urban legend, Washington was not built on a reclaimed swamp, but wetlands did cover areas along the water.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District has 7464 acre of parkland, about 19% of the city's total area and the second-highest percentage among high-density U.S. cities. The National Park Service manages most of the 9122 acre of city land owned by the U.S. government. Rock Creek Park is a 1754 acre urban forest in Northwest Washington, which extends through a stream valley that bisects the city. Established in 1890, it is the country's fourth-oldest national park and is home to a variety of plant and animal species including raccoon, deer, owls, and coyotes. Other National Park Service properties include the C&O Canal National Historical Park, the National Mall and Memorial Parks, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, Fort Dupont Park, Meridian Hill Park, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, and Anacostia Park. The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation maintains the city's 900 acres of athletic fields and playgrounds, 40 swimming pools, and 68 recreation centers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates the 446 acre U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington.","Washington, D.C.\n\nClimate","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington is in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen: Cfa) However, under the Trewartha climate classification, the city has a temperate maritime climate (Do). Winters are usually chilly with light snow, and summers are hot and humid. The District is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in the city, indicating a humid subtropical climate.","Washington, D.C.\n\nSpring and fall are mild to warm, while winter is chilly with annual snowfall averaging . Winter temperatures average around 38 °F from mid-December to mid-February. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in the area.","Washington, D.C.\n\nBlizzards affect Washington on average once every four to six years. The most violent storms are called \"nor'easters\", which often affect large sections of the U.S. East Coast. From January 27 to January 28, 1922, the city officially received 28 in of snowfall, the largest snowstorm since official measurements began in 1885. According to notes kept at the time, the city received between 30 and from a snowstorm on January 1772.","Washington, D.C.\n\nHurricanes (or their remnants) occasionally track through the area in late summer and early fall, but are often weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River, however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in the neighborhood of Georgetown.","Washington, D.C.\n\nPrecipitation occurs throughout the year.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe highest recorded temperature was 106 F on August 6, 1918, and on July 20, 1930. while the lowest recorded temperature was on February 11, 1899, during the Great Blizzard of 1899. During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90 F and 64 nights at or below freezing.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCityscape","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., is a planned city. In 1791, President Washington commissioned Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant, a French-born architect and city planner, to design the new capital. The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping. He based his design on plans of cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, Karlsruhe, and Milan brought from Europe by Thomas Jefferson in 1788. L'Enfant's design also envisioned a garden-lined \"grand avenue\" approximately 1 mi in length and 400 ft wide in the area that is now the National Mall.","Washington, D.C.\n\nPresident Washington dismissed L'Enfant in March 1792 due to conflicts with the three commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. Andrew Ellicott, who had worked with L'Enfant surveying the city, was then tasked with completing the design. Though Ellicott made revisions to the original plans, including changes to some street patterns, L'Enfant is still credited with the overall design of the city.","Washington, D.C.\n\nBy the early 1900s, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital had become marred by slums and randomly placed buildings, including a railroad station on the National Mall. Congress formed a special committee charged with beautifying Washington's ceremonial core. What became known as the McMillan Plan was finalized in 1901 and included re-landscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new city-wide park system. The plan is thought to have largely preserved L'Enfant's intended design.","Washington, D.C.\n\nBy law, Washington's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Heights of Buildings Act of 1910 allows buildings that are no taller than the width of the adjacent street, plus 20 ft. Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555 ft Washington Monument, which remains the District's tallest structure. City leaders have criticized the height restriction as a primary reason why the District has limited affordable housing and traffic problems caused by urban sprawl.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District is divided into four quadrants of unequal area: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building. All road names include the quadrant abbreviation to indicate their location and house numbers generally correspond with the number of blocks away from the Capitol. Most streets are set out in a grid pattern with east–west streets named with letters (e.g., C Street SW), north–south streets with numbers (e.g., 4th Street NW), and diagonal avenues, many of which are named after states.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe City of Washington was bordered by Boundary Street to the north (renamed Florida Avenue in 1890), Rock Creek to the west, and the Anacostia River to the east. Washington's street grid was extended, where possible, throughout the District starting in 1888. Georgetown's streets were renamed in 1895. Some streets are particularly noteworthy, such as Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the White House to the U.S. Capitol and K Street, which houses the offices of many lobbying groups. Washington hosts 297 foreign embassies and related buildings, many of which are on a section of Massachusetts Avenue informally known as Embassy Row.","Washington, D.C.\n\nArchitecture","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe architecture of Washington varies greatly. Six of the top 10 buildings in the American Institute of Architects' 2007 ranking of \"America's Favorite Architecture\" are in the District of Columbia: the White House; the Washington National Cathedral; the Thomas Jefferson Memorial; the United States Capitol; the Lincoln Memorial; and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The neoclassical, Georgian, gothic, and modern architectural styles are all reflected among those six structures and many other prominent edifices in Washington. Notable exceptions include buildings constructed in the French Second Empire style such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOutside downtown Washington, architectural styles are even more varied. Historic buildings are designed primarily in the Queen Anne, Châteauesque, Richardsonian Romanesque, Georgian revival, Beaux-Arts, and a variety of Victorian styles. Rowhouses are especially prominent in areas developed after the Civil War and typically follow Federalist and late Victorian designs. Georgetown's Old Stone House was built in 1765, making it the oldest-standing original building in the city. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University features a mix of Romanesque and Gothic Revival architecture. The Ronald Reagan Building is the largest building in the District with a total area of approximately 3.1 million square feet (288,000 m2).","Washington, D.C.\n\nDemographics","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the District's population was 672,228 on July 1, 2015, an 11.7% increase since the 2010 United States Census. The increase continues a growth trend since 2000, following a half-century of population decline. The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States . According to data from 2010, commuters from the suburbs increase the District's daytime population to over one million people. If the District were a state it would rank 49th in population, ahead of Vermont and Wyoming.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes the District and surrounding suburbs, is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States with an estimated 6 million residents in 2014. When the Washington area is included with Baltimore and its suburbs, the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area had a population exceeding 9.5 million residents in 2014, the fourth-largest combined statistical area in the country.","Washington, D.C.\n\nAccording to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data, the population of Washington, D.C. was 48.3% Black or African American, 44.1% White (36.1% non-Hispanic White), 4.2% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Individuals from two or more races made up 2.7% of the population. Hispanics of any race made up 10.6% of the District's population.","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington has had a significant African American population since the city's foundation. African American residents composed about 30% of the District's total population between 1800 and 1940. The black population reached a peak of 70% by 1970, but has since steadily declined due to many African Americans moving to the surrounding suburbs. Partly as a result of gentrification, there was a 31.4% increase in the non-Hispanic white population and an 11.5% decrease in the black population between 2000 and 2010.","Washington, D.C.\n\nAbout 17% of D.C. residents were age 18 or younger in 2010; lower than the U.S. average of 24%. However, at 34 years old, the District had the lowest median age compared to the 50 states. , there were an estimated 81,734 immigrants living in Washington, D.C. Major sources of immigration include El Salvador, Vietnam, and Ethiopia, with a concentration of Salvadorans in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.","Washington, D.C.\n\nResearchers found that there were 4,822 same-sex couples in the District of Columbia in 2010; about 2% of total households. Legislation authorizing same-sex marriage passed in 2009 and the District began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in March 2010.","Washington, D.C.\n\nA 2007 report found that about one-third of District residents were functionally illiterate, compared to a national rate of about one in five. This is attributed in part to immigrants who are not proficient in English. , 85% of D.C. residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language. Half of residents had at least a four-year college degree in 2006. D.C. residents had a personal income per capita of $55,755; higher than any of the 50 U.S. states. However, 19% of residents were below the poverty level in 2005, higher than any state except Mississippi.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOf the District's population, 17% is Baptist, 13% is Catholic, 6% is Evangelical Protestant, 4% is Methodist, 3% is Episcopalian/Anglican, 3% is Jewish, 2% is Eastern Orthodox, 1% is Pentecostal, 1% is Buddhist, 1% is Adventist, 1% is Lutheran, 1% is Muslim, 1% is Presbyterian, 1% is Mormon, and 1% is Hindu.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOver 90% of D.C. residents have health insurance coverage, the second-highest rate in the nation. This is due in part to city programs that help provide insurance to low-income individuals who do not qualify for other types of coverage. A 2009 report found that at least 3% of District residents have HIV or AIDS, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) characterizes as a \"generalized and severe\" epidemic.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCrime","Washington, D.C.\n\nCrime in Washington, D.C., is concentrated in areas associated with poverty, drug abuse, and gangs. A 2010 study found that 5% of city blocks accounted for over one-quarter of the District's total crime. The more affluent neighborhoods of Northwest Washington are typically safe, but reports of violent crime increase in poorer neighborhoods generally concentrated in the eastern portion of the city. Approximately 60,000 residents are ex-convicts.","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington was often described as the \"murder capital\" of the United States during the early 1990s. The number of murders peaked in 1991 at 479, but the level of violence then began to decline significantly. By 2012, Washington's annual murder count had dropped to 88, the lowest total since 1961. The murder rate has risen since that historic low, and as of December 11, 2015, the District's homicide total for the year stands at 154, a 58.8% increase over the same period in 2014. This is still a murder rate of almost half that of the early 2000s. Many neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights and Logan Circle are becoming safer and vibrant. However, incidents of robberies and thefts have remained higher in these areas because of increased nightlife activity and greater numbers of affluent residents. Even still, citywide reports of both property and violent crimes have declined by nearly half since their most recent highs in the mid-1990s.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOn June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the city's 1976 handgun ban violated the Second Amendment right to gun ownership. However, the ruling does not prohibit all forms of gun control; laws requiring firearm registration remain in place, as does the city's assault weapon ban. In addition to the District's own Metropolitan Police Department, many federal law enforcement agencies have jurisdiction in the city as well; most visibly the U.S. Park Police, founded in 1791.","Washington, D.C.\n\nEconomy","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington has a growing, diversified economy with an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs. The gross state product of the District in 2010 was $103.3 billion, which would rank it No. 34 compared to the 50 U.S. states. The gross product of the Washington Metropolitan Area was $425 billion in 2010, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan economy in the United States. As of June 2011, the Washington Metropolitan Area had an unemployment rate of 6.2%; the second-lowest rate among the 49 largest metro areas in the nation. The District of Columbia itself had an unemployment rate of 9.8% during the same time period.","Washington, D.C.\n\nIn 2012, the federal government accounted for about 29% of the jobs in Washington, D.C. This is thought to immunize Washington to national economic downturns because the federal government continues operations even during recessions. Many organizations such as law firms, independent contractors (both defense and civilian), non-profit organizations, lobbying firms, trade unions, industry trade groups, and professional associations have their headquarters in or near D.C. to be close to the federal government.","Washington, D.C.\n\nTourism is Washington's second largest industry. Approximately 18.9 million visitors contributed an estimated $4.8 billion to the local economy in 2012. The District also hosts nearly 200 foreign embassies and international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization. In 2008, the foreign diplomatic corps in Washington employed about 10,000 people and contributed an estimated $400 million annually to the local economy.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District has growing industries not directly related to government, especially in the areas of education, finance, public policy, and scientific research. Georgetown University, George Washington University, Washington Hospital Center, Children's National Medical Center and Howard University are the top five non-government-related employers in the city . According to statistics compiled in 2011, four of the largest 500 companies in the country were headquartered in the District.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCulture","Washington, D.C.\n\nHistoric sites and museums","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe National Mall is a large, open park in downtown Washington between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol. Given its prominence, the mall is often the location of political protests, concerts, festivals, and presidential inaugurations. The Washington Monument and the Jefferson Pier are near the center of the mall, south of the White House. Also on the mall are the National World War II Memorial at the east end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.","Washington, D.C.\n\nDirectly south of the mall, the Tidal Basin features rows of Japanese cherry blossom trees that originated as gifts from the nation of Japan. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, George Mason Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the District of Columbia War Memorial are around the Tidal Basin.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe National Archives houses thousands of documents important to American history including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Located in three buildings on Capitol Hill, the Library of Congress is the largest library complex in the world with a collection of over 147 million books, manuscripts, and other materials. The United States Supreme Court Building was completed in 1935; before then, the court held sessions in the Old Senate Chamber of the Capitol.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational foundation chartered by Congress in 1846 that maintains most of the nation's official museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. The U.S. government partially funds the Smithsonian and its collections open to the public free of charge. The Smithsonian's locations had a combined total of 30 million visits in 2013. The most visited museum is the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall. Other Smithsonian Institution museums and galleries on the mall are: the National Air and Space Museum; the National Museum of African Art; the National Museum of American History; the National Museum of the American Indian; the Sackler and Freer galleries, which both focus on Asian art and culture; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the Arts and Industries Building; the S. Dillon Ripley Center; and the Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as \"The Castle\"), which serves as the institution's headquarters.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are housed in the Old Patent Office Building, near Washington's Chinatown. The Renwick Gallery is officially part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum but is in a separate building near the White House. Other Smithsonian museums and galleries include: the Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast Washington; the National Postal Museum near Union Station; and the National Zoo in Woodley Park.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe National Gallery of Art is on the National Mall near the Capitol and features works of American and European art. The gallery and its collections are owned by the U.S. government but are not a part of the Smithsonian Institution. The National Building Museum, which occupies the former Pension Building near Judiciary Square, was chartered by Congress and hosts exhibits on architecture, urban planning, and design.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThere are many private art museums in the District of Columbia, which house major collections and exhibits open to the public such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the largest private museum in Washington; and The Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle, the first museum of modern art in the United States. Other private museums in Washington include the Newseum, the O Street Museum Foundation, the International Spy Museum, the National Geographic Society Museum, and the Marian Koshland Science Museum. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum near the National Mall maintains exhibits, documentation, and artifacts related to the Holocaust.","Washington, D.C.\n\nArts","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., is a national center for the arts. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is home to the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, and the Washington Ballet. The Kennedy Center Honors are awarded each year to those in the performing arts who have contributed greatly to the cultural life of the United States. The historic Ford's Theatre, site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, continues to operate as a functioning performance space as well as museum.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Marine Barracks near Capitol Hill houses the United States Marine Band; founded in 1798, it is the country's oldest professional musical organization. American march composer and Washington-native John Philip Sousa led the Marine Band from 1880 until 1892. Founded in 1925, the United States Navy Band has its headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard and performs at official events and public concerts around the city.","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington has a strong local theater tradition. Founded in 1950, Arena Stage achieved national attention and spurred growth in the city's independent theater movement that now includes organizations such as the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and the Studio Theatre. Arena Stage opened its newly renovated home in the city's emerging Southwest waterfront area in 2010. The GALA Hispanic Theatre, now housed in the historic Tivoli Theatre in Columbia Heights, was founded in 1976 and is a National Center for the Latino Performing Arts.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe U Street Corridor in Northwest D.C., known as \"Washington's Black Broadway\", is home to institutions like the Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, and the Lincoln Theatre, which hosted music legends such as Washington-native Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. Washington has its own native music genre called go-go; a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of rhythm and blues that was popularized in the late 1970s by D.C. band leader Chuck Brown.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District is an important center for indie culture and music in the United States. The label Dischord Records, formed by Ian MacKaye, was one of the most crucial independent labels in the genesis of 1980s punk and eventually indie rock in the 1990s. Modern alternative and indie music venues like The Black Cat and the 9:30 Club bring popular acts to the U Street area.","Washington, D.C.\n\nSports","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington is one of 12 cities in the United States with teams from all four major professional men's sports and is home to one major professional women's team. The Washington Wizards (National Basketball Association), the Washington Capitals (National Hockey League), and the Washington Mystics (Women's National Basketball Association), play at the Verizon Center in Chinatown. Nationals Park, which opened in Southeast D.C. in 2008, is home to the Washington Nationals (Major League Baseball). D.C. United (Major League Soccer) plays at RFK Stadium. The Washington Redskins (National Football League) play at nearby FedExField in Landover, Maryland.","Washington, D.C.\n\nCurrent D.C. teams have won a combined ten professional league championships: the Washington Redskins have won five; D.C. United has won four; and the Washington Wizards (then the Washington Bullets) have won a single championship.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOther professional and semi-professional teams in Washington include: the Washington Kastles (World TeamTennis); the Washington D.C. Slayers (USA Rugby League); the Baltimore Washington Eagles (U.S. Australian Football League); the D.C. Divas (Independent Women's Football League); and the Potomac Athletic Club RFC (Rugby Super League). The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park hosts the Citi Open. Washington is also home to two major annual marathon races: the Marine Corps Marathon, which is held every autumn, and the Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon held in the spring. The Marine Corps Marathon began in 1976 and is sometimes called \"The People's Marathon\" because it is the largest marathon that does not offer prize money to participants.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District's four NCAA Division I teams, American Eagles, George Washington Colonials, Georgetown Hoyas and Howard Bison and Lady Bison, have a broad following. The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team is the most notable and also plays at the Verizon Center. From 2008 to 2012, the District hosted an annual college football bowl game at RFK Stadium, called the Military Bowl. The D.C. area is home to one regional sports television network, Comcast SportsNet (CSN), based in Bethesda, Maryland.","Washington, D.C.\n\nMedia","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C. is a prominent center for national and international media. The Washington Post, founded in 1877, is the oldest and most-read local daily newspaper in Washington. It is probably most notable for its coverage of national and international politics and for exposing the Watergate scandal. \"The Post\", as it is popularly called, had the sixth-highest readership of all news dailies in the country in 2011. The Washington Post Company also publishesa daily free commuter newspaper called the Express, which summarizes events, sports and entertainment, as well as the Spanish-language paper El Tiempo Latino.","Washington, D.C.\n\nAnother popular local daily is The Washington Times, the city's second general interest broadsheet and also an influential paper in political circles. The alternative weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the Washington area.","Washington, D.C.\n\nSome community and specialty papers focus on neighborhood and cultural issues, including the weekly Washington Blade and Metro Weekly, which focus on LGBT issues; the Washington Informer and The Washington Afro American, which highlight topics of interest to the black community; and neighborhood newspapers published by The Current Newspapers. Congressional Quarterly, The Hill, Politico and Roll Call newspapers focus exclusively on issues related to Congress and the federal government. Other publications based in Washington include the National Geographic magazine and political publications such as The Washington Examiner, The New Republic and Washington Monthly.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Washington Metropolitan Area is the ninth-largest television media market in the U.S. with two million homes, approximately 2% of the U.S. population. Several media companies and cable television channels have their headquarters in the area, including C-SPAN; Black Entertainment Television (BET); Radio One; the National Geographic Channel; Smithsonian Networks; National Public Radio (NPR); Travel Channel (in Chevy Chase, Maryland); Discovery Communications (in Silver Spring, Maryland); and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (in Arlington, Virginia). The headquarters of Voice of America, the U.S. government's international news service, is near the Capitol in Southwest Washington.","Washington, D.C.\n\nGovernment and politics","Washington, D.C.\n\nPolitics","Washington, D.C.\n\nArticle One, Section Eight of the United States Constitution grants the U.S. Congress \"exclusive jurisdiction\" over the city. The District did not have an elected local government until the passage of the 1973 Home Rule Act. The Act devolved certain Congressional powers to an elected mayor, currently Muriel Bowser, and the thirteen-member Council of the District of Columbia. However, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the council and intervene in local affairs.","Washington, D.C.\n\nEach of the city's eight wards elects a single member of the council and residents elect four at-large members to represent the District as a whole. The council chair is also elected at-large. There are 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) elected by small neighborhood districts. ANCs can issue recommendations on all issues that affect residents; government agencies take their advice under careful consideration. The Attorney General of the District of Columbia, currently Karl Racine, is elected to a four-year term.","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., observes all federal holidays and also celebrates Emancipation Day on April 16, which commemorates the end of slavery in the District. The flag of Washington, D.C., was adopted in 1938 and is a variation on George Washington's family coat of arms.","Washington, D.C.\n\nBudgetary issues","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe mayor and council set local taxes and a budget, which must be approved by Congress. The Government Accountability Office and other analysts have estimated that the city's high percentage of tax-exempt property and the Congressional prohibition of commuter taxes create a structural deficit in the District's local budget of anywhere between $470 million and over $1 billion per year. Congress typically provides additional grants for federal programs such as Medicaid and the operation of the local justice system; however, analysts claim that the payments do not fully resolve the imbalance.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe city's local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry, was criticized for mismanagement and waste. During his administration in 1989, The Washington Monthly magazine claimed that the District had \"the worst city government in America.\" In 1995, at the start of Barry's fourth term, Congress created the District of Columbia Financial Control Board to oversee all municipal spending. Mayor Anthony Williams won election in 1998 and oversaw a period of urban renewal and budget surpluses. The District regained control over its finances in 2001 and the oversight board's operations were suspended.","Washington, D.C.\n\nVoting rights debate","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District is not a U.S. state and therefore has no voting representation in the Congress. D.C. residents elect a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C. At-Large), who may sit on committees, participate in debate, and introduce legislation, but cannot vote on the House floor. The District has no official representation in the United States Senate. Neither chamber seats the District's elected \"shadow\" representative or senators. Unlike residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico or Guam, which also have non-voting delegates, D.C. residents are subject to all U.S. federal taxes. In the financial year 2012, D.C. residents and businesses paid $20.7 billion in federal taxes; more than the taxes collected from 19 states and the highest federal taxes per capita.","Washington, D.C.\n\nA 2005 poll found that 78% of Americans did not know that residents of the District of Columbia have less representation in Congress than residents of the 50 states. Efforts to raise awareness about the issue have included campaigns by grassroots organizations and featuring the city's unofficial motto, \"Taxation Without Representation\", on D.C. vehicle license plates. There is evidence of nationwide approval for D.C. voting rights; various polls indicate that 61 to 82% of Americans believe that D.C. should have voting representation in Congress. Despite public support, attempts to grant the District voting representation, including the D.C. statehood movement and the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful.","Washington, D.C.\n\nOpponents of D.C. voting rights propose that the Founding Fathers never intended for District residents to have a vote in Congress since the Constitution makes clear that representation must come from the states. Those opposed to making D.C. a state claim that such a move would destroy the notion of a separate national capital and that statehood would unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.","Washington, D.C.\n\nSister cities","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., has fourteen official sister city agreements. Listed in the order each agreement was first established, they are: Bangkok, Thailand (1962, renewed 2002); Dakar, Senegal (1980, renewed 2006); Beijing, China (1984, renewed 2004); Brussels, Belgium (1985, renewed 2002); Athens, Greece (2000); Paris, France (2000, renewed 2005); Pretoria, South Africa (2002, renewed 2008); Seoul, South Korea (2006); Accra, Ghana (2006); Sunderland, United Kingdom (2006); Rome, Italy (2011); Ankara, Turkey (2011); Brasília, Brazil (2013); and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2013). Each of the listed cities is a national capital except for Sunderland, which includes the town of Washington, the ancestral home of George Washington's family. Paris and Rome are each formally recognized as a \"partner city\" due to their special one sister city policy.","Washington, D.C.\n\nEducation","Washington, D.C.\n\nDistrict of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) operates the city's 123 public schools. The number of students in DCPS steadily decreased for 39 years until 2009. In the 2010–11 school year, 46,191 students were enrolled in the public school system. DCPS has one of the highest-cost yet lowest-performing school systems in the country, both in terms of infrastructure and student achievement. Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration made sweeping changes to the system by closing schools, replacing teachers, firing principals, and using private education firms to aid curriculum development.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District of Columbia Public Charter School Board monitors the 52 public charter schools in the city. Due to the perceived problems with the traditional public school system, enrollment in public charter schools has steadily increased. As of fall 2010, D.C. charter schools had a total enrollment of about 32,000, a 9% increase from the prior year. The District is also home to 92 private schools, which enrolled approximately 18,000 students in 2008. The District of Columbia Public Library operates 25 neighborhood locations including the landmark Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.","Washington, D.C.\n\nPrivate universities include American University (AU), the Catholic University of America (CUA), Gallaudet University, George Washington University (GW), Georgetown University (GU), Howard University, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The Corcoran College of Art and Design provides specialized arts instruction and other higher-education institutions offer continuing, distance and adult education. The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public university providing undergraduate and graduate education. D.C. residents may also be eligible for a grant of up to $10,000 per year to offset the cost of tuition at any public university in the country.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District is known for its medical research institutions such as Washington Hospital Center and the Children's National Medical Center, as well as the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, the city is home to three medical schools and associated teaching hospitals at George Washington, Georgetown, and Howard universities.","Washington, D.C.\n\nInfrastructure","Washington, D.C.\n\nTransportation","Washington, D.C.\n\nThere are 1500 mi of streets, parkways, and avenues in the District. Due to the freeway revolts of the 1960s, much of the proposed interstate highway system through the middle of Washington was never built. Interstate 95 (I-95), the nation's major east coast highway, therefore bends around the District to form the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway. A portion of the proposed highway funding was directed to the region's public transportation infrastructure instead. The interstate highways that continue into Washington, including I-66 and I-395, both terminate shortly after entering the city.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the Washington Metro, the city's rapid transit system, as well as Metrobus. Both systems serve the District and its suburbs. Metro opened on March 27, 1976 and, , consists of 91 stations and 117 mi of track. With an average of about one million trips each weekday, Metro is the second-busiest rapid transit system in the country. Metrobus serves over 400,000 riders each weekday and is the nation's sixth-largest bus system. The city also operates its own DC Circulator bus system, which connects commercial areas within central Washington.","Washington, D.C.\n\nUnion Station is the city's main train station and services approximately 70,000 people each day. It is Amtrak's second-busiest station with 4.6 million passengers annually and is the southern terminus for the Northeast Corridor and Acela Express routes. Maryland's MARC and Virginia's VRE commuter trains and the Metrorail Red Line also provide service into Union Station. Following renovations in 2011, Union Station became Washington's primary intercity bus transit center.","Washington, D.C.\n\nThree major airports serve the District. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is across the Potomac River from downtown Washington in Arlington, Virginia and primarily handles domestic flights. Major international flights arrive and depart from Washington Dulles International Airport, west of the District in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is northeast of the District in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.","Washington, D.C.\n\nAccording to a 2010 study, Washington-area commuters spent 70 hours a year in traffic delays, which tied with Chicago for having the nation's worst road congestion. However, 37% of Washington-area commuters take public transportation to work, the second-highest rate in the country. An additional 12% of D.C. commuters walked to work, 6% carpooled, and 3% traveled by bicycle in 2010. A 2011 study by Walk Score found that Washington was the seventh-most walkable city in the country with 80% of residents living in neighborhoods that are not car dependent.","Washington, D.C.\n\nAn expected 32% increase in transit usage within the District by 2030 has spurred construction of a new DC Streetcar system to interconnect the city's neighborhoods. Construction has also started on an additional Metro line that will connect Washington to Dulles airport. The District is part of the regional Capital Bikeshare program. Started in 2010, it is currently one of the largest bicycle sharing systems in the country with over 4,351 bicycles and more than 395 stations all provided by PBSC Urban Solutions. The city is expanding a network of marked bicycle lanes which currently exist on 56 mi of streets.","Washington, D.C.\n\nUtilities","Washington, D.C.\n\nThe District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (i.e. WASA or D.C. Water) is an independent authority of the D.C. government that provides drinking water and wastewater collection in Washington. WASA purchases water from the historic Washington Aqueduct, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The water, sourced from the Potomac River, is treated and stored in the city's Dalecarlia, Georgetown, and McMillan reservoirs. The aqueduct provides drinking water for a total of 1.1 million people in the District and Virginia, including Arlington, Falls Church, and a portion of Fairfax County. The authority also provides sewage treatment services for an additional 1.6 million people in four surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties.","Washington, D.C.\n\nPepco is the city's electric utility and services 793,000 customers in the District and suburban Maryland. An 1889 law prohibits overhead wires within much of the historic City of Washington. As a result, all power lines and telecommunication cables are located underground in downtown Washington, and traffic signals are placed at the edge of the street. A plan announced in 2013 would bury an additional 60 miles of primary power lines throughout the District.","Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington Gas is the city's natural gas utility and serves over one million customers in the District and its suburbs. Incorporated by Congress in 1848, the company installed the city's first gas lights in the U.S. Capitol building, White House, and along Pennsylvania Avenue.","Petersen House\n\nThe Petersen House is a 19th-century federal style row house located at 516 10th Street NW in Washington, D.C. On April 15, 1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln died there after being shot the previous evening at Ford's Theatre located across the street. The house was built in 1849 by William A. Petersen, a German tailor. Future Vice-President John C. Breckinridge, a friend of the Lincoln family, once rented this house in 1852.","Petersen House\n\nLincoln assassination","Petersen House\n\nOn the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd were attending a performance of Our American Cousin when John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Southern sympathizer, entered the box and shot the President in the back of the head. Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris were also in the box with the Lincolns, and Rathbone suffered stab wounds. Attendants including Charles Leale and Charles Sabin Taft examined Lincoln in the box before having him carried across the street to the Petersen House, where boarder Henry Safford directed them inside.http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/performances-events/tours/petersen-house","Petersen House\n\nAlmarin Cooley Richards, superintendent of the Washington Metropolitan Police, was attending the performance and immediately began investigations. From the back parlor of the house, Richards interviewed witnesses and ordered the arrest of Booth.http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090210/LIFESTYLE/902100325","Petersen House\n\nPhysicians continually removed blood clots which formed over the wound and poured out the excess brain fluid and brain matter from where the bullet had entered Lincoln's head in order to relieve pressure on the brain. However, the external and internal hemorrhaging continued throughout the night.","Petersen House\n\nDuring the night and early morning, guards patrolled outside to prevent onlookers from coming inside the house. Lincoln's Cabinet members, Generals, and various members of Congress were allowed to see the President.","Petersen House\n\nLincoln died in the house on April 15, 1865, at 7:22 a.m., age 56. Individuals in the room when he died included his son Robert Todd Lincoln, Senator Charles Sumner, generals Henry Wager Halleck, Richard James Oglesby and Montgomery C. Meigs, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.","Petersen House\n\nToday","Petersen House\n\nSince 1933, the National Park Service has maintained it as a historical museum, recreating the scene at the time of Lincoln's death. The bed that Lincoln occupied and other items from the bedroom had been bought by Chicago collector, Charles F. Gunther, and are now owned by and on display at the Chicago History Museum. However, replicas have taken their places. The bloodstained pillow and pillowcases are the ones used by Lincoln.","Petersen House\n\nToday, the Petersen House is administered by the National Park Service as part of the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site. Usually the house is open to visitors daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free, but requires a time ticket.","Petersen House\n\nImages","Petersen House\n\nImage:Lincoln death room.jpg|Modern recreation of the bedroom\nImage:Lincoln at his death bed.jpg|Lincoln on his deathbed\nImage:Petersen House.jpg|Petersen House circa 1918\nImage:15 23 024 petersen.jpg|Front parlor\nImage:15 23 027 petersen.jpg|Lincoln Book Tower","Ford's Theatre\n\nFord's Theatre is a historic theatre in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After being shot, the fatally wounded president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died the next morning.","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe theatre was later used as a warehouse and office building, and in 1893 part of it collapsed, causing 22 deaths. It was renovated and re-opened as a theatre in 1968. During the 2000s, it was renovated again, opening on February 12, 2009, in commemoration of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. A related Center for Education and Leadership museum experience opened February 12, 2012 next to Petersen House.","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe Petersen House and the theatre are preserved together as Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, administered by the National Park Service; programming within the theatre and the Center for Education is overseen separately by the Ford's Theatre Society in a public-private partnership. Ford's Theatre is located at 511 10th Street, NW.","Ford's Theatre\n\nHistory","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the second meeting house of the First Baptist Church of Washington, with Obadiah Bruen Brown as the pastor. In 1861, after the congregation moved to a newly built structure, John T. Ford bought the former church and renovated it into a theatre. He first called it Ford's Athenaeum. It was destroyed by fire in 1862, and was rebuilt the following year. When the new Ford's Theatre opened in August 1863, it had seating for 2,400 persons and was called a \"magnificent new thespian temple\".","Ford's Theatre\n\nJust five days after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln and his wife attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. The famous actor John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy, stepped into the box where the presidential party was sitting and shot Lincoln. Booth then jumped onto the stage, and cried out \"Sic semper tyrannis\" (some heard \"The South is avenged!\") just before escaping through the back of the theatre.","Ford's Theatre\n\nFollowing the assassination, the United States Government appropriated the theatre, with Congress paying Ford $88,000 in compensation, and an order was issued forever prohibiting its use as a place of public amusement. Between 1866 and 1887, the theatre was taken over by the U.S. military and served as a facility for the War Department with records kept on the first floor, the Library of the Surgeon General's Office on the second floor, and the Army Medical Museum on the third. In 1887, the building exclusively became a clerk's office for the War Department, when the medical departments moved out.","Ford's Theatre\n\nOn June 9, 1893, the front part of the building collapsed, killing 22 clerks and injuring another 68. This led some people to believe that the former church turned theatre and storeroom was cursed. The building was repaired and used as a government warehouse until 1911.","Ford's Theatre\n\nIt languished unused until 1918. In 1928, the building was turned over from the War Department Office to the Office of Public Buildings and Parks of the National Capital. A Lincoln museum opened on the first floor of the theatre building on February 12, 1932—Lincoln's 123rd birthday. In 1933, the building was transferred to the National Park Service.","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe restoration of Ford's Theatre was brought about by the two decade-long lobbying efforts of Democratic National Committeeman Melvin D. Hildreth and Republican North Dakota Representative Milton Young. Hildreth first suggested to Young the need for its restoration in 1945. Through extensive lobbying of Congress, a bill was passed in 1955 to prepare an engineering study for the reconstruction of the building. In 1964 Congress approved funds for its restoration, which began that year and was completed in 1968.","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe theatre reopened on January 30, 1968, with a gala performance.","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe theatre was again renovated during the 2000s. It has a current seating capacity of 665. The re-opening ceremony was on February 11, 2009, which commemorated Lincoln's 200th birthday. The event featured remarks from President Barack Obama as well as appearances by Katie Couric, Kelsey Grammer, James Earl Jones, Ben Vereen, Jeffrey Wright, the President's Own Marine Band, Joshua Bell, Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music, Audra McDonald and Jessye Norman.","Ford's Theatre\n\nFord's Theatre National Historic Site","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe National Historic Site consisting of two contributing buildings, the theatre and the Petersen House, was designated in 1932.","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe Ford's Theatre Museum beneath the theatre contains portions of the Olroyd Collection of Lincolniana. Most recently renovated and reimagined for a July 2009 reopening, the Museum is run through a partnership with the National Park Service and the private non-profit 501(c)(3) Ford's Theatre Society. The collection includes multiple items related to the assassination, including the Derringer pistol used to carry out the shooting, Booth's diary and the original door to Lincoln's theatre box. In addition, a number of Lincoln's family items, his coat (without the blood-stained pieces), some statues of Lincoln and several large portraits of the President are on display in the museum. The blood-stained pillow from the President's deathbed is in the Ford's Theatre Museum. In addition to covering the assassination conspiracy, the renovated museum focuses on Lincoln's arrival in Washington, his presidential cabinet, family life in the White House and his role as orator and emancipator. The museum also features exhibits about Civil War milestones and generals and about the building's history as a theatrical venue. The rocking chair in which Lincoln was sitting is now on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.","Ford's Theatre\n\nTours of Ford's Theatre and the adjacent Petersen House are by timed-entry ticket. Tickets can be reserved ahead, and there are also tickets available on the day of entry on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is free.","Ford's Theatre\n\nImage:Upper rows of seats at Ford's Theatre IMG 4500.JPG|Upper row of seats at Ford's Theatre.\nFile:Ford's Theatre interior, Washington, D.C.jpg|View from beneath the balcony.\nImage:Presidential Box, Ford's Theatre IMG 4502.JPG|The Presidential Box today.","Ford's Theatre\n\nPetersen House","Ford's Theatre\n\nAttendants, including Dr. Charles Leale, carried the President onto 10th Street. The doctor decided to take him to Petersen's boarding house across the street. The streets were extremely crowded with people because of the uproar. A captain cleared the way to the brick federal style rowhouse. A boarder, Henry Safford, noticed what was going on and stood on the front steps crying, \"Bring him in here! Bring him in here!\" Then he was taken into the bedroom in the rear of the parlors and placed on a bed that was not long enough for him. Mrs. Lincoln was escorted across the street by Clara Harris, who had been in the box during the shooting, and whose fiancé, Henry Rathbone, had been stabbed by Booth during the assassination. Rathbone, bleeding severely from the knife wound in his arm, collapsed from loss of blood after arriving at the Petersen House.","Ford's Theatre\n\nDuring the night and early morning, military guards patrolled outside to prevent onlookers from coming inside the house. A parade of government officials and physicians was allowed to come inside and pay respects to the unconscious President. Physicians continually removed blood clots which formed over the wound and poured out the excess brain fluid and brain matter from where the bullet had entered Lincoln's head in order to relieve pressure on the brain. However, the external and internal hemorrhaging continued throughout the night. Lincoln died in the house on April 15, 1865, at 7:22 a.m., at age 56. Among the attending physicians was Anderson Ruffin Abbott, a black, Canadian-educated doctor who later wrote \"Some recollections of Lincoln's assassination\".","Ford's Theatre\n\nThe National Park Service has operated the Petersen House as a historic house museum since 1933. The rooms have been furnished to appear as if it were the night of Abraham Lincoln's death."],"string":"[\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as \\\"Washington\\\", \\\"the District\\\", or simply \\\"D.C.\\\", is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. Named in honor of George Washington, one of the United States' founding fathers and the leader of the American Continental Army who won the Revolutionary War, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the District.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington had an estimated population of 672,228 as of July 2015. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the country.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups, and professional associations.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nA locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973. However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, but the District has no representation in the U.S. Senate. The District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nVarious tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people (also known as the Conoy) inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century. One group known as the Nacotchtank (also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries) maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nIn his Federalist No. 43, published January 23, 1788, James Madison argued that the new federal government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance and safety. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia. Known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nArticle One, Section Eight, of the Constitution permits the establishment of a \\\"District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States\\\". However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital. In what is now known as the Compromise of 1790, Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson came to an agreement that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing the new national capital in the Southern United States.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nFoundation\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOn July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, who signed the bill into law on July 16. Formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 mi on each side, totaling 100 sqmi.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nTwo pre-existing settlements were included in the territory: the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, and the city of Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1749. During 1791–92, Andrew Ellicott and several assistants, including a free African American astronomer named Benjamin Banneker, surveyed the borders of the federal district and placed boundary stones at every mile point. Many of the stones are still standing.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nA new federal city was then constructed on the north bank of the Potomac, to the east of Georgetown. On September 9, 1791, the three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The federal district was named Columbia, which was a poetic name for the United States commonly in use at that time. Congress held its first session in Washington on November 17, 1800.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCongress passed the Organic Act of 1801, which officially organized the District and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government. Further, the unincorporated area within the District was organized into two counties: the County of Washington to the east of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west. After the passage of this Act, citizens living in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which therefore ended their representation in Congress.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOn August 24–25, 1814, in a raid known as the Burning of Washington, British forces invaded the capital during the War of 1812. The Capitol, Treasury, and White House were burned and gutted during the attack. Most government buildings were repaired quickly; however, the Capitol was largely under construction at the time and was not completed in its current form until 1868.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nRetrocession and the Civil War\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nIn the 1830s, the District's southern territory of Alexandria went into economic decline partly due to neglect by Congress. The city of Alexandria was a major market in the American slave trade, and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in the District, further depressing the economy. Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to take back the land it had donated to form the District, through a process known as retrocession.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Virginia General Assembly voted in February 1846 to accept the return of Alexandria and on July 9, 1846, Congress agreed to return all the territory that had been ceded by Virginia. Therefore, the District's current area consists only of the land originally donated by Maryland. Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the District, although not slavery itself.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the District's population, including a large influx of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the District of Columbia and freed about 3,100 enslaved persons, nine months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1868, Congress granted the District's African American male residents the right to vote in municipal elections.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nGrowth and redevelopment\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nBy 1870, the District's population had grown 75% from the previous census to nearly 132,000 residents. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation. Some members of Congress suggested moving the capital further west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider such a proposal.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCongress passed the Organic Act of 1871, which repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd to the position of governor in 1873. Shepherd authorized large-scale projects that greatly modernized Washington, but ultimately bankrupted the District government. In 1874, Congress replaced the territorial government with an appointed three-member Board of Commissioners.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe city's first motorized streetcars began service in 1888 and generated growth in areas of the District beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries. Washington's urban plan was expanded throughout the District in the following decades. Georgetown was formally annexed by the City of Washington in 1895. However, the city had poor housing conditions and strained public works. Washington was the first city in the nation to undergo urban renewal projects as part of the \\\"City Beautiful movement\\\" in the early 1900s.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nIncreased federal spending as a result of the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in Washington. World War II further increased government activity, adding to the number of federal employees in the capital; by 1950, the District's population reached its peak of 802,178 residents.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCivil rights and home rule era\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1961, granting the District three votes in the Electoral College for the election of president and vice president, but still no voting representation in Congress.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nAfter the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in the District, primarily in the U Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, centers of black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until more than 13,600 federal troops stopped the violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned; rebuilding was not completed until the late 1990s.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nIn 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and 13-member council for the District. In 1975, Walter Washington became the first elected and first black mayor of the District.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOn September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and deliberately crashed the plane into the Pentagon in nearby Arlington, Virginia. United Airlines Flight 93, believed to be destined for Washington, D.C., crashed in Pennsylvania when passengers tried to recover control of the plane from hijackers.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nGeography\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C., is located in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. East Coast. Due to the District of Columbia retrocession, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (10.67%) is water. The District is bordered by Montgomery County, Maryland, to the northwest; Prince George's County, Maryland, to the east; and Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, to the south and west.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe south bank of the Potomac River forms the District's border with Virginia and has two major tributaries: the Anacostia River and Rock Creek. Tiber Creek, a natural watercourse that once passed through the National Mall, was fully enclosed underground during the 1870s. The creek also formed a portion of the now-filled Washington City Canal, which allowed passage through the city to the Anacostia River from 1815 until the 1850s. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal starts in Georgetown and was used during the 19th century to bypass the Great Falls of the Potomac River, located upstream (northwest) of Washington at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe highest natural elevation in the District is 409 ft above sea level at Fort Reno Park in upper northwest Washington. The lowest point is sea level at the Potomac River. The geographic center of Washington is near the intersection of 4th and L Streets NW. Contrary to the urban legend, Washington was not built on a reclaimed swamp, but wetlands did cover areas along the water.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District has 7464 acre of parkland, about 19% of the city's total area and the second-highest percentage among high-density U.S. cities. The National Park Service manages most of the 9122 acre of city land owned by the U.S. government. Rock Creek Park is a 1754 acre urban forest in Northwest Washington, which extends through a stream valley that bisects the city. Established in 1890, it is the country's fourth-oldest national park and is home to a variety of plant and animal species including raccoon, deer, owls, and coyotes. Other National Park Service properties include the C&O Canal National Historical Park, the National Mall and Memorial Parks, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, Fort Dupont Park, Meridian Hill Park, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, and Anacostia Park. The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation maintains the city's 900 acres of athletic fields and playgrounds, 40 swimming pools, and 68 recreation centers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates the 446 acre U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nClimate\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington is in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen: Cfa) However, under the Trewartha climate classification, the city has a temperate maritime climate (Do). Winters are usually chilly with light snow, and summers are hot and humid. The District is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in the city, indicating a humid subtropical climate.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nSpring and fall are mild to warm, while winter is chilly with annual snowfall averaging . Winter temperatures average around 38 °F from mid-December to mid-February. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in the area.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nBlizzards affect Washington on average once every four to six years. The most violent storms are called \\\"nor'easters\\\", which often affect large sections of the U.S. East Coast. From January 27 to January 28, 1922, the city officially received 28 in of snowfall, the largest snowstorm since official measurements began in 1885. According to notes kept at the time, the city received between 30 and from a snowstorm on January 1772.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nHurricanes (or their remnants) occasionally track through the area in late summer and early fall, but are often weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River, however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in the neighborhood of Georgetown.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nPrecipitation occurs throughout the year.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe highest recorded temperature was 106 F on August 6, 1918, and on July 20, 1930. while the lowest recorded temperature was on February 11, 1899, during the Great Blizzard of 1899. During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90 F and 64 nights at or below freezing.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCityscape\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C., is a planned city. In 1791, President Washington commissioned Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant, a French-born architect and city planner, to design the new capital. The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping. He based his design on plans of cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, Karlsruhe, and Milan brought from Europe by Thomas Jefferson in 1788. L'Enfant's design also envisioned a garden-lined \\\"grand avenue\\\" approximately 1 mi in length and 400 ft wide in the area that is now the National Mall.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nPresident Washington dismissed L'Enfant in March 1792 due to conflicts with the three commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. Andrew Ellicott, who had worked with L'Enfant surveying the city, was then tasked with completing the design. Though Ellicott made revisions to the original plans, including changes to some street patterns, L'Enfant is still credited with the overall design of the city.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nBy the early 1900s, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital had become marred by slums and randomly placed buildings, including a railroad station on the National Mall. Congress formed a special committee charged with beautifying Washington's ceremonial core. What became known as the McMillan Plan was finalized in 1901 and included re-landscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new city-wide park system. The plan is thought to have largely preserved L'Enfant's intended design.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nBy law, Washington's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Heights of Buildings Act of 1910 allows buildings that are no taller than the width of the adjacent street, plus 20 ft. Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555 ft Washington Monument, which remains the District's tallest structure. City leaders have criticized the height restriction as a primary reason why the District has limited affordable housing and traffic problems caused by urban sprawl.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District is divided into four quadrants of unequal area: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building. All road names include the quadrant abbreviation to indicate their location and house numbers generally correspond with the number of blocks away from the Capitol. Most streets are set out in a grid pattern with east–west streets named with letters (e.g., C Street SW), north–south streets with numbers (e.g., 4th Street NW), and diagonal avenues, many of which are named after states.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe City of Washington was bordered by Boundary Street to the north (renamed Florida Avenue in 1890), Rock Creek to the west, and the Anacostia River to the east. Washington's street grid was extended, where possible, throughout the District starting in 1888. Georgetown's streets were renamed in 1895. Some streets are particularly noteworthy, such as Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the White House to the U.S. Capitol and K Street, which houses the offices of many lobbying groups. Washington hosts 297 foreign embassies and related buildings, many of which are on a section of Massachusetts Avenue informally known as Embassy Row.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nArchitecture\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe architecture of Washington varies greatly. Six of the top 10 buildings in the American Institute of Architects' 2007 ranking of \\\"America's Favorite Architecture\\\" are in the District of Columbia: the White House; the Washington National Cathedral; the Thomas Jefferson Memorial; the United States Capitol; the Lincoln Memorial; and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The neoclassical, Georgian, gothic, and modern architectural styles are all reflected among those six structures and many other prominent edifices in Washington. Notable exceptions include buildings constructed in the French Second Empire style such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOutside downtown Washington, architectural styles are even more varied. Historic buildings are designed primarily in the Queen Anne, Châteauesque, Richardsonian Romanesque, Georgian revival, Beaux-Arts, and a variety of Victorian styles. Rowhouses are especially prominent in areas developed after the Civil War and typically follow Federalist and late Victorian designs. Georgetown's Old Stone House was built in 1765, making it the oldest-standing original building in the city. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University features a mix of Romanesque and Gothic Revival architecture. The Ronald Reagan Building is the largest building in the District with a total area of approximately 3.1 million square feet (288,000 m2).\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nDemographics\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the District's population was 672,228 on July 1, 2015, an 11.7% increase since the 2010 United States Census. The increase continues a growth trend since 2000, following a half-century of population decline. The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States . According to data from 2010, commuters from the suburbs increase the District's daytime population to over one million people. If the District were a state it would rank 49th in population, ahead of Vermont and Wyoming.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes the District and surrounding suburbs, is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States with an estimated 6 million residents in 2014. When the Washington area is included with Baltimore and its suburbs, the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area had a population exceeding 9.5 million residents in 2014, the fourth-largest combined statistical area in the country.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nAccording to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data, the population of Washington, D.C. was 48.3% Black or African American, 44.1% White (36.1% non-Hispanic White), 4.2% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Individuals from two or more races made up 2.7% of the population. Hispanics of any race made up 10.6% of the District's population.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington has had a significant African American population since the city's foundation. African American residents composed about 30% of the District's total population between 1800 and 1940. The black population reached a peak of 70% by 1970, but has since steadily declined due to many African Americans moving to the surrounding suburbs. Partly as a result of gentrification, there was a 31.4% increase in the non-Hispanic white population and an 11.5% decrease in the black population between 2000 and 2010.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nAbout 17% of D.C. residents were age 18 or younger in 2010; lower than the U.S. average of 24%. However, at 34 years old, the District had the lowest median age compared to the 50 states. , there were an estimated 81,734 immigrants living in Washington, D.C. Major sources of immigration include El Salvador, Vietnam, and Ethiopia, with a concentration of Salvadorans in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nResearchers found that there were 4,822 same-sex couples in the District of Columbia in 2010; about 2% of total households. Legislation authorizing same-sex marriage passed in 2009 and the District began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in March 2010.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nA 2007 report found that about one-third of District residents were functionally illiterate, compared to a national rate of about one in five. This is attributed in part to immigrants who are not proficient in English. , 85% of D.C. residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language. Half of residents had at least a four-year college degree in 2006. D.C. residents had a personal income per capita of $55,755; higher than any of the 50 U.S. states. However, 19% of residents were below the poverty level in 2005, higher than any state except Mississippi.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOf the District's population, 17% is Baptist, 13% is Catholic, 6% is Evangelical Protestant, 4% is Methodist, 3% is Episcopalian/Anglican, 3% is Jewish, 2% is Eastern Orthodox, 1% is Pentecostal, 1% is Buddhist, 1% is Adventist, 1% is Lutheran, 1% is Muslim, 1% is Presbyterian, 1% is Mormon, and 1% is Hindu.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOver 90% of D.C. residents have health insurance coverage, the second-highest rate in the nation. This is due in part to city programs that help provide insurance to low-income individuals who do not qualify for other types of coverage. A 2009 report found that at least 3% of District residents have HIV or AIDS, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) characterizes as a \\\"generalized and severe\\\" epidemic.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCrime\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCrime in Washington, D.C., is concentrated in areas associated with poverty, drug abuse, and gangs. A 2010 study found that 5% of city blocks accounted for over one-quarter of the District's total crime. The more affluent neighborhoods of Northwest Washington are typically safe, but reports of violent crime increase in poorer neighborhoods generally concentrated in the eastern portion of the city. Approximately 60,000 residents are ex-convicts.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington was often described as the \\\"murder capital\\\" of the United States during the early 1990s. The number of murders peaked in 1991 at 479, but the level of violence then began to decline significantly. By 2012, Washington's annual murder count had dropped to 88, the lowest total since 1961. The murder rate has risen since that historic low, and as of December 11, 2015, the District's homicide total for the year stands at 154, a 58.8% increase over the same period in 2014. This is still a murder rate of almost half that of the early 2000s. Many neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights and Logan Circle are becoming safer and vibrant. However, incidents of robberies and thefts have remained higher in these areas because of increased nightlife activity and greater numbers of affluent residents. Even still, citywide reports of both property and violent crimes have declined by nearly half since their most recent highs in the mid-1990s.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOn June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the city's 1976 handgun ban violated the Second Amendment right to gun ownership. However, the ruling does not prohibit all forms of gun control; laws requiring firearm registration remain in place, as does the city's assault weapon ban. In addition to the District's own Metropolitan Police Department, many federal law enforcement agencies have jurisdiction in the city as well; most visibly the U.S. Park Police, founded in 1791.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nEconomy\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington has a growing, diversified economy with an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs. The gross state product of the District in 2010 was $103.3 billion, which would rank it No. 34 compared to the 50 U.S. states. The gross product of the Washington Metropolitan Area was $425 billion in 2010, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan economy in the United States. As of June 2011, the Washington Metropolitan Area had an unemployment rate of 6.2%; the second-lowest rate among the 49 largest metro areas in the nation. The District of Columbia itself had an unemployment rate of 9.8% during the same time period.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nIn 2012, the federal government accounted for about 29% of the jobs in Washington, D.C. This is thought to immunize Washington to national economic downturns because the federal government continues operations even during recessions. Many organizations such as law firms, independent contractors (both defense and civilian), non-profit organizations, lobbying firms, trade unions, industry trade groups, and professional associations have their headquarters in or near D.C. to be close to the federal government.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nTourism is Washington's second largest industry. Approximately 18.9 million visitors contributed an estimated $4.8 billion to the local economy in 2012. The District also hosts nearly 200 foreign embassies and international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization. In 2008, the foreign diplomatic corps in Washington employed about 10,000 people and contributed an estimated $400 million annually to the local economy.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District has growing industries not directly related to government, especially in the areas of education, finance, public policy, and scientific research. Georgetown University, George Washington University, Washington Hospital Center, Children's National Medical Center and Howard University are the top five non-government-related employers in the city . According to statistics compiled in 2011, four of the largest 500 companies in the country were headquartered in the District.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCulture\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nHistoric sites and museums\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe National Mall is a large, open park in downtown Washington between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol. Given its prominence, the mall is often the location of political protests, concerts, festivals, and presidential inaugurations. The Washington Monument and the Jefferson Pier are near the center of the mall, south of the White House. Also on the mall are the National World War II Memorial at the east end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nDirectly south of the mall, the Tidal Basin features rows of Japanese cherry blossom trees that originated as gifts from the nation of Japan. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, George Mason Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the District of Columbia War Memorial are around the Tidal Basin.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe National Archives houses thousands of documents important to American history including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Located in three buildings on Capitol Hill, the Library of Congress is the largest library complex in the world with a collection of over 147 million books, manuscripts, and other materials. The United States Supreme Court Building was completed in 1935; before then, the court held sessions in the Old Senate Chamber of the Capitol.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational foundation chartered by Congress in 1846 that maintains most of the nation's official museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. The U.S. government partially funds the Smithsonian and its collections open to the public free of charge. The Smithsonian's locations had a combined total of 30 million visits in 2013. The most visited museum is the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall. Other Smithsonian Institution museums and galleries on the mall are: the National Air and Space Museum; the National Museum of African Art; the National Museum of American History; the National Museum of the American Indian; the Sackler and Freer galleries, which both focus on Asian art and culture; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the Arts and Industries Building; the S. Dillon Ripley Center; and the Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as \\\"The Castle\\\"), which serves as the institution's headquarters.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are housed in the Old Patent Office Building, near Washington's Chinatown. The Renwick Gallery is officially part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum but is in a separate building near the White House. Other Smithsonian museums and galleries include: the Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast Washington; the National Postal Museum near Union Station; and the National Zoo in Woodley Park.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe National Gallery of Art is on the National Mall near the Capitol and features works of American and European art. The gallery and its collections are owned by the U.S. government but are not a part of the Smithsonian Institution. The National Building Museum, which occupies the former Pension Building near Judiciary Square, was chartered by Congress and hosts exhibits on architecture, urban planning, and design.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThere are many private art museums in the District of Columbia, which house major collections and exhibits open to the public such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the largest private museum in Washington; and The Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle, the first museum of modern art in the United States. Other private museums in Washington include the Newseum, the O Street Museum Foundation, the International Spy Museum, the National Geographic Society Museum, and the Marian Koshland Science Museum. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum near the National Mall maintains exhibits, documentation, and artifacts related to the Holocaust.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nArts\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C., is a national center for the arts. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is home to the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, and the Washington Ballet. The Kennedy Center Honors are awarded each year to those in the performing arts who have contributed greatly to the cultural life of the United States. The historic Ford's Theatre, site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, continues to operate as a functioning performance space as well as museum.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Marine Barracks near Capitol Hill houses the United States Marine Band; founded in 1798, it is the country's oldest professional musical organization. American march composer and Washington-native John Philip Sousa led the Marine Band from 1880 until 1892. Founded in 1925, the United States Navy Band has its headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard and performs at official events and public concerts around the city.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington has a strong local theater tradition. Founded in 1950, Arena Stage achieved national attention and spurred growth in the city's independent theater movement that now includes organizations such as the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and the Studio Theatre. Arena Stage opened its newly renovated home in the city's emerging Southwest waterfront area in 2010. The GALA Hispanic Theatre, now housed in the historic Tivoli Theatre in Columbia Heights, was founded in 1976 and is a National Center for the Latino Performing Arts.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe U Street Corridor in Northwest D.C., known as \\\"Washington's Black Broadway\\\", is home to institutions like the Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, and the Lincoln Theatre, which hosted music legends such as Washington-native Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. Washington has its own native music genre called go-go; a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of rhythm and blues that was popularized in the late 1970s by D.C. band leader Chuck Brown.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District is an important center for indie culture and music in the United States. The label Dischord Records, formed by Ian MacKaye, was one of the most crucial independent labels in the genesis of 1980s punk and eventually indie rock in the 1990s. Modern alternative and indie music venues like The Black Cat and the 9:30 Club bring popular acts to the U Street area.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nSports\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington is one of 12 cities in the United States with teams from all four major professional men's sports and is home to one major professional women's team. The Washington Wizards (National Basketball Association), the Washington Capitals (National Hockey League), and the Washington Mystics (Women's National Basketball Association), play at the Verizon Center in Chinatown. Nationals Park, which opened in Southeast D.C. in 2008, is home to the Washington Nationals (Major League Baseball). D.C. United (Major League Soccer) plays at RFK Stadium. The Washington Redskins (National Football League) play at nearby FedExField in Landover, Maryland.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nCurrent D.C. teams have won a combined ten professional league championships: the Washington Redskins have won five; D.C. United has won four; and the Washington Wizards (then the Washington Bullets) have won a single championship.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOther professional and semi-professional teams in Washington include: the Washington Kastles (World TeamTennis); the Washington D.C. Slayers (USA Rugby League); the Baltimore Washington Eagles (U.S. Australian Football League); the D.C. Divas (Independent Women's Football League); and the Potomac Athletic Club RFC (Rugby Super League). The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park hosts the Citi Open. Washington is also home to two major annual marathon races: the Marine Corps Marathon, which is held every autumn, and the Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon held in the spring. The Marine Corps Marathon began in 1976 and is sometimes called \\\"The People's Marathon\\\" because it is the largest marathon that does not offer prize money to participants.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District's four NCAA Division I teams, American Eagles, George Washington Colonials, Georgetown Hoyas and Howard Bison and Lady Bison, have a broad following. The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team is the most notable and also plays at the Verizon Center. From 2008 to 2012, the District hosted an annual college football bowl game at RFK Stadium, called the Military Bowl. The D.C. area is home to one regional sports television network, Comcast SportsNet (CSN), based in Bethesda, Maryland.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nMedia\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C. is a prominent center for national and international media. The Washington Post, founded in 1877, is the oldest and most-read local daily newspaper in Washington. It is probably most notable for its coverage of national and international politics and for exposing the Watergate scandal. \\\"The Post\\\", as it is popularly called, had the sixth-highest readership of all news dailies in the country in 2011. The Washington Post Company also publishesa daily free commuter newspaper called the Express, which summarizes events, sports and entertainment, as well as the Spanish-language paper El Tiempo Latino.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nAnother popular local daily is The Washington Times, the city's second general interest broadsheet and also an influential paper in political circles. The alternative weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the Washington area.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nSome community and specialty papers focus on neighborhood and cultural issues, including the weekly Washington Blade and Metro Weekly, which focus on LGBT issues; the Washington Informer and The Washington Afro American, which highlight topics of interest to the black community; and neighborhood newspapers published by The Current Newspapers. Congressional Quarterly, The Hill, Politico and Roll Call newspapers focus exclusively on issues related to Congress and the federal government. Other publications based in Washington include the National Geographic magazine and political publications such as The Washington Examiner, The New Republic and Washington Monthly.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Washington Metropolitan Area is the ninth-largest television media market in the U.S. with two million homes, approximately 2% of the U.S. population. Several media companies and cable television channels have their headquarters in the area, including C-SPAN; Black Entertainment Television (BET); Radio One; the National Geographic Channel; Smithsonian Networks; National Public Radio (NPR); Travel Channel (in Chevy Chase, Maryland); Discovery Communications (in Silver Spring, Maryland); and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (in Arlington, Virginia). The headquarters of Voice of America, the U.S. government's international news service, is near the Capitol in Southwest Washington.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nGovernment and politics\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nPolitics\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nArticle One, Section Eight of the United States Constitution grants the U.S. Congress \\\"exclusive jurisdiction\\\" over the city. The District did not have an elected local government until the passage of the 1973 Home Rule Act. The Act devolved certain Congressional powers to an elected mayor, currently Muriel Bowser, and the thirteen-member Council of the District of Columbia. However, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the council and intervene in local affairs.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nEach of the city's eight wards elects a single member of the council and residents elect four at-large members to represent the District as a whole. The council chair is also elected at-large. There are 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) elected by small neighborhood districts. ANCs can issue recommendations on all issues that affect residents; government agencies take their advice under careful consideration. The Attorney General of the District of Columbia, currently Karl Racine, is elected to a four-year term.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C., observes all federal holidays and also celebrates Emancipation Day on April 16, which commemorates the end of slavery in the District. The flag of Washington, D.C., was adopted in 1938 and is a variation on George Washington's family coat of arms.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nBudgetary issues\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe mayor and council set local taxes and a budget, which must be approved by Congress. The Government Accountability Office and other analysts have estimated that the city's high percentage of tax-exempt property and the Congressional prohibition of commuter taxes create a structural deficit in the District's local budget of anywhere between $470 million and over $1 billion per year. Congress typically provides additional grants for federal programs such as Medicaid and the operation of the local justice system; however, analysts claim that the payments do not fully resolve the imbalance.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe city's local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry, was criticized for mismanagement and waste. During his administration in 1989, The Washington Monthly magazine claimed that the District had \\\"the worst city government in America.\\\" In 1995, at the start of Barry's fourth term, Congress created the District of Columbia Financial Control Board to oversee all municipal spending. Mayor Anthony Williams won election in 1998 and oversaw a period of urban renewal and budget surpluses. The District regained control over its finances in 2001 and the oversight board's operations were suspended.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nVoting rights debate\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District is not a U.S. state and therefore has no voting representation in the Congress. D.C. residents elect a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C. At-Large), who may sit on committees, participate in debate, and introduce legislation, but cannot vote on the House floor. The District has no official representation in the United States Senate. Neither chamber seats the District's elected \\\"shadow\\\" representative or senators. Unlike residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico or Guam, which also have non-voting delegates, D.C. residents are subject to all U.S. federal taxes. In the financial year 2012, D.C. residents and businesses paid $20.7 billion in federal taxes; more than the taxes collected from 19 states and the highest federal taxes per capita.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nA 2005 poll found that 78% of Americans did not know that residents of the District of Columbia have less representation in Congress than residents of the 50 states. Efforts to raise awareness about the issue have included campaigns by grassroots organizations and featuring the city's unofficial motto, \\\"Taxation Without Representation\\\", on D.C. vehicle license plates. There is evidence of nationwide approval for D.C. voting rights; various polls indicate that 61 to 82% of Americans believe that D.C. should have voting representation in Congress. Despite public support, attempts to grant the District voting representation, including the D.C. statehood movement and the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nOpponents of D.C. voting rights propose that the Founding Fathers never intended for District residents to have a vote in Congress since the Constitution makes clear that representation must come from the states. Those opposed to making D.C. a state claim that such a move would destroy the notion of a separate national capital and that statehood would unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nSister cities\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington, D.C., has fourteen official sister city agreements. Listed in the order each agreement was first established, they are: Bangkok, Thailand (1962, renewed 2002); Dakar, Senegal (1980, renewed 2006); Beijing, China (1984, renewed 2004); Brussels, Belgium (1985, renewed 2002); Athens, Greece (2000); Paris, France (2000, renewed 2005); Pretoria, South Africa (2002, renewed 2008); Seoul, South Korea (2006); Accra, Ghana (2006); Sunderland, United Kingdom (2006); Rome, Italy (2011); Ankara, Turkey (2011); Brasília, Brazil (2013); and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2013). Each of the listed cities is a national capital except for Sunderland, which includes the town of Washington, the ancestral home of George Washington's family. Paris and Rome are each formally recognized as a \\\"partner city\\\" due to their special one sister city policy.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nEducation\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nDistrict of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) operates the city's 123 public schools. The number of students in DCPS steadily decreased for 39 years until 2009. In the 2010–11 school year, 46,191 students were enrolled in the public school system. DCPS has one of the highest-cost yet lowest-performing school systems in the country, both in terms of infrastructure and student achievement. Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration made sweeping changes to the system by closing schools, replacing teachers, firing principals, and using private education firms to aid curriculum development.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District of Columbia Public Charter School Board monitors the 52 public charter schools in the city. Due to the perceived problems with the traditional public school system, enrollment in public charter schools has steadily increased. As of fall 2010, D.C. charter schools had a total enrollment of about 32,000, a 9% increase from the prior year. The District is also home to 92 private schools, which enrolled approximately 18,000 students in 2008. The District of Columbia Public Library operates 25 neighborhood locations including the landmark Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nPrivate universities include American University (AU), the Catholic University of America (CUA), Gallaudet University, George Washington University (GW), Georgetown University (GU), Howard University, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The Corcoran College of Art and Design provides specialized arts instruction and other higher-education institutions offer continuing, distance and adult education. The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public university providing undergraduate and graduate education. D.C. residents may also be eligible for a grant of up to $10,000 per year to offset the cost of tuition at any public university in the country.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District is known for its medical research institutions such as Washington Hospital Center and the Children's National Medical Center, as well as the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, the city is home to three medical schools and associated teaching hospitals at George Washington, Georgetown, and Howard universities.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nInfrastructure\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nTransportation\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThere are 1500 mi of streets, parkways, and avenues in the District. Due to the freeway revolts of the 1960s, much of the proposed interstate highway system through the middle of Washington was never built. Interstate 95 (I-95), the nation's major east coast highway, therefore bends around the District to form the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway. A portion of the proposed highway funding was directed to the region's public transportation infrastructure instead. The interstate highways that continue into Washington, including I-66 and I-395, both terminate shortly after entering the city.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the Washington Metro, the city's rapid transit system, as well as Metrobus. Both systems serve the District and its suburbs. Metro opened on March 27, 1976 and, , consists of 91 stations and 117 mi of track. With an average of about one million trips each weekday, Metro is the second-busiest rapid transit system in the country. Metrobus serves over 400,000 riders each weekday and is the nation's sixth-largest bus system. The city also operates its own DC Circulator bus system, which connects commercial areas within central Washington.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nUnion Station is the city's main train station and services approximately 70,000 people each day. It is Amtrak's second-busiest station with 4.6 million passengers annually and is the southern terminus for the Northeast Corridor and Acela Express routes. Maryland's MARC and Virginia's VRE commuter trains and the Metrorail Red Line also provide service into Union Station. Following renovations in 2011, Union Station became Washington's primary intercity bus transit center.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThree major airports serve the District. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is across the Potomac River from downtown Washington in Arlington, Virginia and primarily handles domestic flights. Major international flights arrive and depart from Washington Dulles International Airport, west of the District in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is northeast of the District in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nAccording to a 2010 study, Washington-area commuters spent 70 hours a year in traffic delays, which tied with Chicago for having the nation's worst road congestion. However, 37% of Washington-area commuters take public transportation to work, the second-highest rate in the country. An additional 12% of D.C. commuters walked to work, 6% carpooled, and 3% traveled by bicycle in 2010. A 2011 study by Walk Score found that Washington was the seventh-most walkable city in the country with 80% of residents living in neighborhoods that are not car dependent.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nAn expected 32% increase in transit usage within the District by 2030 has spurred construction of a new DC Streetcar system to interconnect the city's neighborhoods. Construction has also started on an additional Metro line that will connect Washington to Dulles airport. The District is part of the regional Capital Bikeshare program. Started in 2010, it is currently one of the largest bicycle sharing systems in the country with over 4,351 bicycles and more than 395 stations all provided by PBSC Urban Solutions. The city is expanding a network of marked bicycle lanes which currently exist on 56 mi of streets.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nUtilities\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nThe District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (i.e. WASA or D.C. Water) is an independent authority of the D.C. government that provides drinking water and wastewater collection in Washington. WASA purchases water from the historic Washington Aqueduct, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The water, sourced from the Potomac River, is treated and stored in the city's Dalecarlia, Georgetown, and McMillan reservoirs. The aqueduct provides drinking water for a total of 1.1 million people in the District and Virginia, including Arlington, Falls Church, and a portion of Fairfax County. The authority also provides sewage treatment services for an additional 1.6 million people in four surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nPepco is the city's electric utility and services 793,000 customers in the District and suburban Maryland. An 1889 law prohibits overhead wires within much of the historic City of Washington. As a result, all power lines and telecommunication cables are located underground in downtown Washington, and traffic signals are placed at the edge of the street. A plan announced in 2013 would bury an additional 60 miles of primary power lines throughout the District.\",\n \"Washington, D.C.\\n\\nWashington Gas is the city's natural gas utility and serves over one million customers in the District and its suburbs. Incorporated by Congress in 1848, the company installed the city's first gas lights in the U.S. Capitol building, White House, and along Pennsylvania Avenue.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nThe Petersen House is a 19th-century federal style row house located at 516 10th Street NW in Washington, D.C. On April 15, 1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln died there after being shot the previous evening at Ford's Theatre located across the street. The house was built in 1849 by William A. Petersen, a German tailor. Future Vice-President John C. Breckinridge, a friend of the Lincoln family, once rented this house in 1852.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nLincoln assassination\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nOn the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd were attending a performance of Our American Cousin when John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Southern sympathizer, entered the box and shot the President in the back of the head. Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris were also in the box with the Lincolns, and Rathbone suffered stab wounds. Attendants including Charles Leale and Charles Sabin Taft examined Lincoln in the box before having him carried across the street to the Petersen House, where boarder Henry Safford directed them inside.http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/performances-events/tours/petersen-house\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nAlmarin Cooley Richards, superintendent of the Washington Metropolitan Police, was attending the performance and immediately began investigations. From the back parlor of the house, Richards interviewed witnesses and ordered the arrest of Booth.http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090210/LIFESTYLE/902100325\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nPhysicians continually removed blood clots which formed over the wound and poured out the excess brain fluid and brain matter from where the bullet had entered Lincoln's head in order to relieve pressure on the brain. However, the external and internal hemorrhaging continued throughout the night.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nDuring the night and early morning, guards patrolled outside to prevent onlookers from coming inside the house. Lincoln's Cabinet members, Generals, and various members of Congress were allowed to see the President.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nLincoln died in the house on April 15, 1865, at 7:22 a.m., age 56. Individuals in the room when he died included his son Robert Todd Lincoln, Senator Charles Sumner, generals Henry Wager Halleck, Richard James Oglesby and Montgomery C. Meigs, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nToday\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nSince 1933, the National Park Service has maintained it as a historical museum, recreating the scene at the time of Lincoln's death. The bed that Lincoln occupied and other items from the bedroom had been bought by Chicago collector, Charles F. Gunther, and are now owned by and on display at the Chicago History Museum. However, replicas have taken their places. The bloodstained pillow and pillowcases are the ones used by Lincoln.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nToday, the Petersen House is administered by the National Park Service as part of the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site. Usually the house is open to visitors daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free, but requires a time ticket.\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nImages\",\n \"Petersen House\\n\\nImage:Lincoln death room.jpg|Modern recreation of the bedroom\\nImage:Lincoln at his death bed.jpg|Lincoln on his deathbed\\nImage:Petersen House.jpg|Petersen House circa 1918\\nImage:15 23 024 petersen.jpg|Front parlor\\nImage:15 23 027 petersen.jpg|Lincoln Book Tower\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nFord's Theatre is a historic theatre in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After being shot, the fatally wounded president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died the next morning.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe theatre was later used as a warehouse and office building, and in 1893 part of it collapsed, causing 22 deaths. It was renovated and re-opened as a theatre in 1968. During the 2000s, it was renovated again, opening on February 12, 2009, in commemoration of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. A related Center for Education and Leadership museum experience opened February 12, 2012 next to Petersen House.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe Petersen House and the theatre are preserved together as Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, administered by the National Park Service; programming within the theatre and the Center for Education is overseen separately by the Ford's Theatre Society in a public-private partnership. Ford's Theatre is located at 511 10th Street, NW.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the second meeting house of the First Baptist Church of Washington, with Obadiah Bruen Brown as the pastor. In 1861, after the congregation moved to a newly built structure, John T. Ford bought the former church and renovated it into a theatre. He first called it Ford's Athenaeum. It was destroyed by fire in 1862, and was rebuilt the following year. When the new Ford's Theatre opened in August 1863, it had seating for 2,400 persons and was called a \\\"magnificent new thespian temple\\\".\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nJust five days after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln and his wife attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. The famous actor John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy, stepped into the box where the presidential party was sitting and shot Lincoln. Booth then jumped onto the stage, and cried out \\\"Sic semper tyrannis\\\" (some heard \\\"The South is avenged!\\\") just before escaping through the back of the theatre.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nFollowing the assassination, the United States Government appropriated the theatre, with Congress paying Ford $88,000 in compensation, and an order was issued forever prohibiting its use as a place of public amusement. Between 1866 and 1887, the theatre was taken over by the U.S. military and served as a facility for the War Department with records kept on the first floor, the Library of the Surgeon General's Office on the second floor, and the Army Medical Museum on the third. In 1887, the building exclusively became a clerk's office for the War Department, when the medical departments moved out.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nOn June 9, 1893, the front part of the building collapsed, killing 22 clerks and injuring another 68. This led some people to believe that the former church turned theatre and storeroom was cursed. The building was repaired and used as a government warehouse until 1911.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nIt languished unused until 1918. In 1928, the building was turned over from the War Department Office to the Office of Public Buildings and Parks of the National Capital. A Lincoln museum opened on the first floor of the theatre building on February 12, 1932—Lincoln's 123rd birthday. In 1933, the building was transferred to the National Park Service.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe restoration of Ford's Theatre was brought about by the two decade-long lobbying efforts of Democratic National Committeeman Melvin D. Hildreth and Republican North Dakota Representative Milton Young. Hildreth first suggested to Young the need for its restoration in 1945. Through extensive lobbying of Congress, a bill was passed in 1955 to prepare an engineering study for the reconstruction of the building. In 1964 Congress approved funds for its restoration, which began that year and was completed in 1968.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe theatre reopened on January 30, 1968, with a gala performance.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe theatre was again renovated during the 2000s. It has a current seating capacity of 665. The re-opening ceremony was on February 11, 2009, which commemorated Lincoln's 200th birthday. The event featured remarks from President Barack Obama as well as appearances by Katie Couric, Kelsey Grammer, James Earl Jones, Ben Vereen, Jeffrey Wright, the President's Own Marine Band, Joshua Bell, Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music, Audra McDonald and Jessye Norman.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nFord's Theatre National Historic Site\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe National Historic Site consisting of two contributing buildings, the theatre and the Petersen House, was designated in 1932.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe Ford's Theatre Museum beneath the theatre contains portions of the Olroyd Collection of Lincolniana. Most recently renovated and reimagined for a July 2009 reopening, the Museum is run through a partnership with the National Park Service and the private non-profit 501(c)(3) Ford's Theatre Society. The collection includes multiple items related to the assassination, including the Derringer pistol used to carry out the shooting, Booth's diary and the original door to Lincoln's theatre box. In addition, a number of Lincoln's family items, his coat (without the blood-stained pieces), some statues of Lincoln and several large portraits of the President are on display in the museum. The blood-stained pillow from the President's deathbed is in the Ford's Theatre Museum. In addition to covering the assassination conspiracy, the renovated museum focuses on Lincoln's arrival in Washington, his presidential cabinet, family life in the White House and his role as orator and emancipator. The museum also features exhibits about Civil War milestones and generals and about the building's history as a theatrical venue. The rocking chair in which Lincoln was sitting is now on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nTours of Ford's Theatre and the adjacent Petersen House are by timed-entry ticket. Tickets can be reserved ahead, and there are also tickets available on the day of entry on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is free.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nImage:Upper rows of seats at Ford's Theatre IMG 4500.JPG|Upper row of seats at Ford's Theatre.\\nFile:Ford's Theatre interior, Washington, D.C.jpg|View from beneath the balcony.\\nImage:Presidential Box, Ford's Theatre IMG 4502.JPG|The Presidential Box today.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nPetersen House\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nAttendants, including Dr. Charles Leale, carried the President onto 10th Street. The doctor decided to take him to Petersen's boarding house across the street. The streets were extremely crowded with people because of the uproar. A captain cleared the way to the brick federal style rowhouse. A boarder, Henry Safford, noticed what was going on and stood on the front steps crying, \\\"Bring him in here! Bring him in here!\\\" Then he was taken into the bedroom in the rear of the parlors and placed on a bed that was not long enough for him. Mrs. Lincoln was escorted across the street by Clara Harris, who had been in the box during the shooting, and whose fiancé, Henry Rathbone, had been stabbed by Booth during the assassination. Rathbone, bleeding severely from the knife wound in his arm, collapsed from loss of blood after arriving at the Petersen House.\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nDuring the night and early morning, military guards patrolled outside to prevent onlookers from coming inside the house. A parade of government officials and physicians was allowed to come inside and pay respects to the unconscious President. Physicians continually removed blood clots which formed over the wound and poured out the excess brain fluid and brain matter from where the bullet had entered Lincoln's head in order to relieve pressure on the brain. However, the external and internal hemorrhaging continued throughout the night. Lincoln died in the house on April 15, 1865, at 7:22 a.m., at age 56. Among the attending physicians was Anderson Ruffin Abbott, a black, Canadian-educated doctor who later wrote \\\"Some recollections of Lincoln's assassination\\\".\",\n \"Ford's Theatre\\n\\nThe National Park Service has operated the Petersen House as a historic house museum since 1933. The rooms have been furnished to appear as if it were the night of Abraham Lincoln's death.\"\n]","isConversational":false}}},{"rowIdx":137698,"cells":{"id":{"kind":"string","value":"qg_3409"},"question":{"kind":"string","value":"Former Seahawks all pro receiver Steve Largent is formerly a US representative from what state?"},"answer":{"kind":"string","value":"Oklahoma"},"answer_aliases":{"kind":"list like","value":["sooner state","religion in oklahoma","oklahoma","us ok","oklahoma u s state","46th state","oklahoma united states","oklahoma state","transportation in oklahoma","forty sixth state","energy in oklahoma","education in oklahoma","oclahoma","sports in oklahoma","oklaholma","oklahoma usa","oaklahoma","transport in oklahoma","culture of oklahoma","okla","oklahoman","list of oklahoma state symbols","state of oklahoma"],"string":"[\n \"sooner state\",\n \"religion in oklahoma\",\n \"oklahoma\",\n \"us ok\",\n \"oklahoma u s state\",\n \"46th state\",\n \"oklahoma united states\",\n \"oklahoma state\",\n \"transportation in oklahoma\",\n \"forty sixth state\",\n \"energy in oklahoma\",\n \"education in oklahoma\",\n \"oclahoma\",\n \"sports in oklahoma\",\n \"oklaholma\",\n \"oklahoma usa\",\n \"oaklahoma\",\n \"transport in oklahoma\",\n \"culture of oklahoma\",\n \"okla\",\n \"oklahoman\",\n \"list of oklahoma state symbols\",\n \"state of oklahoma\"\n]","isConversational":false},"documents":{"kind":"list like","value":["Steve Largent\n\nStephen Michael \"Steve\" Largent (born September 28, 1954) is a retired American football player, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a former Republican politician, having served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma, from 1994 until 2002. Prior to his political career, Largent was a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League for his entire 14-season professional football career. He held several all-time receiving records when he retired.","Steve Largent\n\nFootball career","Steve Largent\n\nIn 1974 at Tulsa, he had 884 yards receiving and 14 TD catches. In 1975, he had 51 catches for 1,000 yards and 14 TD catches.","Steve Largent\n\nDespite an All-American career at the University of Tulsa, Largent was not selected until the fourth round of the 1976 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers (117th pick). After four preseason games, he was slated to be cut, but was instead traded to the expansion Seattle Seahawks for a 1977 eighth-round pick.","Steve Largent\n\nLargent spent fourteen years with the Seahawks, and, while not particularly fast, was extremely sure-handed. He was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl seven times, and was the first Seahawk to earn that honor. In 1982, Largent, along with teammate Jim Zorn, ended his participation in the NFL strike, after the third and final week of the strike, citing Christian principles, specifically based on Matthew 5:36–37, stating that \"your word is your bond\" and that all contracts shall be honored as with God.","Steve Largent\n\nIn 1989, Steve Largent became the first Seahawks player to win the Steve Largent Award for his spirit, dedication and integrity.","Steve Largent\n\nWhen Largent retired, he held all major NFL receiving records, including: most receptions in a career (819), most receiving yards in a career (13,089), and most touchdown receptions (100). He was also in possession of a then-record streak of 177 consecutive regular-season games with a reception. He also holds the distinction as the first receiver in NFL history to achieve 100 touchdown receptions in his career.","Steve Largent\n\nLargent was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, his first year of eligibility. In 1999, he was ranked number 46 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the only Seahawk on the list.","Steve Largent\n\nHis number (80) was retired in 1992; Largent is the first Seahawk player to be so honored (the team has retired number 12 in honor of the fans, the \"twelfth man\", the number 71 for offensive tackle Walter Jones, on December 5, 2010, and the number 96 for defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy on October 14, 2012.) During Jerry Rice's stint with the Seahawks in 2004, Largent's number 80 was temporarily \"unretired\" after a conversation between Rice and Largent that was reportedly initiated by then Seahawks president Bob Whitsitt. Largent remains the most prolific receiver in team history. On October 26, 2008 Largent's University of Tulsa number (83) was also retired.","Steve Largent\n\nCareer receiving statistics","Steve Largent\n\nPolitical career","Steve Largent\n\nIn 1994, Oklahoma's 1st District Congressman Jim Inhofe resigned to run in a special election to succeed Senator David Boren. Largent won the election to succeed Inhofe in Congress; pursuant to an Oklahoma statute, Governor David Walters designated the special election in which Largent was elected to serve the remainder of Inhofe's term in the 103rd Congress before beginning his term in the 104th Congress.","Steve Largent\n\nLargent took office on November 29, 1994 and was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses, never winning less than 60 percent of the vote in the heavily Republican Tulsa-based district.","Steve Largent\n\nLike many in the Republican freshman class elected in 1994, when the Republicans took control of the House for the first time in 40 years, Largent's voting record was solidly conservative. Largent was one of the \"true believers\" in that freshman class, devoting most of his time to issues important to the conservative Christians.","Steve Largent\n\nOne of his first bills was a \"parental rights\" bill that died in committee after it attracted opposition even from other Christian conservatives. Another of his bills would have abolished the federal tax code at the end of 2001. He opposed ending the 1995 federal government shutdown and played a role in the failed attempt to oust Newt Gingrich as Speaker. Largent introduced a bill that would ban adoptions by gay and lesbian parents in Washington, D.C.","Steve Largent\n\nHe was criticized as anti-Catholic due to his line of questioning of a House of Representatives chaplain in 2000, though he denied this.","Steve Largent\n\nAfter the Republicans lost 5 seats in the 1998 midterm elections, Largent tried to take advantage of discontent with Majority Leader Dick Armey by challenging Armey for the post. Although Armey was not popular in the Republican caucus, Largent was thought to be far too conservative for the liking of some moderate Republicans, and Armey won on the third ballot. However, when Bob Livingston of Louisiana stood down as Speaker-elect, Armey was still too wounded to make a bid for the job.","Steve Largent\n\nLargent decided to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002. He easily won the Republican nomination and resigned his House seat on February 15 to devote his energy to the race. Initially seen as an overwhelming favorite against Democratic state senator Brad Henry, Largent lost to Henry by just under 7,000 votes.","Steve Largent\n\nLargent's loss has been attributed by analysts to factors that included:\n* The presence of a well-funded independent (Gary Richardson, a former Republican) on the general election ballot; \n* Henry's support of cockfighting, garnering a last minute endorsement by rural cockfighting interests that turned out in large numbers in the election in which the legality of cockfighting was on the ballot; \n* Largent used a vulgarity, \"bullshit\" in response to an Oklahoma City television reporter who repeatedly asked where he was at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Largent had been on a hunting trip and did not know about the attacks until then.","Steve Largent\n\nPost-political career","Steve Largent\n\nLargent became President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association in November 2003 until May 2014. CTIA is an international nonprofit membership organization founded in 1984, representing all sectors of wireless communications: cellular, personal communication services and enhanced specialized mobile radio.","Steve Largent\n\nPersonal life","Steve Largent\n\nPeople magazine named Largent to its 1996 list of \"Most Beautiful People\".","Steve Largent\n\nLargent has a son Kramer James (b. November 11, 1985) with spina bifida. He and his wife Terry also had three more children, sons Kyle and Kelly and daughter Casie.","Steve Largent\n\nElectoral history"],"string":"[\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nStephen Michael \\\"Steve\\\" Largent (born September 28, 1954) is a retired American football player, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a former Republican politician, having served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma, from 1994 until 2002. Prior to his political career, Largent was a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League for his entire 14-season professional football career. He held several all-time receiving records when he retired.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nFootball career\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nIn 1974 at Tulsa, he had 884 yards receiving and 14 TD catches. In 1975, he had 51 catches for 1,000 yards and 14 TD catches.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nDespite an All-American career at the University of Tulsa, Largent was not selected until the fourth round of the 1976 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers (117th pick). After four preseason games, he was slated to be cut, but was instead traded to the expansion Seattle Seahawks for a 1977 eighth-round pick.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent spent fourteen years with the Seahawks, and, while not particularly fast, was extremely sure-handed. He was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl seven times, and was the first Seahawk to earn that honor. In 1982, Largent, along with teammate Jim Zorn, ended his participation in the NFL strike, after the third and final week of the strike, citing Christian principles, specifically based on Matthew 5:36–37, stating that \\\"your word is your bond\\\" and that all contracts shall be honored as with God.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nIn 1989, Steve Largent became the first Seahawks player to win the Steve Largent Award for his spirit, dedication and integrity.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nWhen Largent retired, he held all major NFL receiving records, including: most receptions in a career (819), most receiving yards in a career (13,089), and most touchdown receptions (100). He was also in possession of a then-record streak of 177 consecutive regular-season games with a reception. He also holds the distinction as the first receiver in NFL history to achieve 100 touchdown receptions in his career.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, his first year of eligibility. In 1999, he was ranked number 46 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the only Seahawk on the list.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nHis number (80) was retired in 1992; Largent is the first Seahawk player to be so honored (the team has retired number 12 in honor of the fans, the \\\"twelfth man\\\", the number 71 for offensive tackle Walter Jones, on December 5, 2010, and the number 96 for defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy on October 14, 2012.) During Jerry Rice's stint with the Seahawks in 2004, Largent's number 80 was temporarily \\\"unretired\\\" after a conversation between Rice and Largent that was reportedly initiated by then Seahawks president Bob Whitsitt. Largent remains the most prolific receiver in team history. On October 26, 2008 Largent's University of Tulsa number (83) was also retired.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nCareer receiving statistics\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nPolitical career\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nIn 1994, Oklahoma's 1st District Congressman Jim Inhofe resigned to run in a special election to succeed Senator David Boren. Largent won the election to succeed Inhofe in Congress; pursuant to an Oklahoma statute, Governor David Walters designated the special election in which Largent was elected to serve the remainder of Inhofe's term in the 103rd Congress before beginning his term in the 104th Congress.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent took office on November 29, 1994 and was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses, never winning less than 60 percent of the vote in the heavily Republican Tulsa-based district.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLike many in the Republican freshman class elected in 1994, when the Republicans took control of the House for the first time in 40 years, Largent's voting record was solidly conservative. Largent was one of the \\\"true believers\\\" in that freshman class, devoting most of his time to issues important to the conservative Christians.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nOne of his first bills was a \\\"parental rights\\\" bill that died in committee after it attracted opposition even from other Christian conservatives. Another of his bills would have abolished the federal tax code at the end of 2001. He opposed ending the 1995 federal government shutdown and played a role in the failed attempt to oust Newt Gingrich as Speaker. Largent introduced a bill that would ban adoptions by gay and lesbian parents in Washington, D.C.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nHe was criticized as anti-Catholic due to his line of questioning of a House of Representatives chaplain in 2000, though he denied this.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nAfter the Republicans lost 5 seats in the 1998 midterm elections, Largent tried to take advantage of discontent with Majority Leader Dick Armey by challenging Armey for the post. Although Armey was not popular in the Republican caucus, Largent was thought to be far too conservative for the liking of some moderate Republicans, and Armey won on the third ballot. However, when Bob Livingston of Louisiana stood down as Speaker-elect, Armey was still too wounded to make a bid for the job.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent decided to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002. He easily won the Republican nomination and resigned his House seat on February 15 to devote his energy to the race. Initially seen as an overwhelming favorite against Democratic state senator Brad Henry, Largent lost to Henry by just under 7,000 votes.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent's loss has been attributed by analysts to factors that included:\\n* The presence of a well-funded independent (Gary Richardson, a former Republican) on the general election ballot; \\n* Henry's support of cockfighting, garnering a last minute endorsement by rural cockfighting interests that turned out in large numbers in the election in which the legality of cockfighting was on the ballot; \\n* Largent used a vulgarity, \\\"bullshit\\\" in response to an Oklahoma City television reporter who repeatedly asked where he was at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Largent had been on a hunting trip and did not know about the attacks until then.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nPost-political career\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent became President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association in November 2003 until May 2014. CTIA is an international nonprofit membership organization founded in 1984, representing all sectors of wireless communications: cellular, personal communication services and enhanced specialized mobile radio.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nPersonal life\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nPeople magazine named Largent to its 1996 list of \\\"Most Beautiful People\\\".\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nLargent has a son Kramer James (b. November 11, 1985) with spina bifida. He and his wife Terry also had three more children, sons Kyle and Kelly and daughter Casie.\",\n \"Steve Largent\\n\\nElectoral history\"\n]","isConversational":false}}},{"rowIdx":137699,"cells":{"id":{"kind":"string","value":"qg_3410"},"question":{"kind":"string","value":"Known as The Silver State, what was the 36th state to join the Union on Oct 31, 1864?"},"answer":{"kind":"string","value":"Nevada"},"answer_aliases":{"kind":"list like","value":["silver state","transport in nevada","sports in nevada","transportation in nevada","36th state","tikaboo valley","state of nevada","battle born state","demographics of nevada","sagebrush state","nevada state","nevada u s state","politics of nevada","thirty sixth state","nevada united states","economy of nevada","nevadan","nevada","nev","education in nevada","nevadian","nevada annulment","geography of nevada","religion in nevada","nevada s southern boundary 1861 1867","nv state","us nv","nevada usa","climate of nevada","navada"],"string":"[\n \"silver state\",\n \"transport in nevada\",\n \"sports in nevada\",\n \"transportation in nevada\",\n \"36th state\",\n \"tikaboo valley\",\n \"state of nevada\",\n \"battle born state\",\n \"demographics of nevada\",\n \"sagebrush state\",\n \"nevada state\",\n \"nevada u s state\",\n \"politics of nevada\",\n \"thirty sixth state\",\n \"nevada united states\",\n \"economy of nevada\",\n \"nevadan\",\n \"nevada\",\n \"nev\",\n \"education in nevada\",\n \"nevadian\",\n \"nevada annulment\",\n \"geography of nevada\",\n \"religion in nevada\",\n \"nevada s southern boundary 1861 1867\",\n \"nv state\",\n \"us nv\",\n \"nevada usa\",\n \"climate of nevada\",\n \"navada\"\n]","isConversational":false},"documents":{"kind":"list like","value":["Nevada\n\nNevada (Spanish for \"snow covered\") is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 35th most populous, and the 9th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area where three of the state's four largest incorporated cities are located. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Nevada is officially known as the \"Silver State\" due to the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the \"Battle Born State\", because it achieved statehood during the Civil War (the words \"Battle Born\" also appear on the state flag); as the \"Sage-brush State\", for the native plant of the same name; and as the \"Sage-hen State\". Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast and Utah to the east.","Nevada\n\nNevada is largely desert and semiarid, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada lie on the western edge. About 86% of the state's land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government, both civilian and military.","Nevada\n\nBefore European contact, Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes inhabited the land that is now Nevada. The first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada (snowy) due to the snow which covered the mountains in winter. The area formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and became part of Mexico when it gained independence in 1821. The United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a population boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, as the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War (the first being West Virginia).","Nevada\n\nNevada has a reputation for its libertarian laws. In 1940, with a population of just over 110,000 people, Nevada was by far the least populated state, with less than half the population of the next least-populated state. However, legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce laws transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination in the 20th century. Nevada is the only U.S. state where prostitution is legal, though it is illegal in Las Vegas (Clark County) and Reno (Washoe County) as well as Carson City, which is an independent city. The tourism industry remains Nevada's largest employer, with mining continuing as a substantial sector of the economy: Nevada is the fourth-largest producer of gold in the world.","Nevada\n\nEtymology and pronunciation","Nevada\n\nThe name \"Nevada\" comes from the Spanish nevada, meaning \"snow-covered\", after the Sierra Nevada (\"snow-covered mountain range\").","Nevada\n\nNative Nevadans pronounce the second syllable of their state name using the vowel of \"bad\". Many from outside the Western United States pronounce it with the vowel of \"father\". Although the latter pronunciation is closer to the Spanish pronunciation, it is not the pronunciation preferred by Nevadans. State Assemblyman Harry Mortenson proposed a bill to recognize the alternate (quasi-Spanish) pronunciation of Nevada, though the bill was not supported by most legislators and never received a vote. The native pronunciation is the de facto official one, since it is the one used by the state legislature. The state's official tourism organization, TravelNevada, stylizes the name of the state as \"Nevăda\", with a breve accent over the a indicating the locally preferred pronunciation which is also available as a license plate design.","Nevada\n\nGeography","Nevada\n\nNevada is almost entirely within the Basin and Range Province, and is broken up by many north-south mountain ranges. Most of these ranges have endorheic valleys between them, which belies the image portrayed by the term Great Basin.","Nevada\n\nMuch of the northern part of the state is within the Great Basin, a mild desert that experiences hot temperatures in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter. Occasionally, moisture from the Arizona Monsoon will cause summer thunderstorms; Pacific storms may blanket the area with snow. The state's highest recorded temperature was 125 °F in Laughlin (elevation of 605 ft) on June 29, 1994. The coldest recorded temperature was set in San Jacinto in 1972, in the northeastern portion of the state.","Nevada\n\nThe Humboldt River crosses the state from east to west across the northern part of the state, draining into the Humboldt Sink near Lovelock. Several rivers drain from the Sierra Nevada eastward, including the Walker, Truckee, and Carson rivers. All of these rivers are endorheic basins, ending in Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, and the Carson Sink, respectively. However, not all of Nevada is within the Great Basin. Tributaries of the Snake River drain the far north, while the Colorado River, which also forms much of the boundary with Arizona, drains much of southern Nevada.","Nevada\n\nThe mountain ranges, some of which have peaks above 13000 ft, harbor lush forests high above desert plains, creating sky islands for endemic species. The valleys are often no lower in elevation than 3000 ft, while some in central Nevada are above 6000 ft.","Nevada\n\nThe southern third of the state, where the Las Vegas area is situated, is within the Mojave Desert. The area receives less rain in the winter but is closer to the Arizona Monsoon in the summer. The terrain is also lower, mostly below 4000 ft, creating conditions for hot summer days and cool to chilly winter nights (due to temperature inversion).","Nevada\n\nNevada and California have by far the longest diagonal line (in respect to the cardinal directions) as a state boundary at just over 400 mi. This line begins in Lake Tahoe nearly 4 mi offshore (in the direction of the boundary), and continues to the Colorado River where the Nevada, California, and Arizona boundaries merge 12 mi southwest of the Laughlin Bridge.","Nevada\n\nThe largest mountain range in the southern portion of the state is the Spring Mountain Range, just west of Las Vegas. The state's lowest point is along the Colorado River, south of Laughlin.","Nevada\n\nNevada has 172 mountain summits with 2000 ft of prominence. Nevada ranks second in the US, behind Alaska, and ahead of California, Montana, and Washington. Nevada is the most mountainous state in the contiguous United States.","Nevada\n\nClimate","Nevada\n\nNevada is the driest state in the United States. It is made up of mostly desert and semiarid climate regions, and, with the exception of the Las Vegas Valley, the average summer diurnal temperature range approaches 40 F-change in much of the state. While winters in northern Nevada are long and fairly cold, the winter season in the southern part of the state tends to be of short duration and mild. Most parts of Nevada receive scarce precipitation during the year. Most rain that falls in the state falls on the lee side (east and northeast slopes) of the Sierra Nevada.","Nevada\n\nThe average annual rainfall per year is about 7 in; the wettest parts get around 40 in. Nevada's highest recorded temperature is 125 F at Laughlin on June 29, 1994 and the lowest recorded temperature is at San Jacinto on January 8, 1937. Nevada's 125 F reading is the third highest statewide record highAgilan are of a U.S. state, just behind Arizona's 128 F reading and California's 134 F reading.","Nevada\n\nVegetation","Nevada\n\nThe vegetation of Nevada is diverse and differs by state area. Nevada contains six biotic zones: alpine, sub-alpine, ponderosa pine, pinion-juniper, sagebrush and creosotebush.","Nevada\n\nCounties","Nevada\n\nNevada is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. Carson City is officially a consolidated municipality; however, for many purposes under state law it is considered to be a county. As of 1919 there were 17 counties in the state, ranging from 146 to.","Nevada\n\nLake County, one of the original nine counties formed in 1861, was renamed Roop County in 1862. Part of the county became Lassen County, California in 1864. The portion that remained in Nevada was annexed in 1883 by Washoe County.","Nevada\n\nIn 1969 Ormsby County was dissolved and the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City was created by the Legislature in its place co-terminous with the old boundaries of Ormsby County.","Nevada\n\nBullfrog County was formed in 1987 from part of Nye County. After the creation was declared unconstitutional the county was abolished in 1989.","Nevada\n\nHumboldt county was designated as a county in 1856 by Utah Territorial Legislature and again in 1861 by the new Nevada Legislature.","Nevada\n\nClark County is the most populous county in Nevada, accounting for nearly three-quarters of its residents. Las Vegas, Nevada's most populous city, has been the county seat since the county was created. Clark County attracts numerous tourists. An estimated 44 million people visited Clark County in 2014.","Nevada\n\nWashoe County is the second most populous county of Nevada. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County includes the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area.","Nevada\n\nLyon County is the third most populous county. It was one of the nine original counties created in 1861. It was named after Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union General to be killed in the Civil War. Its current county seat is Yerington. Its first county seat was established at Dayton on November 29, 1861.","Nevada\n\nHistory","Nevada\n\nBefore 1861","Nevada\n\nFrancisco Garcés was the first European in the area, Nevada was annexed as a part of the Spanish Empire in the northwestern territory of New Spain. Administratively, the area of Nevada was part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Nevada became a part of Alta California (Upper California) province in 1804 when the Californias were split. \nWith the Mexican War of Independence won in 1821, the province of Alta California became a territory (state) of Mexico, with small population. \nJedediah Smith entered the Las Vegas Valley in 1827, and Peter Skene Ogden traveled the Humboldt River in 1828. When the Mormons created the State of Deseret in 1847, they laid claim to all of Nevada within the Great Basin and the Colorado watershed. In June 1855, William Bringhurst and 29 fellow Mormon missionaries from Utah arrived at this site just northeast of downtown Las Vegas and built a 150-foot square adobe fort, the first permanent structure erected in the valley, which remained under the control of Salt Lake City until the winter of 1858-1859.","Nevada\n\nAs a result of the Mexican–American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico permanently lost Alta California in 1848. The new areas acquired by the United States continued to be administered as territories. As part of the Mexican Cession (1848) and the subsequent California Gold Rush that used Emigrant Trails through the area, the state's area evolved first as part of the Utah Territory, then the Nevada Territory (March 2, 1861; named for the Sierra Nevada).","Nevada\n\nSee History of Utah, History of Las Vegas, and the discovery of the first major U.S. deposit of silver ore in Comstock Lode under Virginia City, Nevada in 1859.","Nevada\n\nSeparation from Utah Territory","Nevada\n\nOn March 2, 1861, the Nevada Territory separated from the Utah Territory and adopted its current name, shortened from Sierra Nevada (Spanish for \"snow-covered mountain range\").","Nevada\n\nThe 1861 southern boundary is commemorated by Nevada Historical Markers 57 and 58 in Lincoln and Nye counties.","Nevada\n\nStatehood (1864)","Nevada\n\nEight days before the presidential election of 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in the union. Statehood was rushed to the date of October 31 to help ensure Abraham Lincoln's reelection on November 8 and post-Civil War Republican dominance in Congress, as Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more industrialized Union. As it turned out, however, Lincoln and the Republicans won the election handily, and did not need Nevada's help.","Nevada\n\nNevada is one of only two states to significantly expand its borders after admission to the Union. (The other is Missouri, which acquired additional territory in 1837 due to the Platte Purchase.)","Nevada\n\nIn 1866 another part of the western Utah Territory was added to Nevada in the eastern part of the state, setting the current eastern boundary.","Nevada\n\nNevada achieved its current southern boundaries on January 18, 1867, when it absorbed the portion of Pah-Ute County in the Arizona Territory west of the Colorado River, essentially all of present-day Nevada south of the 37th parallel. The transfer was prompted by the discovery of gold in the area, and it was thought by officials that Nevada would be better able to oversee the expected population boom. This area includes most of what is now Clark County.","Nevada\n\nMining shaped Nevada's economy for many years (see Silver mining in Nevada). When Mark Twain lived in Nevada during the period described in Roughing It, mining had led to an industry of speculation and immense wealth. However, both mining and population declined in the late 19th century. However, the rich silver strike at Tonopah in 1900, followed by strikes in Goldfield and Rhyolite, again put Nevada's population on an upward trend.","Nevada\n\nGambling and labor","Nevada\n\nUnregulated gambling was commonplace in the early Nevada mining towns but was outlawed in 1909 as part of a nationwide anti-gambling crusade. Because of subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada again legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. Governor Fred B. Balzar's signature enacted the most liberal divorce laws in the country and open gambling. The reforms came just eight days after the federal government presented the $49 million construction contract for Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam).","Nevada\n\nNuclear testing","Nevada\n\nThe Nevada Test Site, 65 mi northwest of the city of Las Vegas, was founded on January 11, 1951, for the testing of nuclear weapons. The site consists of about 1350 sqmi of desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a 1 ktonTNT bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat on January 27, 1951. The last atmospheric test was conducted on July 17, 1962, and the underground testing of weapons continued until September 23, 1992. The location is known for having the highest concentration of nuclear-detonated weapons in the U.S.","Nevada\n\nOver 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. The primary reason for this is that homesteads were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout desert Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture without access to water (this pattern of ranching still prevails).","Nevada\n\nDemographics","Nevada\n\nPopulation","Nevada\n\nThe United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Nevada was 2,890,845 on July 1, 2015, a 7.05% increase since the 2010 United States Census.","Nevada\n\nAccording to the Census Bureau's 2015 estimate, Nevada had an estimated population of 2,890,845 which is an increase of 51,746, from the prior year and an increase of 190,294, or 7.05%, since the year 2010. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 81,661 people (that is 170,451 births minus 88,790 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 337,043 people into the state. Immigration resulted in a net increase of 66,098 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 270,945 people. According to the 2006 census estimate, Nevada is the eighth fastest growing state in the nation.","Nevada\n\nThe center of population of Nevada is located in southern Nye County. In this county, the unincorporated town of Pahrump, located 60 mi west of Las Vegas on the California state line, has grown very rapidly from 1980 to 2010. At the 2010 census, the town had 36,441 residents. Las Vegas was America's fastest-growing city and metropolitan area from 1960 to 2000, but has grown from a gulch of 100 people in 1900 to 10,000 by 1950 to 100,000 by 1970.","Nevada\n\nFrom about the 1940s until 2003, Nevada was the fastest-growing state in the US percentage-wise. Between 1990 and 2000, Nevada's population increased 66%, while the USA's population increased 13%. Over two thirds of the population of the state lives in the Clark County Las Vegas metropolitan area.","Nevada\n\nHenderson and North Las Vegas are among the USA's top 20 fastest-growing cities of over 100,000.","Nevada\n\nThe rural community of Mesquite located 65 mi northeast of Las Vegas was an example of micropolitan growth in the 1990s and 2000s. Other desert towns like Indian Springs and Searchlight on the outskirts of Las Vegas have seen some growth as well.","Nevada\n\nLarge numbers of new residents in the state originate from California, which led some locals to feel that their state is being \"Californicated\".","Nevada\n\nMajor cities","Nevada\n\nTop 10 locations by GDP","Nevada\n\nRural areas","Nevada\n\nA small percentage of Nevada's population lives in rural areas. The culture of these places differs significantly from that of the major metropolitan areas. People in these rural counties tend to be native Nevada residents, unlike in the Las Vegas and Reno areas, where the vast majority of the population was born in another state. The rural population is also less diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. Mining plays an important role in the economies of the rural counties, with tourism being less prominent. Ranching also has a long tradition in rural Nevada.","Nevada\n\nRace","Nevada\n\nAccording to the 2010 census estimates, racial distribution was as follows:\n* 66.2% White American (54.1% Non-Hispanic White, 12.1% White Hispanic)\n* 8.1% Black American (African American)\n* 7.2% Asian American\n* 4.7% Multiracial American\n* 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native\n* 0.6% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander\n* 12.0% some other race","Nevada\n\nHispanics or Latinos of any race made 26.5% of the population. In 1980, non-Hispanic whites made up 83.3% of the state's population.","Nevada\n\nThe principal ancestries of Nevada's residents in 2009 have been surveyed to be the following: \n* 20.8% Mexican\n* 13.3% German\n* 10.0% Irish\n* 9.2% English\n* 6.3% Italian\n* 3.8% American\n* 3.6% Scandinavian (1.4% Norwegian, 1.4% Swedish, and 0.8% Danish).","Nevada\n\nNevada is home to many cultures and nationalities. As of 2011, 63.6% of Nevada's population younger than age 1 were minorities. Las Vegas is minority majority city . Nevada also has a sizable Basque ancestry population. In Douglas, Mineral and Pershing counties, a plurality of residents are of Mexican ancestry, with Clark County (Las Vegas) alone being home to over 200,000 Mexican Americans. Nye County and Humboldt County have a plurality of Germans; and Washoe County has many Irish Americans. Americans of English descent form pluralities in Lincoln County, Churchill County, Lyon County, White Pine County and Eureka County. Las Vegas is home to rapid-growing ethnic communities, including Scandinavians, Italians, Poles, Greeks, Spaniards and Armenians. Though, Mexicans are the majority of Latinos in the state, Nevada has a relatively diverse Hispanic/Latino population.","Nevada\n\nAsian Americans lived in the state since the California Gold Rush of the 1850s brought thousands of Chinese miners to Washoe county. They were followed by a few hundred Japanese farm workers in the late 19th century. By the late 20th century, many immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam came to the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city now has one of America's most prolific Asian American communities, with a mostly Chinese and Taiwanese area known as \"Chinatown\" west of I-15 on Spring Mountain Road, and an \"Asiatown\" shopping mall for Asian customers located at Charleston Boulevard and Paradise Road. Filipino Americans form the largest Asian American group in the state, with a population of more than 113,000. They comprise 56.5% of the Asian American population in Nevada and constitute about 4.3% of the entire state's population.","Nevada\n\nLargely African American sections of Las Vegas (\"the Meadows\") and Reno can be found. Many current African-American Nevadans are newly transplanted residents from California.","Nevada\n\nAccording to the 2000 US Census, 16.19% of Nevada's population aged 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 1.59% speak Filipino, and 1% speak Chinese.","Nevada\n\nAt the 2010 census, 6.9% of the state's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% were under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up about 49.5% of the population.","Nevada\n\nLas Vegas was a major destination for immigrants from South Asia and Latin America seeking employment in the gaming and hospitality industries during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, but farming and construction are the biggest employers of immigrant labor.","Nevada\n\nSenior citizens (over age 65) and young children or teenagers (under age 18) form large sections of the Nevada population. The religious makeup of Nevadans includes large communities of Mormons, Roman Catholics and Evangelicals; each is known for higher birth rates and a younger than national average age. American Jews represent a large proportion of the active adult retirement community.","Nevada\n\nData from 2000 and 2005 suggests the following figures:","Nevada\n\nReligion","Nevada\n\nChurch attendance in Nevada is among the lowest of all US states. In a 2009 Gallup poll only 30% of Nevadans said they attended church weekly or almost weekly, compared to 42% of all Americans (only four states were found to have a lower attendance rate than Nevada).","Nevada\n\nMajor religious affiliations of the people of Nevada are: Roman Catholic 25%, Protestant 35%, no religion 28%, Latter-day Saint 4%, Jewish 2%, Hindu less than 1%, Buddhist 0.5% and Islam less than 0.1%.. Parts of Nevada (in the eastern parts of the state) are situated in the Mormon Corridor.","Nevada\n\nThe largest denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church with 451,070; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 175,149; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 45,535; Buddhist congregations 14,727; Bahá'í 1,723; and Muslim 1,700. The Jewish community is represented by The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and Chabad.","Nevada\n\nEconomy","Nevada\n\nThe economy of Nevada is tied to tourism (especially entertainment and gambling related), mining, and cattle ranching. Nevada's industrial outputs are tourism, mining, machinery, printing and publishing, food processing, and electric equipment. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Nevada's total state product in 2010 was $126 billion. The state's per capita personal income in 2009 was $38,578, ranking nineteenth in the nation. Nevada's state debt in 2012 was calculated to be $7.5 billion, or $3,100 per taxpayer. As of December 2014, the state's unemployment rate was 6.8%.","Nevada\n\nEntertainment and tourism","Nevada\n\nThe economy of Nevada has long been tied to vice industries. \"[Nevada was] founded on mining and refounded on sin—beginning with prizefighting and easy divorce a century ago and later extending to gaming and prostitution\", said the August 21, 2010 issue of The Economist. \nResort areas like Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Laughlin attract visitors from around the nation and world. In FY08 the total of 266 casinos with gaming revenue over $1m for the year, brought in revenue of $12 billion in gaming revenue, and $13 billion in non-gaming revenue. A review of gaming statistics can be found at Nevada gaming area.","Nevada\n\nNevada has by far the most hotel rooms per capita in the United States. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, there were 187,301 rooms in 584 hotels (of 15 or more rooms). The state is ranked just below California, Texas, Florida, and New York in total number of rooms, but those states have much larger populations. Nevada has one hotel room for every 14 residents, far above the national average of one hotel room per 67 residents.","Nevada\n\nProstitution is legal in parts of Nevada in licensed brothels, but only counties with populations under 400,000 residents have the option to legalize it. Although prostitution employs roughly 300 women as independent contractors, and not a major part of the Nevada economy, it is a very visible endeavor. Of the 14 counties that are permitted to legalize prostitution under state law, 8 have chosen to legalize brothels. State law prohibits prostitution in Clark County (which contains Las Vegas), and Washoe County (which contains Reno). However, prostitution is legal in Storey County, which is part of the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area.","Nevada\n\nMining","Nevada\n\nIn portions of the state outside of the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas mining plays a major economic role. By value, gold is by far the most important mineral mined. In 2004, 6800000 oz of gold worth $2.84 billion were mined in Nevada, and the state accounted for 8.7% of world gold production (see Gold mining in Nevada). Silver is a distant second, with 10300000 oz worth $69 million mined in 2004 (see Silver mining in Nevada). Other minerals mined in Nevada include construction aggregates, copper, gypsum, diatomite and lithium. Despite its rich deposits, the cost of mining in Nevada is generally high, and output is very sensitive to world commodity prices.","Nevada\n\nCattle ranching","Nevada\n\nCattle ranching is a major economic activity in rural Nevada. Nevada's agricultural outputs are cattle, hay, alfalfa, dairy products, onions, and potatoes. As of January 1, 2006, there were an estimated 500,000 head of cattle and 70,000 head of sheep in Nevada. Most of these animals forage on rangeland in the summer, with supplemental feed in the winter. Calves are generally shipped to out-of-state feedlots in the fall to be fattened for market. Over 90% of Nevada's 484000 acre of cropland is used to grow hay, mostly alfalfa, for livestock feed.","Nevada\n\nTaxation","Nevada\n\nNevada does not have a state income tax.","Nevada\n\nThe state sales tax (similar to VAT or GST) in Nevada is variable depending upon the county. The minimum statewide tax rate is 6.85%, with five counties (Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, and Mineral) charging this minimum amount. All other counties assess various option taxes, making the combined state/county sales taxes rate in one county as high as 8.1%, which is the amount charged in Clark County. Sales tax in the other major counties: Carson at 7.745%, Washoe at 7.725%. The minimum Nevada sales tax rate changed on July 1, 2009.","Nevada\n\nLargest employers","Nevada\n\nThe largest employers in the state, as of the first fiscal quarter of 2011, are the following, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation:","Nevada\n\nTransportation","Nevada\n\nAmtrak's California Zephyr train uses the Union Pacific's original transcontinental railroad line in daily service from Chicago to Emeryville, California, serving Elko, Winnemucca, and Reno. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches also provide connecting service from Las Vegas to trains at Needles, California, Los Angeles, and Bakersfield, California; and from Stateline, Nevada, to Sacramento, California. Las Vegas has had no passenger train service since Amtrak's Desert Wind was discontinued in 1997, although there have been a number of proposals to re-introduce service to either Los Angeles or Southern California.","Nevada\n\nThe Union Pacific Railroad has some railroads in the north and south of Nevada. Greyhound Lines provide some bus service to the state.","Nevada\n\nInterstate 15 passes through the southern tip of the state, serving Las Vegas and other communities. I-215 and spur route I-515 also serve the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Interstate 80 crosses through the northern part of Nevada, roughly following the path of the Humboldt River from Utah in the east and the Truckee River westward through Reno into California. It has a spur route, I-580. Nevada also is served by several U.S. highways: US 6, US 50, US 93, US 95 and US 395. There are also 189 Nevada state routes. Many of Nevada's counties have a system of county routes as well, though many are not signed or paved in rural areas. Nevada is one of a few states in the U.S. that does not have a continuous interstate highway linking its two major population centers—the road connection between the Las Vegas and Reno areas is made using a combination of Interstate and U.S. highways.","Nevada\n\nThe state is one of just a few in the country to allow semi-trailer trucks with three trailers—what might be called a \"road train\" in Australia. But American versions are usually smaller, in part because they must ascend and descend some fairly steep mountain passes.","Nevada\n\nRTC Transit is the public transit system in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The agency is the largest transit agency in the state and operates a network of bus service across the Las Vegas Valley, including the use of The Deuce, double-decker buses, on the Las Vegas Strip and several outlying routes. RTC RIDE operates a system of local transit bus service throughout the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. Other transit systems in the state include Carson City's JAC. Most other counties in the state do not have public transportation at all.","Nevada\n\nAdditionally, a 4 mi monorail system provides public transportation in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Monorail line services several casino properties and the Las Vegas Convention Center on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip, running near Paradise Road, with a possible future extension to McCarran International Airport. Several hotels also run their own monorail lines between each other, which are typically several blocks in length.","Nevada\n\nMcCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is the busiest airport serving Nevada. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport (formerly known as the Reno Cannon International Airport) is the other major airport in the state.","Nevada\n\nLaw and government","Nevada\n\nGovernment","Nevada\n\nThe government of Nevada is defined under the Constitution of Nevada as a democratic republic with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Nevada and their cabinet along with the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Nevada Legislature which includes the Assembly and the Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Nevada and lower courts.","Nevada\n\nThe Governor of Nevada is the chief magistrate of Nevada, the head of the executive department of the state's government, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current Governor of Nevada is Brian Sandoval, a Republican.","Nevada\n\nThe Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body divided into an Assembly and Senate. Members of the Assembly serve for 2 years, and members of the Senate serve for 4 years. Both houses of the Nevada Legislature will be impacted by term limits starting in 2010, as Senators and Assemblymen/women will be limited to a maximum of 12 years service in each house (by appointment or election which is a lifetime limit)—a provision of the constitution which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court of Nevada in a unanimous decision. Each session of the Legislature meets for a constitutionally mandated 120 days in every odd-numbered year, or longer if the Governor calls a special session.","Nevada\n\nThe Supreme Court of Nevada is the state supreme court. Original jurisdiction is divided between the District Courts (with general jurisdiction), and Justice Courts and Municipal Courts (both of limited jurisdiction).","Nevada\n\nIncorporated towns in Nevada, known as cities, are given the authority to legislate anything not prohibited by law. A recent movement has begun to permit home rule in incorporated Nevada cities to give them more flexibility and fewer restrictions from the Legislature. Town Boards for unincorporated towns are limited local governments created by either the local county commission, or by referendum, and form a purely advisory role and in no way diminish the responsibilities of the county commission that creates them.","Nevada\n\nState agencies","Nevada\n\nState departments and agencies:","Nevada\n\n* Attorney General\n* Department of Business & Industry\n* Department of Conservation & Natural Resources\n* Consumer Health Assistance\n* Controller's Office\n* Department of Corrections\n* Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs\n* Nevada Commission on Economic Development\n* Department of Education\n* Nevada Secretary of State, Election Division\n* Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation\n* Gaming Control Board\n* Governor's Office\n* Department of Health and Human Services\n* Department of Information Technology\n* Department of Justice\n* Lieutenant Governor\n* Nevada Military Department\n* Division of Minerals, Commission on Mineral Resources\n* Department of Motor Vehicles\n* Nevada National Guard\n* Department of Personnel\n* Advisory Council for Prosecuting Attorneys\n* Public Employees Benefit Program\n* Public Employees Retirement System\n* Department of Public Safety\n* Nevada Public Utilities Commission \n* Department of Secretary of State\n* Department of Taxation\n* Commission on Tourism\n* Department of Transportation\n* Nevada State Treasurer\n* Universities and Community Colleges of Nevada\n* Nevada Office of Veterans' Services\n* Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education\n* Nevada Department of Wildlife","Nevada\n\nLaw","Nevada\n\nIn 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a \"barren desert\" began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next:","Nevada\n\n\"Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Its strategy was to legalize all sorts of things that were illegal in California ... after easy divorce came easy marriage and casino gaming. Even prostitution is legal in Nevada, in any county that decides to allow it. Quite a few of them do.\"","Nevada\n\nWith the advent of air conditioning for summertime use and Southern Nevada's mild winters, the fortunes of the state began to turn around, as it did for Arizona, making these two states the fastest growing in the Union.","Nevada\n\nProstitution","Nevada\n\nNevada is the only state where prostitution is legal (under the form of licensed brothels).","Nevada\n\nProstitution is specifically illegal by state law in the state's larger jurisdictions, which include Clark County (which contains Las Vegas), Washoe County (which contains Reno), and the independent city of Carson City. Otherwise, it is legal in those counties which specifically vote to permit it. When permitted, brothels are only located in rural or isolated parts of counties.","Nevada\n\nDivorce","Nevada\n\nNevada's early reputation as a \"divorce haven\" arose from the fact that, before the no-fault divorce revolution in the 1970s, divorces were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. Already having legalized gaming and prostitution, Nevada continued the trend of boosting its profile by adopting one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation. This resulted in Williams v. North Carolina (1942), , in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that North Carolina had to give \"full faith and credit\" to a Nevada divorce.","Nevada\n\nNevada's divorce rate tops the national average.","Nevada\n\nTaxes","Nevada\n\nNevada's tax laws are intended to draw new residents and businesses to the state. Nevada has no personal income tax or corporate income tax. Since Nevada does not collect income data it cannot share such information with the federal government, the IRS.","Nevada\n\nNevada's state sales tax rate is 6.85 percent. Counties may impose additional rates via voter approval or through approval of the Legislature; therefore, the applicable sales tax will vary by county from 6.85 percent to 8.1 percent in Clark County.\nClark County, which includes Las Vegas, imposes four separate county option taxes in addition to the statewide rate – 0.25 percent for flood control, 0.50 percent for mass transit, 0.25 percent for infrastructure, and 0.25 percent for more cops. In Washoe County, which includes Reno, the sales tax rate is 7.725 percent, due to county option rates for flood control, the ReTRAC train trench project, mass transit, and an additional county rate approved under the Local Government Tax Act of 1991.","Nevada\n\nThe lodging tax rate in unincorporated Clark County, which includes the Las Vegas Strip, is 12%. Within the boundaries of the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson, the lodging tax rate is 13%.","Nevada\n\nCorporations such as Apple Inc. allegedly have set up investment companies and funds in Nevada to avoid paying taxes.","Nevada\n\nGay rights","Nevada\n\nIn 2009, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill creating a domestic partnership registry that enables gay couples to enjoy the same rights as married couples. As of 2015, gay marriage is legal in Nevada.","Nevada\n\nIncorporation","Nevada\n\nNevada provides friendly environment for the formation of corporations, and many (especially California) businesses have incorporated in Nevada to take advantage of the benefits of the Nevada statute. Nevada corporations offer great flexibility to the Board of Directors and simplify or avoid many of the rules that are cumbersome to business managers in some other states. In addition, Nevada has no franchise tax, although it does require businesses to have a license for which the business has to pay the state.","Nevada\n\nFinancial institutions","Nevada\n\nSimilarly, many U.S. states have usury laws limiting the amount of interest a lender can charge, but federal law allows corporations to 'import' these laws from their home state.","Nevada\n\nAlcohol and other drugs","Nevada\n\nNon-alcohol drug laws are a notable exception to Nevada's otherwise libertarian principles. It is notable for having the harshest penalties for drug offenders in the country. Nevada remains the only state to still use mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for marijuana possession. However, it is now a misdemeanor for possession of less than one ounce but only for persons age 21 and older. In 2006, voters in Nevada defeated attempts to allow possession of 1 ounce of marijuana (for personal use) without being criminally prosecuted, (55% against legalization, 45% in favor of legalization). However, Nevada is one of the states that allows for use of marijuana for medical reasons (though this remains illegal under federal law).","Nevada\n\nNevada has very liberal alcohol laws. Bars are permitted to remain open 24 hours, with no \"last call\". Liquor stores, convenience stores and supermarkets may also sell alcohol 24 hours per day, and may sell beer, wine and spirits.","Nevada\n\nSmoking","Nevada\n\nNevada voters enacted a smoking ban (\"The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act\") in November 2006 that became effective on December 8, 2006. It outlaws smoking in most workplaces and public places. Smoking is permitted in bars, but only if the bar serves no food, or the bar is inside a larger casino. Smoking is also permitted in casinos, certain hotel rooms, tobacco shops, and brothels. However, some businesses do not obey this law and the government tends not to enforce it. In 2011, smoking restrictions in Nevada were loosened for certain places which allow only people age 21 or older inside.","Nevada\n\nCrime","Nevada\n\nIn 2006, the crime rate in Nevada was about 24% higher than the national average rate, though crime has since decreased. Property crimes accounted for about 85% of the total crime rate in Nevada, which was 21% higher than the national rate. The remaining 20.3% were violent crimes. A complete listing of crime data in the state for 2013 can be found here:","Nevada\n\nPolitics","Nevada\n\nState politics","Nevada\n\nDue to heavy growth in the southern portion of the state, there is a noticeable divide between politics of northern and southern Nevada. The north has long maintained control of key positions in state government, even while the population of southern Nevada is larger than the rest of the state combined. The north sees the high population south becoming more influential and perhaps commanding majority rule. The south sees the north as the \"old guard\" trying to rule as an oligarchy. This has fostered some resentment, however, due to a term limit amendment passed by Nevada voters in 1994, and again in 1996, some of the north's hold over key positions will soon be forfeited to the south, leaving Northern Nevada with less power.","Nevada\n\nHistorically, northern Nevada has been very Republican. The more rural counties of the north are among the most conservative regions of the country. Washoe County, home to Reno, has historically been strongly Republican, but has become more of a swing county at least at the federal level. Clark County, home to Las Vegas, has become increasingly Democratic.","Nevada\n\nClark and Washoe counties have long dominated the state's politics. Between them, they cast 87 percent of Nevada's vote, and elect a substantial majority of the state legislature. The great majority of the state's elected officials are either from Las Vegas or Reno.","Nevada\n\nNational politics","Nevada\n\nNevada has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1912, except in 1976 when it voted for Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter. This includes Nevada supporting Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and Democrat Barack Obama winning the state in both 2008 and 2012. This gives the state status as a political bellwether. Since 1912, Nevada has been carried by the presidential victor the most out of any state (25 of 26 elections). Nevada was one of only three states won by John F. Kennedy in the American West in the election of 1960, albeit narrowly.","Nevada\n\nThe state's U.S. Senators are Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader, and Republican Dean Heller. The Governorship is held by Brian Sandoval, a Republican from Reno.","Nevada\n\nVoting","Nevada\n\nNevada is the only U.S. state to have a none of the above option available on its ballots. Officially called None of These Candidates, the option was first added to the ballot in 1975 and is currently used in all elections for president and \nall state constitutional positions. In the event that None of These Candidates \"wins\" the election, the candidate with the next-highest total is still elected.","Nevada\n\nEducation","Nevada\n\nEducation in Nevada is achieved through public and private elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as colleges and universities.","Nevada\n\nA May 2015 educational reform law expanded school choice options to 450,000 Nevada students who are at up to 185% of the federal poverty level. Education savings accounts (ESAs) are enabled by the new law to help pay the tuition for private schools. Alternatively, families \"can use funds in these accounts to also pay for textbooks and tutoring.\"","Nevada\n\nPublic school districts","Nevada\n\nPublic school districts in Nevada include:\n*Carson City School District\n*Churchill County School District\n*Clark County School District, the fifth largest school district in the United States\n*Douglas County School District\n*Elko County School District\n*Esmeralda County School District\n*Eureka County School District\n*Humboldt County School District\n*Lander County School District\n*Lincoln County School District\n*Lyon County School District\n*Mineral County School District\n*Nye County School District\n*Pershing County School District\n*Storey County School District\n*Washoe County School District\n*White Pine County School District","Nevada\n\nColleges and universities","Nevada\n\n* Nevada System of Higher Education\n** University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)\n** University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada)\n** Nevada State College\n** Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC)\n** Great Basin College\n** College of Southern Nevada (CSN)\n** Western Nevada College (WNC)\n* Sierra Nevada College\n* Touro University Nevada\n* Roseman University of Health Sciences","Nevada\n\nResearch institutes","Nevada\n\n* Desert Research Institute","Nevada\n\nParks and recreation areas","Nevada\n\nRecreation areas maintained by the federal government","Nevada\n\nNorthern Nevada","Nevada\n\n* California National Historic Trail\n* Humboldt National Forest\n* Great Basin National Park\n* Old Spanish National Historic Trail\n* Pony Express National Historic Trail","Nevada\n\nSouthern Nevada","Nevada\n\n* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Preserve\n* Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park\n* Toiyabe National Forest\n* Inyo National Forest\n* Mount Charleston and the Mount Charleston Wilderness\n* Spring Mountains and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area\n* Lake Mead National Recreation Area\n* Death Valley National Park","Nevada\n\nWilderness","Nevada\n\nThere are 68 designated wilderness areas in Nevada, protecting some 6579014 acre under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management.","Nevada\n\nState parks","Nevada\n\nThe Nevada state parks comprise protected areas managed by the state of Nevada, including state parks, state historic sites, and state recreation areas. There are currently 24 state park units, including Van Sickle Bi-State Park which opened in July 2011 and is operated in partnership with the state of California.","Nevada\n\nSports","Nevada\n\nNevada is not well known for its professional sports teams, but the state takes pride in college sports, most notably its college football. College teams in the state include the Nevada Wolf Pack (representing the University of Nevada, Reno) of the Mountain West Conference (MW)—and the UNLV Rebels (representing the University of Nevada, Las Vegas), also of the MW. In 2012, The University of Nevada, Reno joined its cross-state rival in the MW.","Nevada\n\nUNLV is most remembered for its men's basketball program, which experienced its height of supremacy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Runnin' Rebels became one of the most elite programs in the country. In 1990, UNLV won the Men's Division I Championship by defeating Duke 103–73, which set tournament records for most points scored by a team and largest margin of victory in the national title game.","Nevada\n\nIn 1991, UNLV finished the regular season undefeated, a feat that would not be matched in Division I men's basketball for more than 20 years. Forward Larry Johnson won several awards, including the Naismith Award. UNLV reached the Final Four yet again, but lost their national semifinal against Duke 79–77. The Runnin' Rebels were the Associated Press pre-season No. 1 back to back (1989–90, 1990–91). North Carolina is the only other team to accomplish that (2007–08, 2008–09).","Nevada\n\nLas Vegas has hosted several professional boxing matches, most recently at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with bouts such as Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao.","Nevada\n\nAlong with significant rises in popularity in mixed martial arts (MMA), a number of fight leagues such as the UFC have taken interest in Las Vegas as a primary event location due to the number of suitable host venues. The Mandalay Bay Events Center and MGM Grand Garden Arena are among some of the more popular venues for fighting events such as MMA and have hosted several UFC and other MMA title fights. The city has held the most UFC events with 86 events.","Nevada\n\nThe state is also home to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which hosts the Kobalt Tools 400. The Thomas & Mack Center, home to UNLV men's basketball, also hosts two major rodeo events—the National Finals Rodeo and the PBR World Finals, the latter operated by the bull riding-only Professional Bull Riders. Finally, Sam Boyd Stadium, home to the UNLV football team, also hosts the country's biggest rugby event, the USA Sevens tournament in the World Rugby Sevens Series, as well as the AMA Supercross Championship.","Nevada\n\nThe state is also home to one of the most famous tennis players of all time, Andre Agassi, and current baseball superstar Bryce Harper.","Nevada\n\nNevada sports teams","Nevada\n\nProfessional\n* Las Vegas NHL team, National Hockey League\n* Las Vegas 51s, Minor League Baseball (AAA)\n* Reno Aces, Minor League Baseball (AAA)\n* Reno Bighorns, NBA D-League\n* Nevada Pumas, QuickHit Football League","Nevada\n\nCollege\n* Nevada Wolf Pack\n* UNLV Rebels\n* Western Nevada College Wildcats\nThe Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame provides educational resources and promotes the aerospace and aviation history of the state.","Nevada\n\nMilitary","Nevada\n\nSeveral United States Navy ships have been named USS Nevada in honor of the state. They include:\n* USS Nevada (1865)\n* USS Nevada (BM-8)\n* USS Nevada (BB-36)\n* USS Nevada (SSBN-733)","Nevada\n\nArea 51 is located near Groom Lake, a dry salt lake bed. The much smaller Creech Air Force Base is located in Indian Springs, Nevada; Hawthorne Army Depot in Hawthorne; the Tonopah Test Range near Tonopah; and Nellis AFB in the northeast part of the Las Vegas Valley. Naval Air Station Fallon in Fallon; NSAWC, (pronounced \"EN-SOCK\") in western Nevada. NSAWC consolidated three Command Centers into a single Command Structure under a flag officer on July 11, 1996. The Naval Strike Warfare Center (STRIKE \"U\") based at NAS Fallon since 1984, was joined with the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School (TOPDOME) which both moved from NAS Miramar as a result of a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision in 1993 which transferred that installation back to the Marine Corps as MCAS Miramar. The Seahawk Weapon School was added in 1998 to provide tactical training for Navy helicopters.","Nevada\n\nThese bases host a number of activities including the Joint Unmanned Aerial Systems Center of Excellence, the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, Nevada Test and Training Range, Red Flag, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force Warfare Center, the United States Air Force Weapons School, and the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School.","Nevada\n\nSongs about Nevada","Nevada\n\n* \"Silver State Fanfare\" – the official state march by Gerald G. Willis. Codified by the Nevada Legislature in 2001 at NRS 235.035\n* \"Nevada State March\" by J.P. Meder (1848-1908), 1894\n* \"Sin City\" by AC/DC\n* \"Sands of Nevada\" from Mark Knopfler's 2000 release Sailing to Philadelphia\n* \"Sin City\" from Limbeck's 2005 release Let Me Come Home\n* \"Home Means Nevada\", the state song of Nevada, by Bertha Rafetto\n* \"Nevada\" by Riders in the Sky from the album Best of the West\n* \"Night Time In Nevada\" by Dulmage/Clint/Pascoe, 1931\n* \"Nevada's Grace\" by Atreyu, twelfth track off 2004's The Curse\n* \"Battle Born\" by The Killers, last track on the 2012 album also named Battle Born\n* \"Winner's Casino\" by Richmond Fontaine off the 2002 album Winnemucca\n* \"Reno\" by Doug Supernaw off the album Red and Rio Grande released in 1993. * \"Ooh Las Vegas\" by Gram Parsons off the album Return of the Grievous Angel. * \"Darcy Farrow\" by Jimmie Dale Gilmore off the album One Endless Night. * \"Viva Las Vegas\" recorded by Elvis Presley (1963)\n* \"Goldfield\" by Rocky Votolato off of the album Makers (2006)\n* \"Vegas Lights\" from Panic!","Nevada\n\nat the Disco\n* Album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die (released 2013)","Nevada\n\nFuture issues","Nevada\n\nNevada enjoys many economic advantages, and the southern portion of the state enjoys mild winter weather, but rapid growth has led to some overcrowded roads and schools. Nevada has the nation's 5th largest school district in the Clark County School District (projected fall 2007 enrollment is 314,000 students grades K-12).","Nevada\n\nCoyote Springs is a proposed community for 240,000 inhabitants in Clark and Lincoln counties. It would be Nevada's largest planned city. The town is being developed by Harvey Whittemore and has generated some controversy because of environmental concerns and allegations of political favoritism.","Nevada\n\nState symbols","Nevada\n\n* State animal: desert bighorn sheep\n* State artifact: Tule duck decoy\n* State bird: mountain bluebird\n* State colors: silver and blue\n* State fish: Lahontan cutthroat trout\n* State flower: sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)\n* State fossil: ichthyosaur\n* State grass: Indian ricegrass\n* State march: \"Silver State Fanfare\" by Gerald G. Willis \n* State metal: silver (Ag)\n* State mottos: \"Battle Born\" and \"All For Our Country\"\n* State precious gemstone: Virgin Valley black fire opal\n* State semiprecious gemstone: Nevada turquoise\n* State slogan: \"The Battle Born State\"\n* State song: \"Home Means Nevada\" by Bertha Raffetto\n* State reptile: desert tortoise\n* State rock: sandstone\n* State soil: Orovada series\n* State tartan: A particular tartan designed for Nevada by Richard Zygmunt Pawlowski\n* State trees: single-leaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) and bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)"],"string":"[\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada (Spanish for \\\"snow covered\\\") is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 35th most populous, and the 9th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area where three of the state's four largest incorporated cities are located. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Nevada is officially known as the \\\"Silver State\\\" due to the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the \\\"Battle Born State\\\", because it achieved statehood during the Civil War (the words \\\"Battle Born\\\" also appear on the state flag); as the \\\"Sage-brush State\\\", for the native plant of the same name; and as the \\\"Sage-hen State\\\". Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast and Utah to the east.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is largely desert and semiarid, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada lie on the western edge. About 86% of the state's land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government, both civilian and military.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nBefore European contact, Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes inhabited the land that is now Nevada. The first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada (snowy) due to the snow which covered the mountains in winter. The area formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and became part of Mexico when it gained independence in 1821. The United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a population boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, as the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War (the first being West Virginia).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada has a reputation for its libertarian laws. In 1940, with a population of just over 110,000 people, Nevada was by far the least populated state, with less than half the population of the next least-populated state. However, legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce laws transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination in the 20th century. Nevada is the only U.S. state where prostitution is legal, though it is illegal in Las Vegas (Clark County) and Reno (Washoe County) as well as Carson City, which is an independent city. The tourism industry remains Nevada's largest employer, with mining continuing as a substantial sector of the economy: Nevada is the fourth-largest producer of gold in the world.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nEtymology and pronunciation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe name \\\"Nevada\\\" comes from the Spanish nevada, meaning \\\"snow-covered\\\", after the Sierra Nevada (\\\"snow-covered mountain range\\\").\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNative Nevadans pronounce the second syllable of their state name using the vowel of \\\"bad\\\". Many from outside the Western United States pronounce it with the vowel of \\\"father\\\". Although the latter pronunciation is closer to the Spanish pronunciation, it is not the pronunciation preferred by Nevadans. State Assemblyman Harry Mortenson proposed a bill to recognize the alternate (quasi-Spanish) pronunciation of Nevada, though the bill was not supported by most legislators and never received a vote. The native pronunciation is the de facto official one, since it is the one used by the state legislature. The state's official tourism organization, TravelNevada, stylizes the name of the state as \\\"Nevăda\\\", with a breve accent over the a indicating the locally preferred pronunciation which is also available as a license plate design.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nGeography\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is almost entirely within the Basin and Range Province, and is broken up by many north-south mountain ranges. Most of these ranges have endorheic valleys between them, which belies the image portrayed by the term Great Basin.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMuch of the northern part of the state is within the Great Basin, a mild desert that experiences hot temperatures in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter. Occasionally, moisture from the Arizona Monsoon will cause summer thunderstorms; Pacific storms may blanket the area with snow. The state's highest recorded temperature was 125 °F in Laughlin (elevation of 605 ft) on June 29, 1994. The coldest recorded temperature was set in San Jacinto in 1972, in the northeastern portion of the state.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Humboldt River crosses the state from east to west across the northern part of the state, draining into the Humboldt Sink near Lovelock. Several rivers drain from the Sierra Nevada eastward, including the Walker, Truckee, and Carson rivers. All of these rivers are endorheic basins, ending in Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, and the Carson Sink, respectively. However, not all of Nevada is within the Great Basin. Tributaries of the Snake River drain the far north, while the Colorado River, which also forms much of the boundary with Arizona, drains much of southern Nevada.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe mountain ranges, some of which have peaks above 13000 ft, harbor lush forests high above desert plains, creating sky islands for endemic species. The valleys are often no lower in elevation than 3000 ft, while some in central Nevada are above 6000 ft.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe southern third of the state, where the Las Vegas area is situated, is within the Mojave Desert. The area receives less rain in the winter but is closer to the Arizona Monsoon in the summer. The terrain is also lower, mostly below 4000 ft, creating conditions for hot summer days and cool to chilly winter nights (due to temperature inversion).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada and California have by far the longest diagonal line (in respect to the cardinal directions) as a state boundary at just over 400 mi. This line begins in Lake Tahoe nearly 4 mi offshore (in the direction of the boundary), and continues to the Colorado River where the Nevada, California, and Arizona boundaries merge 12 mi southwest of the Laughlin Bridge.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe largest mountain range in the southern portion of the state is the Spring Mountain Range, just west of Las Vegas. The state's lowest point is along the Colorado River, south of Laughlin.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada has 172 mountain summits with 2000 ft of prominence. Nevada ranks second in the US, behind Alaska, and ahead of California, Montana, and Washington. Nevada is the most mountainous state in the contiguous United States.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nClimate\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is the driest state in the United States. It is made up of mostly desert and semiarid climate regions, and, with the exception of the Las Vegas Valley, the average summer diurnal temperature range approaches 40 F-change in much of the state. While winters in northern Nevada are long and fairly cold, the winter season in the southern part of the state tends to be of short duration and mild. Most parts of Nevada receive scarce precipitation during the year. Most rain that falls in the state falls on the lee side (east and northeast slopes) of the Sierra Nevada.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe average annual rainfall per year is about 7 in; the wettest parts get around 40 in. Nevada's highest recorded temperature is 125 F at Laughlin on June 29, 1994 and the lowest recorded temperature is at San Jacinto on January 8, 1937. Nevada's 125 F reading is the third highest statewide record highAgilan are of a U.S. state, just behind Arizona's 128 F reading and California's 134 F reading.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nVegetation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe vegetation of Nevada is diverse and differs by state area. Nevada contains six biotic zones: alpine, sub-alpine, ponderosa pine, pinion-juniper, sagebrush and creosotebush.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCounties\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. Carson City is officially a consolidated municipality; however, for many purposes under state law it is considered to be a county. As of 1919 there were 17 counties in the state, ranging from 146 to.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLake County, one of the original nine counties formed in 1861, was renamed Roop County in 1862. Part of the county became Lassen County, California in 1864. The portion that remained in Nevada was annexed in 1883 by Washoe County.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn 1969 Ormsby County was dissolved and the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City was created by the Legislature in its place co-terminous with the old boundaries of Ormsby County.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nBullfrog County was formed in 1987 from part of Nye County. After the creation was declared unconstitutional the county was abolished in 1989.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nHumboldt county was designated as a county in 1856 by Utah Territorial Legislature and again in 1861 by the new Nevada Legislature.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nClark County is the most populous county in Nevada, accounting for nearly three-quarters of its residents. Las Vegas, Nevada's most populous city, has been the county seat since the county was created. Clark County attracts numerous tourists. An estimated 44 million people visited Clark County in 2014.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nWashoe County is the second most populous county of Nevada. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County includes the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLyon County is the third most populous county. It was one of the nine original counties created in 1861. It was named after Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union General to be killed in the Civil War. Its current county seat is Yerington. Its first county seat was established at Dayton on November 29, 1861.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nHistory\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nBefore 1861\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nFrancisco Garcés was the first European in the area, Nevada was annexed as a part of the Spanish Empire in the northwestern territory of New Spain. Administratively, the area of Nevada was part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Nevada became a part of Alta California (Upper California) province in 1804 when the Californias were split. \\nWith the Mexican War of Independence won in 1821, the province of Alta California became a territory (state) of Mexico, with small population. \\nJedediah Smith entered the Las Vegas Valley in 1827, and Peter Skene Ogden traveled the Humboldt River in 1828. When the Mormons created the State of Deseret in 1847, they laid claim to all of Nevada within the Great Basin and the Colorado watershed. In June 1855, William Bringhurst and 29 fellow Mormon missionaries from Utah arrived at this site just northeast of downtown Las Vegas and built a 150-foot square adobe fort, the first permanent structure erected in the valley, which remained under the control of Salt Lake City until the winter of 1858-1859.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAs a result of the Mexican–American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico permanently lost Alta California in 1848. The new areas acquired by the United States continued to be administered as territories. As part of the Mexican Cession (1848) and the subsequent California Gold Rush that used Emigrant Trails through the area, the state's area evolved first as part of the Utah Territory, then the Nevada Territory (March 2, 1861; named for the Sierra Nevada).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSee History of Utah, History of Las Vegas, and the discovery of the first major U.S. deposit of silver ore in Comstock Lode under Virginia City, Nevada in 1859.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSeparation from Utah Territory\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nOn March 2, 1861, the Nevada Territory separated from the Utah Territory and adopted its current name, shortened from Sierra Nevada (Spanish for \\\"snow-covered mountain range\\\").\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe 1861 southern boundary is commemorated by Nevada Historical Markers 57 and 58 in Lincoln and Nye counties.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nStatehood (1864)\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nEight days before the presidential election of 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in the union. Statehood was rushed to the date of October 31 to help ensure Abraham Lincoln's reelection on November 8 and post-Civil War Republican dominance in Congress, as Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more industrialized Union. As it turned out, however, Lincoln and the Republicans won the election handily, and did not need Nevada's help.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is one of only two states to significantly expand its borders after admission to the Union. (The other is Missouri, which acquired additional territory in 1837 due to the Platte Purchase.)\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn 1866 another part of the western Utah Territory was added to Nevada in the eastern part of the state, setting the current eastern boundary.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada achieved its current southern boundaries on January 18, 1867, when it absorbed the portion of Pah-Ute County in the Arizona Territory west of the Colorado River, essentially all of present-day Nevada south of the 37th parallel. The transfer was prompted by the discovery of gold in the area, and it was thought by officials that Nevada would be better able to oversee the expected population boom. This area includes most of what is now Clark County.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMining shaped Nevada's economy for many years (see Silver mining in Nevada). When Mark Twain lived in Nevada during the period described in Roughing It, mining had led to an industry of speculation and immense wealth. However, both mining and population declined in the late 19th century. However, the rich silver strike at Tonopah in 1900, followed by strikes in Goldfield and Rhyolite, again put Nevada's population on an upward trend.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nGambling and labor\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nUnregulated gambling was commonplace in the early Nevada mining towns but was outlawed in 1909 as part of a nationwide anti-gambling crusade. Because of subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada again legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. Governor Fred B. Balzar's signature enacted the most liberal divorce laws in the country and open gambling. The reforms came just eight days after the federal government presented the $49 million construction contract for Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNuclear testing\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Nevada Test Site, 65 mi northwest of the city of Las Vegas, was founded on January 11, 1951, for the testing of nuclear weapons. The site consists of about 1350 sqmi of desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a 1 ktonTNT bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat on January 27, 1951. The last atmospheric test was conducted on July 17, 1962, and the underground testing of weapons continued until September 23, 1992. The location is known for having the highest concentration of nuclear-detonated weapons in the U.S.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nOver 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. The primary reason for this is that homesteads were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout desert Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture without access to water (this pattern of ranching still prevails).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nDemographics\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nPopulation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Nevada was 2,890,845 on July 1, 2015, a 7.05% increase since the 2010 United States Census.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAccording to the Census Bureau's 2015 estimate, Nevada had an estimated population of 2,890,845 which is an increase of 51,746, from the prior year and an increase of 190,294, or 7.05%, since the year 2010. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 81,661 people (that is 170,451 births minus 88,790 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 337,043 people into the state. Immigration resulted in a net increase of 66,098 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 270,945 people. According to the 2006 census estimate, Nevada is the eighth fastest growing state in the nation.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe center of population of Nevada is located in southern Nye County. In this county, the unincorporated town of Pahrump, located 60 mi west of Las Vegas on the California state line, has grown very rapidly from 1980 to 2010. At the 2010 census, the town had 36,441 residents. Las Vegas was America's fastest-growing city and metropolitan area from 1960 to 2000, but has grown from a gulch of 100 people in 1900 to 10,000 by 1950 to 100,000 by 1970.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nFrom about the 1940s until 2003, Nevada was the fastest-growing state in the US percentage-wise. Between 1990 and 2000, Nevada's population increased 66%, while the USA's population increased 13%. Over two thirds of the population of the state lives in the Clark County Las Vegas metropolitan area.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nHenderson and North Las Vegas are among the USA's top 20 fastest-growing cities of over 100,000.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe rural community of Mesquite located 65 mi northeast of Las Vegas was an example of micropolitan growth in the 1990s and 2000s. Other desert towns like Indian Springs and Searchlight on the outskirts of Las Vegas have seen some growth as well.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLarge numbers of new residents in the state originate from California, which led some locals to feel that their state is being \\\"Californicated\\\".\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMajor cities\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nTop 10 locations by GDP\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nRural areas\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nA small percentage of Nevada's population lives in rural areas. The culture of these places differs significantly from that of the major metropolitan areas. People in these rural counties tend to be native Nevada residents, unlike in the Las Vegas and Reno areas, where the vast majority of the population was born in another state. The rural population is also less diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. Mining plays an important role in the economies of the rural counties, with tourism being less prominent. Ranching also has a long tradition in rural Nevada.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nRace\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAccording to the 2010 census estimates, racial distribution was as follows:\\n* 66.2% White American (54.1% Non-Hispanic White, 12.1% White Hispanic)\\n* 8.1% Black American (African American)\\n* 7.2% Asian American\\n* 4.7% Multiracial American\\n* 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native\\n* 0.6% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander\\n* 12.0% some other race\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nHispanics or Latinos of any race made 26.5% of the population. In 1980, non-Hispanic whites made up 83.3% of the state's population.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe principal ancestries of Nevada's residents in 2009 have been surveyed to be the following: \\n* 20.8% Mexican\\n* 13.3% German\\n* 10.0% Irish\\n* 9.2% English\\n* 6.3% Italian\\n* 3.8% American\\n* 3.6% Scandinavian (1.4% Norwegian, 1.4% Swedish, and 0.8% Danish).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is home to many cultures and nationalities. As of 2011, 63.6% of Nevada's population younger than age 1 were minorities. Las Vegas is minority majority city . Nevada also has a sizable Basque ancestry population. In Douglas, Mineral and Pershing counties, a plurality of residents are of Mexican ancestry, with Clark County (Las Vegas) alone being home to over 200,000 Mexican Americans. Nye County and Humboldt County have a plurality of Germans; and Washoe County has many Irish Americans. Americans of English descent form pluralities in Lincoln County, Churchill County, Lyon County, White Pine County and Eureka County. Las Vegas is home to rapid-growing ethnic communities, including Scandinavians, Italians, Poles, Greeks, Spaniards and Armenians. Though, Mexicans are the majority of Latinos in the state, Nevada has a relatively diverse Hispanic/Latino population.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAsian Americans lived in the state since the California Gold Rush of the 1850s brought thousands of Chinese miners to Washoe county. They were followed by a few hundred Japanese farm workers in the late 19th century. By the late 20th century, many immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam came to the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city now has one of America's most prolific Asian American communities, with a mostly Chinese and Taiwanese area known as \\\"Chinatown\\\" west of I-15 on Spring Mountain Road, and an \\\"Asiatown\\\" shopping mall for Asian customers located at Charleston Boulevard and Paradise Road. Filipino Americans form the largest Asian American group in the state, with a population of more than 113,000. They comprise 56.5% of the Asian American population in Nevada and constitute about 4.3% of the entire state's population.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLargely African American sections of Las Vegas (\\\"the Meadows\\\") and Reno can be found. Many current African-American Nevadans are newly transplanted residents from California.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAccording to the 2000 US Census, 16.19% of Nevada's population aged 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 1.59% speak Filipino, and 1% speak Chinese.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAt the 2010 census, 6.9% of the state's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% were under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up about 49.5% of the population.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLas Vegas was a major destination for immigrants from South Asia and Latin America seeking employment in the gaming and hospitality industries during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, but farming and construction are the biggest employers of immigrant labor.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSenior citizens (over age 65) and young children or teenagers (under age 18) form large sections of the Nevada population. The religious makeup of Nevadans includes large communities of Mormons, Roman Catholics and Evangelicals; each is known for higher birth rates and a younger than national average age. American Jews represent a large proportion of the active adult retirement community.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nData from 2000 and 2005 suggests the following figures:\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nReligion\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nChurch attendance in Nevada is among the lowest of all US states. In a 2009 Gallup poll only 30% of Nevadans said they attended church weekly or almost weekly, compared to 42% of all Americans (only four states were found to have a lower attendance rate than Nevada).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMajor religious affiliations of the people of Nevada are: Roman Catholic 25%, Protestant 35%, no religion 28%, Latter-day Saint 4%, Jewish 2%, Hindu less than 1%, Buddhist 0.5% and Islam less than 0.1%.. Parts of Nevada (in the eastern parts of the state) are situated in the Mormon Corridor.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe largest denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church with 451,070; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 175,149; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 45,535; Buddhist congregations 14,727; Bahá'í 1,723; and Muslim 1,700. The Jewish community is represented by The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and Chabad.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nEconomy\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe economy of Nevada is tied to tourism (especially entertainment and gambling related), mining, and cattle ranching. Nevada's industrial outputs are tourism, mining, machinery, printing and publishing, food processing, and electric equipment. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Nevada's total state product in 2010 was $126 billion. The state's per capita personal income in 2009 was $38,578, ranking nineteenth in the nation. Nevada's state debt in 2012 was calculated to be $7.5 billion, or $3,100 per taxpayer. As of December 2014, the state's unemployment rate was 6.8%.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nEntertainment and tourism\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe economy of Nevada has long been tied to vice industries. \\\"[Nevada was] founded on mining and refounded on sin—beginning with prizefighting and easy divorce a century ago and later extending to gaming and prostitution\\\", said the August 21, 2010 issue of The Economist. \\nResort areas like Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Laughlin attract visitors from around the nation and world. In FY08 the total of 266 casinos with gaming revenue over $1m for the year, brought in revenue of $12 billion in gaming revenue, and $13 billion in non-gaming revenue. A review of gaming statistics can be found at Nevada gaming area.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada has by far the most hotel rooms per capita in the United States. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, there were 187,301 rooms in 584 hotels (of 15 or more rooms). The state is ranked just below California, Texas, Florida, and New York in total number of rooms, but those states have much larger populations. Nevada has one hotel room for every 14 residents, far above the national average of one hotel room per 67 residents.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nProstitution is legal in parts of Nevada in licensed brothels, but only counties with populations under 400,000 residents have the option to legalize it. Although prostitution employs roughly 300 women as independent contractors, and not a major part of the Nevada economy, it is a very visible endeavor. Of the 14 counties that are permitted to legalize prostitution under state law, 8 have chosen to legalize brothels. State law prohibits prostitution in Clark County (which contains Las Vegas), and Washoe County (which contains Reno). However, prostitution is legal in Storey County, which is part of the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMining\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn portions of the state outside of the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas mining plays a major economic role. By value, gold is by far the most important mineral mined. In 2004, 6800000 oz of gold worth $2.84 billion were mined in Nevada, and the state accounted for 8.7% of world gold production (see Gold mining in Nevada). Silver is a distant second, with 10300000 oz worth $69 million mined in 2004 (see Silver mining in Nevada). Other minerals mined in Nevada include construction aggregates, copper, gypsum, diatomite and lithium. Despite its rich deposits, the cost of mining in Nevada is generally high, and output is very sensitive to world commodity prices.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCattle ranching\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCattle ranching is a major economic activity in rural Nevada. Nevada's agricultural outputs are cattle, hay, alfalfa, dairy products, onions, and potatoes. As of January 1, 2006, there were an estimated 500,000 head of cattle and 70,000 head of sheep in Nevada. Most of these animals forage on rangeland in the summer, with supplemental feed in the winter. Calves are generally shipped to out-of-state feedlots in the fall to be fattened for market. Over 90% of Nevada's 484000 acre of cropland is used to grow hay, mostly alfalfa, for livestock feed.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nTaxation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada does not have a state income tax.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe state sales tax (similar to VAT or GST) in Nevada is variable depending upon the county. The minimum statewide tax rate is 6.85%, with five counties (Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, and Mineral) charging this minimum amount. All other counties assess various option taxes, making the combined state/county sales taxes rate in one county as high as 8.1%, which is the amount charged in Clark County. Sales tax in the other major counties: Carson at 7.745%, Washoe at 7.725%. The minimum Nevada sales tax rate changed on July 1, 2009.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLargest employers\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe largest employers in the state, as of the first fiscal quarter of 2011, are the following, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation:\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nTransportation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAmtrak's California Zephyr train uses the Union Pacific's original transcontinental railroad line in daily service from Chicago to Emeryville, California, serving Elko, Winnemucca, and Reno. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches also provide connecting service from Las Vegas to trains at Needles, California, Los Angeles, and Bakersfield, California; and from Stateline, Nevada, to Sacramento, California. Las Vegas has had no passenger train service since Amtrak's Desert Wind was discontinued in 1997, although there have been a number of proposals to re-introduce service to either Los Angeles or Southern California.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Union Pacific Railroad has some railroads in the north and south of Nevada. Greyhound Lines provide some bus service to the state.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nInterstate 15 passes through the southern tip of the state, serving Las Vegas and other communities. I-215 and spur route I-515 also serve the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Interstate 80 crosses through the northern part of Nevada, roughly following the path of the Humboldt River from Utah in the east and the Truckee River westward through Reno into California. It has a spur route, I-580. Nevada also is served by several U.S. highways: US 6, US 50, US 93, US 95 and US 395. There are also 189 Nevada state routes. Many of Nevada's counties have a system of county routes as well, though many are not signed or paved in rural areas. Nevada is one of a few states in the U.S. that does not have a continuous interstate highway linking its two major population centers—the road connection between the Las Vegas and Reno areas is made using a combination of Interstate and U.S. highways.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe state is one of just a few in the country to allow semi-trailer trucks with three trailers—what might be called a \\\"road train\\\" in Australia. But American versions are usually smaller, in part because they must ascend and descend some fairly steep mountain passes.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nRTC Transit is the public transit system in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The agency is the largest transit agency in the state and operates a network of bus service across the Las Vegas Valley, including the use of The Deuce, double-decker buses, on the Las Vegas Strip and several outlying routes. RTC RIDE operates a system of local transit bus service throughout the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. Other transit systems in the state include Carson City's JAC. Most other counties in the state do not have public transportation at all.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAdditionally, a 4 mi monorail system provides public transportation in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Monorail line services several casino properties and the Las Vegas Convention Center on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip, running near Paradise Road, with a possible future extension to McCarran International Airport. Several hotels also run their own monorail lines between each other, which are typically several blocks in length.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMcCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is the busiest airport serving Nevada. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport (formerly known as the Reno Cannon International Airport) is the other major airport in the state.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLaw and government\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nGovernment\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe government of Nevada is defined under the Constitution of Nevada as a democratic republic with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Nevada and their cabinet along with the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Nevada Legislature which includes the Assembly and the Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Nevada and lower courts.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Governor of Nevada is the chief magistrate of Nevada, the head of the executive department of the state's government, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current Governor of Nevada is Brian Sandoval, a Republican.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body divided into an Assembly and Senate. Members of the Assembly serve for 2 years, and members of the Senate serve for 4 years. Both houses of the Nevada Legislature will be impacted by term limits starting in 2010, as Senators and Assemblymen/women will be limited to a maximum of 12 years service in each house (by appointment or election which is a lifetime limit)—a provision of the constitution which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court of Nevada in a unanimous decision. Each session of the Legislature meets for a constitutionally mandated 120 days in every odd-numbered year, or longer if the Governor calls a special session.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Supreme Court of Nevada is the state supreme court. Original jurisdiction is divided between the District Courts (with general jurisdiction), and Justice Courts and Municipal Courts (both of limited jurisdiction).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIncorporated towns in Nevada, known as cities, are given the authority to legislate anything not prohibited by law. A recent movement has begun to permit home rule in incorporated Nevada cities to give them more flexibility and fewer restrictions from the Legislature. Town Boards for unincorporated towns are limited local governments created by either the local county commission, or by referendum, and form a purely advisory role and in no way diminish the responsibilities of the county commission that creates them.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nState agencies\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nState departments and agencies:\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* Attorney General\\n* Department of Business & Industry\\n* Department of Conservation & Natural Resources\\n* Consumer Health Assistance\\n* Controller's Office\\n* Department of Corrections\\n* Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs\\n* Nevada Commission on Economic Development\\n* Department of Education\\n* Nevada Secretary of State, Election Division\\n* Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation\\n* Gaming Control Board\\n* Governor's Office\\n* Department of Health and Human Services\\n* Department of Information Technology\\n* Department of Justice\\n* Lieutenant Governor\\n* Nevada Military Department\\n* Division of Minerals, Commission on Mineral Resources\\n* Department of Motor Vehicles\\n* Nevada National Guard\\n* Department of Personnel\\n* Advisory Council for Prosecuting Attorneys\\n* Public Employees Benefit Program\\n* Public Employees Retirement System\\n* Department of Public Safety\\n* Nevada Public Utilities Commission \\n* Department of Secretary of State\\n* Department of Taxation\\n* Commission on Tourism\\n* Department of Transportation\\n* Nevada State Treasurer\\n* Universities and Community Colleges of Nevada\\n* Nevada Office of Veterans' Services\\n* Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education\\n* Nevada Department of Wildlife\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLaw\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a \\\"barren desert\\\" began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next:\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n\\\"Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Its strategy was to legalize all sorts of things that were illegal in California ... after easy divorce came easy marriage and casino gaming. Even prostitution is legal in Nevada, in any county that decides to allow it. Quite a few of them do.\\\"\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nWith the advent of air conditioning for summertime use and Southern Nevada's mild winters, the fortunes of the state began to turn around, as it did for Arizona, making these two states the fastest growing in the Union.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nProstitution\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is the only state where prostitution is legal (under the form of licensed brothels).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nProstitution is specifically illegal by state law in the state's larger jurisdictions, which include Clark County (which contains Las Vegas), Washoe County (which contains Reno), and the independent city of Carson City. Otherwise, it is legal in those counties which specifically vote to permit it. When permitted, brothels are only located in rural or isolated parts of counties.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nDivorce\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada's early reputation as a \\\"divorce haven\\\" arose from the fact that, before the no-fault divorce revolution in the 1970s, divorces were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. Already having legalized gaming and prostitution, Nevada continued the trend of boosting its profile by adopting one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation. This resulted in Williams v. North Carolina (1942), , in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that North Carolina had to give \\\"full faith and credit\\\" to a Nevada divorce.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada's divorce rate tops the national average.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nTaxes\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada's tax laws are intended to draw new residents and businesses to the state. Nevada has no personal income tax or corporate income tax. Since Nevada does not collect income data it cannot share such information with the federal government, the IRS.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada's state sales tax rate is 6.85 percent. Counties may impose additional rates via voter approval or through approval of the Legislature; therefore, the applicable sales tax will vary by county from 6.85 percent to 8.1 percent in Clark County.\\nClark County, which includes Las Vegas, imposes four separate county option taxes in addition to the statewide rate – 0.25 percent for flood control, 0.50 percent for mass transit, 0.25 percent for infrastructure, and 0.25 percent for more cops. In Washoe County, which includes Reno, the sales tax rate is 7.725 percent, due to county option rates for flood control, the ReTRAC train trench project, mass transit, and an additional county rate approved under the Local Government Tax Act of 1991.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe lodging tax rate in unincorporated Clark County, which includes the Las Vegas Strip, is 12%. Within the boundaries of the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson, the lodging tax rate is 13%.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCorporations such as Apple Inc. allegedly have set up investment companies and funds in Nevada to avoid paying taxes.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nGay rights\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn 2009, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill creating a domestic partnership registry that enables gay couples to enjoy the same rights as married couples. As of 2015, gay marriage is legal in Nevada.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIncorporation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada provides friendly environment for the formation of corporations, and many (especially California) businesses have incorporated in Nevada to take advantage of the benefits of the Nevada statute. Nevada corporations offer great flexibility to the Board of Directors and simplify or avoid many of the rules that are cumbersome to business managers in some other states. In addition, Nevada has no franchise tax, although it does require businesses to have a license for which the business has to pay the state.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nFinancial institutions\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSimilarly, many U.S. states have usury laws limiting the amount of interest a lender can charge, but federal law allows corporations to 'import' these laws from their home state.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAlcohol and other drugs\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNon-alcohol drug laws are a notable exception to Nevada's otherwise libertarian principles. It is notable for having the harshest penalties for drug offenders in the country. Nevada remains the only state to still use mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for marijuana possession. However, it is now a misdemeanor for possession of less than one ounce but only for persons age 21 and older. In 2006, voters in Nevada defeated attempts to allow possession of 1 ounce of marijuana (for personal use) without being criminally prosecuted, (55% against legalization, 45% in favor of legalization). However, Nevada is one of the states that allows for use of marijuana for medical reasons (though this remains illegal under federal law).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada has very liberal alcohol laws. Bars are permitted to remain open 24 hours, with no \\\"last call\\\". Liquor stores, convenience stores and supermarkets may also sell alcohol 24 hours per day, and may sell beer, wine and spirits.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSmoking\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada voters enacted a smoking ban (\\\"The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act\\\") in November 2006 that became effective on December 8, 2006. It outlaws smoking in most workplaces and public places. Smoking is permitted in bars, but only if the bar serves no food, or the bar is inside a larger casino. Smoking is also permitted in casinos, certain hotel rooms, tobacco shops, and brothels. However, some businesses do not obey this law and the government tends not to enforce it. In 2011, smoking restrictions in Nevada were loosened for certain places which allow only people age 21 or older inside.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCrime\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn 2006, the crime rate in Nevada was about 24% higher than the national average rate, though crime has since decreased. Property crimes accounted for about 85% of the total crime rate in Nevada, which was 21% higher than the national rate. The remaining 20.3% were violent crimes. A complete listing of crime data in the state for 2013 can be found here:\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nPolitics\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nState politics\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nDue to heavy growth in the southern portion of the state, there is a noticeable divide between politics of northern and southern Nevada. The north has long maintained control of key positions in state government, even while the population of southern Nevada is larger than the rest of the state combined. The north sees the high population south becoming more influential and perhaps commanding majority rule. The south sees the north as the \\\"old guard\\\" trying to rule as an oligarchy. This has fostered some resentment, however, due to a term limit amendment passed by Nevada voters in 1994, and again in 1996, some of the north's hold over key positions will soon be forfeited to the south, leaving Northern Nevada with less power.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nHistorically, northern Nevada has been very Republican. The more rural counties of the north are among the most conservative regions of the country. Washoe County, home to Reno, has historically been strongly Republican, but has become more of a swing county at least at the federal level. Clark County, home to Las Vegas, has become increasingly Democratic.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nClark and Washoe counties have long dominated the state's politics. Between them, they cast 87 percent of Nevada's vote, and elect a substantial majority of the state legislature. The great majority of the state's elected officials are either from Las Vegas or Reno.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNational politics\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1912, except in 1976 when it voted for Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter. This includes Nevada supporting Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and Democrat Barack Obama winning the state in both 2008 and 2012. This gives the state status as a political bellwether. Since 1912, Nevada has been carried by the presidential victor the most out of any state (25 of 26 elections). Nevada was one of only three states won by John F. Kennedy in the American West in the election of 1960, albeit narrowly.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe state's U.S. Senators are Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader, and Republican Dean Heller. The Governorship is held by Brian Sandoval, a Republican from Reno.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nVoting\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is the only U.S. state to have a none of the above option available on its ballots. Officially called None of These Candidates, the option was first added to the ballot in 1975 and is currently used in all elections for president and \\nall state constitutional positions. In the event that None of These Candidates \\\"wins\\\" the election, the candidate with the next-highest total is still elected.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nEducation\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nEducation in Nevada is achieved through public and private elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as colleges and universities.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nA May 2015 educational reform law expanded school choice options to 450,000 Nevada students who are at up to 185% of the federal poverty level. Education savings accounts (ESAs) are enabled by the new law to help pay the tuition for private schools. Alternatively, families \\\"can use funds in these accounts to also pay for textbooks and tutoring.\\\"\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nPublic school districts\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nPublic school districts in Nevada include:\\n*Carson City School District\\n*Churchill County School District\\n*Clark County School District, the fifth largest school district in the United States\\n*Douglas County School District\\n*Elko County School District\\n*Esmeralda County School District\\n*Eureka County School District\\n*Humboldt County School District\\n*Lander County School District\\n*Lincoln County School District\\n*Lyon County School District\\n*Mineral County School District\\n*Nye County School District\\n*Pershing County School District\\n*Storey County School District\\n*Washoe County School District\\n*White Pine County School District\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nColleges and universities\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* Nevada System of Higher Education\\n** University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)\\n** University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada)\\n** Nevada State College\\n** Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC)\\n** Great Basin College\\n** College of Southern Nevada (CSN)\\n** Western Nevada College (WNC)\\n* Sierra Nevada College\\n* Touro University Nevada\\n* Roseman University of Health Sciences\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nResearch institutes\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* Desert Research Institute\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nParks and recreation areas\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nRecreation areas maintained by the federal government\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNorthern Nevada\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* California National Historic Trail\\n* Humboldt National Forest\\n* Great Basin National Park\\n* Old Spanish National Historic Trail\\n* Pony Express National Historic Trail\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSouthern Nevada\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Preserve\\n* Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park\\n* Toiyabe National Forest\\n* Inyo National Forest\\n* Mount Charleston and the Mount Charleston Wilderness\\n* Spring Mountains and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area\\n* Lake Mead National Recreation Area\\n* Death Valley National Park\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nWilderness\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThere are 68 designated wilderness areas in Nevada, protecting some 6579014 acre under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nState parks\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe Nevada state parks comprise protected areas managed by the state of Nevada, including state parks, state historic sites, and state recreation areas. There are currently 24 state park units, including Van Sickle Bi-State Park which opened in July 2011 and is operated in partnership with the state of California.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSports\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada is not well known for its professional sports teams, but the state takes pride in college sports, most notably its college football. College teams in the state include the Nevada Wolf Pack (representing the University of Nevada, Reno) of the Mountain West Conference (MW)—and the UNLV Rebels (representing the University of Nevada, Las Vegas), also of the MW. In 2012, The University of Nevada, Reno joined its cross-state rival in the MW.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nUNLV is most remembered for its men's basketball program, which experienced its height of supremacy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Runnin' Rebels became one of the most elite programs in the country. In 1990, UNLV won the Men's Division I Championship by defeating Duke 103–73, which set tournament records for most points scored by a team and largest margin of victory in the national title game.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nIn 1991, UNLV finished the regular season undefeated, a feat that would not be matched in Division I men's basketball for more than 20 years. Forward Larry Johnson won several awards, including the Naismith Award. UNLV reached the Final Four yet again, but lost their national semifinal against Duke 79–77. The Runnin' Rebels were the Associated Press pre-season No. 1 back to back (1989–90, 1990–91). North Carolina is the only other team to accomplish that (2007–08, 2008–09).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nLas Vegas has hosted several professional boxing matches, most recently at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with bouts such as Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nAlong with significant rises in popularity in mixed martial arts (MMA), a number of fight leagues such as the UFC have taken interest in Las Vegas as a primary event location due to the number of suitable host venues. The Mandalay Bay Events Center and MGM Grand Garden Arena are among some of the more popular venues for fighting events such as MMA and have hosted several UFC and other MMA title fights. The city has held the most UFC events with 86 events.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe state is also home to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which hosts the Kobalt Tools 400. The Thomas & Mack Center, home to UNLV men's basketball, also hosts two major rodeo events—the National Finals Rodeo and the PBR World Finals, the latter operated by the bull riding-only Professional Bull Riders. Finally, Sam Boyd Stadium, home to the UNLV football team, also hosts the country's biggest rugby event, the USA Sevens tournament in the World Rugby Sevens Series, as well as the AMA Supercross Championship.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThe state is also home to one of the most famous tennis players of all time, Andre Agassi, and current baseball superstar Bryce Harper.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada sports teams\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nProfessional\\n* Las Vegas NHL team, National Hockey League\\n* Las Vegas 51s, Minor League Baseball (AAA)\\n* Reno Aces, Minor League Baseball (AAA)\\n* Reno Bighorns, NBA D-League\\n* Nevada Pumas, QuickHit Football League\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCollege\\n* Nevada Wolf Pack\\n* UNLV Rebels\\n* Western Nevada College Wildcats\\nThe Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame provides educational resources and promotes the aerospace and aviation history of the state.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nMilitary\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSeveral United States Navy ships have been named USS Nevada in honor of the state. They include:\\n* USS Nevada (1865)\\n* USS Nevada (BM-8)\\n* USS Nevada (BB-36)\\n* USS Nevada (SSBN-733)\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nArea 51 is located near Groom Lake, a dry salt lake bed. The much smaller Creech Air Force Base is located in Indian Springs, Nevada; Hawthorne Army Depot in Hawthorne; the Tonopah Test Range near Tonopah; and Nellis AFB in the northeast part of the Las Vegas Valley. Naval Air Station Fallon in Fallon; NSAWC, (pronounced \\\"EN-SOCK\\\") in western Nevada. NSAWC consolidated three Command Centers into a single Command Structure under a flag officer on July 11, 1996. The Naval Strike Warfare Center (STRIKE \\\"U\\\") based at NAS Fallon since 1984, was joined with the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School (TOPDOME) which both moved from NAS Miramar as a result of a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision in 1993 which transferred that installation back to the Marine Corps as MCAS Miramar. The Seahawk Weapon School was added in 1998 to provide tactical training for Navy helicopters.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nThese bases host a number of activities including the Joint Unmanned Aerial Systems Center of Excellence, the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, Nevada Test and Training Range, Red Flag, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force Warfare Center, the United States Air Force Weapons School, and the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nSongs about Nevada\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* \\\"Silver State Fanfare\\\" – the official state march by Gerald G. Willis. Codified by the Nevada Legislature in 2001 at NRS 235.035\\n* \\\"Nevada State March\\\" by J.P. Meder (1848-1908), 1894\\n* \\\"Sin City\\\" by AC/DC\\n* \\\"Sands of Nevada\\\" from Mark Knopfler's 2000 release Sailing to Philadelphia\\n* \\\"Sin City\\\" from Limbeck's 2005 release Let Me Come Home\\n* \\\"Home Means Nevada\\\", the state song of Nevada, by Bertha Rafetto\\n* \\\"Nevada\\\" by Riders in the Sky from the album Best of the West\\n* \\\"Night Time In Nevada\\\" by Dulmage/Clint/Pascoe, 1931\\n* \\\"Nevada's Grace\\\" by Atreyu, twelfth track off 2004's The Curse\\n* \\\"Battle Born\\\" by The Killers, last track on the 2012 album also named Battle Born\\n* \\\"Winner's Casino\\\" by Richmond Fontaine off the 2002 album Winnemucca\\n* \\\"Reno\\\" by Doug Supernaw off the album Red and Rio Grande released in 1993. * \\\"Ooh Las Vegas\\\" by Gram Parsons off the album Return of the Grievous Angel. * \\\"Darcy Farrow\\\" by Jimmie Dale Gilmore off the album One Endless Night. * \\\"Viva Las Vegas\\\" recorded by Elvis Presley (1963)\\n* \\\"Goldfield\\\" by Rocky Votolato off of the album Makers (2006)\\n* \\\"Vegas Lights\\\" from Panic!\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nat the Disco\\n* Album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die (released 2013)\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nFuture issues\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nNevada enjoys many economic advantages, and the southern portion of the state enjoys mild winter weather, but rapid growth has led to some overcrowded roads and schools. Nevada has the nation's 5th largest school district in the Clark County School District (projected fall 2007 enrollment is 314,000 students grades K-12).\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nCoyote Springs is a proposed community for 240,000 inhabitants in Clark and Lincoln counties. It would be Nevada's largest planned city. The town is being developed by Harvey Whittemore and has generated some controversy because of environmental concerns and allegations of political favoritism.\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\nState symbols\",\n \"Nevada\\n\\n* State animal: desert bighorn sheep\\n* State artifact: Tule duck decoy\\n* State bird: mountain bluebird\\n* State colors: silver and blue\\n* State fish: Lahontan cutthroat trout\\n* State flower: sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)\\n* State fossil: ichthyosaur\\n* State grass: Indian ricegrass\\n* State march: \\\"Silver State Fanfare\\\" by Gerald G. Willis \\n* State metal: silver (Ag)\\n* State mottos: \\\"Battle Born\\\" and \\\"All For Our Country\\\"\\n* State precious gemstone: Virgin Valley black fire opal\\n* State semiprecious gemstone: Nevada turquoise\\n* State slogan: \\\"The Battle Born State\\\"\\n* State song: \\\"Home Means Nevada\\\" by Bertha Raffetto\\n* State reptile: desert tortoise\\n* State rock: sandstone\\n* State soil: Orovada series\\n* State tartan: A particular tartan designed for Nevada by Richard Zygmunt Pawlowski\\n* State trees: single-leaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) and bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)\"\n]","isConversational":false}}}],"truncated":false,"partial":false},"paginationData":{"pageIndex":1376,"numItemsPerPage":100,"numTotalItems":138384,"offset":137600,"length":100}},"jwt":"eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImtpZCI6IjVHZDBvd0g5MTM2eDZjc1FvbE1zcktNWUZoRVFoUm5PVVVybEpjOUhaUEEifQ.eyJyZWFkIjp0cnVlLCJwZXJtaXNzaW9ucyI6eyJyZXBvLmNvbnRlbnQucmVhZCI6dHJ1ZX0sImlhdCI6MTc4OTgyMDI4NywianRpIjoiNWFlZTNmNjMtZjBjOS00MzYzLTg5N2QtNTMwMWIwZGQ4ZGJhIiwic3ViIjoiL2RhdGFzZXRzL01lbW9yeUFzTW9kYWxpdHkvVHJpdmlhUUEiLCJleHAiOjE3ODk4MjM4ODcsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vaHVnZ2luZ2ZhY2UuY28ifQ.WuaL7M98nWYkecvKDhw_6YMCab5mMe4E6SqA6mhwpZiMMA0rlSxrxBdMEiMnw6wSUHhNqtHtPyD7n1bVtyNDAw","displayUrls":true,"splitSizeSummaries":[{"config":"default","split":"train","numRows":138384,"numBytesParquet":4149441207},{"config":"default","split":"validation","numRows":17944,"numBytesParquet":531588839},{"config":"default","split":"test","numRows":17210,"numBytesParquet":506953567}]},"discussionsStats":{"closed":0,"open":0,"total":0},"fullWidth":true,"hasGatedAccess":true,"hasFullAccess":true,"isEmbedded":false,"savedQueries":{"community":[],"user":[]}}">
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qg_3245 | It is generally accepted that the game of golf originated in what country? | Scotland | [
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"communications in scotland",
"maps of scotland",
"autonomous province of scotland",
"scotlander",
"northern great britain",
"auld country",
"scottland",
"scotland",
"scottish nation",
"scotlanders",
"scotland uk",
"scotia minor",
"scotchland",
"scot land",
"north great b... | [
"History of golf\n\nThe origins of golf are unclear and much debated. However, it is generally accepted that modern golf developed in The Netherlands during the Middle Ages. The game did not find international popularity until the late 19th century, when it spread into the rest of the United Kingdom and then to the... |
qg_3248 | September 17, 1859, saw Joshua Norton declare himself Norton 1st, Emperor of what? | United States | [
"u s of america",
"u–s–",
"estatos unitos",
"amarica",
"america united states of",
"v s amerika",
"states of america",
"amurika",
"unitesd states",
"estados unidos de america",
"america",
"united states of america oldpage",
"america us",
"nited states",
"etats unis d amerique",
"united... | [
"Emperor Norton\n\nJoshua Abraham Norton (1818 – January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a citizen of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself \"Norton I, Emperor of the United States\" and subsequently \"Protector of Mexico\".",
"Emperor Norton\n\nBorn in England, Norton spent most of h... |
qg_3249 | Each star on the US flag has how many points? | 5 | [
"five"
] | [
"Star polygon\n\nIn geometry, a star polygon is a type of non-convex polygon. Only the regular star polygons have been studied in any depth; star polygons in general appear not to have been formally defined.",
"Star polygon\n\nBranko Grünbaum identified two primary definitions used by Kepler, one being the regula... |
qg_3251 | Newspaper editor Horace Greeley famously advised young men to do what "and grow up with the country" in an 1865 editorial? | Go West | [
"go west disambiguation",
"go west film",
"go west",
"go west album"
] | [
"Horace Greeley\n\nHorace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 28, 1872) was editor of the New-York Tribune, among the great newspapers of its time. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, and was the candidate of the new Liberal Republican party in the 1872 presidential election... |
qg_3252 | White dwarfs, red giants, and blue stragglers are all types of what? | Stars | [
"🌟",
"star fission",
"star",
"intermediate mass star",
"stellar diameter",
"end of sun",
"intermediate mass stars",
"massive star",
"stars",
"stellum",
"stellar radius",
"wishstar",
"intermediate star"
] | [
"White dwarf\n\nA white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a stellar remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to that of the Sun, while its volume is comparable to that of Earth. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes from the emission of s... |
qg_3255 | What moderately famous ship, a Dutch cargo fluyt, set sail from Plymouth, England on Sep 16, 1620, with 102 passengers and 40 crew? | Mayflower | [
"ship mayflower",
"english colony ship mayflower",
"mayflower",
"mayflower ship",
"may flower"
] | [
"Plymouth\n\nPlymouth () is a city on the south coast of Devon, England, about 37 mi south-west of Exeter and 190 mi west-south-west of London, between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west where they join Plymouth Sound to form the boundary with Cornwall.",
"Plymouth\n\nPlymouth's early... |
qg_3263 | In what card game does a player ask his opponent for one of his or her cards of a particular rank, drawing a card from the pool if the opponent has none? | Go Fish | [
"go fish",
"fish card game"
] | [
"Card game\n\nA card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card games played with traditional decks have formally standardized ... |
qg_3265 | Covering about 46% of the earth's surface, what is the largest of the oceans? | Pacific | [
"eastern pacific ocean",
"oceanum pacificum",
"north pacific",
"pacific basin",
"mid pacific",
"west pacific",
"eastern pacific",
"southern pacific ocean",
"tepre pacificum",
"pacific oceans",
"mar del sur",
"peaceful sea",
"east pacific",
"sea of magellan",
"pacific region",
"pacific ... | [
"Earth\n\nEarth (otherwise known as the world, in Gaia, or in Latin: Terra ) is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to harbor life.",
"Earth\n\nAccording to radiometric dating and... |
qg_3268 | Sometimes called a competitive balance tax, what is the name for the financial penalty that large market baseball/basketball teams such as the Yankees or the Knicks must pay for spending more than a particular threshold? | Luxury Tax | [
"luxury tax"
] | [
"Luxury tax (sports)\n\nA luxury tax in professional sports is a surcharge put on the aggregate payroll of a team to the extent to which it exceeds a predetermined guideline level set by the league. The ostensible purpose of this \"tax\" is to prevent teams in major markets with high incomes from signing almost all... |
qg_3269 | What is the name for electronic toll collection system implemented by the WADOT for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, SR-167, and the 520 floating bridge? | Good To Go! | [
"good to go"
] | [
"Tacoma Narrows Bridge\n\nThe Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula and carry State Route 16 (known as Primary State Highway 14 until 1964) over the ... |
qg_3270 | The 16th Amendment to the US constitution, ratified in 1913, authorizes the US Congress to levy what? | Income Tax | [
"income taxes",
"irpef",
"income taxation",
"income tax",
"personal income tax",
"individual income tax",
"personal income taxes"
] | [
"Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution\n\nThe Sixteenth Amendment (Amendment XVI) to the United States Constitution allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census. This amendment exempted income taxes from the constitutiona... |
qg_3272 | The countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden all share a border with what large body of water? | Baltic Sea | [
"baltic",
"ostsee",
"baltic sea",
"post littorina sea",
"central baltic sea",
"suevian sea",
"suebian sea",
"laanemeri",
"mare suebicum",
"pollution of baltic sea",
"östersjön",
"pollution in baltic sea",
"baltic name",
"baltic coast",
"laeaenemeri",
"mare suevicum",
"läänemeri",
"... | [
"Denmark\n\nDenmark (; ) is a Scandinavian country in Europe. The southernmost and smallest of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway,The island of Bornholm is offset to the east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. and bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmar... |
qg_3275 | September 17 of what year saw the Constitutional Convention adopt the US Constitution? | 1787 | [
"one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven"
] | [
"United States Constitution\n\nThe United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal gove... |
qg_3276 | What is the active ingredient in smelling salts? | Ammonia | [
"h3n",
"alkaline air",
"ammonia",
"anhydrous ammonia",
"amonia",
"anti umami",
"ammonia as liquid fuel replacement for petrol gasoline or diesel",
"nh₃",
"ammoniacal",
"volatile alkali",
"ammoniac",
"liquid ammonia",
"hydrogen nitride",
"ammonia cleaning solution",
"ammoniated",
"ammon... | [
"Smelling salts\n\nSmelling salts, also known as ammonia inhalants, spirit of hartshorn or sal volatile, are chemical compounds used for arousing consciousness.",
"Smelling salts\n\nUsage",
"Smelling salts\n\nThe usual active compound is ammonium carbonate—a colorless-to-white, crystalline solid ((NH4)2CO3). B... |
qg_3277 | September 22, 1961 saw the passage of Public Law 87-293, which declares "To promote world peace and friendship through a [blank], which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, ... | Peace Corps | [
"peace corps ghana",
"peace corp",
"u s peace corps",
"peace corps",
"peace cor",
"united states peace corps",
"executive order 10924",
"crisis corps",
"dominican republic peace corps information technology",
"peace corps act of 1961",
"peacecorps"
] | [
"Peace Corps\n\nThe Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The stated mission of the Peace Corps includes providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand American culture, and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries. The... |
qg_3278 | If you are DOA, medically speaking, what are you? | Dead on Arrival | [
"dead on arrival",
"brought in dead"
] | [
"Dead on arrival\n\nDead on arrival (DOA), also dead in the field and brought in dead (BID), is a term used to indicate that a patient was found to be already clinically dead upon the arrival of professional medical assistance, often in the form of first responders such as emergency medical technicians, paramedics,... |
qg_3281 | What civil war battle, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, took place near Sharpsburg, MD on Sept 17, 1862? | Battle of Antietam | [
"battle of antietam",
"antietum",
"battle of bloody lane",
"battle of antitam",
"battle of antitum",
"antietam campaign",
"anteitam",
"battle of sharpsburg",
"battle of antietum",
"bloody lane",
"antitam",
"antietam",
"battle of antetam",
"antitum",
"bloodiest day",
"sunken road",
"a... | [
"American Civil War\n\nThe American Civil War was a civil war in the United States fought from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states known as the Confederate States of America. The Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U.S. history.",
"American Civil War\n\nAmong the 3... |
qg_3282 | Osiris was the god of the underworld in the mythology of which ancient civilization? | Egypt | [
"names of egypt",
"jumhuriyat misr al arabiyah",
"eytp",
"iso 3166 1 eg",
"egypt",
"r egypt",
"eygpt",
"kimet",
"name of egypt",
"جمهورية مصرالعربية",
"arab republic of egypt",
"egypt name",
"gift of nile",
"kemmet",
"miṣr",
"egipto",
"جمهوريّة مصرالعربيّة",
"egy",
"egypt info",
... | [
"Osiris\n\nOsiris (, alternatively Ausir, Asiri or Ausar, among other spellings), was an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead, but more appropriately as the god of transition, resurrection, and regeneration. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned man wit... |
qg_3283 | From the Greek for pale green, what element with an atomic number 17, uses the symbol CL? | Chlorine | [
"oxymuriatic acid",
"cl2",
"chlorene",
"chlorine",
"cl element",
"dephlogisticated marine acid",
"dichlorine",
"chlroine",
"muriaticum",
"cl",
"chlorine gas",
"chlorine compounds",
"element 17",
"bertholite",
"e925",
"chlorine manufacturing process",
"chloro",
"making of chlorine",... | [
"Chemical element\n\nA chemical element or element is a species of atoms having the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei (i.e. the same atomic number, Z). There are 118 elements that have been identified, of which the first 94 occur naturally on Earth with the remaining 24 being synthetic elements. There ... |
qg_3284 | Who spent the last 19 years turning letters on the nightly TV show Wheel of Fortune? | Vanna White | [
"vanna marie white",
"vanna white",
"vanna marie rosich",
"vannah white"
] | [
"Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)\n\nWheel of Fortune (often known simply as Wheel) is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival ... |
qg_3285 | What brand of semi-sweet chocolate morsels traditionally includes a recipe for Toll House cookies on the package? | Nestle | [
"nestle ice cream",
"nestle classics",
"nestlé",
"nestlé inc",
"anglo swiss milk company",
"nestle foods",
"societe de produits nestle s",
"nestlē",
"société de produits nestlé s",
"nestles",
"anglo swiss condensed milk co",
"nestle sa",
"nestle s",
"farine lactée henri nestlé",
"nestle ... | [
"Brand\n\nA brand is a set of marketing and communication methods that help to distinguish a company from competitors and create a lasting impression in the minds of customers. The key components that form a brand’s toolbox include a brand’s identity, brand communication (such as by logos and trademarks), brand awa... |
qg_3286 | In the Sherlock Holmes stories, what is the name of the gang of street urchins employed by Sherlock Holmes to help solve crimes? | The Baker Street Irregulars | [
"baker street irregular",
"baker street irregulars"
] | [
"Sherlock Holmes\n\nSherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Known as a \"consulting detective\" in the stories, Holmes is known for a proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when... |
qg_3287 | Which comedy team was famous for its “Who’s On First?” baseball routine? | Abbott & Costello | [
"aboott costello",
"abbott bud and costello lou",
"abbott and castella",
"abbott and costello",
"i m baaaad boy",
"abbot and costello",
"abbott costello",
"bud and costello lou abbott",
"babbat"
] | [
"Who's on First?\n\n\"Who's on First?\" is a comedy routine made famous by Abbott and Costello. The premise of the sketch is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team for Costello, but their names and nicknames can be interpreted as non-responsive answers to Costello's questions. For example, the fi... |
qg_3289 | If you were a parrothead, of what musician would you be a fan of? | Jimmy Buffet | [
"james william buffett",
"jimmy buffet",
"jim buffett",
"jimmy buffett",
"james buffett",
"gulf and western music genre",
"key west sound"
] | [
"Parrothead\n\nParrot Head or Parrothead is a commonly used nickname for fans of Jimmy Buffett. \"Parakeets\" or \"Keets\" is the term used for younger fans of Jimmy, or children of Parrotheads.",
"Parrothead\n\nOrigin of the term",
"Parrothead\n\nThe term \"Parrot Head\" was coined in 1985 at a Jimmy Buffett ... |
qg_3292 | The tallest man-made monument in the US, the Gateway Arch is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in what US city, which recognizes the cities importance in the westward expansion? | St. Louis, MO | [
"city of st louis missouri",
"rome of west",
"southern railway st louis",
"st louis missouri united states",
"saint louis mo 631xx",
"st lewis mo",
"missouri st louis",
"st louis usa",
"st louis",
"st louis mo",
"stlouis",
"saint louis city",
"st louie",
"city of saint louis",
"saint lou... | [
"Jefferson National Expansion Memorial\n\nThe Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is a park located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was designated as a National Memorial by Executive Order 7523, on December 21, 1935, and is maintained by the National Park Serv... |
qg_3293 | The plot by what traitorous Revolutionary War General asshat to turn West Point over to the British was uncovered this week in 1780? | Benedict Arnold | [
"benidict arnald",
"benedict arnold",
"benadict arnold",
"benedict arnold 5",
"benidict arnold",
"arnold benedict",
"colonel benedict arnold",
"benedict arnold v"
] | [
"American Revolutionary War\n\nThe American Revolutionary War (17751783), also known as the American War of Independence and the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the armed conflict between Great Britain and thirteen of its North American colonies, which had declared themselves the independent United Sta... |
qg_3294 | How many squares are there on a US bingo card? | 25 | [
"twenty five"
] | [
"Bingo (U.S.)\n\nBingo is a game of chance played with different randomly drawn numbers which players match against numbers that have been pre-printed on 5×5 cards.The cards may be printed on paper or card stock, or electronically represented, and are referred to as cards. Many versions conclude the game when the ... |
qg_3296 | What Nestle candy bar consists of a flaky, orange-colored center with a peanut butter taste, coated in chocolate? | Butterfinger | [
"nestlé butterfinger",
"butterfinger",
"butterfinger group",
"butterfinger ice cream",
"butterfingers snackerz",
"butterfinger snackerz",
"butterfinger ice cream bars",
"butterfinger crisp",
"butterfinger bb s"
] | [
"Peanut\n\nPeanut, also known as groundnut and goober (Arachis hypogaea), is a crop of global importance. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, being important to both smallholder and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume, and, because of its high oil content, an oil crop... |
qg_3297 | On Sept. 24, 1906, total bad-ass President Theodore Roosevelt named what Wyoming landmark the nations first National Monument? | Devils Tower | [
"devils tower wy",
"devil s tower national monument",
"devils tower",
"devils tower wyoming",
"devil s tower",
"devils tower national monument",
"devils tower national monument wyoming",
"mato tipila"
] | [
"Wyoming\n\nWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The state is with its 97,000-plus square miles the tenth largest by area, but having less than 600,000 people the least populous and the second least densely populated of the 50 united states. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Mon... |
qg_3298 | What color are packets of Sweet 'N Low artificial sweetener? | Pink | [
"ffd1dc",
"tamarisk colour",
"pinkishly",
"fadadd",
"lightish red",
"pinkly",
"pinkishness",
"kinky pink",
"tamarisk color",
"pink colour",
"pinkest",
"pastel pink",
"pinkness",
"neon pink",
"pink color",
"pink",
"light red",
"momoiro"
] | [
"Sugar substitute\n\nA sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweet taste like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are produced by nature, and others produced synthetically. Those that are not produced by nature are, in general, called artificial sweete... |
qg_3300 | What marine organisms are responsible for creating the reefs that are such an important part of tropical islands? | Coral | [
"coral heads",
"corals",
"fossilized coral",
"coral biology",
"poypifer",
"polypifer",
"coral colonies",
"coral mound",
"coral"
] | [
"Marine biology\n\nMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on ta... |
qg_3301 | Played by George Takei, who was the helmsman on the USS Enterprise for the duration of the series? | Hikaru Sulu | [
"captain sulu",
"mr sulu",
"hikaru kato",
"helmsman sulu",
"sulu star trek",
"hikaru sulu",
"lt sulu",
"mister sulu",
"lieutenant sulu"
] | [
"George Takei\n\nis an American actor, director, author, and activist. Takei is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the in the television series Star Trek. He also portrayed the character in six Star Trek feature films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.",
"George Takei\n\nTakei's involvem... |
qg_3303 | Who rules Narnia following the reign of High King Peter in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis? | Prince Caspian | [
"prince caspian",
"prince caspian return to narnia"
] | [
"Peter Pevensie\n\nPeter Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. Peter appears in three of the seven books; as a child and a principal character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Last Battle. He is only mentioned in The Hor... |
qg_3304 | Different from the flags used by the officials, what color flag is used by NFL football coaches to challenge the ruling on the field? | Red | [
"red colour",
"incarnadined",
"reddened",
"aztec red",
"255 0 0",
"color red",
"incarnadines",
"reddeners",
"reddens",
"raudur",
"firebrick red",
"incarnadine",
"redest",
"reddener",
"rauður",
"red political adjective",
"redly",
"reddishness",
"redness",
"red",
"reddest",
"... | [
"American football\n\nAmerican football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada, and also known as gridiron, is a sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with control of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down t... |
qg_3305 | What perennially happy artist spent 12 years hosting the PBS staple The Joy of Painting, before his untimely death in 1985? | Bob Ross | [
"bob ross painter",
"bob ross",
"afro painter",
"happy little trees"
] | [
"The Joy of Painting\n\nThe Joy of Painting is an American half-hour instructional television show hosted by painter Bob Ross which ran from January 11, 1983, until May 17, 1994. In each episode, Ross taught techniques for landscape oil painting, completing a painting in each session.",
"The Joy of Painting\n\nPr... |
qg_3307 | What color was the 1993 Ford Bronco that Al Cowlings used to take O.J. Simpson on a low-speed chase up and down the LA freeway system? | White | [
"color white",
"white political adjective",
"whitishness",
"rgb 255 255 255",
"255 255 255",
"ffffff",
"whitishly",
"white colour",
"man on white horse",
"white",
"whiter",
"white finn",
"whitest"
] | [
"Ford Bronco\n\nFor the Ford Bronco II of 1983 to 1990, see Ford Bronco II.",
"Ford Bronco\n\nThe Ford Bronco is a sports utility vehicle (SUV) manufactured and marketed by Ford from 1966 to 1996, over five generations.",
"Ford Bronco\n\nThe Bronco was introduced in 1966 as a competitor to the small four-wheel-... |
qg_3310 | Born with the first name of George, what English author, who is one of the claimed Fathers of Science Fiction, wrote The Time Machine, and The Invisible Man, among many other works? | HG Wells | [
"h g wheels",
"wells herbert george b sc etc",
"reginald bliss",
"sosthenes smith",
"h g wells",
"septimus browne",
"herbert george wells",
"charles wells fictional",
"walker glockenhammer",
"herbert g wells",
"herbet wells",
"h g herbert george wells",
"hg wells",
"h g welles",
"wells h... | [
"Science fiction\n\nScience fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientifi... |
qg_3311 | Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Thumb are all types of what? | Wrestling | [
"show wrestling",
"messy wrestling",
"wrestlers",
"jello wrestling",
"beach wrestling",
"wrassle",
"wrestling",
"jelly wrestling",
"jell o wrestling",
"traditional wrestling",
"wrestling is awesome",
"mud wrestling",
"wrestle",
"mud wrestler",
"wrestler",
"wrestling at summer paralympi... | [
"Freestyle wrestling\n\nFreestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practiced throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. American high school and college wrestling is conducted under different rules and is termed scholastic ... |
qg_3312 | What is the common name for the part of the chicken egg known as the albumen? | Egg white | [
"egg whites",
"egg albumin",
"ovoglobulin g2",
"egg albumen",
"whipped egg whites",
"albumen",
"egg white",
"eggwhite",
"glair",
"glairy",
"white of egg",
"whipped egg white"
] | [
"Egg white\n\nEgg white is the common name for the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yo... |
qg_3313 | What corporation owns the Seattle Marines? | Nintendo of America | [
"sekiryo kaneda",
"nintendo underwear",
"ntdoy",
"nintendo policies",
"nintendo culture",
"nintendo toys",
"nintendo playing card co",
"nintendo co ltd",
"nintnedo",
"nitnendo",
"nintendo company ltd",
"nintendo controller",
"nintendou",
"nintendo of america",
"nintendo seal of approval"... | [
"Seattle Mariners\n\nThe Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in 1977, the Mariners are a member of the West division of the American League (AL) in Major League Baseball (MLB). Since July , the Mariners' home ballpark has been Safeco Field, located ... |
qg_3314 | What is the medical name for your shoulder blade? | Scapula | [
"levator scapulae ventralis",
"shoulderblades",
"shoulderblade",
"scapulars",
"scapula bone",
"shoulder bone",
"scapulas",
"scapular spine",
"superior border of scapula",
"margo lateralis scapulae",
"upper border of scapula",
"ossification of scapula",
"scapular bone",
"medial border of sc... | [
"Scapula\n\nIn anatomy, the scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas) or shoulder blade is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones the scapulae are paired, with the scapula on the left side of the body being roughly a mirror image of the right sca... |
qg_3315 | Jared Fogle became a spokesperson for what fast food chain, following his dramatic weight loss by eating their products? | Subway | [
"subwya",
"subway disambiguation",
"subways",
"subway"
] | [
"Jared Fogle\n\nJared Scot Fogle (born August 23, 1977), also known as \"the Subway Guy\", is an American former spokesman for Subway restaurants and actor. After his significant weight loss attributed to eating Subway sandwiches, Fogle was made a spokesperson for the company's advertising campaigns from 2000 to 2... |
qg_3316 | What TV series, which debuted in 1951, featured the weekly travails of, “Just the facts, ma’am”, Sgt Joe Friday? | Dragnet | [
"dragnet film",
"dragnet",
"dragnet disambiguation"
] | [
"Dragnet (franchise)\n\nDragnet was an American radio, television and motion picture series, enacting the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term \"dragnet\", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending crim... |
qg_3318 | There are 4 gas giants in our solar system. For a point each, name them. | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune | [
"jupiter saturn uranus and neptune"
] | [
"Solar System\n\nThe Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The IAU, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects, but uses mixed \"Solar System\" and \"solar system\" in their [http://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming/ na... |
qg_3320 | September 24, 1906 saw that Great American, Teddy Roosevelt, declare what Wyoming landmark the first ever National Monument? | Devils' Tower | [
"devils tower wy",
"devil s tower national monument",
"devils tower",
"devils tower wyoming",
"devil s tower",
"devils tower national monument",
"devils tower national monument wyoming",
"mato tipila"
] | [
"Wyoming\n\nWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The state is with its 97,000-plus square miles the tenth largest by area, but having less than 600,000 people the least populous and the second least densely populated of the 50 united states. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Mon... |
qg_3323 | A mere 17 days after a previous attempt, Sara Jane Moore took a shot at which US president outside San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel on Sep 22? | Gerald Ford | [
"president gerald r ford",
"leslie lynch king",
"gerald ford",
"gerald ford jr",
"presidency of gerald ford administration",
"jerry ford",
"assassination attempts on gerald ford",
"gerald fod",
"presidency of gerald ford",
"leslie king jr",
"gerry ford",
"birth and life of gerald ford",
"for... | [
"Sara Jane Moore\n\nSara Jane Moore (née Kahn; born February 15, 1930) is an American citizen best known for attempting to assassinate US President Gerald Ford in 1975. She was given a life sentence for the attempted assassination and was released from prison on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years. Moore an... |
qg_3324 | "Kid tested. Mother approved." is the advertising slogan for what cereal? | Kix | [
"kix disambiguation",
"kix tv channel",
"kix"
] | [
"Breakfast cereal\n\nBreakfast cereal (or just cereal) is a soup made from processed grains that is often eaten as the first meal of the day. It is eaten hot or cold, usually mixed with milk, yogurt, or fruit. Some companies promote their products for the health benefits from eating oat-based and high-fiber cereal... |
qg_3325 | What entertainment business magnate and talk show host created the TV staples Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune? | Merv Griffin | [
"merv griffin",
"mervyn griffin",
"mervyn edward griffin jr",
"merv griffen"
] | [
"Jeopardy!\n\nJeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of questions. The original daytime version debuted on NBC on M... |
qg_3326 | On Sept 22, 1827, who supposedly met an angel called Moroni who directed him to a long-buried book, inscribed on golden plates, which inspired him to write The Book of Mormon? | Joseph Smith, Jr | [
"joseph smith junior",
"smith joseph",
"joseph smith presidential campaign 1844",
"criticism of joseph smith jr",
"joseph smiht",
"jospeh smith",
"list of monuments and memorials of joseph smith jr",
"joseph smith jr",
"joseph smith",
"jopseph smith",
"criticism of joseph smith",
"joseph smith... | [
"Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)\n\nMoroni, according to the Book of Mormon, was the last Nephite prophet, historian, and military commander who lived in the Americas in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. He is later known as the Angel Moroni, who presented the golden plates to Joseph Smith, who said he tra... |
qg_3328 | September 20, 1973, saw the famous Battle of the Sexes tennis match when former world #1 tennis player Bobby Riggs dropped his match against what female tennis star? | Billie Jean King | [
"billie jean moffit",
"billie jean moffit king",
"billie jean moffitt",
"billy jean king",
"billie jean moffitt king",
"billie king",
"billie jean king"
] | [
"Battle of the Sexes (tennis)\n\nThe Battle of the Sexes is a title given to three notable tennis matches between a male and a female player. The first match was between Bobby Riggs and Margaret Court, over the best of three sets. The second was a nationally televised match between Riggs and Billie Jean King, over ... |
qg_3329 | What English author, known as the Father of Science Fiction, was born on September 21, 1866, and wrote such stories as The Land Ironclads, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau? | HG Wells | [
"h g wheels",
"wells herbert george b sc etc",
"reginald bliss",
"sosthenes smith",
"h g wells",
"septimus browne",
"herbert george wells",
"charles wells fictional",
"walker glockenhammer",
"herbert g wells",
"herbet wells",
"h g herbert george wells",
"hg wells",
"h g welles",
"wells h... | [
"Science fiction\n\nScience fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientifi... |
qg_3330 | Sept 21, 1937 saw the publishing of what classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel, subtitled “There and Back Again”? | The Hobbit | [
"hobbit novel",
"thror s map",
"little hobbit",
"hobbit or there and back again",
"hobitt",
"lord of rings prequel",
"hobbitt",
"prequel to lord of ring",
"giant middle earth",
"jrr tolkien hobbit",
"there and back again",
"hobit",
"bilbo en hobbits äventyr",
"hobbit",
"publication histo... | [
"J. R. R. Tolkien\n\nJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien (;Tolkien pronounced his surname, see his phonetic transcription published on the illustration in The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One. [Edited by] Christopher Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, [25 August] 1988. (The History of Middle-e... |
qg_3337 | What nursery rhyme character kept his wife in a pumpkin shell? | Peter, Peter pumpkin eater | [
"peter peter pumpkin eater"
] | [
"Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater\n\n\"Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater\" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13497.",
"Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater\n\nLyrics",
"Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater\n\nCommon modern versions include:\nPeter, Peter pumpkin eater,\nHad a wife but couldn't keep her;\... |
qg_3340 | Known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions, what legendary creatures has the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle? | Griffin | [
"gryphin",
"griffin",
"legendary creature griffin",
"opinicus",
"gryyfins",
"griphons",
"grifens",
"axex",
"griffons",
"gryffin",
"griffins",
"keythong",
"griphon",
"gryphons",
"grifen",
"griffin version 2",
"gryphon heraldry",
"opinici",
"gryphen"
] | [
"Legendary creature\n\nA legendary creature is an animal described in non-historical stories that sometimes involve the supernatural. Other legendary animals, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity.",
"Legendary creature\n\nThe definitions of legendary an... |
qg_3342 | Who's missing: Chico, Groucho, Gummo, Zeppo? | Harpo | [
"harpo disambiguation",
"harpo"
] | [
"Chico Marx\n\nLeonard Marx (March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961), known professionally as Chico Marx, was an American comedian, musician, bandleader, actor and film star, individually and as a member of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a charming, dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly ... |
qg_3344 | Who was the president for all but the last 6 months of the Korean war? | Harry S Truman | [
"harry solomon truman",
"presidency of harry s truman",
"harold truman",
"hary truman",
"mary jane truman",
"mr citizen",
"h truman",
"president harry truman",
"harry shipp truman",
"s truman",
"presidency of harry truman",
"president truman",
"harry truman",
"harry truman s",
"harry shi... | [
"Korean War\n\nThe Korean War (in South Korean , \"Korean War\"; in North Korean , \"Fatherland Liberation War\"; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China, with assistance from... |
qg_3345 | Whose record did the Simpsons surpass for the longest-running animated series? | The Flintstones | [
"flintstones",
"flintstone",
"list of flintstones characters",
"flintstones fox",
"flintstones 2013",
"hoppy flintstones",
"hollyrock",
"mr slate",
"flinstones 2013 tv series",
"flintstones 1980",
"flintstones fox tv series",
"loyal order of water buffaloes lodge no 26",
"loyal order of wate... | [
"The Simpsons\n\nThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of a working class lifestyle epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town ... |
qg_3346 | Last week saw the demise of what CBS soap opera, having been the longest running soap opera ever? | Guiding Light | [
"cally brooke tarleton",
"grady foley",
"guiding light",
"citizens of springfield guiding light",
"billy lewis iii",
"guiding light 50th anniversary celebration"
] | [
"CBS\n\nCBS (an initialism of the network's former name, the Columbia Broadcasting System) is an American commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of CBS Corporation. The company is headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City with major production facilities and operations in New Y... |
qg_3349 | Which Italian fashion designer was shot and killed outside his Miami home by Andrew Cunanan in 1997? | Gianni Versace | [
"gianni versace",
"giani versaci"
] | [
"Andrew Cunanan\n\nAndrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer who murdered at least five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace, during a three-month period in 1997. On June 12, 1997, Cunanan became the 449th fugitive to be listed by the FBI on the FBI Ten Mos... |
qg_3350 | What is the most populous city in China? | Shanghai | [
"shanghai municipality china",
"zanhe",
"shanghai architecture images",
"滬",
"shanghai architectural images",
"shanghi",
"shnaghai",
"venice of orient",
"china shanghai",
"shang hae",
"shangai",
"shànghǎi shì",
"shanghai shi",
"snaghai",
"cn 31",
"shànghǎi",
"zånhae",
"sanghai",
... | [
"China\n\nChina, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), in Asia, is the world's most populous state, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China based in the capital of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four d... |
qg_3351 | Which eighties band was comprised of George Michael & Andrew Ridgley? | Wham! | [
"wham",
"wham pop duo",
"wham uk"
] | [
"George Michael\n\nGeorgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (born 25 June 1963), known professionally as George Michael, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame during the 1980s and 1990s with his style of post-disco dance-pop. He has also been characterised as a blue-eyed soul singer, although hi... |
qg_3352 | Yesterday marked the first day of fall. Was it a solstice? Or an equinox? | Equinox | [
"秋分",
"first point of libra",
"equilux",
"equinoxal",
"first point in aries",
"equinoctial point history1",
"spring equinox",
"vernal equinoxes",
"vernal point",
"equinox",
"equinoctial points",
"vernal equinox",
"fall equinox",
"vernal equinox point",
"dynamical equinox",
"autumnal po... | [
"Epoch (reference date)\n\nIn the fields of chronology and periodization, an epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The \"epoch\" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured. Time measurement units are counted from the epoch so that the date and time of events can be... |
qg_3353 | Of Oscar Madison and Felix Unger, which one was the slob? | Oscar Madison | [
"oscar madison",
"female odd couple",
"odd couple",
"murray greshler"
] | [
"The Odd Couple\n\nThe Odd Couple is a play by Neil Simon. Following its premiere on Broadway in 1965, the characters were revived in a successful 1968 film and 1970s television series, as well as other derivative works and spin-offs. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates: the neat, uptight Felix Ungar and th... |
qg_3354 | What magazine, with its iconic yellow border, was first published on Sept 22, 1888? | National Geographic | [
"nat geo",
"national geographic disambiguation",
"national geographic",
"natgeo",
"nationalgeographic"
] | [
"National Geographic (magazine)\n\nNational Geographic, formerly The National Geographic Magazine, is the official magazine of the National Geographic Society. It has been published continuously since its first issue in 1888, nine months after the Society itself was founded. It primarily contains articles about geo... |
qg_3355 | The Beaverton, Or sporting goods company Nike takes their name from a Greek Goddess. What was Nike the Goddess of? | Victory | [
"wining",
"victory pose",
"games won",
"victory",
"victory song",
"winning 1969 film",
"victress",
"victories"
] | [
"Nike, Inc.\n\nNike, Inc. (official, ; also, non-US) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland me... |
qg_3357 | In which country did the Contras battle the Sandinistas throughout most of the 1980s? | Nicaragua | [
"republic of nicaragua",
"nicaragua central america",
"nicarugua",
"republica de nicaragua",
"etymology of nicaragua",
"bibliography of nicaragua",
"health in nicaragua",
"nicaragua",
"subdivisions of nicaragua",
"nicaraguan",
"administrative divisions of nicaragua",
"república de nicaragua",
... | [
"Contras\n\nThe contras (some references use the capitalized form, \"Contras\") is a label given to the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to the early 1990s in opposition to the left-wing, socialist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government in Nicaragua. ... |
qg_3358 | September 19th is International what Day? | Talk Like a Pirate Day | [
"john baur",
"pirate english language",
"pirate day",
"international talk like pirate day itlapd",
"itlapd",
"tlapd",
"international speak like pirate day",
"international pirate day",
"cap n slappy",
"national speak like pirate day",
"ol chumbucket",
"international talk like buccaneer day",
... | [
"International Talk Like a Pirate Day\n\nInternational Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD, September 19) is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon, U.S., who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk l... |
qg_3359 | On Sept 22, 1827, Joseph Smith, Jr supposedly met an angel called Moroni who directed Smith to a long-buried book, inscribed on golden plates, which inspired him to write what? | The Book of Mormon | [
"controversies regarding origin of book of mormon",
"book of mormon",
"book of mormon controversies",
"book of mormon account written by hand of mormon upon plates taken from plates of nephi",
"manuscript history of book of mormon",
"books of mormon",
"moroni s promise",
"book of nephi",
"keystone s... | [
"Joseph Smith\n\nJoseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was twenty-four, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death fourteen years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of follow... |
qg_3360 | The Emmy awards, as hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, aired on Sunday. In what year was the award first given? | 1949 | [
"one thousand nine hundred and forty nine"
] | [
"Emmy Award\n\nAn Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, recognizes excellence in the television industry, and corresponds to the Academy Award (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Award (for music).",
"Emmy Award\n\nBecause Emmy Awards are given in various sectors of the American television industry, th... |
qg_3363 | The 24th Amendment to the US constitution makes what illegal? | Poll taxes | [
"poll taxes",
"pole tax",
"polltax",
"poll tax",
"poll tax disambiguation"
] | [
"Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution\n\nThe Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV) of the United States Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. The amendment was proposed by C... |
qg_3366 | Mount Ranier is the highest mountain in the state of Washington. What is the second hightest? | Mount Adams | [
"mount adams",
"mt adams",
"mount adams disambiguation"
] | [
"Mount Rainier\n\nMount Rainier (pronounced:), Mount Tacoma, or Mount Tahoma is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a large active stratovolcano located 54 mi south-southeast of Seattle. It is the most topographically pr... |
qg_3367 | Sept 20, 1973 saw the Battle of the Sexes, the tennis match that had which two players facing off against each other? | Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs | [
"billie jean king and bobby riggs"
] | [
"Battle of the Sexes (tennis)\n\nThe Battle of the Sexes is a title given to three notable tennis matches between a male and a female player. The first match was between Bobby Riggs and Margaret Court, over the best of three sets. The second was a nationally televised match between Riggs and Billie Jean King, over ... |
qg_3368 | “From the halls of Montezuma…” is the opening lyric to the official hymn of what branch of the U.S. armed forces? | Marine Corps | [
"naval infantry",
"marines military",
"national marine corps",
"maritime landing forces",
"marine armed services",
"marine forces",
"marine military",
"marine infantry",
"marine training",
"marine corps",
"marine force",
"marine experience",
"marines",
"list of marine forces"
] | [
"Marines' Hymn\n\nThe \"Marines' Hymn\" is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps, introduced by the first Director of USMC Band, Francesco Maria Scala. It is the oldest official song in the United States Armed Forces. The \"Marines' Hymn\" is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of... |
qg_3369 | What is the name of the asshat, English judge on American Idol, notorious for his blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities? | Simon Cowell | [
"lauren silverman",
"lightning cowell",
"simon cowbell",
"simon phillip cowell",
"andrew silverman",
"mezhgan hussainy",
"simon cowell",
"e s music",
"simon cowel",
"s records",
"eric cowell",
"simon cow"
] | [
"American Idol\n\nAmerican Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by 19 Entertainment, and distributed by FremantleMedia North America. It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002, and ended on April 7, 2016. It started off as an addition to the Idols format based on... |
qg_3371 | Located in Wyoming, what was the first National Monument, as declared by Teddy Roosevelt on Sept 24, 1906? | Devils Tower | [
"devils tower wy",
"devil s tower national monument",
"devils tower",
"devils tower wyoming",
"devil s tower",
"devils tower national monument",
"devils tower national monument wyoming",
"mato tipila"
] | [
"Wyoming\n\nWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The state is with its 97,000-plus square miles the tenth largest by area, but having less than 600,000 people the least populous and the second least densely populated of the 50 united states. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Mon... |
qg_3373 | Which TV comedy is set in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company? | The Office | [
"office",
"la ofis",
"office around world",
"office international franchise",
"office tv"
] | [
"Scranton, Pennsylvania\n\nScranton is the sixth-largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie and Reading. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley and hosts a federal court building. With a population of 76,089, it... |
qg_3374 | In which state would you find the gold depository at Fort Knox? | Kentucky | [
"state of kentucky",
"kentucky united states",
"fifteenth state",
"kentukcy",
"kentuckian",
"climate of kentucky",
"kentucky u s state",
"law and government of kentucky",
"religion in kentucky",
"15th state",
"us ky",
"economy of kentucky",
"government of kentucky",
"ky state",
"kentucky... | [
"United States Bullion Depository\n\nThe United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located within the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky, used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves and occasionally other precious items belonging ... |
qg_3376 | A Hoosier is a native of which state? | Indiana | [
"19th state",
"indiana state",
"education in indiana",
"transportation in indiana",
"state of indiana",
"religion in indiana",
"indiana usa",
"hoosier state",
"indiana",
"climate of indiana",
"indiana u s state",
"northeastern indiana",
"indana",
"commonwealth of indiana",
"ind",
"tran... | [
"Hoosier\n\nHoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate within the state, but \"Hoosier\" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem \"The Hoosier's Nest\". Anyone born in I... |
qg_3377 | Jermajesty was the son of which member of The Jackson 5? | Jermaine | [
"jermaine",
"jermaine disambiguation"
] | [
"The Jackson 5\n\nThe Jackson 5, or Jackson Five, also known as The Jacksons in later years, is an American popular music group. Formed in 1963 under the name the Jackson Brothers, the founding members were Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon. Michael would join one year later. After participating in talent shows an... |
qg_3378 | What Revolutionary War hero, who regretted that he had but one life to give his country, was hung by the British on Sept 22, 1776? | Nathan Hale | [
"nathan hale"
] | [
"Nathan Hale\n\nNathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British and executed. His last words before being hanged were ... |
qg_3380 | Called the Queen of the Skies, the first of what widebody airliner rolled out of the Everett assembly plant on September 30, 1968? | 747 | [
"seven hundred and forty seven"
] | [
"Boeing 747\n\nThe Boeing 747 is an American wide-body commercial jet airliner and cargo aircraft, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. Its distinctive \"hump\" upper deck along the forward part of the aircraft makes it among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and it w... |
qg_3383 | What type of geographical feature is the Little Bighorn, site of a famous 1876 battle? | River | [
"riverine",
"rivercourse",
"river maintenance flow",
"middle course",
"rivers",
"river",
"river flows",
"upper course",
"lower course",
"riveriness"
] | [
"Battle of the Little Bighorn\n\nThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to Lakota as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United... |
qg_3385 | Riverside, Iowa proclaims itself to be the "official future birthplace" of what fictional captain? | James T. Kirk | [
"james kirk",
"james t kirk",
"capt kirk",
"kaptain cirk",
"star trek james t kirk",
"james r kirk star trek",
"captain kirk",
"james tiberius kirk",
"kirok",
"admiral kirk",
"kirkian logic",
"jim kirk",
"captain james kirk",
"james tiberius 22jim 22 kirk",
"captain james t kirk"
] | [
"Riverside, Iowa\n\nRiverside is a city in rural Washington County, Iowa, United States, along the English River on Iowa Highway 22. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 993 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Highland Community School District.",
"Riverside, Iowa... |
qg_3388 | Born John Chapman on Sept 27, 1774, what pioneer nurseryman spent most of his life wandering through the Midwest, planting fruit orchards? | Johnny Appleseed | [
"johnny appleseed",
"johnny appleseed day",
"johnny appelseed",
"jonny apple seed",
"john appleseed",
"jonny appleseed"
] | [
"Johnny Appleseed\n\nJohn Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845), often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. He became an Amer... |
qg_3391 | What famed American architect was the leader of the Prairie School movement? | Frank Lloyd Wright | [
"frank lloyd wright disambiguation",
"wright frank lloyd",
"franklin lloyd wright",
"frank l wright",
"frank lyold wright",
"famous architect",
"frank loyd wright",
"frank lincoln wright",
"f l wright",
"frank lloyd wright",
"fl wright"
] | [
"Prairie School\n\nPrairie School was a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid c... |
qg_3392 | Dying of kidney failure on Sept 28, 1914, which business magnate partnered with Alvah Roebuck to found a still existing department store? | Richard Sears | [
"richard sears",
"richard sears disambiguation",
"sears richard"
] | [
"Alvah Curtis Roebuck\n\nAlvah Curtis Roebuck (January 9, 1864 – June 18, 1948) was a manager at, Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Richard Warren Sears.",
"Alvah Curtis Roebuck\n\nEarly life",
"Alvah Curtis Roebuck\n\nAlvah Curtis Roebuck was born on January 9, 1864 in Lafayette, Indiana. He began wo... |
qg_3393 | Winning all 13 tricks in a hand of Contract Bridge is known as what? | Grand Slam | [
"grand slam disambiguation",
"grand slam tournaments",
"grand slams",
"grand slam film",
"grand slam judo disambiguation",
"grandslam",
"grand slam album",
"grand slam judo",
"grand chelem",
"grand slam"
] | [
"Contract bridge\n\nContract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game using a standard 52-card deck. It is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions of people play bridge worldwide in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends... |
qg_3395 | What poet lamented "Water, water, everywhere, Nor any a drop to drink" in a 1789 poem? | Samuel Taylor Coleridge | [
"silas tomkyn comberbache",
"samuel taylor coleridge",
"coleridegy",
"samuel t coleridge",
"coleridgean",
"samuel coleridge",
"samuel tayler coleridge",
"s t coleridge",
"sarah fricker"
] | [
"Samuel Taylor Coleridge\n\nSamuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He wrote the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ... |
qg_3396 | What bird breed was used by coal miners to detect the presence of toxic gases in the mines? | Canary | [
"canary disambiguation",
"canary"
] | [
"Domestic canary\n\nThe domestic canary, often simply known as the canary (Serinus canaria forma domestica ), is a domesticated form of the wild canary, a small songbird in the finch family originating from the Macaronesian Islands (Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands).",
"Domestic canary\n\nCanaries were first br... |
qg_3397 | What can be a condiment, a gas, or a Colonel? | Mustard | [
"mustards",
"mustard",
"mustard disambiguation"
] | [
"Condiment\n\nA condiment is a spice, sauce, or, preparation that is added to food to impart a particular flavor, to enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. The term originally described pickled or preserved foods, but has shifted meaning over time.",
"Condiment\n\nMany condiments are av... |
qg_3398 | Graphite is a form of which chemical element? | Carbon | [
"carbonaceous",
"history of carbon",
"carbon element",
"carbon unit",
"carbon",
"carbon atoms",
"carbon atom",
"carbonic",
"atomic number 6",
"carbonous",
"carbons",
"kohlenstoff",
"c element"
] | [
"Graphite\n\nGraphite, archaically referred to as plumbago, is a crystalline form of carbon, a semimetal, a native element mineral, and one of the allotropes of carbon. Graphite is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Therefore, it is used in thermochemistry as the standard state for defining t... |
qg_3399 | It is generally believed that what Philadelphia widow created the first Stars and Stripes in 1776? | Betsy Ross | [
"elizabeth ashburn",
"elizabeth claypoole",
"betsy griscom ross",
"betsey ross",
"elizabeth griscom",
"betsy ross",
"ross betsy griscom"
] | [
"Philadelphia\n\nPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the fifth-most populous in the United States, with an estimated population in 2014 of 1,560,297. In the Northeastern United States, at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, Philadelphia is the economic and ... |
qg_3400 | Mohair is a silk-like fabric made from the hair of what domesticated animal? | Angora goat | [
"angora goat",
"angora goats"
] | [
"Mohair\n\nMohair is usually a silk-like fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. \nBoth durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster and sheen, which has helped give it the nickname the \"Diamond Fiber\", and is often used in fiber blends to add these qualities to a textile. Mohair ta... |
qg_3403 | Sperm, pilot, and beluga are all types of what? | Whales | [
"whale",
"whales",
"whale behaviour",
"🐋",
"whale behavior",
"mating whales",
"whale pump",
"whale anatomy",
"🐳",
"whale reproduction",
"cryptic cetaceans",
"whales in captivity",
"whale sounding"
] | [
"Sperm whale\n\nThe sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), or cachalot, is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of genus Physeter, and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus... |
qg_3404 | What part of the human body is affected by meningitis? | Brain | [
"brain marrow",
"vertebrate brain",
"visual verbal ability",
"brain cell",
"mind myths",
"brainy",
"mammalian brain",
"brain",
"brain functions",
"encephalon",
"brain function",
"brain metabolism"
] | [
"Human body\n\nThe human body is the entire structure of a human being and comprises a head, neck, trunk (which includes the thorax and abdomen), arms and hands, legs and feet.\nEvery part of the body is composed of various types of cells, the fundamental unit of life.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?... |
qg_3405 | Established on September 25, 1890, Sequoia National Park is in what state? | California | [
"california state",
"califnornia",
"christianity in california",
"kalifoni",
"california united states",
"state of california",
"california united states of america",
"california s",
"california us",
"califórnia",
"taxifornia",
"californny",
"california province",
"california u s state",
... | [
"Sequoia National Park\n\nSequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13000 ft, the park contains among its natural resources the highest ... |
qg_3406 | Last week, the Department of Justice released a detailed report on Operation Fast and Furious, which allowed what to be smuggled across the Mexican border? | Guns | [
"guns",
"gun"
] | [
"ATF gunwalking scandal\n\n\"Gunwalking\", or \"letting guns walk\", was a tactic of the Arizona Field Office of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which ran a series of sting operations between 2006 and 2011 in the Tucson and Phoenix area where the ATF \"purposely allowe... |
qg_3407 | Now a National Historic Site, at what Washington DC location (10th St NW) did the first presidential assassination take place? | Ford's Theater | [
"ford s theater",
"fords theatre",
"ford s theatre society",
"ford s theatre national historic site",
"ford s theatre lincoln museum",
"fords theater",
"ford s theatre national historic site district of columbia",
"ford s new theatre",
"ford s theatre",
"ford s athenaeum",
"house where lincoln d... | [
"Washington, D.C.\n\nWashington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as \"Washington\", \"the District\", or simply \"D.C.\", is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac Riv... |
qg_3409 | Former Seahawks all pro receiver Steve Largent is formerly a US representative from what state? | Oklahoma | [
"sooner state",
"religion in oklahoma",
"oklahoma",
"us ok",
"oklahoma u s state",
"46th state",
"oklahoma united states",
"oklahoma state",
"transportation in oklahoma",
"forty sixth state",
"energy in oklahoma",
"education in oklahoma",
"oclahoma",
"sports in oklahoma",
"oklaholma",
... | [
"Steve Largent\n\nStephen Michael \"Steve\" Largent (born September 28, 1954) is a retired American football player, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a former Republican politician, having served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma, from 1994 until 2002. Prior to his political career, L... |
qg_3410 | Known as The Silver State, what was the 36th state to join the Union on Oct 31, 1864? | Nevada | [
"silver state",
"transport in nevada",
"sports in nevada",
"transportation in nevada",
"36th state",
"tikaboo valley",
"state of nevada",
"battle born state",
"demographics of nevada",
"sagebrush state",
"nevada state",
"nevada u s state",
"politics of nevada",
"thirty sixth state",
"nev... | [
"Nevada\n\nNevada (Spanish for \"snow covered\") is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 35th most populous, and the 9th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in... |
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