title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: On the Volcanal there was also a statue of Horatius Cocles that had been moved here from the Comitium, "locus inferior", after it had been struck by lightning. Aulus Gellius writes that some haruspices were summoned to expiate the prodigy and they had it moved to a lower site, where sunlight never reached, out of their hatred for the Romans. The fraud was revealed, however, and the haruspices were executed. Later it was found that the statue should be placed on a higher site, thus it was placed in the "area Volcani".


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: In 304 BC a sacellum to Concordia was built in the "area Volcani": it was dedicated by aedilis curulis Cnaeus Flavius.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: According to Samuel Ball Platner, in the course of time the "Volcanal" would have been more and more encroached upon by the surrounding buildings until it was totally covered over. Nonetheless the cult was still alive in the first half of the imperial era, as is testified by the finding of a dedica of Augustus's dating from 9 BC.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: At the beginning of the 20th century, behind the Arch of Septimius Severus were found some ancient tufaceous foundations that probably belonged to the Volcanal and traces of a rocky platform, 3.95 meters long and 2.80 meters wide, that had been covered with concrete and painted in red. Into its upper surface are dug several narrow channels and in front of it are the remains of a draining channel made of tufaceous slabs. The hypothesis has been suggested that this was Vulcan's "area" itself. The rock shows signs of damages and repairs. On the surface there are some hollows, either round or square, that bear resemblance to graves and were interpreted as such in the past, particularly by Von Duhn. After the discovery of cremation tombs in the Forum the latter scholar maintained that the Volcanal was originally the site where corpses were cremated.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: Another temple was erected to the god before 215 BC in the Campus Martius, near the Circus Flaminius, where games in his honour were held during the festival of the Volcanalia.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: At Ostia the cult of the god, as well as his "sacerdos", was the most important of the town. The sacerdos was named "pontifex Vulcani et aedium sacrarum": he had under his jurisdiction all the sacred buildings in town and could give or withhold the authorisation to erect new statues to Eastern divinities. He was chosen for life, perhaps by the council of the "decuriones", and his position was the equivalent of the pontifex maximus in Rome. It was the highest administrative position in the town of Ostia.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: He was selected from among people who had already held public office in Ostia or in the imperial administration. The pontifex was the sole authority who had a number of subordinate officials to help discharge his duties, namely three "praetores" and two or three "aediles". These were religious offices, different from civil offices of similar name.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: On the grounds of a fragmentary inscription found at Annaba (ancient Hippo Regius), it is considered possible that the writer Suetonius had held this office.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: From Strabon we know that at Pozzuoli there was an area called in Greek "agora' of Hephaistos" (Lat. Forum Vulcani). The place is a plain where many sulphurous vapour outlets are located (currently "Solfatara").


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: Pliny the Elder records that near Modena fire came out from soil "statis Vulcano diebus", on fixed days devoted to Vulcan.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: Vulcan is the patron god of the English steel-making city of Sheffield. His statue stands on top of Sheffield Town Hall.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: The word "volcano" is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy, whose name in turn originates from Vulcan.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: A 12-foot-tall and 1200-pound Vulcan statue at California University of Pennsylvania serves as the school's mascot.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: In 2013, Reuters reported that the name "Vulcan" was being promoted as a name for "newly discovered" moons of Pluto. The moons had been discovered in 2011 and 2012, bringing the count of known moons of Pluto to five. Though the name "Vulcan" won a popular vote, the International Astronomical Union decided in June 2013 to finalize the names as Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: The name "Vulcan" has been used for various other fictional planets, in and out of the Solar System, that do not correspond to the hypothetical planet Vulcan, theorized by Urbain Le Verrier shortly after his discovery of Neptune to orbit the Sun closer in than Mercury. The planet Vulcan in the "Star Trek" franchise, for instance, is specified as orbiting 40 Eridani A.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: Vulcan is a main character in the novel "The Automation" by B.L.A. and G.B. Gabbler. His role is often a "deus ex machina" one, but he and his wife (called Venus) are still essential to the overall plot.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan) was a high-altitude strategic bomber operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: Vulcan is a character in the Starz TV series "American Gods," based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. He is not a character in the novel and is now the "god of guns" in this version, using the forge at his ammunition factory as a symbolic representation of a volcano.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: Vulcan is a character in the John Prine song, "The Lonesome Friends of Science" from his last album, "The Tree of Forgiveness" released in 2018.


title: Vulcan (mythology)

text: One of Warhammer 40.000's most recurring characters, Vulkan, is inspired by him. He is also related to volcanoes and fire.


title: War Machine (film)

text: War Machine is a 2017 American satirical war comedy film directed and written by David Michôd and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Anthony Hayes, Topher Grace, Will Poulter, Tilda Swinton, and Ben Kingsley. Based on the nonfiction book "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" by Michael Hastings, it is a fictionalized version of the events in the book based on United States Army General Stanley McChrystal.


title: War Machine (film)

text: In the summer of 2009, four-star General Glen McMahon, having won renown for his effective leadership in Iraq, is sent to Afghanistan to prepare a strategic assessment so that the government can end the ongoing war. He is given wide latitude to write it, on the sole condition that he not request more troops.


title: War Machine (film)

text: McMahon and his staff, particularly his right hand man Major General Greg Pulver, are united in their belief that the war can be won, and decide to recommend that President Obama authorize a surge of 40,000 additional troops to secure Helmand province in order to stabilize the country. However, the Secretary of State informs McMahon that, because he requested more troops, and such a surge is incompatible with upcoming elections, McMahon's report will not be reviewed until after Afghanistan's presidential election.


title: War Machine (film)

text: Captain Badi Basim, a member of the Afghan National Army, joins McMahon's staff as a "representative" of the Afghan people. He arrives in civilian clothes as he does not wish to wear his uniform, which he has in a bag, because of the risk of being killed. Meanwhile, McMahon is informed that due to massive voter fraud in the recent election, a runoff election will have to be held, further delaying the review of the assessment. Fed up, McMahon secretly leaks the assessment to "The Washington Post" and organizes an interview with "60 Minutes", during which he reveals that, in the last 70 days he has only been granted one meeting with President Obama.


title: War Machine (film)

text: In response, Obama announces that he will send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, but that all U.S. and coalition forces in the country will leave in 18 months, infuriating McMahon and his staff for telegraphing America's Afghan strategy to the Taliban in Afghanistan. To gather the remaining 10,000 troops needed for his strategy to work, McMahon and his men head to Paris to negotiate with the other coalition nations.


title: War Machine (film)

text: In Paris, McMahon learns that the President is in Denmark and wishes to meet with him. The ambassador to Afghanistan warns McMahon that he needs to understand President Obama's position: if McMahon continues to anger the President, he will be fired for insubordination. The President, however, merely shakes McMahon's hand as he climbs aboard Air Force One, supposedly due to time constraints. McMahon and his staff attend a dinner in McMahon's honor, accompanied by "Rolling Stone" writer Sean Cullen, who intends to write a feature story about his performance for an upcoming issue. The next day, during their wedding anniversary dinner, McMahon's wife Jeanie confronts him about how much time he's been spending fighting abroad instead of being with his family back home.


title: War Machine (film)

text: While en route to Berlin with McMahon's staff to continue negotiations, Cullen observes their behavior when "out of country" and concludes that they are arrogant, seem to care little about the growing public perception that the war is costly and unwinnable, and hold civilian leadership in contempt. At a conference to discuss his strategy, McMahon is confronted by a German official who criticizes the war and McMahon's strategy. Nevertheless, both the Germans and the French agree to furnish the troops needed for McMahon's planned offensive, codenamed "Operation Moshtarak", to proceed, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's approval.


title: War Machine (film)

text: The operation launches, but soon runs into trouble when several civilians are accidentally killed. When McMahon holds a public meeting with locals to apologize for the incident and explain that the U.S. is fighting the war for the benefit of Afghans, the crowd grows hostile and asks McMahon and his troops to leave.


title: War Machine (film)

text: McMahon later learns that Cullen's article has been published, and realizes it paints a negative picture of him and his staff as openly speaking against the President and mishandling the war effort. The President calls McMahon to Washington. Knowing that he will be fired for his actions, McMahon returns to Washington and later takes a job as a civilian consultant.


title: War Machine (film)

text: In the aftermath, Cullen ponders the consequences of his article, noting that he wished McMahon's fall would finally convince the government to stop invading foreign countries and end the war in Afghanistan. Instead the government simply assigns a new general to replace McMahon.


title: War Machine (film)

text: On April 27, 2012, it was announced that New Regency and Plan B Entertainment had acquired the film adaptation rights to the 2011 best seller non-fiction book "The Operators" by Michael Hastings. On April 14, 2014, David Michôd was hired to write and direct the film based on the war in Afghanistan. Brad Pitt was attached to star as General Stanley McChrystal and produce the film along with his Plan B partners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, while the film would be financed by New Regency and RatPac Entertainment.


title: War Machine (film)

text: On June 8, 2015, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the film which was re-titled "War Machine", while Ian Bryce also came on board to produce the film along with others. On June 17, "The Hollywood Reporter" revealed that there had been a budget issue between New Regency and RatPac with producers of Plan B, and thus Netflix had stepped in to buy the distribution rights for $60 million.


title: War Machine (film)

text: On August 4, 2015, Emory Cohen was cast in the film to play a member of Gen. McChrystal's staff. On August 10, 2015, Topher Grace joined the film to play Gen. Stanley McChrystal's civilian press adviser. On August 11, 2015, John Magaro signed on to play Cory Burger, a special ops soldier and close advisor to General McMahon. On August 14, 2015, Scoot McNairy joined the cast of the film. On August 19, 2015, Anthony Michael Hall was added to the cast to play General Hank Pulver, loosely based on General Mike Flynn. On August 20, 2015, LaKeith Stanfield signed on to the film. The same day, Will Poulter also joined the cast for an unspecified role. On August 25, Anthony Hayes joined the film. On October 23, 2015, "TheWrap" revealed that RJ Cyler had also joined the film.


title: War Machine (film)

text: Principal photography on the film began in mid-October 2015 in London. Later on October 19, filming began in Abu Dhabi; the city was transformed into Kabul, streets into a military fortress, an old building as an American Embassy in Kabul, and a street as a Palestinian border crossing. Filming also took place at the Abu Dhabi International Airport in November. In mid-November 2015, while final scenes were being shot, actors were spotted filming in Ras al-Khaimah and the city's old neighborhood was transformed into Pakistani villages and a military base-camp. The film’s final scene filmed in Sydney Airport’s International Terminal arrival hall, is a cameo appearance by Russel Crowe, a Sydney resident, along with other Australian Dan Wyllie. The scene displays pitch black windows as it was filmed during the airports 11pm to 6am shutdown and curfew.


title: War Machine (film)

text: Brad Pitt visited Mumbai to promote the film and attended a special screening at PVR High Street Phoenix on May 24, 2017. He also met Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan to promote "War Machine".


title: War Machine (film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 97 reviews, and an average rating of 5.64/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""War Machine"s uneven execution keeps its fact-based story from cleanly hitting its targets, but those flaws are frequently offset by sharp wit and solid acting." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a 56 out of 100 score, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Kay Ivey

text: Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 54th and incumbent governor of Alabama since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor of Alabama from 2011 to 2017.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Ivey became Alabama's second female governor and the first female Republican governor upon the resignation of her predecessor, Robert J. Bentley. She won a full term in the 2018 gubernatorial election by a wide margin against challenger Walt Maddox. At age , Ivey is the oldest currently serving governor in the United States.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Ivey was born on October 15, 1944, in Camden, Alabama, as the only child to Boadman Nettles (1913–1997) and Barbara Elizabeth (née Nettles) Ivey (1915–1998). Her father, who served as an officer in the U.S. Army during World War II, worked with the Gees Bend community as part of the Farmers Home Administration. Ivey's parents were second cousins.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Growing up in Camden, Ivey worked on her father's farm. She graduated from Auburn University, where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, becoming president of her first-year pledge class, and served in the Student Government Association all four years. Ivey participated in a blackface skit while at Auburn, for which she later apologized. In 2021, Ivey received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Jacksonville State University.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In 1967, Ivey moved to California following a marriage and became a high school teacher for several years. Following the end of her marriage, she returned to Alabama and landed a position with Merchants National Bank, where she launched a school relations program to promote financial literacy. Ivey has been divorced twice and has no children.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In 1979, she was appointed by then-Governor Fob James to serve in the state cabinet. She later served as the reading clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives between 1980 and 1982 and served as Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office between 1982 and 1985.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In 1982, Ivey ran unsuccessfully for State Auditor as a Democrat. She was Director of Government Affairs and Communications for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education from 1985 until 1998.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Ivey took office as state treasurer in 2003, after defeating Stephen Black, the grandson of former United States Supreme Court justice Hugo Black, in the 2002 general election, by a margin of 52–48%. In 2006, Ivey was reelected over Democrat Steve Segrest by a 60–40% margin. She was the first Republican elected state treasurer since Reconstruction.


title: Kay Ivey

text: As Treasurer, Ivey also oversaw the near complete financial collapse of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program. Under this program tens of thousands of Alabama families were assured by the state that their investment in the program would guarantee their children four years of tuition at any state college. Following the program's inception, many of the state's colleges increased the cost of tuition at triple the inflation rate (or more), so the program became financially unsustainable and was subsequently bailed out by the Alabama state legislature.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Under the Alabama Constitution, Ivey was not eligible to seek reelection to a third term as state treasurer in 2010. Her name surfaced in press speculation about gubernatorial candidates in 2010.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In 2009, Ivey announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2010 elections, joining a crowded field of seven Republican candidates. In March 2010, Ivey abandoned her run for governor and qualified to run for lieutenant governor. She ran against State Senator Hank Erwin of Montevallo and schoolteacher Gene Ponder of Baldwin County for the Republican nomination. In the June 2010 primary election, Ivey won the nomination with 56.6% of the vote, to Erwin's 31.4% and Ponder's 12%.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In the November 2010 elections, in a Republican sweep of statewide offices, Ivey defeated Democratic incumbent Lieutenant Governor Jim Folsom Jr., who had sought an unprecedented fourth term. Ivey received 764,112 votes to Folsom's 718,636.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In 2014, Ivey was challenged in the Republican primary by pastor Stan Cooke of Jefferson County. Ivey received the support of major lobbying groups, such as the Business Council of Alabama, Alabama Retail Association, Alabama Farmers Federation, and Alabama Forestry Association. Ivey defeated Cooke in the primary, with 257,588 votes (61.68%) to Cooke's 160,023 (38.32%). In the general election, Ivey faced Democratic nominee James C. Fields, a former state legislator. In November 2014, Ivey won reelection with 738,090 votes to Fields's 428,007. This marked the first time a Republican was reelected lieutenant governor in the state's history.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Ivey was sworn in as governor following the resignation of Robert J. Bentley on April 10, 2017. She is the second female governor in the state's history. The first was Lurleen Wallace, the wife of former governor George Wallace; she was governor for about 16 months in 1967 and 1968, until her death from cancer.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In April 2017, Ivey signed a bill into law that barred judges from overruling a jury's recommendation on the death penalty in sentencing in capital murder cases. Previously Alabama had been the only state with a "judicial override" that allowed a judge to sentence a defendant to death when a jury had recommended a sentence of life without parole. Before the bill was passed, Alabama's capital sentencing scheme was viewed as likely to be struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In September 2017, Ivey announced that she was running for election to a full term in the 2018 gubernatorial election.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Former U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) resigned from that office in February 2017 to serve as U.S. Attorney General, whereupon then-Governor Bentley chose Luther Strange to succeed Sessions in the Senate until a special election, which Bentley controversially scheduled to align with the 2018 general election instead of sooner. When Ivey succeeded Bentley, she rescheduled the special election for December 12, 2017.


title: Kay Ivey

text: After former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore won the Republican nomination for that U.S. Senate seat, "The Washington Post" published an article revealing allegations of sexual abuse against minors by Moore, which caused many Republican voters and groups in Alabama to withdraw their support for him. There began to be discussion as to whether Ivey would delay the election to allow the Republicans to field an alternative candidate. Ivey subsequently said: "The election date is set for December 12. Were [Strange] to resign I would simply appoint somebody to fill the remaining time until we have the election on December 12." Ivey stated on November 17 that although she had no reason to disbelieve the allegations, she intended to vote for Moore to protect the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, a statement for which she was criticized. Moore lost the special election to former U.S. Attorney and Democratic nominee Doug Jones. On December 28 Ivey and Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill certified the senatorial election result despite an attempt by the Moore campaign to delay certification over unsubstantiated accusations of voter fraud.


title: Kay Ivey

text: On April 6, 2018, Ivey signed a bill exempting economic development professionals from registering as lobbyists under the Alabama ethics law. The bill was sponsored by Ken Johnson and would have died if not signed by Ivey over the weekend. Ivey said the legislation would allow the state "to remain on a level playing field with other states, as we compete for job creating capital investments" and Alabama's ability to attract highly sought-after economic development projects would allow the state to continue experiencing "record-low unemployment". On April 9, Ivey signed a bill extending the reach of the Simplified Sellers Use Tax to capture purchases from third-party vendors selling products through Amazon and other online marketplaces. In a press release, Ivey said the legislation would "help bring about a competitive balance between brick-and-mortar retailers in Alabama and third-party online sellers, while streamlining the collection of use taxes that are currently due on online transactions." In a June letter to United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Ivey wrote that she opposed "any efforts that may harm those companies that employ thousands of Alabamians and contribute billions to our economy" and advocated for Ross to "not recommend to President Trump the levying of trade tariffs on automobiles and automotive parts." In August, Ivey named Kelly Butler as Alabama acting finance director, saying that Butler would serve until the completion of a search for a permanent director and would "do an excellent job leading the Alabama Department of Finance during this interim period."


title: Kay Ivey

text: In October 2018, Ivey announced her intent to form an advisory council with the purpose of studying ways to improve science, technology, engineering and math instruction in schools to meet an expectation of strong job demands over the following decade. Ivey said that STEM-related jobs were expected to grow faster than most other forms of employment while paying a median wage roughly twice as large as jobs in other fields and that the Governor's Advisory Council for Excellence in STEM would include educators and representatives of government, business and industry who would give her a comprehensive report on the matter by the end of the year.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In May 2017, Ivey signed House Bill 24, which would permit religious agencies to refuse to place an adopted child in an LGBTQ family.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In April 2021, Ivey signed a bill banning trans girls from competing in women's sports in Alabama. The bill, HB 391, sponsored by Representative Scott Stadthagen, bans K-12 sports teams from participating in trans-inclusive athletic events. It passed the Alabama House 74-19 and the Alabama Senate 25-5.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In April 2022, Ivey signed two bills related to transgender issues into law. One bans doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to anyone under 19 and would subject doctors to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000 for providing such treatments. In a statement, Ivey said, "There are very real challenges facing our young people, especially with today’s societal pressures and modern culture" and "I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl." The other law requires students to use the bathrooms of their birth sex. The bill was amended in the Senate to prevent discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through fifth grade, modeled after Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In May 2018, Ivey signed a memo authorizing Alabama school administrators to have guns at schools if they qualified under the Alabama Sentry Program, and thereby be granted permission to "use lethal force to defend the students, faculty, staff, and visitors of his or her school from the threat of imminent bodily harm or death by an armed intruder." In her announcement of the policy, she said, "With the unfortunate continuance of occurrence of school violence in our schools across the nation, we simply cannot afford to wait until the next legislative session." The proposal was criticized by members of both parties, with Republican Mayor of Huntsville Tommy Battle dismissing it as a "one size fits all" plan and Democratic Mayor of Tuscaloosa Walt Maddox suggesting that the program was flawed.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In March 2022, Ivey signed into law House Bill 272, known as constitutional carry. It eliminates the legal requirement to obtain a permit to concealed carry handguns. Ivey said, "Unlike states who are doing everything in their power to make it harder for law-abiding citizens, Alabama is reaffirming our commitment to defending our Second Amendment rights", and "I have always stood up for the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and I am proud to do that again today."


title: Kay Ivey

text: In August 2018, after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that blocked the Alabama Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Act, Ivey reflected on her support for the state law while serving as lieutenant governor and said, "we should not let this discourage our steadfast commitment to protect the lives of the unborn, even if that means taking this case to the U.S. Supreme Court." She added that the ruling "clearly demonstrates why we need conservative justices on the Supreme Court" and expressed her support for the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 11th Circuit Court's ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union represented those opposing appeal. ACLU attorney Andrew Beck said, "While we are pleased to see the end of this particular case, we know that it is nowhere near the end of efforts to undermine access to abortion."


title: Kay Ivey

text: On May 15, 2019, Ivey signed the even more restrictive House Bill 314, which intended to criminalize abortion as of November 2019 except in cases where the mother's life is threatened or the fetus may not survive. It mandated prison sentences of up to 99 years for physicians performing such surgery. The bill intentionally contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in "Roe v. Wade" that laws banning abortion before fetal viability are unconstitutional, and is expected to be challenged in court. The legislation has also gained notoriety for not allowing exceptions in cases of rape or incest. On October 29, shortly before the law was to take effect, a federal judge blocked the statute. Ivey and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said they expected the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling on appeal.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In March 2018, Ivey announced that Alabama would seek permission to put work or job-training requirements on the Medicaid benefits for roughly 75,000 able-bodied adults whose incomes were just a few hundred dollars a month. She asserted that the work requirements would "save taxpayer dollars and will reserve Medicaid services for those that are truly in need of assistance."


title: Kay Ivey

text: In September, Ivey said that everyone wanted "high-quality medicine at an affordable cost available to everybody" but that enacting the policy would require figuring out how to pay for it.


title: Kay Ivey

text: On October 1, Ivey announced that the federal government had approved a new care-management program in Alabama to complement and enhance the state's current system of long-term care services provided to approximately 23,000 Alabama Medicaid recipients. She called the approval "a significant step in our efforts to transform the delivery of services to Medicaid recipients" and said it was her goal "to ensure that all Alabamians receive high-quality health care, no matter their economic status."


title: Kay Ivey

text: Ivey opposes Medicaid expansion, saying in 2018 that it was "not an issue we can tackle at this point."


title: Kay Ivey

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivey declared a state of emergency on March 13, 2020. She was reluctant to issue a stay-at-home order. On March 28, Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth wrote an open letter criticizing Ivey's actions in regard to the pandemic as inadequate. Ivey issued a stay-at-home order on April 3 to take effect the following day. In May 2021, Ivey prohibited businesses and public institutions in Alabama from requiring people to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to access facilities and services. In July 2021, she pleaded with Alabamians to get vaccinated, blaming the unvaccinated for the continued spread of the disease. In September 2021, she signed a bill into law that used COVID-19 relief funds to build new prisons in Alabama. In October 2021, she ordered state agencies in Alabama to refuse to comply with federal vaccine requirements.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In October 2018, Ivey appointed Ruby L. Perry and Kevin McKinstry to the Alabama Environmental Management Commission.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In June 2021, Ivey's office announced her decision to run for a second full term as governor. Ivey drew 14 challengers by the time the candidate qualification period closed. Eight of those running against her were doing so in her own party's primary.


title: Kay Ivey

text: During her campaign, Ivey released an ad titled "Stole" that falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump. She was reelected with 67.4% of the vote.


title: Kay Ivey

text: Ivey has been married and divorced twice, and has no children. Her first marriage was to Ben LaRavia; they became engaged while studying at Auburn University.


title: Kay Ivey

text: In 2019, Ivey was diagnosed with lung cancer. She received an outpatient treatment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on September 20, 2019. She said, "I am confident of God’s plan and purpose for my life." Ivey was declared cancer-free in January 2020. The cancer was Stage I and responded well to radiation treatment.


title: Pico de gallo

text: Pico de gallo (, ), also called salsa fresca ('fresh sauce'), salsa bandera ('flag sauce'), and salsa cruda ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onion, and serrano peppers (jalapeños or habaneros may be used as alternatives), with salt, lime juice, and cilantro.


title: Pico de gallo

text: "Pico de gallo" can be used in much the same way as other Mexican liquid salsas. Because it contains less liquid, it also can be used as a main ingredient in dishes such as tacos and fajitas.


title: Pico de gallo

text: The tomato-based variety is widely known as salsa picada ('minced/chopped sauce'). In Mexico it is normally called salsa mexicana ('Mexican sauce'). Because the colours of the red tomato, white onion, and green chili and cilantro are reminiscent of the colours of the Mexican flag, it is also called salsa bandera ('flag sauce').


title: Pico de gallo

text: In many regions of Mexico the term "pico de gallo" describes any of a variety of salads (including fruit salads), salsa, or fillings made with tomato, tomatillo, avocado, orange, jícama, cucumber, papaya, or mild chilis. The ingredients are tossed in lime juice and optionally with either hot sauce or chamoy, then sprinkled with a salty chili powder.


title: Pico de gallo

text: According to food writer Sharon Tyler Herbst, "pico de gallo" ("rooster's beak") is named thus because originally people ate it by pinching pieces between the thumb and forefinger.


title: Pico de gallo

text: In their book "Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico", Rick Bayless and Deann Groen speculate that the name might allude to the bird feed–like texture and appearance of the mince.


title: Pico de gallo

text: Many native residents of the Sonoran Mexico region explain that the salsa is thus named because the serrano pepper resembles a rooster's beak in shape.


title: Pico de gallo

text: The Spanish "picar" means "to chop" or "to bite" (in the sense of a spicy chili having a "bite"); in the first person conjugation, "picar" becomes "pico".


title: Douglas Henshall

text: Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series "Primeval" (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama "Shetland" (2013–2022).


title: Douglas Henshall

text: Henshall's mother was a nurse and his father a salesman. He attended Barrhead High School. While studying there, he joined the Scottish Youth Theatre. After graduation, he moved to London and trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Later, Henshall joined the theatre company in Glasgow. He later returned to London where he received critical acclaim for his theatre work, notably "Life of Stuff" at the Donmar Warehouse (1993) and "American Buffalo" at the Young Vic (1997). He married his partner, Croatian writer Tena Štivičić, in Las Vegas in February 2010.


title: Douglas Henshall

text: In 1993, Henshall appeared in Dennis Potter's television adaptation of "Lipstick on Your Collar". He also portrayed T. E. Lawrence in a recurring role in the American television series "Young Indiana Jones" (1992–1996). In 1993 he appeared in series 10 of "The Bill". One of his first successful film roles was as Edgar in "Angels and Insects" (1995) before going on to star in "Sharpe's Justice" (1997), "Orphans" (1998), "The Man with Rain in His Shoes" (1998). He has also starred in many television series and is known for his roles in "Psychos" (1999) "This Year's Love" (1999) and "Kid in the Corner" (1999) (for which he won a gold nymph as best actor in a mini-series at the Monte-Carlo TV festival in 2000).


title: Douglas Henshall

text: Henshall appeared in the films "Lawless Heart" (2001) "Gentlemen’s Relish" (2001) and "Silent Cry" (2002). Roles on television include Konstantin Levin in "Anna Karenina" (2000), and Dan in "Loving You" (2003). He has also performed in plays for BBC radio, including the role of Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" (1999) and David in "The Long Farewell" (2002). In the summer of 2002, Douglas returned to the London stage where he performed the role of Michael Bakunin in Tom Stoppard's new trilogy of plays, "The Coast of Utopia", at the National Theatre.


title: Douglas Henshall

text: Henshall played Marcus in the post-production British comedy film "French Film", alongside Hugh Bonneville and Anne-Marie Duff. He took the starring role as scientist Professor Nick Cutter in the first three series of the science fiction series "Primeval" from 2007 to 2009 and starred in "Dorian Gray" (2009) as the doctor Alan Campbell.


title: Douglas Henshall

text: He went on to appear in another ITV1 show, "Collision", in which he played the investigating officer of a multiple car crash. In 2010, Douglas starred in a BBC1 drama called "The Silence". He appeared in Series 5 of "Lewis" in the episode "The Mind Has Mountains" and as Cradoc in "The Eagle" (2011).


title: Douglas Henshall

text: In summer 2011, Henshall starred in Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End playing the lover of Emma, played by Kristin Scott Thomas. Her husband was played by Ben Miles and the revival was brought to life by director Ian Rickson. In autumn 2012, he appeared as Oliver Cromwell in the premiere of the new play "55 Days".


title: Douglas Henshall

text: In 2012, he starred as Augustus Cribben in "The Secret of Crickley Hall", and in the ITV television film of Ian Rankin's novel "Doors Open".


title: Douglas Henshall

text: In 2013, Henshall starred as Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the BBC drama "Shetland" filmed in Lerwick and Glasgow. The story was based on Ann Cleeves' Shetland crime novel "Red Bones". A second series of six episodes consisted of three, two-part, stories based on Cleeve's "Raven Black", "Dead Water" and "Blue Lightning". It screened in the UK in March and April 2014. A further series was filmed in 2015, screening on BBC1 in the UK during January and February 2016. Henshall won the Bafta Scotland best television actor award in 2016 for his work in the series and the show won the best television drama.


title: Douglas Henshall

text: In 2016, he starred in the Scottish three-part television drama series "In Plain Sight" as the detective William Muncie, who pursued serial murderer Peter Manuel to his conviction and ultimate execution by hanging.


title: Douglas Henshall

text: Henshall starred in the film "Iona", written and directed by Scott Graham, which opened in March 2016. It is the story of a mother who burns her car and takes her teenage son on a ferry to the island she was named after. In 2019 he appeared as antiquarian book dealer Adam Snow in Susan Hill's Ghost Story - The Small Hand (Channel 5 TV).


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017) was an American actor and playwright. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series "True Blood" (2008–2014), for which he won a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy, among other accolades. He also starred as Shinwell Johnson in "Elementary" from 2016 to 2017, and played a variety of guest roles in other television series, including "Veronica Mars" and "Without a Trace."


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: In addition to his television work, Ellis appeared in several feature films throughout his career. He portrayed Eddie Sweat in the Disney sports drama "Secretariat" (2010), was Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels' "The Butler" (2013), and was Bobby Byrd in the 2014 James Brown biopic "Get on Up". His final acting role was in "True to the Game", which was released posthumously.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: Ellis was born in Harvey, Illinois, near Chicago, the son of Jackie Ellis and Tommie Lee Thompson. When Ellis and his siblings were young, their mother, a single parent after her divorce, broke down after the death of her brother. Ellis and his siblings became wards of the state, and later were raised in Bessemer, Alabama, by their maternal grandmother. He was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: In Alabama, Ellis attended Jess Lanier High School for a year and transferred to McAdory High School. He moved back to Illinois at age 15, where he lived with his maternal aunt. In 1997 he graduated from Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: He joined the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17, but quit not long afterward. Following this, Ellis attended Illinois State University.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: In 2000, at the age of 22, he was accepted for enrollment at the Juilliard School, where he befriended Rutina Wesley, later a colleague in the series "True Blood". Ellis earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard in 2004.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: Ellis began his acting career in the early 2000s, with a role in the short film "Lost". In 2005, he starred in the television film "Warm Springs." From 2005 to 2006, he played the recurring role of Carter Howard in the television series "The Inside." He followed this up with guest roles in "Veronica Mars" and "Without a Trace", both in 2007.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: In mid-2007, Ellis was cast as Lafayette Reynolds in the pilot for "True Blood", as a short-order cook at Merlotte's Bar & Grill, a drug dealer, a member of Jason Stackhouse's road crew, and Tara Thornton's cousin. The pilot was shot in the early summer of 2007 and was officially ordered to series in August. Production on the series began later that fall.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: In casting Lafayette Reynolds, Alan Ball had concerns because the character's homosexuality would be a dominating trait. He said "you don't want to bring in someone who's going to play that in a phony way". Nelsan Ellis said that it took him a few episodes to find the character. Ellis has said that he based many of Lafayette's mannerisms on his mother and his sister, and that the costuming also helped him to get into character. He told "The Philadelphia Inquirer":


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: "True Blood" premiered on September 7, 2008, and concluded on August 24, 2014, comprising seven seasons and 80 episodes. In 2008, Ellis received a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy for best supporting actor in a television series for his role as Lafayette Reynolds. In 2009, he was nominated for a Scream Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2011, he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in "True Blood".


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: Ellis also performed in several feature films; his early roles include "" (2008) and "The Soloist" (2009). In 2010, he portrayed Eddie Sweat in the Disney sports drama "Secretariat."


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: In 2012, Ellis was cast as Martin Luther King Jr. in a supporting performance in Lee Daniels' "The Butler". "The Butler" received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 71% rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 171 reviews.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: The following year, Ellis joined the cast of "Get on Up", a biographical drama film about the life of singer James Brown. He portrayed Bobby Byrd, Brown's longtime friend. "Get on Up" was met with positive reviews from critics.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: From 2016 to 2017, Ellis starred as Shinwell Johnson in the TV series "Elementary." His character dies near the end of Season 5. The first episode to air after Ellis' death, the season 6 premiere, ended with the screen "In Memory of Our Friend Nelsan Ellis". His final acting role was in "True to the Game", which was released posthumously.


title: Nelsan Ellis

text: Ellis died at the age of 39 on July 8, 2017, in Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. His family released a statement on July 10, 2017, saying that he had an ongoing struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. He had been reluctant to talk to anyone about his addiction because of his sense of shame. In the days prior to his death, Ellis was attempting to withdraw from alcohol on his own; he was hospitalized due to serious complications from alcohol withdrawal syndrome, which resulted in his death. Ellis was survived by his son, Breon Ellis.


title: RadioShack

text: At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Outside of those territories, the company licensed other companies to use the RadioShack brand name in parts of Asia, North Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.


title: RadioShack

text: In February 2015, RadioShack Corporation filed for Chapter 11 protection under United States bankruptcy law after 11 consecutive quarterly losses. By then, it was operating only in the United States and Latin America.


title: RadioShack

text: In May 2015, General Wireless Inc., an affiliate of Standard General, bought the company's assets, including the RadioShack brand name and related intellectual property, for US$26.2 million. General Wireless Operations Inc. was formed to operate the RadioShack stores, and General Wireless IP Holdings LLC was formed to hold the intellectual property. Mexico-based Grupo Gigante, through its subsidiary RadioShack de México, acquired the RadioShack brand within Mexico. El Salvador-based Unicomer Group acquired the RadioShack brand within the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean. Egypt-based Delta RS for Trading acquired the RadioShack brand within North Africa and the Middle East. General Wireless IP Holdings LLC retained rights to the RadioShack brand in all remaining territories, which is mainly the United States because General Wireless IP Holdings never had the rights to the RadioShack brand in other parts of the world that were previously assigned to InterTAN in 1986, such as Australia until 2020 when it sold the branding rights to Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV).


title: RadioShack

text: In March 2017, General Wireless Inc. and subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy, claiming its Sprint partnership was not as profitable as expected, and announced plans to close most of their company-owned stores after Memorial Day Weekend in 2017, and to shift its business primarily to online.


title: RadioShack

text: In November 2020, Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a holding company owned by Alex Mehr and his partner Tai Lopez, a controversial investment influencer, acquired RadioShack. RadioShack operates primarily as an e-commerce website, a network of independently owned, franchised RadioShack stores, and a supplier of parts for HobbyTown USA.


title: RadioShack

text: The company was started as Radio Shack in 1921 by two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann, who wanted to provide equipment for the nascent field of amateur radio (also known as ham radio). The brothers opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation in the heart of downtown Boston at 46 Brattle Street. They chose the name "Radio Shack", which was the term for a small, wooden structure that housed a ship's radio equipment. The Deutschmanns thought the name was appropriate for a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as well as hams (amateur radio operators). The idea for the name came from an employee, Bill Halligan, who went on to form the Hallicrafters company. The term was already in use — and is to this day — by hams when referring to the location of their stations.


title: RadioShack

text: The company issued its first catalog in 1939 as it entered the high fidelity music market. In 1954, Radio Shack began selling its own private-label products under the brand name Realist, changing the brand name to Realistic after being sued by Stereo Realist.


title: RadioShack

text: During the period the chain was based in Boston, it was commonly referred to by its customers as "Nagasaki Hardware", disparagingly, as much of the merchandise was sourced from Japan, then perceived as a source of low-quality, inexpensive parts.


title: RadioShack

text: After expanding to nine stores plus an extensive mail-order business, the company fell on hard times in the 1960s. Radio Shack was essentially bankrupt, but Charles D. Tandy saw the potential of Radio Shack and retail consumer electronics, purchasing the company in 1962 for US$300,000.


title: RadioShack

text: Tandy Corporation, a leather goods corporation, was looking for other hobbyist-related businesses into which it could expand. At the time of the "Tandy Radio Shack & Leather" 1962 acquisition, the Radio Shack chain was nearly bankrupt.


title: RadioShack

text: Tandy's strategy was to appeal to hobbyists. It created small stores that were staffed by people who knew electronics, and sold mainly private brands. Tandy closed Radio Shack's unprofitable mail-order business, ended credit purchases and eliminated many top management positions, keeping the salespeople, merchandisers and advertisers. The number of items carried was cut from 40,000 to 2,500, as Tandy sought to "identify the 20% that represents 80% of the sales" and replace Radio Shack's handful of large stores with many "little holes in the wall", large numbers of rented locations which were easier to close and re-open elsewhere if one location didn't work out. Private-label brands from lower-cost manufacturers displaced name brands to raise Radio Shack profit margins; non-electronic lines from go-carts to musical instruments were abandoned entirely. Customer data from the former RadioShack mail-order business determined where Tandy would locate new stores. As an incentive for them to work long hours and remain profitable, store managers were required to take an ownership stake in their stores. In markets too small to support a company-owned Radio Shack store, the chain relied on independent dealers who carried the products as a sideline. Charles D. Tandy said "We’re not looking for the guy who wants to spend his entire paycheck on a sound system", instead seeking customers "looking to save money by buying cheaper goods and improving them through modifications and accessorizing", making it common among "nerds" and "kids aiming to excel at their science fairs".


title: RadioShack

text: Charles D. Tandy, who had guided the firm through a period of growth in the 1960s and 1970s, died of a heart attack at age 60 in November 1978.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1982, the breakup of the Bell System encouraged subscribers to own their own telephones instead of renting them from local phone companies; Radio Shack offered twenty models of home phones.


title: RadioShack

text: Much of the Radio Shack line was manufactured in the company's own factories. By 1990/1991, Tandy was the world's biggest manufacturer of personal computers; its OEM manufacturing capacity was building hardware for Digital Equipment Corporation, GRiD, Olivetti, AST Computer, Panasonic, and others. The company manufactured everything from store fixtures to computer software to wire and cable, TV antennas, audio and videotape. At one point, Radio Shack was the world's largest electronics chain.


title: RadioShack

text: In June 1991, Tandy closed or restructured its 200 Radio Shack Computer Centers, acquired Computer City, and attempted to shift its emphasis away from components and cables, toward mainstream consumer electronics. Tandy sold its computer manufacturing to AST Research in 1993, including the laptop computer Grid Systems Corporation which it had purchased in 1988. It sold the Memorex consumer recording trademarks to a Hong Kong firm, and divested most of its manufacturing divisions. House-brand products, which Radio Shack had long marked up heavily, were replaced with third-party brands already readily available from competitors. This reduced profit margins.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1992, Tandy attempted to launch big-box electronics retailer Incredible Universe; most of the seventeen stores never turned a profit. Its six profitable stores were sold to Fry's Electronics in 1996; the others were closed. Other rebranding attempts included the launch or acquisition of chains including McDuff, Video Concepts and the Edge in Electronics; these were larger stores which carried TVs, appliances and other lines.


title: RadioShack

text: Tandy closed the McDuff stores and abandoned Incredible Universe in 1996, but continued to add new RadioShack stores. By 1996, industrial parts suppliers were deploying e-commerce to sell a wide range of components online; it would be another decade before RadioShack would sell parts from its website, with a selection so limited that it was no rival to established industrial vendors with million-item specialised, centralised inventories.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1994, the company introduced a service known as "The Repair Shop at Radio Shack", through which it provided inexpensive out-of-warranty repairs for more than 45 different brands of electronic equipment. The company already had over one million parts in its extensive parts warehouses and 128 service centers throughout the US and Canada; it hoped to leverage these to build customer relationships and increase store traffic. Len Roberts, president of the Radio Shack division since 1993, estimated that the new repair business could generate $500 million per year by 1999.


title: RadioShack

text: "America's technology store" was abandoned for the "you've got questions, we've got answers" slogan in 1994. In early summer 1995, the company changed its logo; "Radio Shack" was spelled in camel case as "RadioShack". In 1996, RadioShack successfully petitioned the US Federal Communications Commission to allocate frequencies for the Family Radio Service, a short-range walkie-talkie system that proved popular.


title: RadioShack

text: From the 1960s until the early 1990s, Radio Shack promoted a "battery of the month" club; a free wallet-sized cardboard card offered one free Enercell per month in-store. Like the free tube testing offered in-store in the early 1970s, this small loss leader drew foot traffic. The cards also served as generic business cards for the salespeople.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1970, Tandy Corporation bought Allied Radio Corporation (both retail and industrial divisions), merging the brands into Allied Radio Shack and closing duplicate locations. After a 1973 federal government review, the company sold off the few remaining Allied retail stores and resumed using the Radio Shack name. Allied Electronics, the firm's industrial component operation, continued as a Tandy division until it was sold to Spartan Manufacturing in 1981.


title: RadioShack

text: The longest-running product for Radio Shack was the AM-only Realistic Flavoradio, sold from 1972 to 2000, 28 years in three designs. This also made the Flavoradio the longest production run in radio history. Originally released in 5 colors, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, avocado and plum from the 1972 catalog. For 1973, vanilla and chocolate were dropped (and thus are rare today) and replaced by lemon and orange. At some point two-tone models with white backs were offered but never appeared in catalogs. (Extremely rare today). The original design had 5 transistors (model 166). A sixth was added in 1980 (model 166a). The case was redesigned for 1987 taller and thinner and came in red, blue, and black.The final model 201a came in 1996 and was designed around an integrated circuit. They were first made in Korea then Hong Kong and finally the Philippines. The Flavoradio carried the Realistic name until about 1996 when it switched to "Radio Shack" then finally "Optimus". When the Flavoradio was dropped from the catalog in 2001, it was the last AM-only radio on the market.


title: RadioShack

text: The chain profited from the mass popularity of citizens band radio in the mid-1970s which, at its peak, represented nearly 30% of the chain's revenue.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1977, two years after the MITS Altair 8800, Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80, one of the first mass-produced personal computers. This was a complete pre-assembled system at a time when many microcomputers were built from kits, backed by a nationwide retail chain when computer stores were in their infancy. Sales of the initial, primitive US$600 TRS-80 exceeded all expectations despite its limited capabilities. This was followed by the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1980, designed to attach to a television. Tandy also inspired the "Tandy Computer Whiz Kids" (1982-1991), a comic-book duo of teen calculator enthusiasts who teamed up with the likes of Archie and Superman. Radio Shack's computer stores offered lessons to pre-teens as "Radio Shack Computer Camp" in the early 1980s.


title: RadioShack

text: By September 1982, the company had more than 4,300 stores, and more than 2,000 independent franchises in towns not large enough for a company-owned store. The latter also sold third-party hardware and software for Tandy computers, but company-owned stores did not sell or even acknowledge the existence of non-Tandy products. In the mid-1980s, Radio Shack began a transition from its proprietary 8-bit computers to its proprietary IBM PC compatible Tandy computers, removing the "Radio Shack" name from the product in an attempt to shake off the long-running nicknames "Radio Scrap" and "Trash 80" to make the product appeal to business users. Poor compatibility, shrinking margins and a lack of economies of scale led Radio Shack to exit the computer-manufacturing market in the 1990s after losing much of the desktop PC market to newer, price-competitive rivals like Dell. Tandy acquired the Computer City chain in 1991, and sold the stores to CompUSA in 1998.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1994, RadioShack began selling IBM's Aptiva line of home computers. This partnership would last until 1998, when RadioShack partnered with Compaq and created 'The Creative Learning Center' as a store-within-a-store to promote desktop PCs. Similar promotions were tried with 'The Sprint Store at RadioShack' (mobile telephones), 'RCA Digital Entertainment Center' (home audio and video products), and 'PowerZone' (RadioShack's line of battery products, power supplies, and surge protectors).


title: RadioShack

text: In the mid-1990s, the company attempted to move out of small components and into more mainstream consumer markets, focusing on marketing wireless phones. This placed the chain, long accustomed to charging wide margins on specialized products not readily available from other local retailers, into direct competition against vendors such as Best Buy and Walmart.


title: RadioShack

text: In May 2000, the company dropped the Tandy name altogether, becoming RadioShack Corporation. The leather operating assets were sold to The Leather Factory on November 30, 2000; that business remains profitable.


title: RadioShack

text: House brands Realistic and Optimus were discontinued. In 1999, the company agreed to carry RCA products in a five-year agreement for a "RCA Digital Entertainment Center" store-within-a-store. When the RCA contract ended, RadioShack introduced its own Presidian and Accurian brands, reviving the Optimus brand in 2005 for some low-end products. Enercell, a house brand for dry cell batteries, remained in use until approximately 2014.


title: RadioShack

text: Most of the RadioShack house brands had been dropped when Tandy divested its manufacturing facilities in the early 1990s; the original list included: "Realistic" (stereo, hi-fi and radio), "Archer" (antenna rotors and boosters), "Micronta" (test equipment), "Tandy" (computers), "TRS-80" (proprietary computer), "ScienceFair" (kits), "DuoFone" (landline telephony), "Concertmate" (music synthesizer), "Enercell" (cells and batteries), "Road Patrol" (radar detectors, bicycle radios), "Patrolman" (Realistic radio scanner), "Deskmate" (software), "KitchenMate", "Stereo Shack", "Supertape" (recording tape), "Mach One", "Optimus" (speakers and turntables), "Flavoradio" (pocket AM radios in various colours), "Weatheradio", "Portavision" (small televisions) and "Minimus" (speakers).


title: RadioShack

text: In 2000, RadioShack was one of multiple backers of the CueCat barcode reader, a marketing failure. It had invested US$35 million in the company, included the barcodes in its catalogs and distributed CueCat devices to customers at no charge.


title: RadioShack

text: Until 2004, RadioShack routinely asked for the name and address of purchasers so they could be added to mailing lists. Name and mailing address were requested for special orders (RadioShack Unlimited parts and accessories, Direc2U items not stocked locally), returns, check payments, RadioShack Answers Plus credit card applications, service plan purchases and carrier activations of cellular telephones.


title: RadioShack

text: On December 20, 2005, RadioShack announced the sale of its newly built riverfront Fort Worth, Texas headquarters building to German-based KanAm Grund; the property was leased back to RadioShack for 20 years. In 2008, RadioShack assigned this lease to the Tarrant County College District (TCC), remaining in 400,000 square feet of the space as its headquarters.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2005, RadioShack parted with Verizon for a 10-year agreement with Cingular (later AT&T) and renegotiated its 11-year agreement with Sprint. In July 2011, RadioShack ended its wireless partnership with T-Mobile, replacing it with the "Verizon Wireless Store" within a store. 2005 under the leadership of Jim Hamilton, marked a banner year for wireless. RadioShack sold more mobile phones than Walmart, Circuit City and Best Buy combined.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack had not made products under the Realistic name since the early 1990s. Support for many of Radio Shack's traditional product lines, including amateur radio, had ended by 2006. A handful of small-town franchise dealers used their ability to carry non-RadioShack merchandise to bring in parts from outside sources, but these represented a minority.


title: RadioShack

text: In mid-December 2008, RadioShack opened three concept stores under the name "PointMobl" to sell wireless phones and service, netbooks, iPod and GPS navigation devices. The three Texas stores (Dallas, Highland Village and Allen) were furnished with white fixtures like those in the remodelled wireless departments of individual RadioShack stores, but there was no communicated relationship to RadioShack itself. Had the test proved successful, RadioShack could have moved to convert existing RadioShack locations into PointMobl stores in certain markets.


title: RadioShack

text: While some PointMobl products, such as car power adapters and phone cases, were carried as store-brand products in RadioShack stores, the stand-alone PointMobl stores were closed and the concept abandoned in March 2011.


title: RadioShack

text: In August 2009, RadioShack rebranded itself as "The Shack". The campaign increased sales of mobile products, but at the expense of its core components business.


title: RadioShack

text: In November 2012, RadioShack introduced Amazon Locker parcel pick-up services at its stores, only to dump the program in September 2013. In 2013, the chain made token attempts to regain the do it yourself market, including a new "Do It Together" slogan.


title: RadioShack

text: Long-time staff observed a slow and gradual shift away from electronic parts and customer service and toward promotion of wireless sales and add-ons; the pressure to sell gradually increased, while the focus on training and product knowledge decreased. Morale was abysmal; longtime employees who were paid bonus and retirement in stock options saw the value of these instruments fade away.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1998, RadioShack called itself the single largest seller of consumer telecommunications products in the world; its stock reached its peak a year later.


title: RadioShack

text: InterTAN, a former Tandy subsidiary, sold the Tandy UK stores in 1999 and the Australian stores in 2001. InterTAN was sold (with its Canadian stores) to rival Circuit City in 2004. The RadioShack brand remained in use in the United States, but the 21st century proved a period of long decline for the chain, which was slow to respond to key trends— such as e-commerce, the entry of competitors like Best Buy and Amazon.com, and the growth of the maker movement.


title: RadioShack

text: By 2011, smartphone sales, rather than general electronics, accounted for half of the chain's revenue. The traditional RadioShack clientele of do-it-yourself tinkerers were increasingly sidelined. Electronic parts formerly stocked in stores were now mostly only available through on-line special order. Store employees concentrated efforts selling profitable mobile contracts, while other customers seeking assistance were neglected and left the stores in frustration.


title: RadioShack

text: Demand for consumer electronics was also increasingly being weakened by consumers buying the items online.


title: RadioShack

text: In early 2004, RadioShack introduced "Fix 1500", a sweeping program to "correct" inventory and profitability issues company-wide. The program put the 1,500 lowest-graded store managers, of over 5,000, on notice of the need to improve. Managers were graded not on tangible store and personnel data but on one-on-one interviews with district management.


title: RadioShack

text: Typically, a 90-day period was given for the manager to improve (thus causing another manager to then be selected for "Fix 1500"). A total of 1,734 store managers were reassigned as sales associates or terminated in a 6-month period. Also, during this period, RadioShack cancelled the employee stock purchase plan. By the first quarter of 2005, the metrics of skill assessment used during "Fix 1500" had already been discarded, and the corporate officer who created the program had resigned.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2004, RadioShack was the target of a class-action lawsuit in which more than 3,300 current or former RadioShack managers alleged the company required them to work long hours without overtime pay. In an attempt to suppress the news, the company launched a successful strategic lawsuit against public participation against Bradley D. Jones, the webmaster of RadioShackSucks.com and a former RadioShack dealer for 17 years.


title: RadioShack

text: On February 20, 2006, CEO David Edmondson admitted to "misstatements" on his curriculum vitae and resigned after the Fort Worth Star-Telegram debunked his claim to degrees in theology and psychology from Heartland Baptist Bible College.


title: RadioShack

text: Chief operating officer Claire Babrowski briefly took over as CEO and president. A 31-year veteran of McDonald's Corporation, where she had been vice president and Chief Restaurant Operations Officer, Babrowski had joined RadioShack several months prior. She left the company in August 2006, later becoming CEO and Executive Vice President of Toys "R" Us.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack's board of directors appointed Julian C. Day as chairman and chief executive officer on July 7, 2006. Day had financial experience and had played a key role in revitalizing such companies as Safeway, Sears and Kmart but lacked any practical front-line sales experience needed to run a retail company. "The Consumerist" named him one of the "10 Crappiest CEOs" of 2009 (among consumer-facing companies, according to their own employees). He resigned in May 2011.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack Chief Financial Officer James Gooch succeeded Day as CEO in 2011, but "agreed to step down" 16 months later following a 73% plunge in the price of the stock. On February 11, 2013, RadioShack Corp. hired Joseph C. Magnacca from Walgreens, because he had experience in retail.


title: RadioShack

text: In the spring of 2006, RadioShack announced a strategy to increase average unit volume, lower overhead costs, and grow profitable square footage. In early to mid-2006, RadioShack closed nearly 500 locations. It was determined that some stores were too close to each other, causing them to compete with one another for the same customers. Most of the stores closed in 2006 brought in less than US$350,000 in revenue each year.


title: RadioShack

text: Despite these actions, stock prices plummeted within what was otherwise a booming market. On August 10, 2006, RadioShack announced plans to eliminate a fifth of its company headquarters workforce to reduce overhead expense, improving its long-term competitive position while supporting a significantly smaller number of stores. On Tuesday, August 29, the affected workers received an e-mail: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated." Four hundred and three workers were given 30 minutes to collect their personal effects, say their goodbyes to co-workers and then attend a meeting with their senior supervisors. Instead of issuing severance payments immediately, the company withheld them to ensure that company-issued BlackBerrys, laptops and cellphones were returned. This move drew immediate widespread public criticism for its lack of sensitivity.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack and the Better Business Bureau of Fort Worth, Texas met on April 23, 2009, to discuss unanswered and unresolved complaints. The company implemented a plan of action to address existing and future customer service issues. Stores were directed to post a sign with the district manager's name, the question "How Are We Doing?" and a direct toll-free number to the individual district office for their area. RadioShackHelp.com was created as another portal for customers to resolve their issues through the Internet. , the BBB had upgraded RadioShack from an "F" to an "A" rating; this was changed to "no rating" after the 2015 bankruptcy filing.


title: RadioShack

text: According to an experience ratings report published by Temkin Group, an independent research firm, RadioShack was ranked as the retailer with the worst overall customer experience; it maintained this position for six consecutive years.


title: RadioShack

text: From 2000 to 2011, RadioShack spent US$2.6 billion repurchasing its own stock in an attempt to prop up a share price which fell from US$24.33 to US$2.53; the buyback and the stock dividend were suspended in 2012 to conserve cash and reduce debt as the company continued to lose money. Company stock had declined 81 percent since 2010 and was trading well below book value. The stock reached an all-time low on April 14, 2012. In September 2012, RadioShack's head office laid off 130 workers after a US$21 million quarterly loss. Layoffs continued in August 2013; headquarters employment dropped from more than 2,000 before the 2006 layoffs to slightly fewer than 1,000 in late 2013. At the end of 2013, the chain owned 4,297 US stores.


title: RadioShack

text: The company had received a cash infusion in 2013 from Salus Capital Partners and Cerberus Capital Management. This debt carried onerous conditions, preventing RadioShack from gaining control over costs by limiting store closures to 200 per year and restricting the company's refinancing efforts. With too many underperforming stores remaining open, the chain continued to spiral toward bankruptcy.


title: RadioShack

text: On March 4, 2014, the company announced a net trading loss for 2013 of US$400.2 million, well above the 2012 loss of US$139.4 million, and proposed a restructuring which would close 1,100 lower-performing stores, almost 20% of its US locations. On May 9, 2014, the company reported that creditors had prevented it from carrying out those closures, with one lender presuming fewer stores would mean fewer assets to secure the loan and reduce any recovery it would get in a bankruptcy reorganization.


title: RadioShack

text: On June 10, 2014, RadioShack said that it had enough cash to last 12 months, but that lasting a year depended on sales growing. Sales had fallen for nine straight quarters, and by year's end the company realized a loss in "each of its 10 latest quarters". On June 20, 2014, RadioShack's stock price fell below US$1, triggering a July 25 warning from the New York Stock Exchange that it could be delisted for failure to maintain a stock price above $1. On July 28, 2014, Mergermarket's Debtwire reported RadioShack was discussing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as an option.


title: RadioShack

text: On September 11, 2014, RadioShack admitted it might have to file for bankruptcy, and would be unable to finance its operations "beyond the very near term" unless the company was sold, restructured, or received a major cash infusion. On September 15, 2014, RadioShack replaced its CFO with a bankruptcy specialist. On October 3, RadioShack announced an out-of-court restructuring, a 4:1 dilution of shares, and a rights issue priced at 40 cents a share. RadioShack's stock () was halted on the New York exchange for the entire day. Despite the debt restructuring proposal, in December Salus and Cerberus informed RadioShack that it was in default of the they had provided as a cash infusion in 2013.


title: RadioShack

text: At the end of October 2014, quarterly figures indicated RadioShack was losing US$1.1 million per day. A November 2014 attempt to keep the stores open from 8AM to midnight on Thanksgiving Day drew a sharp backlash from employees and a few resignations; comparable store sales for the three days (Thursday-Saturday) were 1% lower than the prior year, when the stores were open for two of the days. The company's problems maintaining inventories of big-ticket items, such as Apple's iPhone 6, further cut into sales.


title: RadioShack

text: By December 2014, RadioShack was being sued by former employees for having encouraged them to invest 401(k) retirement savings in company stock, alleging a breach of fiduciary duties to "prudently" handle the retirement fund which caused "devastating losses" in the retirement plans as the stock dropped from US$13 in 2011 to 38 cents at the end of 2014. These claims were dismissed by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018.


title: RadioShack

text: On January 15, 2015, "The Wall Street Journal" reported RadioShack had delayed rent payments to some commercial landlords and was preparing a bankruptcy filing that could come as early as February. Officials of the company declined to comment on the report. A separate report by Bloomberg claimed the company might sell leases to as many as half its stores to Sprint.


title: RadioShack

text: On February 2, 2015, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after its average market capitalization remained below US$50 million for longer than thirty consecutive days. That same day, "Bloomberg News" reported RadioShack was in talks to sell half of its stores to Sprint and close the rest, which would effectively render RadioShack no longer a stand-alone retailer. Amazon.com and Brookstone were also mentioned to be potential bidders, the former having at the time been wanting to establish a brick and mortar presence. On February 3, RadioShack defaulted on its loan from Salus Capital.


title: RadioShack

text: On the days following these reports, some employees were instructed to reduce prices and transfer inventory out of stores designated for closing to those that would remain open during the presumed upcoming bankruptcy proceedings, while the rest remained "in the dark" as to the company's future. Many stores had already closed abruptly on Sunday, February 1, 2015, the first day of the company's fiscal year, with employees only given a few hours advance notice. Some had been open with a skeleton crew, little inventory and reduced hours only because the Salus Capital loan terms limited the chain to 200 store closures a year. A creditor group alleged the chain had remained on life support instead of shutting down earlier and cutting its losses merely so that Standard General could avoid paying on credit default swaps which expired on December 20, 2014.


title: RadioShack

text: On February 5, 2015, RadioShack announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Using bankruptcy to end contractual restrictions that had required it keep unprofitable stores open, the company immediately published a list of 1784 stores which it intended to close, a process it wished to complete by the month's end to avoid an estimated US$7 million in March rent.


title: RadioShack

text: Customers had initially been given until March 6, 2015, to return merchandise or redeem unused gift cards. However, after legal pressure from the Attorneys General of several states, RadioShack ultimately agreed to reimburse customers for the value of unused gift cards.


title: RadioShack

text: On March 31, 2015, the bankruptcy court approved a US$160 million offer by the Standard General affiliate General Wireless, gaining ownership of 1,743 RadioShack locations. As part of the deal, the company entered into a partnership with Sprint, in which the company would become a co-tenant at 1,435 RadioShack locations and establish store within a store areas devoted to selling its wireless brands, including Sprint, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. The stores would collect commissions on the sale of Sprint products, and Sprint would assist in promotion. Sprint stated that this arrangement would increase the company's retail footprint by more than double; the company previously had around 1,100 company-owned retail outlets, in comparison to the over 2,000 run by AT&T Mobility. Although they would be treated as a co-tenant, the Sprint branding would be more prominent in promotion and exterior signage than that of RadioShack. The acquisition did not include rights to RadioShack's intellectual property (such as its trademarks), rights to RadioShack's franchised locations, and customer records, which were to be sold separately.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack was criticized for including the personally identifying information of 67 million of its customers as part of its assets for sale during the proceedings, despite its long-standing policy and a promise to customers that data would never be sold for any reason at any time. The Federal Trade Commission and the Attorneys General of 38 states fought against this proposal. The sale of this data was ultimately approved, albeit greatly reduced from what was initially proposed.


title: RadioShack

text: Standard General acquired the RadioShack brand after RadioShack Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 2015. It formed the affiliate, General Wireless Operations, to act as the new parent company for the brand. This new RadioShack focused on its partnership with Sprint in the hopes of carrying on the brand.


title: RadioShack

text: Re-branded stores soft launched on April 10, 2015, with a preliminary conversion of the stores' existing wireless departments to exclusively house Sprint brands, with all stores eventually to be renovated in waves to allocate larger spaces for Sprint. In May 2015, the acquisition of the "RadioShack" name and its assets by General Wireless for US$26.2 million was finalized. Chief marketing officer Michael Tatelman emphasized that the company that emerged from the 2015 proceedings is an entirely new company, and went on to affirm that the old RadioShack did not re-emerge from bankruptcy, calling it "defunct".


title: RadioShack

text: Less than one year after the bankruptcy events of 2015, Ron Garriques and Marty Amschler stepped down from their respective chief executive officer and chief financial officer positions; Garriques had held his position for nine months.


title: RadioShack

text: It was speculated on March 2, 2017, that General Wireless was preparing to take RadioShack through its second bankruptcy in two years. This was evidenced when dozens of corporate office employees were laid off and two hundred stores were planned to be shuttered, and further evidenced when the RadioShack website began displaying "all sales final" banners for in-store purchases at all locations.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack's Chapter 11 bankruptcy was formally filed on March 8, 2017. Of the then 1,300 remaining stores, several hundred were converted into Sprint-only locations.


title: RadioShack

text: Despite declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy (typically reserved for reorganization of debt) instead of Chapter 7 (liquidation), the company engaged in liquidation of all inventory, supplies, and store fixtures, as well as auctioning off old memorabilia. On May 26, RadioShack announced plans to close all but 70 corporate stores and shift its business primarily to online. These stores closed after Memorial Day Weekend of 2017. Of the remaining stores, 50 more closed by the end of June 2017.


title: RadioShack

text: One particular store closing in April 2017 garnered widespread media attention when a Facebook account, calling itself "RadioShack - Reynoldsburg, Ohio", began lashing out at customers with messages such as "We closed. F—k all of you.", "Always hated all you pr—k customers anyway." RadioShack addressed these posts on their official Facebook page denying any involvement.


title: RadioShack

text: On June 29, 2017, RadioShack's creditors sued Sprint, claiming that it sabotaged its co-branded locations with newly built Sprint retail stores—which were constructed near well-performing RadioShack locations as determined by confidential sales information. The suit argued that Sprint's actions "destroyed nearly 6,000 RadioShack jobs".


title: RadioShack

text: General Wireless announced plans on June 12, 2017, to auction off the RadioShack name and IP, with bidding to begin on July 18. Bidding concluded on July 19, 2017, when one of RadioShack's creditors, Kensington Capital Holdings, obtained the RadioShack brand and other intellectual properties for US$15 million. Kensington was the sole bidder.


title: RadioShack

text: In October 2017, General Wireless officially exited bankruptcy and was allowed to retain the company's warehouse, e-commerce site, dealer network operations, and up to 28 stores.


title: RadioShack

text: it had a staff of 50 and moved to RadioShack's distribution center on Terminal Road just north of the Fort Worth Stockyards.


title: RadioShack

text: In late July 2018, RadioShack partnered up with HobbyTown USA to open up around 100 RadioShack "Express" stores. HobbyTown owners select which RadioShack products to carry.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack dealerships had re-opened around 500 stores by October 2018. By November 2018, it had signed 77 of HobbyTown's 137 franchise stores.


title: RadioShack

text: In November 2020, RadioShack's intellectual property and its remaining operations—about 400 independent authorized dealers, about 80 Hobbytown USA affiliate stores, and its online sales operation—were purchased by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a Florida-based company that had previously purchased defunct retailers Pier 1 Imports, Dress Barn, Modell's Sporting Goods, and Linens 'n Things, along with The Franklin Mint.


title: RadioShack

text: In December 2021, REV announced they will be using part of the brand name on a cryptocurrency platform called RadioShack DeFi (an abbreviation of decentralized finance). The platform will allow customers to exchange and freely swap existing cryptocurrency tokens for a token called $"RADIO" through the new platform.


title: RadioShack

text: The Twitter account for RadioShack, which is run by chief marketing officer Ábel Czupor, has posted controversial humorous tweets, which some considered edgy and inappropriate for the retailer. These tweets usually included profanity and tagged other corporations such as Best Buy and Applebee's. The account also tagged musician Lizzo, alongside taunting mentions of YouTube content creators like Mutahar Anas (known as SomeOrdinaryGamers) and Stephen Findeisen (known as Coffeezilla) on their respective channels (both known for making videos calling out fraudulent cryptocurrency scams), referencing the latter on their official website for a listing of AA batteries specifically branded as "vibrator batteries". According to Czupor, he has a team of people running the account, one of them Twomad, a famous YouTuber known for controversial collaborations with Belle Delphine. Twomad would later post a picture of him and actor, Finn Wolfhard and make a YouTube video of him posting tweets on the account.


title: RadioShack

text: In the 1970s RadioShack had a new headquarters "Tandy Towers" built in downtown Fort Worth on Throckmorton Street. In 2001, RadioShack bought the former Ripley Arnold public housing complex in Downtown Fort Worth along the Trinity River for US$20 million. The company razed the complex and had a corporate headquarters campus built after the City of Fort Worth approved a 30-year economic agreement to ensure that the company stayed in Fort Worth. RadioShack moved into the campus in 2005. In 2009, with two years left on a rent-free lease of the building, the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram" reported that the company was considering a new site for its headquarters. The "Tampa Bay Business Journal" reported rumors among Tampa Bay Area real estate brokers and developers that RadioShack might select Tampa as the site of its headquarters. In 2010, however, RadioShack announced efforts to remain at its current site. The headquarters was ultimately reduced to a small group after the second bankruptcy filing. In September 2017, what was left of RadioShack of about 50 people left the downtown location moving to a warehouse on Terminal Road just north of "The Stockyards". The campus was at first shared with the Tarrant County College as its Trinity River Campus, and has now been taken over by it in full.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1986, Tandy Corp. announced it would create a spinoff of its international retail operations, called Intertan Inc. The new company would take over operations of over 2,000 international company-owned and franchised stores, while Tandy retained its 7,253 domestic outlets and 30 of its manufacturing facilities. Intertan had two main units, Tandy Electronics Ltd., which operated in Canada, the UK, France, Belgium, West Germany, and the Netherlands; and Tandy Australia Ltd., which operated in Australia.


title: RadioShack

text: At the end of 1989, there were 1,417 stores operated by Intertan under the Tandy or Radio Shack names. Intertan operated Tandy or Radio Shack stores in the UK until 1999 and Australia until 2001. RadioShack branded merchandise accounted for 9.5% of InterTAN's inventory purchases in its 2002-2003 fiscal year, the last complete year before the Circuit City acquisition, and later disappeared from stores entirely.


title: RadioShack

text: Following the creation of Intertan, Tandy Electronics operated 873 stores in Canada, and owned the rights to the RadioShack name. In 2004, Circuit City, a competitor of Radio Shack purchased Intertan, which held the rights to use the RadioShack name in Canada until 2010. Radio Shack Corp., which operated Radio Shack stores in the U.S., sued Intertan in an attempt to end the contract for the company name early. On March 24, 2005, a U.S. district court judge ruled in favour of RadioShack, requiring InterTAN stop using the brand name in products, packaging or advertising by June 30, 2005. The Canadian stores were rebranded under the name The Source by Circuit City. Radio Shack briefly re-entered the Canadian market, but eventually closed all stores to refocus attention on its core U.S. business. The Source was acquired by Bell Canada in 2009.


title: RadioShack

text: In March 2012, Malaysian company Berjaya Retail Berhad, entered into a franchising agreement with Radio Shack. Later that year, the company announced a second franchising deal with Chinese company, Cybermart.


title: RadioShack

text: In 1986, Grupo Gigante signed a deal with Tandy Corporation to operate Radio Shack branded stores in Mexico. After growing their electronics chain within Mexico to 24 stores, Grupo Gigante signed a new deal with Tandy in 1992 to form a new joint ventured called Radio Shack de México


title: RadioShack

text: in which both companies had an equal share. As part of the deal, Grupo Gigante transferred their electronics stores to Radio Shack de México.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2008, Grupo Gigante separated from Radio Shack, (then renamed Radio Shack Corporation) and sold its share of the joint venture to Radio Shack Corp. for $42.3 million.


title: RadioShack

text: In June 2015, Grupo Gigante repurchased 100 percent of RadioShack de Mexico, including stores, warehouses, and all related brand names and intellectual properties for use within Mexico, from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for US$31.5 million. The chain had 247 stores in Mexico at the time of the sale. Following the sale, all Radio Shack stores, warehouses, brands, assets, and related trademarks in Mexico are currently owned by RadioShack de México S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Grupo Gigante.


title: RadioShack

text: A major Mexican news magazine had reported in March 2015 that Grupo Gigante actually purchased 100% of the stock in RadioShack de México from RadioShack Corporation for US$31.8 million, two months prior to the bankruptcy filing, but had only had to hand over US$11.8 million to RadioShack Corp. for also assuming approximately US$20 million in debt liabilities.


title: RadioShack

text: While Radio Shack was facing a second bankruptcy in the United States, Grupo Gigante announced in October 2017 that they planned to expand the Radio Shack brand within Mexico by opening eight more stores.


title: RadioShack

text: When Radio Shack Corporation filed for bankruptcy the first time in 2015, the Unicomer Group (Grupo Unicomer) purchased the Radio Shack brand from the bankruptcy court for its exclusive use in Latin America and the Caribbean, except Mexico. Unicomer, through its corporate parent Regal Forest Holding Co. Ltd., paid $5 million for the brand.


title: RadioShack

text: The company's relationship with Radio Shack dated back to 1998, when Unicomer opened its first Radio Shack franchise store in El Salvador. It later expanded into Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. By January 2015, Unicomer had 57 Radio Shack stores distributed throughout four countries within Central America.


title: RadioShack

text: In April 2015, Unicomer began receiving franchise payments from franchises in several countries that Unicomer had not previously had a business presence in. It expanded into Trinidad in 2016, Jamaica in 2017, Barbados in 2017, and Guyana in 2017.


title: RadioShack

text: By the end of 2017, Unicomer had company-owned stores located in the countries of Barbados, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Trinidad while receiving franchise payments from independent franchised stores located in the countries of Antigua, Aruba, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Peru in which Unicomer did not have a business presence in. Since 2014, the independent company Coolbox is an authorized dealer for RadioShack products in Peru.


title: RadioShack

text: In April 2018, the RadioShack brand returned to Bolivia when franchisee Cosworld Trading opened two franchised stores for Unicomer in the capital city of La Paz. The previous RadioShack stores had closed in 2015 as a result of RadioShack first bankruptcy filing.


title: RadioShack

text: When Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy the first time in 2015, the Egypt-based Delta RS for Trading purchased the Radio Shack brand from the bankruptcy court for its exclusive use in Middle East and North Africa for $US5 million.


title: RadioShack

text: Delta RS for Trading, as Radio Shack Egypt, had opened its first Radio Shack franchised store in 1998 in Nasr City. By March 2003, Radio Shack Egypt had 65 company-operated stores plus 15 sub-franchised stores. In 2017, the Egyptian government accused Radio Shack Egypt and its parent Delta RS in aiding the Muslim Brotherhood.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2006, RadioShack supported the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children by providing store presence for the StreetSentz program, a child identification and educational kit offered to families without charge. RadioShack supported United Way of America Charities to assist their Oklahoma and Texas relief efforts after the 2013 Moore tornado. RadioShack's green initiative promotes the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, which accepts end-of-life rechargeable batteries and wireless phones dropped off in-store to be safely recycled.


title: RadioShack

text: In August 2001, RadioShack opened kiosk-style stores inside Blockbuster outlets, only to abandon the project in February 2002; CEO Len Roberts announced that the stores did not meet expectations.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack operated wireless kiosks within 417 Sam's Club discount warehouses from 2004 to 2011. The kiosk operations, purchased from Arizona-based Wireless Retail Inc, operated as a subsidiary, SC Kiosks Inc., with employees contracted through RadioShack Corporation. No RadioShack-branded merchandise was sold. The kiosks closed in 2011, costing RadioShack an estimated US$10–15 million in 2011 operating income.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack then attempted a joint venture with Target to deploy mobile telephone kiosks in 1,490 Target stores by April 2011. In April 2013, RadioShack's partnership with Target ended and the Target Mobile in-store kiosks were turned over to a new partnership with Brightstar and MarketSource.


title: RadioShack

text: On September 5, 2012, RadioShack in a partnership with Cricket Wireless, began offering its own branded no-contract wireless services using Cricket and Sprint's nationwide networks. The service was discontinued on August 7, 2014; clients who had already purchased the service from RadioShack continue to receive service from Cricket Wireless.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2009, the company became the main sponsor of a new cycling team, Team RadioShack, with Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel. RadioShack featured Armstrong in a number of television commercials and advertising campaigns. RadioShack came under fire for having Armstrong as a spokesperson in 2011, when allegations that the cyclist had used performance-enhancing drugs surfaced.


title: RadioShack

text: In April 2004, AutoZone brought suit against RadioShack for using the name PowerZone to promote a section of its retail stores, citing trademark infringement. The lawsuit was dropped in June the same year due to lack of evidence.


title: RadioShack

text: In June 2011, a customer sued Sprint and RadioShack after finding pornography on their newly purchased cell phones.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2012, a Denver jury awarded $674,938 to David Nelson, age 55 (), a 25-year RadioShack employee who had been fired by his supervisor in retaliation after complaining about age discrimination.


title: RadioShack

text: In 2013, a federal jury awarded over $1 million in an age discrimination suit to a 54-year-old, longtime RadioShack store manager who was fired in 2010 from the San Francisco store he had managed since 1998.


title: RadioShack

text: A 2013 class action judgement found that RadioShack had violated privacy requirements between August 24, 2010, and November 21, 2011, by printing the expiration date of clients' credit or debit cards on store receipts.


title: RadioShack

text: A July 2014 ruling in "Verderame v. RadioShack Corp., 13-02539" in the US District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) found that RadioShack owed its store managers a possible US$5.8 million for unpaid overtime in the state.


title: RadioShack

text: A "Radio Shock" store (owned by the "Dandy Corporation") appeared in the original 1991 release of "Space Quest IV", displaced by "Hz. So Good" in later editions because of threats of legal action by Tandy.


title: RadioShack

text: Radio Shack is featured prominently in "Short Circuit 2", which serves as a "clinic" for Johnny 5 while he repairs himself after being assaulted by thieves.


title: RadioShack

text: Radio Shack is mentioned and briefly featured on the pilot episode of "Young Sheldon". Visits to RadioShack are a frequent plot point in the "Young Sheldon" series, building off allusions to childhood visits made by the character Sheldon Cooper in its parent series, "The Big Bang Theory". The family returns to the Radio Shack store in a later episode, where his mother purchases him a Tandy 1000.


title: RadioShack

text: RadioShack appears in the second season of the Netflix series "Stranger Things" as the workplace of Bob Newby. In one scene, an Armatron (a product actually sold at Radio Shack during that period) can be seen on a shelf above his head.


title: RadioShack

text: In the movie "Ocean's Eleven", after Livingston asks an FBI agent to not touch his equipment by asking, "Do you see me grabbing the gun out of your holster and waving it around?", the agent retorts with "Hey 'Radio Shack', relax".


title: RadioShack

text: In "Kung Pow! Enter the Fist", Ling's mortally wounded father randomly asks The Chosen One to "let me know if you see a Radio Shack" as The Chosen One leads him in to a town in search of help.


title: RadioShack

text: In the movie "Die Hard 2", An air traffic control engineer says "Yeah right, somebody wanna run down to Radio Shack and get a transmitter?"


title: RadioShack

text: In the television series "The Sopranos", Tony breaks a phone and tells his son "Forgot to tell you I got a job at Radio Shack. Product testing. Giving that phone an F for durability."


title: Volkswagen Golf Mk5

text: The Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (codenamed "Typ 1K") is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen, as the fifth generation of the Golf in three- or five-door hatchback (August 2003–2008) and a five-door station wagon (2007–2009) configurations, as well as the successor to the Golf Mk4. Using the Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35) platform, the Mk5 debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October 2003 and went on sale in Europe for the 2004 model year. Marketed as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, the GTI model in these countries was marketed simply as the Volkswagen GTI.


title: Volkswagen Golf Mk5

text: The Mk5 had revised suspension changes and chassis tuning and increased cargo volume corresponding to a minor increase in size over the outgoing model. Its cargo volume is roughly greater.


title: Volkswagen Golf Mk5

text: Its replacement, the Mk6, was moved forward from the previously stated 2009 in Europe to the autumn of 2008, right after its official premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September 2008.