Egil Reksten

Egil Reksten (3 May 1917 – May 30, 2009) was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He is best known as leader of the illegal radio post Skylark B.
World War II.
Reksten was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway.
He was the son of Saron Eriksen Reksten (1875-1955) and his wife Inger Jacobsen (1887-1987). His father was the Rector at Kamper School ("Kampen skole") in the Gamle Oslo district of Oslo.
He attended the Norwegian Institute of Technology, and graduated in chemistry in 1941. His professor was Leif Tronstad, a well-known resistance member during the German occupation of Norway since April 1940. In September 1940 the Secret Intelligence Service established two stations for radio communication; the so-called Skylark A in Oslo led by Sverre Midtskau and Skylark B in Trondheim led by Erik Welle-Strand. Skylark B was operated by students at the Institute of Technology, and after technical difficulties in the initial phase, they established regular contact with the intelligence in London in January 1941. Leif Tronstad was also affiliated with the group. When Welle-Strand left the country, Reksten took over as leader of Skylark B.
Among others, the group helped spread vital information about German activity at Vemork heavy water plant. The link between heavy water and a German nuclear energy project was established later. After less than a year, however, Gestapo managed to track the Skylark B transmitting activity. Reksten was arrested by the Nazi authorities in September 1941. He was incarcerated at Møllergata 19 from 14 September 1941 to 10 March 1942, then at Akershus Fortress, then at Grini concentration camp from 7 July to 29 July 1943. He was then shipped to Germany with eleven others. Seven of these people died, but after stays in six different Nacht und Nebel camps, Reksten returned to Norway after the war's end. He was decorated for his efforts.
Post-war life.
In 1947 Reksten started his own engineering company, Argo, together with Erik Welle-Strand and other friends. He spent the rest of his professional career there. He was married, and celebrated his diamond wedding in 2007. He resided in Asker in Akershus, Norway. He died in 2009 and was buried in the churchyard of Haslum Church at Bærum in Akershus .


Nonnie Moore

Nonnie Moore (January 21, 1922 – February 19, 2009) was a fashion editor at "Mademoiselle", "Harper's Bazaar" and "GQ".
Biography.
She was born in Plainfield, New Jersey as Marjorie Eilers on January 21, 1922, and acquired the nickname "Nonnie" during her childhood. She was a graduate of Barnard College.
Her first job was at "Mademoiselle" in 1950 as a secretary, rising through the ranks to become fashion editor there from 1970 to 1980. She was hired by "Harper's Bazaar" in 1980 and remained there until 1984. "The New York Times" noticed the changes she made at "Harper's Bazaar", highlighting how the magazine how been "looking a little dowdy", but that Moore had "noticeably sharpened the magazine's fashion point of view" by showing "brighter, younger and more stylish", complimenting her use of "young and exciting fashion photographers" such as Oliviero Toscani.
Moore was hired by "GQ" magazine as its fashion editor in 1984. Jim Moore, the magazine's fashion director at the time of her death described the choice as unusual, observing that "She was not from men's wear, so people said she was an odd choice, but she was actually the perfect choice" and noting that she changed the publication's more casual look, which "She helped dress up the pages, as well as dress up the men, while making the mix more exciting and varied and approachable for men."
Traveling to Paris and elsewhere around the world, Moore had a knack for finding designers who had something new to offer, including Perry Ellis and Issey Miyake, whom she publicized early in their careers. Wendy Goodman of "New York" magazine described how "Nonnie was quick to pick up how important Miyake was before most people really understood his work", identifying and championing the work of Miyake and other rising designers.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America recognized Moore with a lifetime achievement award in 1994, the year she retired.
A resident of Manhattan, Moore died at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center at age 87 on February 19, 2009 due to a choking accident. She was survived by two sons, two grandchildren and a sister. Her husband Thomas L. Moore died in 1990; the couple had been married for 38 years.
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr., chairman of Condé Nast Publications, the owner of "GQ" recalled that "Nonnie was a brilliant fashion editor and always added something special to the stories she covered for "GQ"".


R v Hughes

R v Hughes is a 2002 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case in which it was held that it was unconstitutional in Saint Lucia for capital punishment to be the mandatory sentence for murder. The JCPC held that because the Constitution of Saint Lucia prohibits "inhuman or degrading punishment", following a murder conviction, a trial judge must have discretion to impose a lesser penalty than death by hanging; capital punishment may be applied only in those cases that contain aggravating factors as compared to other murder cases.
The case was decided with "Reyes v R" and "Fox v R", cases on the same issue on appeal from Belize and Saint Kitts and Nevis.


God Bless America (film)

God Bless America is a 2011 American action black comedy film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Combining elements of political satire with dark humor, the film stars Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr as a middle-aged man and a teenage girl who go on a killing spree after bonding over their hatred of what U.S. culture has become in a post-9/11 world.
Plot.
Frank Murdoch is a middle-aged insurance salesman who is sick of how the U.S. has fallen into a state of depravity based on pop culture, TV, the Internet, and talk radio. He fantasizes about killing his neighbors, whose screaming baby worsens his migraines and keeps him awake. The next morning, the neighbor blocks in his car with theirs, and he is frustrated when they act like he is imposing by asking them to move it. Meanwhile, Frank's ex-wife Alison has custody of their daughter Ava, who has become a spoiled brat. When Frank obtains a co-worker's address without permission to send her roses after she tells him she is feeling down, he is fired. He is later told by his uninterested doctor that he has a terminal brain tumor.
That evening, Frank's attention is caught by "American Superstarz", which features an intellectually disabled man named Steven Clark who is mocked by the judges. Frank prepares to shoot himself but stops when he sees a reality show about Chloe, an extremely spoiled teenager, which gives him an epiphany. He steals his neighbor's car and drives to Chloe's school, and after unsuccessfully attempting to blow her up in her car, he shoots her through the window. Fellow student Roxanne "Roxy" Harmon witnesses this and applauds Frank, despite initially chastising him because she thought he was a pervert spying on Chloe. Roxy follows Frank back to his motel, where he is once again preparing to shoot himself, and he agrees to let her watch him do so; instead, she decides to talk him out of it. Frank explains that he only wants bad people to die, and Roxy suggests they kill Chloe's parents, who only mourn the financial loss their daughter's death has brought them.
The two travel to Chloe's home, where Frank shoots Chloe's father and Roxy stabs Chloe's mother. Roxy convinces Frank to let her join his killing spree by revealing that she is trailer trash who is at the mercy of a drug-addicted mother and rapist step-father. They visit a cinema to watch a documentary about the Mỹ Lai Massacre, and several teenagers begin acting obnoxiously. Frank and Roxy shoot all of them except for the one who did not do anything disruptive, and Frank thanks her for it after killing a man who is recording him on a smartphone. The spree continues with several other people killed, including a rude man who double-parks his car, a group of far-right religious protesters, and a popular right-wing political commentator. Roxy suggests to Frank that they move to France and "go legit", with a plan to raise goats and make cheese while avoiding prosecution for the murders they have committed as France would not extradite them.
Frank's doctor calls him and reveals that he has no tumor, as his MRI results were mixed up with that of a similarly-named patient who does. While eating breakfast at a motel with Roxy, Frank's new lease on life is ruined when a pedophile at the next table assumes that Roxy is an underage prostitute and Frank is her pimp. Later, Frank sees a TV news missing person report in which Roxy's parents are revealed to be wholesome, middle-class, and concerned about her safety. Incensed at being lied to by Roxy, Frank takes out his anger on the pedophile by strangling him to death. Frank tells Roxy that he knows the truth, and she confesses but explains that she wanted to get away from a life of bland conformity. Frank gives her the keys to his neighbor's car and leaves in the pedophile's pickup truck.
Frank buys a Norinco MAK-90 assault rifle from an arms dealer and sees another TV news report, revealing that Roxy is back home with her parents and that police are searching for her apparent abductor. He gains access to the "American Superstarz" studio, kills several audience members and a judge, and holds everybody else in the studio hostage. As the police arrive, Roxy joins Frank onstage and apologizes for lying to him. Frank gives a speech in front of the TV camera about the negative behavior promoted in today's American society and mentions that he heard about the suicide attempt by Steven, the disabled man who is now in the studio as a special guest performer; Steven points out that he attempted suicide not because they mocked him, but because they had no plans to put him back on TV. Disappointed, Frank turns to Roxy and tells her she is a pretty girla question he had refused to answer earlier in the film due to her young ageand they proceed to shoot Steven, the judges, and audience members before being gunned down by the police.
Festivals.
"God Bless America" was selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, South By Southwest Film Festival, as well as the Maryland Film Festival and the Brisbane International Film Festival.
Release.
"God Bless America" premiered on September 9, 2011 at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released video on demand on April 6, 2012 and in theatres on May 11, 2012. The DVD and Blu-ray for the film were released on July 3, 2012.
Critical response.
"God Bless America" received generally mixed reviews. , the film holds a 65% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 114 reviews with an average rating of 6.17/10; its consensus read: "A darkly comic polemic on modern culture, "God Bless America" is uneven and somewhat thin, but the ideas behind this revenge fulfillment journey have primal appeal." Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave an average score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
"Chicago Sun-Times" critic Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out 4, and wrote: "this is a film that begins with merciless comic savagery and descends into merely merciless savagery. But wow, what an opening." James Berardinelli of "Reelviews" praised the film by giving 3 stars out of 4, calling it "funny but it is also at times uncomfortable". Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" gave a C, and described the film as "a burlesque that turns into a harangue that turns into a rampage." Ella Taylor of NPR gave a positive review, and wrote: ""God Bless America" ends with a couple of tale-twisting bullet orgies designed to take your preconceptions, as well as your nerve-endings, by surprise."
Some negative reception was due to many critics noticing similarities to the film "Falling Down".


Allen Street Bridge disaster

The Allen Street Bridge was a bridge over the Cowlitz River between Kelso, Washington and Longview, Washington that collapsed on January 3, 1923, killing an estimated 17–35 people.
Construction.
The bridge was a bascule bridge with a central span, built in 1907 to replace an earlier wooden bridge. It was renovated in 1915, but many residents refused to use the bridge due to its poor condition.
Collapse.
The collapse occurred the day after a log jam of over 3 million board-feet of runaway log boom piled up against the bridge was cleared. This was concluded by structural engineers to have weakened the bridge. According to another source, the original old, rotten bridge deck had been overlaid by another layer of timbers which, combined with the soaking of the entire deck thickness, overloaded the span.
The collapse occurred during evening rush hour with workers coming home from the Longview mills. A stalled car caused traffic to bunch on the bridge; according to witnesses, the bridge was carrying about 20 vehicles and 100 to 150 pedestrians when a support cable failed for unknown reasons. The two supporting towers fell and the 300-foot center span of the bridge collapsed.
Initial contemporary newspaper reports stated that up to 80 people were killed in the collapse, with some witnesses saying 150. By January 9, reports were that 19 people had been killed. The figure compiled by authorities stood at 17, but probably did not account for many transient workers. Many of the missing bodies were probably carried down the Cowlitz to the Columbia River and then out to sea. An estimate today is that 35 lives were lost. Using even the lowest estimate of 17, , the disaster stands as Washington's greatest loss of life caused by bridge failure.
Aftermath.
The bridge loss is the first in a list of seventy accidental losses compiled by the Washington State Department of Transportation between 1923 and 1998. This disaster brought about bridge inspection programs conducted by the state agency and counties.
A new four-lane vertical-lift drawbridge, of steel and cement construction, was under construction when the 1906 bridge collapsed. It was to connect Kelso with the new planned city of Longview on the west side of the Cowlitz, at a cost of $228,000. It was built by the Washington Department of Highways and opened to traffic on March 19, 1923. The vertical-lift bridge remained in use until it was closed in 2000 and replaced by a new span.


Ruben Garcia Jr. (FBI agent)

Ruben Garcia Jr. (born August 15, 1951) is a former Executive Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Garcia was born to Mexican-American parents, Cecilia and Ruben Garcia in Brownfield, the seat of Terry County in West Texas near Lubbock. After graduation from Brownfield High School, Garcia subsequently earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where he excelled in baseball as an All-American pitcher for the Red Raiders.
After a short lived career with the Kansas City Royals baseball organization, Garcia joined the FBI as a Special Agent in October 1978. Excelling through the ranks of the FBI, Garcia was named Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division in June 1994 and assumed responsibility for oversight of investigations involving white-collar crimes, national security, domestic terrorism, civil rights, and applicants. In September 1996, Garcia assumed administrative oversight for the San Antonio Division to include the Austin and Waco Resident Agencies. In 2001, Garcia was appointed by Director Robert Mueller as an Executive Assistant Director for the FBI, achieving the second highest position in the Bureau and becoming the highest ranked Hispanic law enforcement officer in the United States at the time of his appointment.


Arcesilaus II of Cyrene

Arcesilaus II of Cyrene, surnamed "the Oppressor", "the Severe" or "the Harsh" (, flourished 6th century BC), was the fourth Greek king of Cyrenaica and was a member of the Battiad dynasty. It was from his reign that the dynasty began to fall into decline.
Ancestry and Relations.
Arcesilaus II was the son of the third Greek Cyrenaean King Battus II, while his mother is unknown. His paternal aunt was the Greek Cyrenaean Princess Critola and his paternal grandfather was the second Greek Cyrenaean King Arcesilaus I.
Arcesilaus’ wife Eryxo was his paternal cousin, and was Critola’s youngest child. Arcesilaus and Eryxo had married before he succeeded his father. His father died in 560 BC and Arcesilaus ascended the throne. Arcesilaus and Eryxo had a child who was the future Cyrenaean King Battus III. Plutarch states Arcesilaus had another paternal cousin called Polyarchus, who was Eryxo’s eldest brother. Arcesilaus also had other paternal male cousins, though the historian doesn’t give their names.
Character.
Plutarch states that Arcesilaus' character was different from his father’s and received the surname ‘The Oppressor‘, because his character and appearance was of a rugged deposition. During his father’s reign Arcesilaus had built fortifications around his house and became known throughout Cyrenaica for doing this.
Learchus.
When Arcesilaus became King he had a man called Learchus or Laarchus, who became his advisor. Herodotus states that Learchus was his brother, however Plutarch states that Learchus was an ill-mannered and vicious friend. Arcesilaus followed the counsels of Learchus and became more of a tyrant than a king. Learchus was secretly plotting behind Arcesilaus to become Cyrenaica’s new king. Learchus had ordered the banishment and deaths of noble Cyrenaeans.
When Arcesilaus had found out about Learchus’ plotting, Arcesilaus had quarrelled with Learchus about the kingship and Learchus falsely blamed his plotting on him. Arcesilaus had ordered Learchus and his supporters to be exiled from Cyrenaica.
Learchus and his supporters left Cyrene and created their own settlement called Barca, (sometimes known as Meri, Libya). During the construction of Barca, Learchus was able to persuade local Libyans to withdraw their allegiance from Cyrene and encourage them to come with him and to declare war on Arcesilaus.
Learchus and the local Libyans were alarmed of the Cyrenaean troops approaching them and they hastily withdrew. Arcesilaus and the Cyrenaean troops chased Learchus and his supporters as far as Leucon, when Learchus and his supporters decided to attack the king and his army. Arcesilaus and the Cyrenaean troops were defeated and he lost up to 7,000 hoplites.
Death and burial.
Not so long after the defeat, near Leucon Arcesilaus became very ill after drinking a poisonous drink containing a deadly fish called a sea-hare. According to Plutarch this fish when consumed is fatal to people. Learchus strangled and killed Arcesilaus in 550 BC. Learchus returned to Cyrene and after his attempt to become the new king, Eryxo and Polyarchus successfully plotted to have Learchus murdered. Then Battus III was proclaimed king by Polyarchus. Arcesilaus’ body was returned to Cyrene and was buried near his paternal ancestors.


Donald Worden

Donald "Don" Worden is a retired Baltimore Police Department detective who was featured in David Simon's non-fiction book about the homicide unit, ' (1991) and provided the inspiration for the ' television series character Stanley Bolander, played by Ned Beatty.
Biography.
Worden, a native of Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood, joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1962, and had worked in the department's Northwestern district before becoming a Homicide Detective. Nicknamed, "The Big Man", he was a veteran member of Sergeant Terry McLarney's Homicide squad working under Shift Lieutenant Gary D'Addario.


Eierdiebe

Eierdiebe ("The Family Jewels" in United States) is a 2003 film written and directed by Robert Schwentke. The film deals with testicular cancer, which director Robert Schwentke suffered through and survived.


White Lie (film)

White Lie is a 2019 Canadian drama film written and directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas. The film stars Kacey Rohl as Katie Arneson, a university student who fakes a cancer diagnosis for the attention and financial gain, but gets caught up in having to maintain her lie.
It premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, and had its international premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival.
Plot.
College student Katie Arneson has been faking a cancer diagnosis for ten months. She pops placebos, shaves her head and starves herself to appear more sickly to those watching. A minor celebrity on campus, Katie uses her fraudulent disease for both emotional and financial gain, raising money through crowdfunding campaigns, while collecting friends, supporters and an unsuspecting girlfriend, Jennifer Ellis.
Katie learns a university bursary she has been counting on is in jeopardy unless she can provide medical records of her illness by the end of the week. She enlists the help of a medical resident to forge the documents, but she struggles to produce the $2,000 he demands without raising suspicion. Desperate, Katie visits her estranged father and asks for the money, telling him that she will use it to visit a clinic for special treatment. However, her father sees through the lie; he refuses to give her the money and accuses her of lying about the cancer. It is revealed that in high school Katie also faked an illness before eventually being exposed. Her father pleads with her to come clean publicly, but she refuses, maintaining the lie.
With nowhere else to turn, Katie asks Jennifer, whose family is wealthy, and Jennifer agrees immediately to provide the money. That night, Katie searches Jennifer's phone and discovers that her father has called Jennifer, intending to reveal her lies. Katie deletes the message and blocks her father from Jennifer's phone.
Katie obtains and submits the falsified medical documents to the university; relieved, she visits Jennifer's family. However, during the visit she discovers that her father has written a tell-all post on Facebook, exposing her lies. Katie visits a friend whose mother is a lawyer. She hopes to sue her father to take the post down, but as the conversation progresses and Katie tacitly admits that she is faking the illness, she learns that if she is shown to be lying, she will face jail time for defrauding the public through her fundraising schemes.
In a frantic effort to contest the accusations, Katie descends into a spiral of misguided decisions that further entrench her deceit. With support from her community quickly fading, and determined to salvage her relationship with Jennifer, Katie overlooks an opportunity to come clean, and instead continues to betray and manipulate her devoted partner. Convinced yet again of Katie's lie, Jennifer accompanies her girlfriend to a radio program where Katie will attempt to regain the public's confidence. As they wait in the hall, Jennifer insists that she be with Katie at all her future medical and chemotherapy appointments. In response, Katie asks Jennifer to marry her, saying that if they are married "I won't lie, I won't be sick anymore." Katie is called to the studio, leaving a stunned Jennifer in the hall. Jennifer begins to cry, then stands.
Production.
Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas began developing a film about a woman faking cancer for personal gain in 2012. "For the first time, we had a story based upon a character and not the other way around. We always envisioned it as a fast-paced procedural rather than a drama," they explained in an interview with "Playback". Lewis and Thomas spent several years considering possible narrative structures for the film, including the "rise and fall" of standard biopics. The first draft was written in 2015 and compressed the story into a five-day timeline. "We had to find a balance of not telling too much and telling just enough that you have enough insight into what happened over the past couple months of her life," said Thomas. Films from the Romanian New Wave, including "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" (2007), influenced the plotting.
The duo worked again with producer Karen Harnisch, who had recently brought the Canadian independent film "Sleeping Giant" (2015) to the Cannes Film Festival, and was able to help them secure a larger budget. “It was an aspiration for all of us to create a really polished film that graduated us from the mumblecore-y microbudget world,” Harnisch told "The Globe and Mail".
The film was shot in Toronto and Hamilton under the working title "Baldy". Principal photography began on November 14, 2018 and was completed one month later on December 14.
Reception.
Critical response.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 21 reviews, and an average rating of 8.40/10. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
"The Globe and Mails Carly Lewis awarded the film four out of four stars and described it as "an incredible feat of showcasing the complicated scramble that is being alive." Adding that "White Lie" "unfurls to become an unexpected empathy inquest." "NOW Magazines Norman Wilner called the film "a character piece that plays like a thriller."
Calum Marsh praised the film's direction in a piece for "Maclean's" on the best Canadian films at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, writing "The directors calibrate the tension perfectly, and without moralizing indict an age in which, thanks to the internet and social media, the line between public and private lives has blurred, and we are all trying our best to keep up appearances." "The Hollywood Reporter"'s Stephen Dalton echoed the sentiment, stating, "Driven by nuanced, persuasive performances and shot with an urgent, jittery tension, "White Lie" is a compelling close-up character study of a recklessly needy anti-heroine caught in an impossible dilemma of her own making."
Awards.
In December 2019, the film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list.


Dennis Farina

Dennis Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor, television presenter and former police officer. He was a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. He is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in "Manhunter", mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy "Midnight Run", Ray "Bones" Barboni in "Get Shorty", and Cousin Avi in "Snatch". He starred on television as Lieutenant Mike Torello on "Crime Story" and as NYPD Detective Joe Fontana on "Law & Order". From 2008 to 2010, he hosted and narrated the television program "Unsolved Mysteries" on Spike TV. His last major television role was in HBO's "Luck", which premiered on January 29, 2012.
Early life.
Farina was born on a Leap Day (February 29, 1944) in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, the fourth son and youngest of the seven children of Joseph and Yolanda Farina. Farina's father, who was from Villalba, Sicily, was a Chicago-area doctor, and his mother a homemaker. The Farinas raised their children in a North Avenue home in Old Town, a working-class neighborhood with a broad ethnic mixture, with Italians and Germans being the two predominant ethnicities.
Before becoming an actor, Farina served three years in the United States Army during the Vietnam Era, followed by 18 years in the Chicago Police Department, advancing in rank from 1967 to 1985.
Career in show business.
Farina began working for director Michael Mann as a police consultant, which led Mann to cast him in a small role in the 1981 film "Thief". He moonlighted as an actor in Chicago-based films (like "Code of Silence", a 1985 Chuck Norris film) and theater before Mann chose him for his "Crime Story" series, which aired on NBC from 1986 to 1988. Farina played mobster Albert Lombard in Mann's previous hit television show, "Miami Vice". He later starred as the title character in "Buddy Faro", a short-lived 1998 private detective series on CBS.
Farina played mob boss Jimmy Serrano in "Midnight Run", and Ray "Bones" Barboni, a rival criminal to Chili Palmer in "Get Shorty". Farina also played FBI Agent Jack Crawford in the first Hannibal Lecter crime film, Michael Mann's "Manhunter".
Other movies he was cast in include Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan", "Striking Distance", "Another Stakeout", "Snatch", "The Mod Squad", "Reindeer Games", "Men of Respect", "Big Trouble" and "Out of Sight". He played a baseball manager in "Little Big League" and a nemesis basketball coach in "Eddie".
In a leading-man role and a departure from his usual parts, he co-starred in 1997 with Bette Midler in a romantic comedy, "That Old Feeling", directed by Carl Reiner.
Farina won an American Comedy Award for his performance in "Get Shorty" and starred in a television sitcom, "In-Laws," from 2002 until 2003. He appeared in the 2002 film "Stealing Harvard", a comedy in which he played a tough-talking, overprotective father-in-law. He also had a comic role opposite Ed Harris and Helen Hunt in the HBO production of "Empire Falls" in 2005 and opposite Alan Rickman in the 2008 "Bottle Shock".
Working as a voice-actor beginning in early 2005, he provided the voice of aging boxer-turned-superhero Wildcat on "Justice League Unlimited". In early 2013, he voiced the father of Daffy Duck's girlfriend on "The Looney Tunes Show", and played himself in an April 13, 2014 episode of the animated series "Family Guy" called "The Most Interesting Man in the World," aired posthumously, one of his final acting roles.
In 2004, producers of the television series "Law & Order" hired him as Detective Joe Fontana, following the departure of longtime cast member Jerry Orbach. Farina stayed on the show for two seasons. In May 2006, it was announced he was leaving "Law & Order" for other projects, including the 2007 "You Kill Me" opposite Ben Kingsley and the 2008 "What Happens in Vegas" with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher.
His role of Detective Lt. Mike Torello on "Crime Story" was as a Chicago police officer, assigned to the U.S. Justice Department. Farina's "Law & Order" character, Detective Fontana, worked for Chicago Homicide before his transfer to the NYPD. Fontana shared a number of other characteristics with the actor who played him since they came from the same Chicago neighborhood, attended the same parochial school and had the same tastes in clothes and music and were fans of the Chicago Cubs.
He appeared in two television network miniseries' based on Joe McGinniss's true-crime books, "Blind Faith" (1990) and "Cruel Doubt" (1992). He made a rare western, portraying legendary lawman Charlie Siringo in a 1995 television movie, "", a followup to the hit 1960s series.
In October 2008, he became the new host of "Unsolved Mysteries" when it returned to television with a new five-season, 175-episode run on Spike TV. Farina replaced Robert Stack, who had hosted the series for its prior 15-year run. This version featured re-edited segments from previous incarnations on NBC, CBS and Lifetime.
He played the title role in a 2011 independent film, "The Last Rites of Joe May", written and directed by Joe Maggio, shot on location in Chicago. He was among the stars of a 2014 release, "Authors Anonymous", playing a wannabe novelist with a fantasy of becoming another Tom Clancy.
Again on television, Farina co-starred in the 2012 HBO horse-race gambling series "Luck", with Dustin Hoffman, directed by Michael Mann. He had a recurring guest role in 2013 in the television comedy series "New Girl", though his character was killed off prior to his death.
Farina's last film role was as an aging Italian playboy in a film version of the Off-Broadway musical "Lucky Stiff" co-starring Dominic Marsh, Nikki M. James and Jason Alexander. The film, released posthumously in 2014, was dedicated to his memory.
Personal life.
Farina was married to Patricia Farina from 1970 until their divorce in 1980. They had three sons: Dennis Jr., Michael and Joseph. His youngest son, Joseph, is also an actor. He had two granddaughters, Brianna and Olivia, and four grandsons: Michael, Tyler, Matthew and Eric. He lived with his longtime girlfriend Marianne Cahill in Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona.
A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, he played the role of a Cubs fan in a 1988 revival of the successful 1977 Organic Theater Company stage play "Bleacher Bums". The play was written by and starred fellow Chicago actors Joe Mantegna and Dennis Franz.
Farina was arrested on May 11, 2008, for carrying a loaded .22-caliber pistol through Los Angeles International Airport security. He was taken to the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division and booked on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, bail being set at $25,000. He claimed he had simply forgotten the weapon was still in his briefcase and had never intended to take it on a plane. After police determined the weapon was unregistered, the charges were upgraded to a felony and bail was increased to $35,000. After reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years' probation on July 17, 2008.
Death.
He died on July 22, 2013, in a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital from a pulmonary embolism. His body was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery at Hillside, Illinois.


Byron B. Brainard

Byron B. Brainard (1894–1940) was an electrician, auto mechanic, auto salesman, real estate broker and community newspaper editor who was also a Los Angeles City Council member between 1933 and 1939.
Biography.
Byron Bernard Brainard, born 01 Apr 1894 in Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas, USA, was brought to Los Angeles in 1899 at the age of five. He left high school to work as a car washer for the Southern Pacific and the Pullman Company but acquired his first piece of real estate through his parents while still a minor. He continued his education through night school and extension courses. He worked up to chief mechanic for an automobile company, then turned to real estate and, before his election to the council in 1933, he edited and published the "Southwest News-Press," a community newspaper. He maintained a semiweekly column called "Column Right" while a council member and after.
Brainard was stricken while eating dinner with his wife, Blanche, at home. He could not be revived at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. Funeral services were conducted at Inglewood Park Cemetery by the Golden Gate Masonic Lodge and the Order of Druids, of which Brainard had been Noble Grand Arch. Besides his wife, he left a son and a daughter.
A month after his death (on 19 Mar 1940 in Los Angeles), an autopsy report revealed that Brainard had died of choking when a piece of meat lodged in his throat.
City Council.
Elections.
"See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1929–41
Brainard ran for the 5th District seat in 1929 and 1931, each time failing to be nominated in the first round. In 1933, however, he ousted incumbent Roy Donley, and he was reelected in 1935 over the End Poverty in California candidate, Charles W. Dempster. He was reelected in 1937 and 1939, but lost to Arthur E. Briggs in 1941.
In 1935, District 5 was bounded on the east by Vermont avenue, on the north by Wilshire Boulevard, on the west by La Brea avenue and on the south by Exposition Boulevard.
References.
Access to the "Los Angeles Times" links requires the use of a library card.


Hans Koch

 Hans Koch (16 August 1893 – 24 April 1945) was a German lawyer, a member of the Confessional Church and a member of the German resistance against Nazism.
Koch was born in Bartenstein, East Prussia (modern Bartoszyce, Poland), he graduated in law from the University of Königsberg. In 1923, he began working at the Prussian Ministry of Trade and later as the second state commisar of the Berlin stock exchange. In 1927, he opened his own law office. In 1937, he helped win an acquittal for pastor Martin Niemöller.
During World War II, he developed contacts with Claus von Stauffenberg and the 20 July plot conspirators, including Carl Goerdeler. In the 20 July plot, once the Nazis had been routed, Koch was slated to become the presiding judge of the "Reichsgericht", the highest court in the German Reich. The plot failed, however, and Koch sheltered one of the conspirators. An informer denounced him and Koch and his family were arrested. He was murdered extrajudicially in Berlin by a Sonderkommando of the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt on 24 April 1945.


Rainey Bethea

Rainey Bethea (c. 1909 – August 14, 1936) was the last person in the United States. Bethea, who confessed to the rape and murder of a 70-year-old woman named Lischia Edwards, was convicted of her rape and publicly hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky. Mistakes in performing the hanging, and the surrounding media circus, contributed to the end of public executions in the United States.
Early life.
Little is known about Bethea's life before he arrived in Owensboro in 1933. Born around 1909 in Roanoke, Virginia, Bethea was an African-American man orphaned after the death of his mother in 1919 and his father in 1926. He worked for the Rutherford family and lived in their basement for about a year, and then he moved to a cabin behind the house of a man named Emmett Wells. He worked as a laborer and later rented a room from a woman, Mrs. Charles Brown. He also attended a Baptist church.
Bethea first interacted with the legal system in 1935, when he was charged with breach of the peace and then fined $20. In April of the same year, he was caught stealing two purses from an establishment called the Vogue Beauty Shop. Since the value of the purses exceeded $25, Bethea was convicted of a felony, grand larceny, and consequently sentenced to one year in the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville. He arrived there on June 1, 1935, and his prison physical exam information describes him as 5 ft. 4⅜" (1.635 m) tall and weighing . He gained parole half a year later on December 1, 1935.
Upon returning to Owensboro upon release, Bethea continued to work as a laborer and earned about seven dollars per week. Less than a month later, he was arrested again for house breaking. On January 6, 1936, the court amended this charge to being drunk and disorderly in public and imposed a $100 fine (equivalent to $ in ). Because he could not afford to pay, he remained incarcerated in the Daviess County Jail until April 18, 1936.
Crime and arrest.
During the early morning of June 7, 1936, Bethea entered the home of Lischia Edwards on East Fifth Street by climbing onto the roof of an outbuilding next door. From there, he jumped onto the roof of the servant's quarters of Emmett Wells' house, and then walked down a wooden walkway. He climbed over the kitchen roof to Edwards' bedroom window.
After removing a screen from her window, he entered the room, waking her. Bethea then choked Edwards and violently raped her. After she was unconscious, he searched for valuables and stole several of her rings. In the process, he removed his own black celluloid prison ring, and failed to later retrieve it. He left the bedroom and hid the stolen jewels in a barn not far from the house.
The crime was discovered late that morning after the Smith family, who lived downstairs, noticed they had not heard Edwards stirring in her room. They feared she might have been ill and knocked on the door of her room, attempting to rouse her. They found the door locked with a key still inside the lock from the inside, which prevented another key from being placed in the lock from the outside. They contacted a neighbor, Robert Richardson, hoping he could help, and he managed to knock the key free, but another skeleton key would not unlock the door. Smith then got a ladder. He climbed into the room through the transom over the door and discovered that Edwards was dead.
The Smiths alerted Dr. George Barr while he was attending a service at the local Methodist Church. Dr. Barr realized there was little he could do and summoned the local coroner, Delbert Glenn, who attended the same church. The Smiths also called the Owensboro police. Officers found the room was otherwise tidy, but there were muddy footprints everywhere. Coroner Glenn also found Bethea's celluloid prison ring.
By late Sunday afternoon, the police already suspected Rainey Bethea after several residents of Owensboro stated that they had previously seen Bethea wearing the ring. Since Bethea had a criminal record, the police could use the then-new identification technique of fingerprints to establish that Bethea had recently touched items inside the bedroom. Police searched for Bethea over the next four days.
On the Wednesday following the discovery of the murder, Burt "Red" Figgins was working on the bank of the Ohio River, when he observed Bethea lying under some bushes. Figgins asked Bethea what he was doing, and Bethea responded he was "cooling off." Figgins then reported this sighting to his supervisor, Will Faith, and asked him to call the police. By the time Faith had returned to the spot on the river bank, Bethea had moved to the nearby Koll's Grocery. Faith followed him and then found a policeman in the drugstore, but when they searched for Bethea, he again eluded capture.
Later that afternoon, Bethea was again spotted. This time, he was cornered on the river bank after he tried to board a barge. When police officers questioned him, he denied that he was Bethea, claiming his name was James Smith. The police played along with the fabricated name, fearing a mob would develop if residents were to learn that they had captured Bethea. After his arrest, Bethea was identified by a scar on the left side of his head.
Trial, appeal, and petition for habeas corpus.
Trial.
Judge Forrest A. Roby of the Daviess Circuit Court ordered the sheriff to transport Bethea to the Jefferson County Jail in Louisville. While being transferred, Bethea made his first confession, admitting that he had raped Edwards and strangled her to death. Bethea also lamented the fact that he had made a mistake by leaving his ring at the crime scene.
Once incarcerated at the jail, Bethea made a second confession to Robert M. Morton, a notary public, and George H. Koper, a reporter for "The Courier-Journal".
On June 12, 1936, Bethea confessed a third time, telling the guards where he had hidden the jewelry. Owensboro police searched a barn in Owensboro and found the jewelry where Bethea said he had left it. Under Kentucky law, the grand jury could not convene until June 22, and the prosecutor charged Bethea solely with rape. Under extant state statutes, executions for murder and robbery were carried out by electrocution at the state penitentiary in Eddyville. Rape, however, could be punished by public hanging in the county seat where the crime occurred. The prosecutor therefore elected to charge Bethea only with rape in order to avoid a potential legal dilemma as to whether Bethea would be hanged or electrocuted. Bethea was never charged with the remaining crimes of theft, robbery, burglary, giving a false name to police, or murder. After one hour and forty minutes, the grand jury returned an indictment, charging Bethea with rape.
On June 25, 1936, officers returned Bethea to Owensboro for the trial, which took place that same day. Bethea asserted a Clyde Maddox would provide an alibi, but Maddox claimed he did not know Bethea. The defense subpoenaed four witnesses: Maddox, Ladd Moorman, Willie Johnson (a supposed accomplice given Bethea's statements), and Allen McDaniel. The first three were served, however the sheriff's office could not find a person named Allen McDaniel.
On the night before the trial, Bethea announced to his lawyers that he wanted to plead guilty, doing so the next day at the start of the trial. The prosecutor still presented the state's case to the jury in spite of the guilty plea, requesting a death penalty for Bethea. In his opening statement, Commonwealth's Attorney Herman Birkhead said, "This is one of the most dastardly, beastly, cowardly crimes ever committed in Daviess County. Justice demands and the Commonwealth will ask and expect a verdict of the death penalty by hanging."
After questioning 21 witnesses, the prosecution closed its case. The defense did not present or examine any witnesses. After a closing statement by the prosecutor, the judge instructed the jury that since Bethea had pleaded guilty, they must "...fix his punishment, at confinement in the penitentiary for not less than ten years nor more than twenty years, or at death." After only four and a half minutes of deliberation, the jury returned with a sentence of death by hanging. Bethea was then quickly removed from the courthouse and returned to the Jefferson County Jail.
Appeal and petition for habeas corpus.
Back in Louisville, Bethea acquired five new African-American lawyers to try to save his life: Charles Ewbank Tucker, Stephen A. Burnley, Charles W. Anderson Jr., Harry E. Bonaparte, and R. Everett Ray. They worked "pro bono" to challenge the sentence, which they saw as their ethical duty for the indigent defendant who could not pay standard legal fees. On July 10, 1936, they filed a motion for a new trial. The judge summarily denied this on the grounds that under Section 273 of the Kentucky Code of Practice in Criminal Cases, a motion for a new trial had to have been received before the end of the court's term, which had ended on July 4.
Bethea's team then tried to appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which was also not in session at that time. On July 29, Justice Gus Thomas returned to Frankfort where he heard the oral motion. Justice Thomas refused to let them file the appeal, on the grounds that the trial court record was incomplete since it only included the judge's ruling. While the lawyers knew that the Kentucky courts would deny the appeal, they filed it anyway as a formality in order to exhaust the state court remedies available to them before they filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a federal court. Once Thomas denied the motion to file a belated appeal, Bethea's attorneys filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at Louisville.
On August 5, a hearing was held at the Federal Building in Louisville before United States District Judge Elwood Hamilton. During the hearing, Bethea claimed that he had pled guilty unwillingly and had wanted to subpoena three witnesses to testify on his behalf, but his initial lawyers had forced him to plead guilty and did not have the desired witnesses testify. He also claimed that his five confessions had been made under duress and that he had signed one confession unaware of what he was signing. The Commonwealth brought several witnesses to refute these claims. Ultimately, Judge Hamilton denied the habeas corpus petition and ruled that the hanging could proceed.
Execution.
The crime was infamous locally, but came to nationwide attention because the sheriff of Daviess County was a woman. Florence Shoemaker Thompson had become sheriff on April 13, 1936, after her husband, sheriff Everett Thompson, unexpectedly died of pneumonia on April 10. Florence became sheriff through widow's succession, and as sheriff of the county she was tasked with hanging Bethea.
Arthur L. Hash, a former Louisville police officer, offered his services free of charge to perform the execution. Thompson accepted this offer. He asked that she not make his name public.
On August 6, the Governor of Kentucky, Albert Chandler, signed Bethea's execution warrant and set the execution for sunrise on August 14. Thompson requested the governor to issue a revised death warrant because the original warrant specified that the hanging would take place in the courthouse yard where the county had recently planted, at significant cost, new shrubs and flowers. Chandler was out-of-state, so Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Keen Johnson, as acting governor, signed a second death warrant moving the location of the hanging from the courthouse yard to an empty lot near the county garage.
Rainey Bethea's last meal consisted of fried chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumbers, cornbread, lemon pie, and ice cream, which he ate at 4:00 p.m. on August 13 in Louisville. At about 1:00 a.m., Daviess County deputy sheriffs transported Bethea from Louisville to Owensboro. At the jail, professional hangman Phil Hanna of Epworth, Illinois visited Bethea and instructed him to stand on the X that would be marked on the trapdoor.
It was estimated that a crowd of about 20,000 people gathered to watch the execution. Hash arrived at the site intoxicated wearing a white suit and a white Panama hat. At this time, no one but he and Thompson knew that he would pull the trigger.
Bethea left the Daviess County Jail at 5:21 a.m. and walked with two deputies to the scaffold. Within two minutes, he was at the base of the scaffold. Removing his shoes, he put on a new pair of socks. He ascended the steps and stood on the large X as instructed. After Bethea made his final confession to Father Lammers of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, officers placed a black hood over his head and fastened three large straps around his ankles, thighs, arms, and chest.
Hanna placed the noose around Bethea's neck, adjusted it, and then signaled to Hash to pull the trigger. Instead, Hash, who was drunk, did nothing. Hanna shouted at Hash, "Do it!" and a deputy leaned onto the trigger, which sprang the trap door.
Bethea fell 8 feet and his neck was instantly broken. After, two doctors confirmed he was dead. His body was taken to Andrew & Wheatley Funeral Home. He wanted his body to be sent to his sister in South Carolina, but against these wishes, he was buried in a pauper's grave at the Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery in Owensboro.
Afterwards, Hanna complained that Hash should not have been allowed to perform the execution in his drunken condition. Hanna further said it was the worst display he experienced in the 70 hangings he had supervised.
The spot where the scaffold stood (approximately 37.775248° -87.116462°) is now part of a drop-off/pick-up lane in front of the Owensboro Convention Center.
End of public executions in the United States.
As the Kentucky General Assembly had been meeting in its biennial sessions at the time, the media circus surrounding the Bethea execution embarrassed members of the Kentucky legislature. In spite of the humiliation, they could not amend laws regarding executions until the next session in 1938. However, the trial judges in two separate Kentucky rape cases ordered that the hangings of John "Pete" Montjoy and Harold Van Venison be conducted privately. Montjoy, age 23, was privately hanged in Covington on December 17, 1937.
On January 17, 1938, William R. Attkisson of the Kentucky State Senate's 38th District (representing Louisville), introduced Senate Bill 69, repealing the requirement in Section 1137 that executions for convicted rapists be conducted by hanging in the county seat where they raped their victims. The bill was promoted in the Kentucky House of Representatives by Representative Charles W. Anderson Jr., one of the attorneys who assisted Bethea in his post-conviction relief motions.
After both houses approved the bill, Governor Chandler signed it into law on March 12, 1938; it became effective on May 30 of that year. Chandler later expressed regret at having approved the repeal, claiming, "Our streets are no longer safe." The last person ever legally hanged in Kentucky was Harold Van Venison, a 33-year-old African-American singer, who was privately executed in Covington on June 3, 1938.


Don Edwards

William Donlon "Don" Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives from California.
Early life.
Edwards was born in San Jose, California to Republican parents. His father and grandfather owned a land title business. After graduating from San Jose High School, before earning a B.A. from Stanford University in 1936, where he was member of the Stanford golf team. Edwards then attended Stanford Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1940.
Edwards was a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1940 to 1941, when he joined the United States Navy as a naval intelligence and gunnery officer during World War II. In 1950, he was elected president of the California Young Republicans, resigning after joining the United World Federalists. Perceiving the Republican Party as becoming too conservative, he became a Democrat prior to his first congressional election victory in 1962. He was the president of Valley Title Company of Santa Clara County from 1951 to 1975, and a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1964 and 1968.
United States representative (1963–95).
Edwards was elected as a member of the Democratic Party to the 88th from the 10th Congressional District (later redistricted to the 16th Congressional District) and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1995). In his first year in the House, Edwards voted to abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee. Edwards was involved in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Edwards was a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the investigation of the Watergate scandal. Edwards opposed the U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War, the invasion of Panama, and the Persian Gulf War.
Edwards was one of eight members of the Judiciary Committee to vote for all five articles of impeachment drafted against President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. The others were Jack Brooks, Robert Kastenmeier, John Conyers, Barbara Jordan, Charles Rangel, Elizabeth Holtzman and Edward Mezvinsky. Three of the five articles were adopted prior to Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.
Edwards was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1988 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Alcee Hastings, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and again in 1989 to conduct impeachment proceedings against Walter Nixon, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Edwards was the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights for 23 years. Edwards was not a candidate for reelection to the 104th Congress.
Personal life and death.
Don Edwards was married three times; he was married to Edith Wilkie Edwards from 1981 until her death in 2011. He turned 100 in January 2015. He died later that year on October 1, 2015.
Legacy.
Edwards received the Congressional Distinguished Service Award in 2003. The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in the south end of San Francisco Bay is named in his honor.


Chet D. Traylor

Chet D. Traylor (born October 12, 1945) is a former Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, having served in that capacity from 1997 to 2009.
Traylor announced his candidacy for the supreme court prior to the January 1996 qualifying period.


Lester Wire

Lester Farnsworth Wire (September 3, 1887 – April 14, 1958) was credited with the invention of the electric traffic light in 1912, in Salt Lake City. Wire worked as a detective for the Salt Lake City police force. The original traffic light, based on a semaphore system, had been invented in London in 1868 by John Peake Knight, but had not been a success.
The earliest known patent for a traffic light in the United States was U.S.Patent # 1,251,666, issued January 1, 1918, to J.B. Hoge of Cleveland, Ohio.
Biography.
Lester Wire attended Salt Lake High School. In high school, Wire was a football star and expert marksman and also helped create the first men's and women's basketball games. He later received appointment to West Point Military Academy by Senator, Reed E. Smoot, but was unable to attend. In 1909, he was enrolled in the University of Utah as a law student, which he found too expensive and quit to join the Salt Lake City Police in 1910. In 1912, he was appointed to head the first traffic squad at the age of 24 by police chief B.F. Grant. As head of the traffic squad, he created the first regulation codes in Salt Lake City and appointed patrolmen at the busy Main Street and 200 South area. The patrolmen would stand on small platforms and to be fair, would time traffic each way. He wanted a better way to control traffic so that the patrol men did not have to stand for long hours with differing weather conditions. With Matthew 5:15 as his inspiration ("Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all"), he created his first electric traffic signal.
The first prototype was a wooden box with a pitched roof that contained red and green lights on all four sides. Wire reportedly dipped the bulbs in red and green paint to get the color and choose the colors according to nautical right-or way or railroad usage and were also nature based. It was then mounted to a 10-foot pole, wired to the electrical lines of the trolley cars. Once installed, it was hand operated by a patrolmen in a booth by the side of the road. When the first traffic light was installed, pedestrians would yell at drivers waiting in cars for the light to change, "Are you waiting to see if the birdies will come out?" or "I saw a birdie that time; now you can go?" Because of its birdhouse-like appearance, the traffic light became known as "Wire's bird cage", "Wire's pigeon house" and the "flashing bird house."
He devised a durable metal stoplight, using the smokestack from an old locomotive engine for the frame, but without a yellow caution light. He thought of having it patented, but ended up not doing so. Some believed the reason to be that Wire had been drafted to serve in World War I, and could not see the patent process through. Five years after Wire's invention, Salt Lake City became the first interconnected traffic signal system in the United States. Based on Wire's designs, the lights were first installed on August 5, 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio on the corner of East 105th street and Euclid Avenue.
Wire went back to being a detective and retired in 1946. And after his death in 1958, in March 1963, the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association was started in his family home. Wire never married but his sister, Edith, tried to secure the original stoplight from the Tracy Aviary where it had been used as a birdhouse, but it had disappeared shortly after Wire's death. The original metal stoplight had been displayed in Syracuse, New York, for many years. In 1964, Edith asked if it could be returned to Utah for display in the museum, but the people in New York replied that it had been thrown out two days before her letter arrived. A replica of Wire's first traffic light can be seen at the UDOT, Traffic Operations Center located at 2060 South and 2760 West in Salt Lake City.
Edith died in 1973. She left her inheritance to keep the museum operating, but there were not enough funds to do that. Trustees for the estate referred the problem to the courts. As a solution, the Utah State Department of Transportation agreed to use the assets of the estate to create and maintain a suitable memorial to the inventor of the traffic light. To that end, the Lester Farnsworth Wire Memorial Library was included in the new Department of Transportation building at 4501 South 2700 West in Salt Lake City.
Death.
He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Evolution of the Traffic Signal.
The first traffic island was put into use in San Francisco, California in 1907, and left-hand drive became the standard for American cars in 1908. Two Years before (1910) Wire, Ernest Sirrine, in Chicago made the first traffic light that used the non-illuminated words "stop" and "proceed". And the first center painted divide appeared in 1911 in Michigan, and the first "No Left Turn" sign arrived in 1916.
Eight years after Wire's invention, in Detroit in 1920, a detective named William Potts introduced the amber light and a series of electrical controls that would ultimately resulted in the automatic traffic light. Potts did not apply for a patent, but the first inventor to do so was Garret Morgan, who patented his invention of the traffic light with a STOP, GO and a third position for pedestrians. Morgan eventually sold his patent to General Electric where it was mass-produced.


German submarine U-270

German submarine "U-270" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 October 1941 at the "Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft" (yard) in Bremen as yard number 35. She was launched on 11 July 1942 and commissioned on 5 September under the command of "Oberleutnant zur See" Paul-Fredrich Otto.
In six patrols, she caused one British warship of to be declared a total loss. She was a member of seven wolfpacks.
She was sunk in August 1944 in the Bay of Biscay by an Australian aircraft.
Design.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-270" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-270" was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history.
After training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, the boat became operational on 1 April 1943 when she was transferred to the 6th flotilla.
1st and 2nd patrols.
"U-270"s first patrol began when she departed Kiel on 23 March 1943. She entered the Atlantic Ocean after negotiating the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Two crew members were injured in bad weather on 4 April. She then docked at the French Atlantic port of St. Nazaire on 15 May.
For her second sortie, the boat moved through the Atlantic waters off northwest Spain.
3rd and 4th patrols.
She attacked the British frigate which caused the warship to be declared a total loss. During an attack on a convoy in mid-Atlantic, the boat's pressure hull was cracked by depth charges dropped by the escorts; the submarine was forced to return to base.
"U-270" was attacked by a British B-17 Flying Fortress on 6 January 1944 and succeeded in shooting the aircraft down, but not before sufficient damage was caused to force the U-boat to curtail the patrol.
5th patrol.
The submarine was returning to base after being attacked and badly damaged by a Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF, when she was attacked by a second Fortress, this time from 53 Squadron. This B-17 was also shot down, but did not cause any further damage to the boat. Among the casualties here were Bert Peters, a former Victorian Football League player.
6th patrol and loss.
"U-270" departed Lorient for the last time on 10 August 1944. In the Bay of Biscay, she was attacked and sunk by an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 461 Squadron RAAF on the 13th.
There were no deaths; seventy-one men survived. The German version of U 270 reports of 10 men dead and 71 survived; the boat was overloaded with staff, being evacuated.
Wolfpacks.
"U-270" took part in seven wolfpacks, namely.


Kristian Ottosen

Kristian Ottosen (15 January 1921, Solund – 1 June 2006, Oslo) was a Norwegian non-fiction writer and public servant.
While still a student, he was also active in the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II and was imprisoned as a Nacht und Nebel inmate. He was imprisoned in Veiten from June to July 1942, then in Bergen from July to September, then in Grini concentration camp from September to December. From December 1942 to June 1944 he was in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, then until September 1944 in Natzweiler-Struthof. He was then in Dachau concentration camp for three days, and Ottobrunn for one day. He was lastly in Dautmergen from September to November 1944 and Vaihingen until the war's end.
After the war, he finished his studies at the University of Bergen, where he became the leader of the Det Norske Studentersamfund first in Bergen, and then as a full-time employee at the University of Oslo. He was the manager of the Foundation for Student Life in Oslo from 1950 to 1979. He led the commission that recommended the founding of regional university colleges throughout Norway and for establishment of the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund. He also chaired the board of NRK from 1972 to 1979, and Nationaltheatret from 1981 to 1989.
After he retired, Ottosen wrote a series of historical accounts from World War II. These included memoirs from his work in the Norwegian resistance as well as thorough historical surveys of Norwegians who were arrested and detained by Nazi authorities during the war. For this work he was honored with the Fritt Ord Honorary Award in 2004, was made commander in the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, and named honorary member of the Norwegian Labour Party.
Notable writings.
Ottosen's works include:


German submarine U-450

The German submarine "U-450" was a Type VIIC U-boat in the service of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Design.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-450" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-450" was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history.
The submarine was laid down in July 1941 in Danzig, Germany (now Poland). She was launched in July 1942 and commissioned in September that year. During her career with the "Kriegsmarine", "U-450" never sank any ships.
Patrols.
On 27 May 1943, three days after she was redesignated from a training vessel to a front-line service boat, "U-450" set out for her first patrol from Kiel, the home base of the 9th U-boat Flotilla under the command of "Oberleutnant zur See" Kurt Böhme. As the boat surfaced off the coast of Iceland on 6 June, she came under attack from a British B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, which wounded seven men. 16 days later, (with assistance from other boats due to the damage caused by the attack), she arrived at Brest in France. The patrol lasted 27 days, the longest of her career.
On 17 October 1943, "U-450" left Brest for Toulon. She arrived at the port city 23 days later.
On 10 February 1944, ten days after a fire in her engine room had swept one man overboard and forced her to return to base, "U-450" left Toulon for the Italian coast, presumably to attack support ships coming to reinforce Allied troops which had just landed at Anzio.
Fate.
In March 1944, exactly one month later, she came under depth charge attack by the British escort destroyers , , and and the American escort destroyer . The submarine sank, at position , but all 51 crew members were rescued by the destroyers and became prisoners of war.


Amnesty International Ireland

Amnesty International Ireland (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is the Irish branch of the international non-governmental organisation focused on human rights, Amnesty International. The Executive Director is Colm O'Gorman.
Campaigns.
Amnesty operate a number of campaigns focusing on human rights issues.
Abortion rights.
The "She is not a criminal" campaign opposes the Republic of Ireland's abortion law, as according to Amnesty, "Ireland’s Constitution and abortion legislation result in violations of the fundamental human rights of women and girls. Ireland has one of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws. Women and girls cannot legally have an abortion in Ireland unless there is a risk to their life. And even where that is the case, access is difficult."
The campaign was prompted in part due to criticism of Ireland's abortion laws by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the Committee Against Torture. The CESCR has criticised what it described as Ireland’s "highly restrictive legislation on abortion and its strict interpretation thereof", and its "criminalization of abortion, including in the cases of rape and incest and of risk to the health of a pregnant woman." It recommended that Ireland take all necessary steps, including a referendum on abortion, to revise its legislation on abortion. It also raised concerns at the impact on women and girls of the law on access to and information about abortion, and how the constitutional protection afforded to the foetus also impacted on maternity care. Abortion is constitutionally permitted only when a woman’s or girl’s life is at 'real and substantial risk', and carries a possible 14-year prison sentence in all other circumstances.
Controversy over foreign donations.
In December 2017 newspapers reported that the Standards in Public Office Commission informed Amnesty Ireland that this breached Ireland’s campaign finance laws which prohibit foreign donors making donations to groups in Ireland who influence government policy. The George Soros "Open Society Foundation" funding had previously been publicly reported on its website and 2016 annual report. The Commission had frequently stated in its reports that this provision is overly wide and cannot have been the intention of the legislature, except where groups are involved in campaigning at elections or referendums. Amnesty Ireland stated that they were not going to obey the Commission's instruction to return the funding, as it considered it a violation of its - and other Irish NGOs' - rights to freedom of association and expression.
Amnesty initiated a High Court challenge to SIPO's instruction. The case was heard in July 2018 and as part of the settlement agreement, the High Court heard that SIPO now accepts its decision that the donation was for political purposes and must be returned was "procedurally flawed". Amnesty said it was pleased that the decision has been quashed and that it was vindicated in its decision to challenge the decision. Amnesty also said that it hopes the Government will reform the Electoral Act.
Refugees.
Amnesty's "I Welcome Refugees" campaign supports refugees and asylum seekers. The campaign promotes resettlement policies by Ireland and the international community and focuses on three main areas:


Otto von Schrader

Otto von Schrader (18 March 1888 – 19 July 1945) was a German admiral during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. As a U-boat commander during World War I, he was credited with the sinking of 57 ships for a total of , a further 6 ships damaged for a total of , including , and one ship taken as prize for a total of . Schrader was taken prisoner of war in Norway at the end of World War II. He committed suicide in Norwegian captivity on 19 July 1945.


Death of Sushant Singh Rajput

On 14 June 2020, Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead, hanging from the ceiling fan at his home in Bandra, Mumbai. The cause of death was ruled to have been suicide and the official postmortem reports concluded that Rajput died of asphyxia due to hanging. The Mumbai Police launched an investigation into the death, which was the subject of widespread speculation and rumours.
Timeline.
A week prior to his suicide, Rajput had searched on the Internet three subjects multiple times: Disha Salian, his former manager who had died about a week before him; news reports containing his own name; and information about a mental illness.
On 13 June 2020, the night before his death, Rajput retired to his bedroom after dinner. At around 2a.m. on Sunday, 14 June he made two phone calls, one to Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty and another to television actor Mahesh Shetty. Neither call was answered. Rajput then woke up early that morning. Some time after, he googled information about "schizophrenia", "bipolar disorder" and "painless death".
Two of Rajput's friends were living with him. In the morning of 14 June, he spoke to his sister over the telephone at around 9a.m. and an hour later he had a glass of juice and his tablets. At around 11:30a.m., his cook knocked several times on the door of his room, to confirm the menu for the day. He and Rajput's friends received no response. They then called a key-maker to open the door, following which they called Rajput's sister and the police. He was found hanging from the ceiling fan. No suicide note was recovered.
"The Indian Express" reported that the Mumbai Police said the actor had shown symptoms of clinical depression and was consulting a psychiatrist. Times Now reported that medical papers and anti-depressant pills were found in his house.
Investigation.
The Mumbai Police commenced an investigation, stating that the death was being treated as a suicide. A team of three doctors conducted an autopsy and submitted their provisional postmortem report at Bandra Police Station. On 22 June, the Mumbai deputy commissioner of police said "The provisional cause of death is asphyxia due to hanging." The final postmortem report, received on 25 June, confirmed the cause of the death as asphyxia due to hanging and said it was a "clear case of suicide." The autopsy doctors placed time of death at 10 to 12 hours before postmortem examination on 14 June at 11:30 p.m.—meaning between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (Indian Standard Time). The report added that no foul play was found. On 27 July, Mumbai Police received the viscera report, which likewise ruled out any foul play.
On 15 June, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh stated that the police would also probe the "professional rivalry" in the film industry as the cause of Rajput's depression. The police revealed that Rajput was upset with being linked to the death of Disha Salian, his previous manager. Salian had died five days before him, and a case of accidental death was registered. She died after falling from the fourteenth floor of her building. On 3 August, Police Commissioner of Mumbai Param Bir Singh said investigators had found no link between the deaths of Rajput and Salian.
Interrogation of three psychiatrists and one psychotherapist confirmed that Rajput had consulted them and was on medication prescribed by them.
The police also revealed that Rajput had initially tried to hang himself with the belt of a bathrobe, but it could not sustain his weight. Following this, he used a green kurta. His clothes were strewn over the floor of his bedroom; the police concluded that they had fallen out when he had pulled the kurta from his cupboard. Due to a discrepancy between his height and the distance between his bed and the ceiling fan, the police concluded that he had hanged himself in an inclined position. No sign of struggle was found.
On 25 July, Rajput's father, K. K. Singh, filed an FIR at Patna, where he lives, against Rhea Chakraborty and six others, including her family members, for abetment of suicide. He also accused them of wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement, theft, criminal breach of trust, and cheating. He alleged in his complaint that Chakraborty cheated Rajput financially and mentally harassed him. On 28 July, India Today reported that Chakraborty had been booked in the case. In a petition filed at the Supreme Court, Chakraborty claimed she had no role in the actor's death and was falsely implicated by Rajput's father. She also sought transfer of the probe in the FIR to Mumbai, saying that there cannot be an impartial investigation in Bihar.
Acting on the FIR filed in Patna, an investigative team was formed by Bihar Police and was sent to Mumbai to probe the case. Although the investigation continued only for a brief period as the case was later transferred to CBI. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates financial crimes, also registered a money laundering case over transactions worth of Rs 150 million based on the complaint registered by Rajput's father.
Multiple reports stated that Sushant had hosted a party at his house on 13 June, the night before his death. This was denied by Mumbai Police and his house help, who was interrogated by Bihar Police. Mumbai Police initially reported that the CCTV in Rajput's house was not working, but on 3 August said they had assessed CCTV footage that ruled out any party at Rajput's Bandra apartment on 13 June.
On 3 August, Mumbai's police commissioner said there was no misappropriation of funds from Rajput's bank accounts and no money had been transferred to Rhea Chakraborty's accounts. On 4 August, Mumbai Police appointed Grant Thornton as the financial forensic auditor in the case. During the investigation, reported "Hindustan Times", the Mumbai Police revealed that the actor's family had informally complained to the Mumbai Police in February 2020 about Rajput's life being in danger.
On 6 August, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Indian national government's top investigating agency, re-registered the Patna Police FIR accusing Chakraborty and others of wrongdoing, thus taking over the case.
On 19 August, the Supreme Court allowed the CBI to take control of the investigation and ordered the CBI to look into any future cases registered in relation to Rajput's death. On 21 August, Sudhir Gupta, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) and leader of a forensic medical team tasked by CBI for assistance, told the Press Trust of India, "We will look into the possibility of murder. However, all probable angles will be thoroughly examined." Gupta told Asian News International (ANI), "We will also examine other trace evidence preserved at the time of autopsy to differentiate between hanging and murder allegations."
On 26 August, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India's national drug law enforcement agency, registered an FIR against Rhea, her brother Showik, and three others. The ED had requested the NCB to join the investigation after its financial probe found that drugs were supplied to Rhea and Sushant. Specifically, the FIR invoked sections of India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) dealing with cannabis. On 4 September, the NCB arrested Showik Chakraborty and Sushant Singh Rajput's house manager, charging them under provisions of the NDPS Act. The NCB arrested Rhea Chakraborty on 9 September for allegedly procuring drugs for Rajput; she was one of 20 persons arrested by the NCB in connection with the drugs angle being probed in the actor's death. On 6 October, Mumbai Sessions Court extended Chakraborty's judicial remand until 20 October, but a day later she was granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The high court rejected the NCB's theory that Chakraborty had harboured and financed Rajput's drug addiction, finding instead that she was not part of the chain of drug dealers involved in the case. "She has not forwarded the drugs allegedly procured by her to somebody else to earn monetary or other benefits," wrote Justice Sarang Kotwal. On 5 March, the NCB submitted a chargesheet against 33 persons including Chakraborty and her brother.
On 3 October, Dr. Sudhir Gupta of AIIMS, leader of the CBI-designated forensic medical team, said, "Sushant death is a case of suicide. Murder completely ruled out." Gupta told ANI, "There were no injuries over the body other than hanging. There were no marks of struggle/scuffle in the body and clothes of the deceased." On 5 October, ANI reported that the AIIMS medical board had submitted its report to CBI confirming that Rajput died by suicide and ruling out the murder angle. On 15 October, the CBI said it "continues to investigate the death of Rajput. There are certain speculative reports in the media that the CBI has reached a conclusion. It may be reiterated that these reports are speculative and erroneous."
Public reactions.
Rajput's death was generally perceived as being unexpected and shocking and sparked debates over mental health. Several prominent leaders and actors responded on social media. On Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Rajput "a bright young actor gone too soon". Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli too expressed their shock on Twitter.
A few hours after Rajput's death, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam claimed that Rajput had signed seven films after his 2019 box office hit "Chhichhore" and had lost them all within a span of six months.
On 15 June, Maharashtra Cyber Police tweeted that some pictures of Rajput being circulated online were "disturbing and in bad taste", warning people that posting such pictures on social media would invite legal action.
, at least three fans had reportedly committed copycat suicide, including a 30-year-old television actor and a 13-year-old girl using the same method as Rajput.
Following allegations that Rhea Chakraborty was responsible for his death, some Bhojpuri songs, which abused and threatened her, became popular in his home state of Bihar.
Rajput's sister Shweta Singh Kirti initiated a 'Global Prayers for SSR' campaign to urge all to collectively pray for the departed soul on 15 August 10:00 am local time. Along with family members and fans, many celebrities include Kriti Sanon, Ankita Lokhande and Ekta Kapoor also joined in this movement.
During the course of ongoing investigations, the case received widespread and continuous media coverage and attention. On 3 September 2020, considering two public interest litigation petitions alleging an "unfair, malicious and false media campaign" against Mumbai Police, the Bombay High Court advised, "We urge and expect the media to exercise restraint in reporting of the investigation with respect to the death, [such that it] would not hamper investigation in any manner." On 5 October 2020, Mumbai Police stated that its cyber unit had identified more than 80,000 fake accounts on social media platforms from various countries in Asia and Europe seeking to discredit their ongoing official investigation. Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh termed this as "a motivated campaign with vested interests" to malign Mumbai Police. He added that those found to have violated the law would be prosecuted under the Information Technology Act. On 23 October, the nongovernmental News Broadcasting Standards Authority directed news channels Aaj Tak, Zee News, News 24 and India TV to air an apology for insensitive reporting and sensationalizing Rajput's death. Several people were arrested by Mumbai Police and were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. They were accused by Mumbai Police for concocting conspiracy theories and making sensational and defamatory allegations against the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police.
A road was renamed "Sushant Singh Rajput Marg" in memory of the actor in New Delhi.
Request for CBI probe.
Rajput's maternal uncle, alleging that his nephew was murdered, had demanded a CBI probe on the day of the actor's death. Several political leaders, mostly from Bihar also demanded for a CBI investigation into the case. Bollywood actor Shekhar Suman created a forum called #justiceforSushantforum demanding a CBI probe into the death. Actress and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly, in a series of tweets with hashtag #cbiforsushant, questioned actor's death and called for an "independent unbiased CBI investigation".
Rajput's fans demanded an inquiry on various social platforms. On 16 July 2020, "Hindustan Times" reported that in the wake of Rajput's suicide, "a massive online campaign fuelled by conspiracy theories has been demanding a CBI investigation into the matter." Actress Rhea Chakraborty, who "identified herself as Sushant's girlfriend," wrote the "Hindustan Times", asked for the aid of Amit Shah, India's Minister of Home Affairs, in launching a CBI probe. Former union minister Subramanian Swamy wrote a letter to PM Modi requesting a CBI probe, which was acknowledged by the PM's office on 25 July.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh questioned the necessity of a CBI probe into the death. "The Mumbai Police is competent enough to handle such cases," he said on 17 July. On 22 July, the Twitter hashtag #Candle4SSR trended with two million tweets from Rajput's fans around the world, as part of their online campaigns demanding a CBI investigation since actor's death. On 29 July, Home Minister Deshmukh reiterated that the investigation would not be transferred to the CBI.
On 5 August, however, Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, told the Supreme Court that the executive branch of India's national government had accepted the recommendation by Bihar's state government for a CBI inquiry into Rajput's death. On that basis, officials said, CBI had decided to start the probe. On 8 August, the Maharashtra government told the Supreme Court that the CBI had shown "indecent haste" and should not have registered the case while proceedings were still pending before the court.
Groupism debate.
Rajput's death sparked a debate in India about nepotism and related malpractices in the Bollywood film industry. A day after Rajput's death, actress and filmmaker Kangana Ranaut speculated that the actor was a victim of the Hindi film industry's nepotistic nature and it didn't acknowledge Rajput's work which led to his mental suffering. A case was registered against Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Salman Khan, Ekta Kapoor and four others in the Patna High Court by a lawyer, Sudhir Kumar Ojha, alleging that Rajput had been denied opportunities due to nepotism, leading to his suicide, but the case was later dismissed on 8 July. Johar and Alia Bhatt were then bullied on social media.
Soon after, Ranaut and her team started a campaign against rampant nepotism in Bollywood. In an interview with Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, she blamed the "movie mafia" for Rajput's death. She claimed that production houses like Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films had worked to ensure Rajput's failure and that film critic Rajeev Masand had defamed him publicly.
Following this, Simi Garewal and A. R. Rahman spoke about groupism that they faced in Bollywood. Sonu Nigam referred to the nepotism in music industry as "music mafia".
Amid the debate over nepotism, vote brigading by Rajput's fans led to the trailer of "Sadak 2", released on 12 August 2020, to become the most disliked trailer on YouTube within 24 hours of its release. Speculating that Rajput had despaired of being shut out of the film industry due to favoritism, his fans blamed Bollywood insiders, including Mahesh Bhatt, director of "Sadak 2", and his daughter Alia Bhatt, one of the film's stars, who had spoken dismissively of Rajput in a talk show.
Funeral.
Rajput was cremated by his father at Pawan Hans Crematorium, Vile Parle on 15 June. Actors Kriti Sanon, Shraddha Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Ranvir Shorey amongst others were present at his funeral proceedings.


Brian Howe (murder victim)


Ferdinando Petruccelli della Gattina

Ferdinando Petruccelli della Gattina (August 28, 1815 - March 29, 1890) was an Italian journalist, patriot and politician.
Considered one of the greatest journalists of the 19th century and a pioneer of modern journalism, he is mostly remembered for his war correspondence. He wrote for many Italian papers and contributed to the press in France, Great Britain and Belgium. He was also a prolific novelist, mainly focused on religious themes.
Biography.
Youth.
Born at Moliterno, Basilicata, at the time part of the Kingdom of Naples, his birth name was Ferdinando Petruccelli and he added "della Gattina" (name of a farm of his own) to his surname in order to avoid the Bourbon police who persecuted him for political reason. His father Luigi was a physician and member of the Carbonari while his mother Maria Antonia Piccininni was a noblewoman from Marsicovetere.
Grown up in religious circles and because of the abuses received as a child, he developed a strong anticlericalism which will be reflected in his works. During his young age, he devoted himself to the study of Latin and Greek. Later, he attended the University of Naples, graduating in medicine but he chose the path of journalism.
Early career and exile.
In 1838, he began his career for the Neapolitan newspaper "Omnibus" and, in 1840, he traveled to France, Great Britain and Germany as a correspondent for "Salvator Rosa" and "Raccoglitore fiorentino". Because of his liberal ideas, he was arrested for his membership in Young Italy and was sent under guard to his native town.
Returned to Naples in 1848, Petruccelli was elected deputy of the Neapolitan parliament and founded "Mondo vecchio e mondo nuovo", a newspaper who accused the Bourbon dynasty of misgovernment in both internal and foreign policy and, for the frequent attacks on the crown, it was suppressed by the magistracy. After the suspension of the constitution promulgated by the king Ferdinand II few months before, he took part in the riots of the same year. The revolt failed and he was forced to escape to France, while the government sentenced him to death and confiscated his properties.
During his French residence, he broadened his political and cultural horizons, thanks to contacts with renowned thinkers. He attended courses at the Sorbonne and the Collège de France, studied French and English literature and pursued a brilliant career as a journalist, becoming known and appreciated in Europe. Nicknamed, nicely, "Pierre L'Oiseau de la Petite Chatte" (French translation of his surname), he entered the world of French journalism thanks to Jules Simon and Daniele Manin, who appreciated the intervention of "Mondo vecchio e mondo nuovo" in favour of the Republic of San Marco.
War correspondent.
Petruccelli became correspondent of French and Belgian journals such as "La Presse", "Journal des débats", "Revue de Paris", "Le Courrier français" and "Indépendance Belge". In 1851, he fought with the French republicans against the coup d'état of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (later known as Napoleon III) but, after the failure of the rebellion, he was expelled from France. He settled in England, where he met Giuseppe Mazzini, Louis Blanc, Lajos Kossuth and other refugees. He worked for "The Daily News" of Charles Dickens and other newspapers like "The Daily Telegraph" and "Cornhill Magazine".
In 1859, he was correspondent of the Second Italian War of Independence and, in 1860, of the Expedition of the Thousand, following Giuseppe Garibaldi from Calabria until his entry in Naples. With the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, he was a member of the Italian parliament, sitting on the benches of the left for several years, and contributed to Italian newspapers and magazines such as "L'Unione", "L'Opinione", "Fanfulla della Domenica", "Cronaca bizantina" and "Nuova antologia".
In 1866, Petruccelli was correspondent for the "Journal des Débats" during the Third Italian War of Independence and, in 1868, he married an English writer, Maude Paley-Baronet, whom he met in London in 1867. In 1870 he followed the Franco-Prussian War, recounting the events from the Parisian barricades and, after the fall of the Paris Commune, he was expelled from France by order of Adolphe Thiers (against which he turned bitter words) for having defended the Communards.
Death.
He lived the rest of his life plagued by a paralysis that prevented him from writing but, with the help of his wife, he was able to continue his activity. Petruccelli died in Paris in 1890 and his corpse was cremated. The Neapolitan municipality proposed to carry his ashes to the cemetery of Poggioreale but his wife refused and they were buried in London, respecting the will of Petruccelli.
Legacy.
During his time, Ferdinando Petruccelli della Gattina wasn't much appreciated in Italy, rather he was rejected by many (especially the clerical hierarchies because of his marked anticlericalism), with the exception of authors such as Salvatore Di Giacomo and Luigi Capuana. He was acclaimed in foreign countries, especially in France, where his work received positive reviews from Alphonse Peyrat, Ernest Renan and Jules Claretie, who said about his war correspondence of Custoza : "Nothing could be more fantastic and cruelly true than this tableau of agony. Reportage has never given a superior artwork", while Justin McCarthy regarded him as "a brilliant, audacious, eccentric Italian journalist". In the 20th century, Petruccelli was praised by Luigi Russo and Indro Montanelli, who considered him the "most brilliant italian journalist of the 19th century" and his reports "would enchant for their freshness and modernity".