Background.

Leben is from Portland, Oregon and has one older brother and one younger sister. He grew up without his father around, and he did not even meet his father until he was 23 years old. Because of this, Leben's mother worked hard for many hours daily as a bartender so that she could support the family. Growing up Leben enjoyed skateboarding, dirt biking, and snowboarding. When he was in middle school, he began watching the UFC and became very interested in MMA. He began training in boxing, and then was on the wrestling team at Benson Polytechnic High School, picking up the sport rather quickly. Leben did not receive a very good education in his childhood, and did not know how to read or write even after graduating high school. Leben soon joined the United States Army, falsely being told by the recruiter that he would be allowed to wrestle for the army's team. When he found that he would not be allowed to wrestle for the army, Leben went AWOL and was discharged.

Mixed martial arts.

Early career.

While visiting his brother at work one day, Leben noticed an MMA gym located across the street, home to Team Quest. Trainer Robert Follis accepted Leben into the team, and soon Leben was training with Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Nate Quarry, and Ed Herman. After refining his talent, Leben began fighting as an amateur, achieving a record of 5–0, and capturing the FCFF and UFCF middleweight titles.  After his success in the amateur ranks where he went 4-0, Leben turned professional. He won his first five fights, three of them by knockout, and in the process won the Gladiator Challenge, Sportfight, and WEC Middleweight titles. Leben achieved wins against Benji Radach and Mike Swick, but suffered a decision loss to Joe Doerksen.

"The Ultimate Fighter".

Leben was one of the most controversial and outspoken fighters on "The Ultimate Fighter 1" due to his variously abrasive and melancholy personality. In the first episode, while intoxicated, he urinated on future teammate Jason Thacker's bed, and stole his pillow. One night when everyone in the household was drinking, Leben challenged Bobby Southworth to fight who then called Leben a "fatherless bastard" on account of Leben's father being absent during his childhood, requiring Leben being physically restrained from accosting Southworth. Leben then began sobbing and proceeded to sleep outside. After a heated confrontation precipitated by Josh Koscheck and Southworth spraying a sleeping Leben with a hose, Leben broke a door with his fist. After the confrontation, UFC president Dana White set up a match between Leben and Koscheck, which Leben lost by unanimous decision due to Koscheck's ability to score points by controlling Leben on the ground.  Later in the show, teammate Nate Quarry was eliminated from the competition due to an ankle injury and was able to choose a previously eliminated fighter to replace him. He chose Leben, who was later defeated by Kenny Florian due to doctor stoppage in the first semi-final match after Florian opened a cut above Leben's eye with an elbow strike. His losses on the show are not on his professional record, as the fights were classified by Nevada as exhibition bouts due to the decisions of the bouts not being disclosed until the fights aired on the show rather than being posted immediately following the fights.

Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On April 9, 2005, Leben fought Jason Thacker on the undercard of the live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter 1". Thacker was not amused when he watched the show and found out Leben had used his bed as a urinal. Speaking with Dana White, Thacker demanded a match against Leben at the finale. The match was set up, and Leben won 95 seconds into the first round after referee stoppage due to strikes. Afterward, Leben apologized to Thacker for urinating on his bed, saying he had since given up drinking because of that sort of incident.  After the show, Leben moved to Seattle, Washington to train with AMC Pankration. He has competed in several UFC events since the show and is the only person to have fought in the first six Ultimate Fight Night events, during which he earned a string of victories: a split decision win over future TUF 4 finalist Patrick Côté, an armbar submission against Edwin Dewees, a first-round TKO over Jorge Rivera, and a unanimous decision over Luigi Fioravanti. Leben was defeated by Anderson Silva at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006, by KO 49 seconds into the first round, but returned at UFC Fight Night 6 on August 17, 2006, where he defeated Jorge Santiago by knockout 35 seconds into the second round. He is the only fighter to fight at every event under the "Fight Night" banner.  Leben then lost at UFC 66 to longtime UFC veteran Jason MacDonald via technical submission due to a modified guillotine choke with less than a minute remaining in the second round.  Leben then lost to Kalib Starnes by a very close unanimous decision at "UFC 71" on May 26, 2007. The bout won "Fight of the Night" honors.  It was reported that Leben was offered a main event fight against Mike Swick at UFC Fight Night 11, but turned down the fight for unknown reasons; it was later revealed on the Ultimate Fighter Season 1 reunion show by UFC President Dana White's call to matchmaker Joe Silva that Leben's camp turned down the fight and that Leben himself had no prior knowledge of the fight offer. Leben instead took on Terry Martin on the same UFC Fight Night 11 card. Even after being rocked with multiple punches by Martin, a half-dazed Leben defeated Martin by knockout at 3:56 of the third round.  At UFC 82, he knocked out Italian Alessio Sakara in the first round, winning the "Knockout of the Night" award.  On April 30, 2008, Leben was arrested in Oregon by Clackamas County Sheriffs for a DUI stemming from an earlier date. He was kept in jail and temporarily held without bond for allegedly violating his probation. Leben was then sentenced to 35 days in jail.  His next fight was against Michael Bisping at UFC 89, which he lost by a unanimous decision after a full three rounds. Leben taunted Bisping throughout the last two rounds by dropping his arms and raising his chin. The judges scored the fight 30–27 (twice) and 29–28 for Bisping. Bisping used effective counter punching in the fight to keep the aggressive Leben at bay. Both fighters showed sportsmanship by congratulating one another and raising each other's arm after the fight. After the fight with Bisping, Leben tested positive for Stanozolol and was suspended for nine months and fined a third of his fight purse. He was eligible to return in July 2009. Leben admitted he had used the substance several months prior to the fight, but stated he had assumed it would have been out of his system by then.  Leben then fought Jake Rosholt at UFC 102 in Leben's hometown of Portland, Oregon. In the third round, he was rendered unconscious via an arm triangle choke, losing the fight by submission.  Leben then faced Jay Silva on January 11, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 20, winning via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).  Leben was expected to face Aaron Simpson at UFC 114, but the bout took place on June 19, 2010, at. After a rough first round where Simpson slammed Leben a couple of times, Leben eventually connected consecutive punches on Simpson in the second that sent him stumbling across the octagon, collapsing face first at the other side of the octagon, prompting referee Josh Rosenthal to end the fight via TKO at 4:17 of the second round.  After Wanderlei Silva was forced out of his UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama due to broken ribs, Leben agreed to fill in for Silva in the bout against Akiyama, and faced him two weeks after defeating Simpson. Although he was outstruck and outwrestled for most of the first round, Leben managed to stay competitive and keep a fast paced fight with the rapidly tiring Akiyama in the second round. In the third and final round, Leben capitalized and sunk in a triangle choke with just twenty seconds left in the fight, forcing Akiyama to submit. It was considered the best performance of Leben's career and one of the best fights of the year. After the fight, Leben called for a fight with Silva, saying "come on Wanderlei, I'll take you out, too!", though UFC president Dana White said in the post-fight press conference that a Leben-Silva affair is not under consideration. Leben won Sherdog.com's Comeback Fighter of the Year for 2010.  On October 20, 2010, Leben was arrested in Honolulu, Hawaii for suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing his truck into a wall off of Kapiolani Boulevard. He was released from custody after posting bail.  Leben faced Brian Stann on January 1, 2011, at UFC 125 He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. After the fight between Leben and Stann, Leben's coach Burton Richardson says Leben's poor performance may have been caused by a sickness before the bout: "First, great job by Brian Stann. He never looked better. Many have commented that Chris was very slow and looked off last night. The truth is that Chris was sick. He had a fever and chills when he stepped into the cage. He was vomiting in the locker room before the fight, and after a hard warm up he didn't have a drop of sweat. Big heart to fight like that, but he was moving slow motion. He was very sharp in training. He will be back."  On April 4, 2011, the UFC announced that Leben's next opponent would be Wanderlei Silva with the two scheduled to meet on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132. Leben knocked out Silva with consecutive uppercuts from the clinch, 27 seconds into the fight, resulting in the fastest knockout win in Leben's career.  Leben faced Mark Muñoz on November 5, 2011 at UFC 138, losing by TKO at the 5:00 mark of the 2nd round due to a cut on his left eyebrow and left him unable to see and forced a corner stoppage. On November 28, 2011, Zuffa LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, released information stating that Leben tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone following his loss to Muñoz at UFC 138. As a result of the positive test, Leben was suspended from fighting for 1 year.  Leben's return fight was expected to be against Karlos Vemola on December 29, 2012 at UFC 155. However, Vemola was forced out of the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer Derek Brunson. Leben was defeated via unanimous decision.  Leben fought Andrew Craig and lost by split decision on July 6, 2013 at UFC 162.  Leben faced Uriah Hall on December 28, 2013 at UFC 168. After almost being knocked out at the end of the first round, Leben told his corner that he was done, taking a TKO loss to Hall after the first round. UFC commentator Joe Rogan pointed out during the broadcast that Leben asked, "Was I knocked out?" as he was being led to his corner. Leben then reiterated "I'm done" multiple times before the fight was waved off. This marked Leben's fourth loss in a row.

Retirement.

On January 20, 2014, Leben announced his retirement from MMA competition. He will refocus on coaching at The Arena in San Diego, California. He cited an increasingly talented middleweight roster, his recent losing streak and the risk of serious injury as reasons for retiring. He called himself fortunate to have never had surgery throughout his record 22-fight middleweight stint, though he predicted several of his nagging injuries will get worse with time.

Bellator MMA.

After two years away from active competition for Leben, it was announced by Scott Coker on Inside MMA that Leben had signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA in February 2016. However, after undergoing a physical to be cleared, he failed several electrocardiogram (EKG) tests, according to the statement. Doctors discovered a "life-threatening abnormality" to the left ventricle of his heart, which was "oversized", "misshapen", and "not operating properly," thus ending any possibility of a return.

Unretirement.

In late 2018 Chris came out of retirement after being given all-clear by doctors.

Bare knuckle boxing.

After a return to MMA never materialized, Leben instead turned to bare knuckle boxing. He faced Phil Baroni at the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation debut card on November 9, 2018. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. In March 2019, reports surfaced that Leben had sued WBKFF for $90,000 in unpaid salary.  Leben made his debut for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on April 6, 2019. He faced Justin Baesman in the show's co-main event. Leben won the fight via knockout just 25 seconds into the first round.  Leben was supposed to face Brennan Ward at BKFC 6 on June 22, 2019. On June 12, news surfaced that Ward withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Dakota Cochrane. Leben lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life.

In May 2007, Leben moved to East Oahu, Hawaii to accept the main coaching job at Icon Fitness MMA Gym. ICON Sport promoter T. Jay Thompson said, "I am very excited to have Chris at our new facility. His energy and overall enthusiasm for the sport will add tremendously to our gym. I am very impressed with the family friendly 'outside of the cage' personality of Chris and what that will mean to our members." In addition to training at ICON, Leben and fighter Steven "The Soul Samurai" Saito opened Ultimate Fight School gym in Oahu in January, located two blocks from the University of Hawaii campus. Leben is a playable fighter in the UFC Undisputed video games. Before becoming a professional fighter, Leben worked construction and was a housepainter. Leben has a radio show called "Unfiltered MMA Radio".  In 2016, Leben completed Herb Dean's mixed martial arts referee course, making him eligible to referee bouts in California. After refereeing in the regional circuit, Leben debuted in notable shows at Golden Boy Promotions: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3.  Having well-documented past with substance abuse, Leben claims to be sober since 2015 and is actively advocating for clean eating and healthy lifestyle.  Leben and his fiancé Brittany have a son, Liam (b. 2017).

Christian Cyrus Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist, referee, and former bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2002 until 2013, he most notably competed in the UFC in the Middleweight division, compiling a record of 12-10 in 22 appearances for the organization. Leben first appeared in the inaugural season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series, and also fought in the now-defunct WEC. He began his UFC career with five victories in a row before suffering a knockout loss to future UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, and was known for his toughness and powerful left hand. Leben was the inaugural WEC Middleweight Champion.

Chris Leben (* 21. Juli 1980 in Portland, Oregon) ist ein zurückgetretener US-amerikanischer Mixed-Martial-Arts-Kämpfer, der in der Mittelgewichtsklasse des Kampfveranstalters "Ultimate Fighting Championship" (UFC) antrat. Er war der erste Mittelgewichtschampion der WEC.


Early life and education.

Born in Tietê, São Paulo, Temer is the son of Nakhoul "Miguel" Elias Temer Lulia and March Barbar Lulia, Maronite Catholic Lebanese immigrants who came to Brazil in 1925. His parents, along with three older siblings, immigrated to Brazil from Abadiyeh, a small village in northern Lebanon, to escape famine and instability due to World War I. In Brazil, his parents had five more children, and Temer is the youngest. Temer is not fluent in Arabic, but is able to discern the topic of a conversation in that language.  As a child, Temer dreamed of becoming a pianist. However, there were no piano teachers in his city. As a teenager, he wanted to be a writer. After failing chemistry and physics classes in his first year of high school, he gave up the "curso científico", which prioritized hard sciences and math. In 1957, he moved to São Paulo to finish high school in the "curso clássico", composed mainly of subjects in the humanities and languages.  In 1959, like his four older brothers he joined the Law School of the University of São Paulo, graduating in 1963. In his freshman year, he became involved with politics by becoming a treasurer of the school's students' union. In 1962, Temer ran for the presidency of the union, but was defeated by 82 votes.  Temer stayed neutral before the 1964 coup d'état. With the beginning of military rule, he moved away from politics. In 1974, he completed a doctorate in public law at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP).  Temer has often confirmed his affiliation as a Roman Catholic.

Academic career.

In 1968, Temer began teaching constitutional law at PUC-SP, where he also taught civil law and was director of the postgraduate department and of the Brazilian Institute Of Constitutional Law as well as a member of the Ibero-American Institute of Constitutional Law.

Publications.

Temer published four major works in constitutional law. His most famous book is "Elements of Constitutional Law", published in 1982, which sold over 240,000 copies. The book focuses on the organization of the Brazilian state, especially on the separation of powers.  His 2006 book "Democracy and Citizenship" highlighted the relevance of law and included some of his speeches as a federal deputy. In his works, he showed himself to be a supporter of parliamentarism and a political recall system, while opposing economic interventionism and tax increases.  However, he considered himself a writer only in 2013, when he published "Anonymous Intimacy", a book of poems. It consists of 120 poems, many of which were written on napkins during his plane trips between São Paulo and Brasílla. Temer said writing poems helped him recover from the "barren arena of legislative politics".

Political career.

Beginning in 1987 Temer served six consecutive terms in the Chamber of Deputies, and on three separate occasions served two-year terms as president of the Chamber (1997–1998, 1999–2000 and 2009–2010). Temer was also a member of the 1988 constituent assembly, which promulgated the current Constitution of Brazil. He became President of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the largest party in Brazil.  Temer was the second Vice President of Lebanese origin, after José Maria Alkmin. His family originates from the town of Btaaboura in Koura District, near Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

Investigations.

In 2016, he was accused of having a lobbyist bribe others between 1997 and 2001 in ethanol deals through state-run oil company Petrobras. He was also under investigation for accepting more than $1.5 million in funds from construction company Camargo Correa, which works with Petrobras. Spreadsheets from the construction company listed Temer's name 21 times. The numbers next to his name added up to $345,000, which authorities alleged were bribes and which Temer said were legal campaign contributions. The claim was dismissed by the courts, and Temer denied any wrongdoing. Temer has also been accused of electoral fraud; in 2016, he allegedly solicited $2.9m in illegal campaign donations in 2014. Part of investigation is into whether bribe money helped fund the 2014 campaign that saw Dilma Rousseff re-elected president with Temer as her running mate; Temer also denies this.  In 2017 Brazil's federal police said that investigators have found evidence the president received bribes to help businesses. A released video made by investigators shows Rodrigo Rocha Loures, former Temer aide, carrying a suitcase filled with about $150,000 in cash allegedly being sent from JBS S.A. to the president.  In 2018, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice ordered Temer be included in an ongoing investigation into $3.07 million in illicit funds his Brazilian Democratic Party allegedly received from construction firm Odebrecht.

Role in the impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff.

In 2015 and 2016, Temer was involved in controversy as Dilma Rousseff's impeachment process unfolded. In December 2015, Temer sent a letter to the president complaining about his distance from government decisions. The letter began with the Latin proverb ""Verba Volant, Scripta Manent"" (spoken words fly, written words remain). Temer described the communication as a "personal" unburdening about various complaints against the president. He said Rousseff had made him look like a "decorative" vice president, not an active one, despite having been invited to support her government several times in the dialogue with Congress, a role he only accepted in 2015. The letter was commented on and mocked in Brazilian social media, with images depicting the vice president as a Christmas decoration, making fun of his use of Latin, and photos purporting to show the president laughing as she read the missive, among many other things. The president's office had no immediate comment on the images, but Rousseff condemned him as a traitor to her administration.  In April 2016, an audio file of Temer was leaked to the media. In it, Temer speaks as if the impeachment process had already ended and he was the new president. "I don't want to generate false expectations," Temer said on the recordings, which were first published by "Folha de S.Paulo" on 23 May. "Let's not think that a possible change in government will solve everything in three or four months."  The leak came just hours before a special lower house committee was scheduled to vote whether to back the request to impeach the president, generating complaints and accusations of treachery and lack of support from a vice president conspiring against the elected president. Temer alleged it was sent incorrectly to a WhatsApp group of his party's representatives in Congress.

First impeachment attempts.

As investigations following Operation Car Wash grew, allegations against members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) began to arise. In December 2015, impeachment proceedings toward Temer were filed, though his fellow party member, President of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, blocked the movement and instead allowed impeachment proceedings against President Rousseff.  After a Supreme Court judge, Judge Mello, ruled Cunha's actions wrong, he suggested that Temer should face impeachment proceedings. Another attempt to impeach Temer began with the decision on 6 April 2016, by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha, to form a commission for termination analysis of liability for crime offered by attorney Mariel M. Marra. Four other requests for impeachment were presented to Cunha.  Cunha, who was third in line for the presidency behind Temer, faced scrutiny for alleged money laundering uncovered in Operation Car Wash. On 5 May 2016, Cunha was suspended as speaker of the lower house by Brazil's Supreme Court due to allegations that he attempted to intimidate members of Congress, and obstructed investigations into his alleged receipt of bribes.  On 17 May 2016, Justice Marco Aurélio Mello allowed the impeachment request to enter the agenda of the Supreme Federal Court plenary session.

Acting president.

In the early hours of 12 May 2016, the Federal Senate voted to accept Rousseff's impeachment. Per the Brazilian Constitution, Rousseff's powers were suspended and Temer became acting president. Temer was to serve as acting president for up to 180 days while the Senate decided whether to convict Rousseff and remove her from office, which would make Temer president for the remainder of her term, or to acquit her of "crimes of responsibility" charges and restore her presidential powers. Temer was awaiting a decision from the Supreme Federal Court to start an impeachment process against him.  On his first day as acting president, Vice President Temer appointed a new cabinet, reducing the number of ministries from 31 to 22. Women's rights and Afro-Brazilian rights activists criticized the fact that all of the appointed ministers were white men, for the first time since 1979.  On 2 June 2016, Temer received an eight-year ban from running for office after being convicted of violating election laws. This effectively ended any chance of Temer running for a full term as president in the 2018 election. It can be argued that he was already ineligible to run in 2018 in any event. Under the Constitution, the vice president becomes acting president whenever the president travels abroad. Due to the manner in which the Constitution's provisions on term limits are worded, whenever a vice president serves as acting president for any reason, it counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.  As acting president, he opened the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August 2016.

President of Brazil.

On 31 August 2016, the Senate voted to convict Rousseff, thereby removing her from office and making Temer President of Brazil. He would serve out the balance of Rousseff's second term, which finished on 1 January 2019. The vice-president position became vacant, and the President of the Chamber of Deputies acts as the first constitutional substitute during his term. On 7 September 2016, he opened the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio amid massive booing from the spectators.  In October 2016, the Constitution of Brazil was amended by deputies to cap public spending, effectively frozen for twenty years, adjusted for inflation only. This measure was the subject of both praise and criticism among the Brazilian middle-class.  In November 2016, Marcelo Calero, Temer's former Minister of Culture, resigned, stating that Temer had pressured him to help an ally, government secretary Geddel Vieira Lima, who had invested in a development that was being delayed by a heritage preservation measure by allowing construction to go ahead in spite of said measure. Vieira Lima resigned on 25 November 2016, and opposition leaders stated that they would seek President Temer's impeachment over this incident. Temer denied the corruption allegations but admitted talking to Calero about the project.  In December 2016, Marcelo Odebrecht confirmed paying bribes to President Temer.  In March 2017, Temer decided to move to the vice presidential residence again. He had recent problems with the Brazilian Historical Heritage Institute due to the architectural changes he made to the Presidential Palace. In an interview to the Brazilian news magazine "Veja" he mentioned he could not sleep in the "ample rooms" and questioned the possibility of ghosts.  On 28 April 2017, trade unions called for a general strike against the pension and labor reforms proposed in his government, which failed in many points, especially because the lack of interest of most of the population. Except in state capitals and major cities, in which there were shutdowns of various public services, in most places the strike was restricted to marches, or simply nothing happened. The government announces the abolition of "popular pharmacies" for the summer of 2017. Created in 2004 under the presidency of Lula, they allowed the most disadvantaged to obtain low-cost medicines.  On 16 February 2018, Temer signed a law aimed at tackling the organised crime element in Rio de Janeiro, transferring full control of security to the military. The military will reportedly remain in control of security until 1 January 2019. The next day, Temer suggested establishing a Ministry of Public Security in the near future.  According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, extreme poverty increased by 11 per cent in 2017, while inequalities also increased again (the Gini index rose from 0.555 to 0.567). The reduction in the number of Bolsa Família beneficiaries decided by the government is the main cause, according to the study.

Second impeachment attempt.

On 17 May 2017, secretly taped recordings leaked by "O Globo", a leading national newspaper, reveal the President discussing hush money pay-offs with Joesley Batista, the businessman who runs the country's biggest meat-packing firm JBS, prompting talk of trying again to impeach him. On Wednesday 24 May 2017, while thousands of angry demonstrators marched towards Congress demanding Temer's resignation and immediate direct presidential elections, Temer sought to suppress a revolt within his own party. Overwhelmed by protests, Temer deployed federal troops to the capital. Many photographs and testimonials taken during the protest show police violence, and officers shooting at demonstrators during the manifestation. President Temer's refusal to resign is making him increasingly unpopular and has provoked not only a political stalemate but also uncertainty, plunging the country into crisis and amplifying the worst recession in its history.  On 9 June 2017, the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court voted 4–3 to acquit Temer and Rousseff of alleged illegal campaign funding in the 2014 election, thus allowing him to stay in office. Former Odebrecht Vice President Marcio Faria da Silva said in testimony given as part of a plea bargain that Temer asked him at a meeting to arrange a $40 million payment to Temer's party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). Faria said he met with Temer at his law office, and that speaker of the lower house Eduardo Cunha and Congressman Henrique Eduardo Alves were also present. The payment represented a 5% commission on a contract Odebrecht was seeking with the state-run oil company Petrobras, Faria said. Supreme Court Justice Luiz Edson Fachin made this and other testimony public, and ordered an investigation of more than 100 politicians implicated in bribes and kickbacks at state-run companies, particularly Petrobras.

Criminal charges.

On 26 June 2017, Temer was charged by Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot with accepting bribes and Janot delivered the charges to the Supreme Federal Court. The lower house must vote on the charges, which stem from allegations that he took $5 million in return for clearing up JBS tax problems and facilitating a loan. Temer still has the support of Rodrigo Maia, who replaced Cunha as speaker of the lower house, and has the power to accept or shelve a petition for impeachment. Temer is thought to have the votes to remain in office, but to be vulnerable to a loss of support if repeated votes become necessary. Temer twice changed his justice minister in 2017. The Federal Police (PF) have recommended that Temer also be charged with obstruction of justice. Funding reductions have forced the Federal Police to dismantle the workgroup, leaving some investigations incomplete, and Justice Minister Torquato Jardim tried, unsuccessfully, to change PF leadership. A series of legislative initiatives focus on amnesty and changes to the code of criminal procedure.  In June 2017 Temer's approval rating stood at 7%, the lowest for any President of Brazil in more than thirty years. In a survey conducted by the IBOPE institute between 24 and 26 July 81% of Brazilians favored the indictment of the President. On 2 August, lawmakers in the lower house in Congress voted not to refer the case against the scandal-plagued President to the supreme court, which has the power to try him. Observers and the population state that the move to shield Temer only further undermines the credibility of Brazil's political and electoral system.  On March 21, 2019, Temer was arrested during the investigation into Operation Car Wash. JBS chair Joesley Batista gave investigators a secretly made recording of Temer allegedly authorizing hush money for Eduardo Cunha, former speaker of Congress’s lower house. Temer denied the allegations.

Devastation of the Amazon rainforest.

On August 22, 2017, Temer issued a decree to dissolve the "Reserva Nacional do Cobre e Associados" (Renca) Amazonian reserve in Brazil's northern states of Pará and Amapá, measuring 4 million hectares to allow mining by private companies and the conversion of forest into crops for agro-business companies. After widespread criticism, the decree was revoked on 26 September.

Polls.

In an Ibope survey in September 2016, after approximately a month of President Temer's administration, 39% of Brazilians rated his administration "bad or terrible", while 14% considered it "great or good". 2,002 people were heard between 20 and 25 September, and the margin of error was two percentage points.  The share of Brazilians who found his administration bad or very bad rose to 82 percent in June 2018, the most of any president since the nation's return to democracy in 1985, Datafolha showed.

Personal life.

Raised by Maronite parents, Temer considers himself a Roman Catholic.  Temer and his first wife Maria Célia Toledo had three daughters: Luciana (1969), Maristela (1972), and Clarissa (1974). Temer is also father to Eduardo (born in 1999 in London) with journalist Érica Ferraz.  In 2002, Marcela Tedeschi (born in 1983) accompanied her uncle Geraldo, a Paulínia municipal employee, to the annual political convention of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). While there, Marcela met Michel Temer, a politician forty-three years her senior. The couple married on 26 July 2003, in a small ceremony. In 2009, Marcela graduated with a law degree from "Fadisp", a private school in São Paulo. In an interview, Marcela says that she never took the licensing exam because of the birth of the couple's son Michel also known by his nickname "Michelzinho".

Awards and decorations.

Below is a selected list of awards Temer has received:

Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from office of his predecessor Dilma Rousseff. He had been vice president since 2011 and Acting President since 12 May 2016, when Rousseff was suspended pending an impeachment trial. At the age of 75, he is the oldest person to have taken the office.

Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (* 23. September 1940 in Tietê) ist ein brasilianischer Politiker des Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB). Am 12. Mai 2016 übernahm er für die Zeit der maximal sechsmonatigen Suspendierung von Präsidentin Dilma Rousseff als Vizepräsident die Regierungsgeschäfte. Nachdem der Senat endgültig für die Amtsenthebung Rousseffs in einer Abstimmung befunden hatte, wurde Temer am 31. August 2016 Präsident Brasiliens und bildete eine liberal-konservative Regierung. Während seiner Präsidentschaft wurden immer wieder Korruptionsvorwürfe gegen ihn laut, die schließlich zu Ermittlungen durch das oberste Bundesgericht führten. Trotz breiter Proteste, einem Generalstreik und der Rücktritte einiger seiner Minister weigerte sich Temer zurückzutreten. Die Aufhebung seiner Immunität scheiterte zweimal in der Abgeordnetenkammer an der erforderlichen Zweidrittelmehrheit. Seine Amtszeit endete am 31. Dezember 2018, Nachfolger wurde mit Jahresbeginn 2019 Jair Bolsonaro. Seit Mai 2019 befindet er sich in Untersuchungshaft.


Competitions.

Acrobatic Gymnastics is part of the World Games, and are also included in the European Games as well as having a dedicated Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships held in even numbered years (known as World Sports Acrobatics Championships prior to 2006), and continental or region championships in odd numbered years. For example, the 28th European Acrobatics Championships were held in Rzeszow, Poland in October 2017.  There are also numerous national, state, and regional competitions that are held in each country. Local and regional competitions often form the qualification stages required to compete at national championships. There is no requirement from the FIG for gymnasts to have qualified through their own national championships to compete internationally, but local governing bodies will often make their national team selections based on performance at national competition.  Acrobatic gymnastics events often attract sizable audiences, because they are highly entertaining, exhilarating, and suspenseful due to what look to be risky or daring moves. At the London 2012 Olympics, acrobatic partnerships were seen performing before the Olympic gymnastic events, and during the opening and closing ceremonies. It has been said that its appearance, despite not being an Olympic discipline is testament to its ability to entertain.  Gold, silver, and bronze medals are generally awarded in the usual fashion; although in some competitions, a minimum score is required to qualify for medals.

Routines.

Routines are required at a competition depends on the level at which the gymnasts are competing. At the junior and senior levels, all three routines are required, whereas at lower age levels, a single simpler routine is required. Each of the routine types has a different emphasis, but all include tumbling and dance as elements. The different routine types are as follows:

Scoring.

The acrobatic gymnastics competitions are judged on a score out of 30.00. The following are the categories in which the athletes are scored.  Scores over thirty are not uncommon, as difficulty points are not limited.

Judging.

The judging panels of acrobatic gymnastics are similar to other disciplines of gymnastics where different panels of judges are overseen by a head judge, and each panel has a 'Chair of the Judging Panel' (CJP) who oversees that panel's activities. In acrobatic gymnastics, there are then difficulty judges (DJ) who only assess the difficulty of the elements in the routines; artistic judges (AJ) who only assess the performance and artistic merits of the routine; and execution judges (EJ) who only judge what points should be deducted based on imperfect execution of individual elements in the routine. The numbers of each type of judge on an acrobatic panel depends on the level of the competition and can vary from one to many (with the exception of the Chair, as there is only one CJP per panel).

History.

The first use of acrobatics as a specific sport was in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, and the first world championships were in 1974.  In addition to the current five categories, two additional categories for tumbling (men's and women's) were included until the 1999 World Championships, though some groups still involve tumbling events.  In the United States, the first national sports acrobatics organization was called the United States Sports Acrobatics Federation (USSAF). Founded in 1975, its name was changed to the United States Sports Acrobatics (USSA) in the 1990s. The USSA then merged with USA Gymnastics in 2002, and Acrobatic Gymnastics is now a discipline therein.

Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive gymnastic discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine (at FIG grade 5 and above) where the focus is on strength, poise and flexibility; a 'dynamic' routine (also FIG grade 5 and above) which includes throws, somersaults and catches, and (at FIG grade 6 and above, as well as grade 4 and below) a 'combined' routine which includes elements from both balance and dynamic.

Unter Sportakrobatik (FIG-Bezeichnung engl.: "Acrobatic gymnastics") versteht man Boden- oder Partner- bzw. Gruppenakrobatik als Wettkampfsport. Sportakrobatik wird in der Schweiz von der Sportunion Schweiz (SUS), in Deutschland vom Deutschen Sportakrobatik Bund (DSAB) und in Österreich von dem Österreichischen Fachverband für Turnen (ÖFT) vertreten.


Development and first draft.

Woolf began work on "The Voyage Out" in 1910 and had finished an early draft by 1912. The novel had a long and difficult gestation and was not published until 1915. It was written during a period in which Woolf was especially psychologically vulnerable. She suffered from periods of depression and at one point attempted suicide. The resultant work contained the seeds of all that would blossom in her later work: the innovative narrative style, the focus on feminine consciousness, sexuality and death.  In 1981, Louise DeSalvo published an alternate version of "The Voyage Out" featuring its original title, "Melymbrosia". Professor DeSalvo worked for seven years on the project of reconstructing the text of the novel as it might have appeared in 1912, before Woolf had begun serious revisions. She reviewed more than 1,000 manuscript pages from Woolf's private papers, dating the earlier versions of the work by small organizational clues such as the color of ink used or noticing where a pen had last left off writing. DeSalvo's "Melymbrosia" attempts to restore the text of the novel as Woolf had originally conceived it, which contained more candid political commentary on such issues as homosexuality, women's suffrage, and colonialism. According to DeSalvo, Woolf was "warned by colleagues that publishing such an outspoken indictment of Britain could prove disastrous to her fledgling career". The work was heavily revised until it became the novel now known as "The Voyage Out", which omits much of the political candour of the original. DeSalvo's edition was reissued by Cleis Press in 2002.

Plot.

Rachel Vinrace embarks for South America on her father's ship and is launched on a course of self-discovery in a kind of modern mythical voyage. The mismatched jumble of passengers provide Woolf with an opportunity to satirise Edwardian life. The novel introduces Clarissa Dalloway, the central character of Woolf's later novel, "Mrs Dalloway". Two of the other characters were modelled after important figures in Woolf's life. St John Hirst is a fictional portrayal of Lytton Strachey and Helen Ambrose is to some extent inspired by Woolf's sister, Vanessa Bell. Rachel's journey from a cloistered life in a London suburb to freedom, challenging intellectual discourse and discovery very likely reflects Woolf's own journey from a repressive household to the intellectual stimulation of the Bloomsbury Group.

Critical reception.

Writing in 1926, E. M. Forster described it as "... a strange, tragic, inspired book whose scene is a South America not found on any map and reached by a boat which would not float on any sea, an America whose spiritual boundaries touch Xanadu and Atlantis". Reviewing the book a decade earlier, he wrote this: "It is absolutely unafraid... Here at last is a book which attains unity as surely as "Wuthering Heights", though by a different path."  Literary scholar Phyllis Rose writes in her introduction to the novel, "No later novel of Woolf's will capture so brilliantly the excitement of youth." And also the excitement and challenge of life. "It's not cowardly to wish to live," says one old man at the end of the book. "It's the very reverse of cowardly. Personally, I'd like to go on for a hundred years... Think of all the things that are bound to happen!"

The Voyage Out is the first novel by Virginia Woolf, published in 1915 by Duckworth; and published in the US in 1920 by Doran.

The Voyage Out (deutsch: "Die Fahrt hinaus") ist der erste Roman von Virginia Woolf. Er wurde 1915 veröffentlicht und ist noch im konventionellen Stil der damaligen Zeit gehalten.


General information.

Environmental context.

Star Carr now lies under farmland at the eastern end of the Vale of Pickering. During the Mesolithic the site was near the outflow at the western end of a palaeolake, known as Lake Flixton. At the end of the last ice age a combination of glacial and post-glacial geomorphology caused the area to drain to the west (away from the shortest-distance to the North Sea at Filey). The basin filled by Lake Flixton was probably created by glacial'scarring'.  The site is preserved due to Lake Flixton having been in-filled with peat during the course of the Mesolithic. Waterlogged peat prevents organic finds from oxidising and has led to some of the best preservation conditions possible (such conditions have preserved the famous bog bodies found in other parts of northern Europe). As a result of such good conditions archaeologists were able to recover bone, antler and wood in addition to the flints that are normally all that is left on sites from this period.  During the period of Mesolithic occupation the area surrounding the lake would have been a mixed forest of birch, aspen and willow. The lake edge and shallows would have been full of reeds, water lily and other aquatic plants and lake levels would have changed dynamically in response to rainfall or snow-melt.  These and many other plants would have formed the base of a complex food web. The mammals that we have evidence for include herbivores such as beaver, red deer, roe deer, elk, aurochs, wild boar, hare and carnivores such as wolf, lynx, bear, fox, pine marten, badger and hedgehog.

Key artefacts.

Along with the flints that are characteristic of Mesolithic sites, there were a large number of objects made of red deer and elk antler, elk bone, aurochs bone and one piece of bird bone. Rarer objects included worked amber, shale, haematite, iron pyrites, a decorated pendant, thought to be the oldest known Mesolithic art in Britain and tightly-rolled pieces of birch-bark and pieces of birch-resin pitch or tar and worked wood. The flint found at Star Carr came from nearby beaches, which at time of occupation would have been about distant, and also from the Yorkshire Wolds immediately to the south of the site.  The two most outstanding categories of finds are the 'barbed points' and 'antler frontlets'. The barbed points are made of the antler of red deer stags. They are between and in length and the 195 examples found at Star Carr account for more than 95% of the total number from the British Mesolithic. Many of the barbed points and antler frontlets appear to be deliberately broken. The antler frontlets are made from red deer stag (male) skulls with the antlers still attached. The 21 antler frontlets are sufficiently complete to see how they have been manufactured: two holes were perforated through the skull with a flint tool and the inside of the skull cap was smoothed. The antlers on each frontlet has been carefully trimmed maybe to reduce weight. It seems very likely that these modifications are designed to allow the frontlets to be used as headgear. Finds from the site are now divided between four institutions: The British Museum, the Yorkshire Museum in York, the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge and the Scarborough Museum.

Evidence of structures.

Post holes, a sunken area and concentrations of flints, burning and other artefacts indicate the presence of a structure approximately wide. The posts were almost certainly made of wood and roughly in diameter there may have been as many as 18 of them and the holes indicated that several may have been replaced over the course of the structure's use. It is impossible to know the form or materials from which the walls and/or roof would have been made. They may have used hides, thatch, turf or bark on a conical (teepee-like) or rounded (wigwam-like) frame. There is no reason to suppose that the same materials and form would have been used for the structure's entire life-span. There was evidence that the floor was covered with a layer of moss, reeds and other soft plant materials – deep. Radiocarbon dates indicated a use-life of between 200 and 500 years. The structure has been compared to the Mesolithic structure found at Howick, Northumberland and British Iron Age roundhouses.  A large wooden platform has been discovered nearby on the shore of the former lake – the earliest known example of carpentry in Europe, though its purpose is as yet unknown. Timbers of Aspen and Willow were split along the grain using wedges (probably made of wood and antler); these were then laid in the boggy areas at the lake shore, presumably to provide firm footing. The extent of the wooden platform is not known but it may be a significantly larger and more complex undertaking than the house-like structure.

Chronology.

Current radiocarbon dates from the site indicate occupation first commenced between 9335–9275 BC, lasting for a period of around 800 years until 8525–8440 BC. However, such occupations may have been episodic in nature, varying in intensity between different periods.

History of investigations.

Discovery and initial excavations.

Star Carr was discovered in 1947 when John Moore, an amateur archaeologist, noticed flints in the exposed soil of several recently dredged ditches in the eastern Vale of Pickering. One of these sites, bordering on the New Hertford River was to the south of Star Carr Farm. Moore decided to excavate a small trench at Star Carr in 1948 as part of a series of investigations. On the discovery of intact organic remains Moore contacted Professor Grahame Clark of the University of Cambridge via Harry Godwin and the curator of the Scarborough Museum, Arthur Roy Clapham.  Clark began his investigation with the explicit aim of building a more detailed picture of the Mesolithic environment and the ways in which people used it. The organic preservation enabled the recovery of the plant and animal remains necessary for this. Clark excavated from 1949 to 1951. Clark's 1954 publication of these excavations is a seminal text in the study of the British Mesolithic and prehistory generally.  Clark believed he had uncovered the entirety of the site and believed Star Carr could be used as a type-site for the British Mesolithic. He drew parallels between the finds at Star Carr and the site of Maglemose in Denmark. It is now recognised that many of Clark’s inferences were incorrect but the excavation remains one of the most important in the study of British prehistory ever undertaken.

Further investigations: The Lake Flixton Landscape.

In 1977 archaeologists excavated Iron Age, Bronze Age and Mesolithic material from Seamer Carr, just to the north of Star Carr. These excavations were conducted in advance of the Seamer Carr landfill site. The discovery of Mesolithic material led to a new series of investigations around Lake Flixton directed by Tim Schadla-Hall (currently University College London). This team returned to Star Carr in 1985 and 1989.  This project investigated the archaeology and ecology of the wider landscape around Lake Flixton and found several more Mesolithic sites but none with as many of the unusual artefacts (such as barbed points and antler frontlets) discovered at Star Carr.

The latest investigations.

In the 2000s new excavations began at Star Carr. This reinvestigation is being directed by Nicky Milner (University of York), Chantal Conneller (University of Manchester) and Barry Taylor (University of Chester). This ongoing project has reinvestigated Clark's excavations and also excavated the dry-land, discovering the structure.  Most significantly, recent geochemical investigations have demonstrated that the preservation conditions have deteriorated. The result of this is that any remaining organic artefacts will be far less informative than those discovered by previous excavation projects. Though the reasons for this remain somewhat unclear, it appears that the acidity of the groundwater has massively increased in the last few years.  A decorated pendant (the Star Carr Pendant), thought to be the oldest known Mesolithic art in Britain, was found at the site in 2015. The 11,000 year old object has been on display at the Yorkshire Museum with other finds from the site since 2016.

Interpretive debates.

Clark, the original excavator, believed the Mesolithic people would have lived on a brushwood platform on the edge of the former Lake Flixton. Recent excavations have revealed that people lived on the dry land upslope of the lake and various activities were carried out at the lake edge.  There is much debate about the time of year the site was occupied. Mesolithic people hunted a number of animals including red and roe deer, elk, aurochs and wild boar but there are various seasonal assessments and as the site was occupied over several hundred years it is likely that seasonal practices varied over time.  It has been suggested that the antler frontlets were used as a hunting disguise, or in some form of ritual practice. Recent work suggests that these, along with other objects made from red deer antler, appear to have been respectfully deposited at the lake edge due to the spiritual significance of red deer to the people who occupied the site.  Anthony Legge and Peter Rowley-Conway re-examined the animal bones located at the site. They found strong evidence to suggest that the site was used only in late spring and summer; evidence that the cull of red and roe deer was biased towards three- and one-year-old animals respectively; revision of available meat; reduction in scale of occupation; no bias towards hunting of male red deer, and tentatively suggested that the site was used as a hunting camp.

Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles () south of Scarborough. It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain. It is as important to the Mesolithic period as Stonehenge is to the Neolithic period or Scandinavian York is to understanding Viking Age Britain.

Star Carr ist ein frühmesolithischer Fundplatz der Klosterlundgruppe der Maglemose-Kultur bei Scarborough in North-Yorkshire an der Ostküste Englands. Es handelt sich um den Lagerplatz einer Gruppe von Jägern und Sammlern an einem heute verlandeten See.


Early life and education.

Lee was born in Mesa, Arizona on June 4, 1971, the son of Janet (née Griffin) and Rex E. Lee. His family moved to Provo, Utah one year later, when his father became the founding dean of Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School. While Lee spent about half of his childhood years in Utah, he spent the other half in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. His father served first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney General (overseeing the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice during the Ford Administration) from 1975 until 1976, and then as the Solicitor General of the United States (charged with representing the United States government before the Supreme Court during the first term of the Reagan Administration) from 1981 until 1985. Lee is of English, Swiss, and Danish descent on his father's side.  Growing up, Lee went to school with Senator Strom Thurmond's daughter, Nancy Moore Thurmond, and lived three doors down from Senator Robert Byrd. He was friends with Harry Reid's son Josh. Senator Reid was the Lees' home teacher. Lee recalls as a child how Senator Reid once locked him and Josh in their garage as a practical joke. According to Lee, the Reid family were the first Democrats he knew well and it was dealing with them that showed him the importance of being able to defend his political views in discussion with those who held other views.  After graduating from Timpview High School (Provo, Utah) in 1989, Lee attended Brigham Young University as an undergraduate student, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1994. He served as the president of BYUSA, a prominent student service organization, and as student body president during the 1993–1994 school year, serving together with his father, Rex E. Lee, who was president of BYU at the time. Lee received his Juris Doctor from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1997.

Legal career.

After graduation from law school in 1997, Lee served as a law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. The following year, he clerked for then-Judge Samuel Alito, who was serving at that time on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After finishing his clerkships, Lee joined the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin, where he specialized in appellate and Supreme Court litigation. Several years later, Lee returned to Utah to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in Salt Lake City, preparing briefs and arguing cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He served as general counsel to Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. from January 2005 until June 2006, when he returned to Washington to serve a one-year clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court with Justice Alito. Lee returned to Utah (and to private practice) in the summer of 2007, joining the Salt Lake office of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Howrey LLP. Lee focused on courtroom advocacy and constitutional law.  As an attorney, Lee also represented Class A low-level radioactive waste facility provider EnergySolutions Inc. in a highly publicized dispute between the company and the Utah public and public officials that caused controversy during his Senate election. Utah's government had allowed the company to store radioactive waste in the state as long as it was low-grade "Class A" material. When the company arranged to store waste from Italy, many objected to the waste being foreign and that it could potentially be more radioactive than permitted. Lee argued that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution allowed the company to accept foreign waste and that the waste could be reduced in grade by mixing it with lower grade materials, while the government of Utah sought to ban the importation of foreign waste using an interstate radioactive waste compact. EnergySolutions eventually abandoned its plans to store Italian radioactive waste in Utah, ending the dispute, with the 10th U.S. Circuit court later ruling that the compact had the power to block foreign radioactive waste from being stored in Utah.

Political positions.

Lee is a conservative Republican. "The New York Times" used the NOMINATE system to arrange Republican senators by ideology and ranked Lee as the most conservative member of the Senate. GovTrack's 2017 analysis places Lee on the right end of the spectrum, to the right of most Republicans, but still to the left of a handful of Republican senators. Five ThirtyEight, which tracks Congressional votes, has found that Lee votes with President Trump's positions on legislation 81.3% of the time as of July 2018.

Privacy.

In 2017, Lee voted for S.J.Res.34, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to "Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services" from taking effect.

Spending.

In September 2018, Lee was among six Republican senators, including Jeff Flake, Pat Toomey, Rand Paul, David Perdue, and Ben Sasse, as well as Bernie Sanders, that voted against a $854 billion spending bill, meant to avoid another government shutdown. Said bill included funding for the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor and Education.

Climate change.

In 2011, Lee voted to limit the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In 2013, he voted to make it harder for Congress to put a price on carbon through a point of order opposing a carbon tax or a fee on carbon emissions. The measure did not pass. At a May 2016 event, he stated that it "has long been obvious that the Democratic Party's assertion that the science of climate change is "settled" is little more than a cheap public-relations ploy masquerading as a monopoly on scientific knowledge".  In 2017, Lee was one of 22 senators to sign a letter to President Donald Trump urging the President to have the United States withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Lee has received campaign contributions from oil and gas interests amounting to $231,520 and from coal interests in the amount of $21,895 for a total of $253,415 since 2012.  On March 26, 2019, the Senate opened debate on the Green New Deal. When Lee took the floor, he mocked the plan as absurd, comparing it to an image of Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor, and argued that having more babies was the real solution.

Healthcare.

Senator Mike Lee was part of the group of 13 Senators drafting the Senate version of the AHCA behind closed doors. Senator Lee eventually came out against the bill, along with fellow Republican senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, bringing the "no" vote total among Republicans to four. This effectively stopped any chance of the bill's passage.

Books.

Since his election to the Senate in 2010, Lee has published four books:

U.S. Senate.

Elections.

2010.

Mike Lee ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010. At the Republican State Convention, he received 982 votes (28.75%) on the first ballot, earning the party's nomination over Tim Bridgewater (26.84% of votes) and incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (25.91% of votes). Bridgewater, however, won the second and third ballots to win the party endorsement. Both Bridgewater and Lee received enough support to have their names placed on the primary ballot.  In the primary election, held on June 22, 2010, Lee became the Republican nominee by winning 51 percent of the vote against Bridgewater's 49 percent.  Lee won the general election on November 2, 2010 with 62 percent of the vote to Democrat Sam Granato's 33 percent and Constitution Party candidate Scott Bradley's 6 percent.

2016.

Lee ran for re-election in 2016. He was endorsed by the Club for Growth, the Senate Conservatives Fund, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Tenure.

Scorecards/Rankings.

In 2011, Club for Growth gave him a 100% score. Only four other U.S. Senators received a perfect score: Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Jim DeMint, and Tom Coburn. He also received a 100% Conservative voting record for 2011 from the American Conservative Union. The Heritage Foundation gave him a 99% score, ranking first only with DeMint. The only wrong vote he made, in the opinion of the Heritage Foundation, was voting for the GSE Bailout Elimination and Taxpayer Protection Act, which would privatize Fannie and Freddie. He received a Liberal Action score of 38%.

Patriot Act.

In February 2011, Lee was one of two Republicans, along with Rand Paul of Kentucky, to vote against extending the three provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act that deal with roving wiretaps, "lone wolf" terrorism suspects, and the government's ability to seize "any tangible items" in the course of surveillance. He voted in the same manner in May 2011.

Social Security.

In April 2011, Lee joined with Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and fellow Senate Tea Party Caucus member Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) to propose a plan they said would extend the financial viability of the U.S. Social Security retirement payment system. The proposal called for increasing the retirement age to 70 by the year 2032, and slightly reducing the benefits paid to upper-income recipients.

Criminal justice reform.

In 2013, Lee proposed a bill with the aim "to focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders", together with Dick Durbin (D) and Patrick Leahy (D). The bill would reduce some minimum sentences for drug-related offenses by half.  In November 2018, Lee "called out" Sen. Tom Cotton, stating he was spreading fake news about the proposed First Step Act, a criminal justice reform bill. He referred to a tweet from Cotton saying that the legislation “gives early release to 'low level, nonviolent' criminals like those convicted of assaulting police, even with deadly weapons.” Lee retorted: “I highly respect my colleague from Arkansas but everything in his tweet and this thread is 100% fake news”. The "First Step Act does not 'give early release' to anyone. Anyone claiming it does, does not understand how the bill works", he continued. President Trump is a supporter of said legislation, while Cotton has remained an "outspoken critic". The bipartisan bill, drafted by Chuck Grassley, Lee, and Dick Durbin, passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly, by 360-59 votes. The bill aims to "improve rehabilitation programs for former prisoners", and to "give judges more wiggle room" when sentencing nonviolent crime offenders, such as those involving drug charges. On December 18, the bill passed the Senate and three days later, it received a presidential signature.

Environment.

Lee opposes the Green New Deal, claiming that "the authors of the Green New Deal proposal are trying to suggest people should not have babies and I think that’s atrocious." "Deseret News" noted, "the text of the [Green New Deal] resolution does not address population growth or suggest limiting the number of children people can have." Lee opposes a carbon tax to deal with climate change.  Lee wrote a letter to President Trump calling for him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, and applauded Trump's decision to withdraw.  In 2018, Lee defended Jim Bridenstine's nomination to head NASA. Bridenstine's nomination was contentious, given that Bridenstine rejected the scientific consensus on climate change and had no background in science. In defending Bridenstine, Lee falsely claimed that NASA disputed that there was a scientific consensus on climate change.  In 2019, Lee gave a sarcastic speech on the Senate floor, in which he said the solution to climate change was to replace airplanes with fictional Star Wars animals from the planet Hoth and giant seahorses. Lee concluded by suggesting that the solution to climate change was rooted in having more children to create strong families that raised innovative children to be more environmentally aware and to engineer solutions to environmental problems.

Foreign policy.

As part of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 2018, Lee co-sponsored a resolution, together with Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy, "that would end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen's civil war". Interviewed by "The Hill", he stated: "regardless of what may have happened with Mr. Khashoggi, we are fighting a war in Yemen that we haven’t declared, that has never been declared or authorized by Congress. That’s not constitutional." The Senate voted 60-39 to "formally begin debate on the resolution", which would require the President to "withdraw troops in or "affecting" Yemen within 30 days unless they are fighting al Qaeda."  In April 2018, Lee was one of eight Republican senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and acting Secretary of State John Sullivan expressing "deep concern" over a report by the United Nations exposing "North Korean sanctions evasion involving Russia and China" and asserting that the findings "demonstrate an elaborate and alarming military-venture between rogue, tyrannical states to avoid United States and international sanctions and inflict terror and death upon thousands of innocent people" while calling it "imperative that the United States provides a swift and appropriate response to the continued use of chemical weapons used by President Assad and his forces, and works to address the shortcomings in sanctions enforcement." He criticized Trump for ordering the 2018 missile strikes against Syria in response to the Douma chemical attack, stating that he lacked the constitutional authority to do so without Congress's permission because the United States was not in imminent danger. Lee supported Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria in December 2018, saying that American forces should not have been in the country anyway without Congressional authorization. He said that American objectives in Syria surrounding the future of President Assad were not made clear by the Obama administration, and that he believed President Trump's claim that the Islamic State had been defeated.  Lee has long been in favor of ending American involvement in Afghanistan. He signed a letter in 2011 urging President Obama to withdraw troops from the country. In May 2017, he called into question a proposal from military leaders to send additional troops quoting the country, calling to mind previous times when more soldiers were sent to the country but which, according to Lee, failed to make a significant difference. Lee has said that American involvement in the war has wasted thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.  In April 2019, after the House passed the resolution withdrawing American support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Lee was one of nine lawmakers to sign a letter to President Trump requesting a meeting with him and urging him to sign "Senate Joint Resolution 7, which invokes the War Powers Act of 1973 to end unauthorized US military participation in the Saudi-led coalition's armed conflict against Yemen's Houthi forces, initiated in 2015 by the Obama administration." They asserted the "Saudi-led coalition's imposition of an air-land-and-sea blockade as part of its war against Yemen’s Houthis has continued to prevent the unimpeded distribution of these vital commodities, contributing to the suffering and death of vast numbers of civilians throughout the country" and that Trump's approval of the resolution through his signing would give a "powerful signal to the Saudi-led coalition to bring the four-year-old war to a close".  In June 2019, Lee was one of seven Republicans who voted to block President Trump's Saudi arms deal providing weapons to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

Debt ceiling.

Lee was criticized by Republican Sen. John McCain and others for being overly vocal in his criticism of other Republicans and for obstructing a deal to end the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.

9/11 Responders Compensation Fund.

On July 17, 2019, Lee was criticized on Fox News by Jon Stewart and disabled construction worker, John Feal, for blocking a bill (along with Senator Rand Paul), that provided Victims Compensation Fund support for disabled 9/11 responders. The fund was near exhaustion. On the Senate floor, Paul objected to the request by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) request for the bill to be approved by unanimous consent, but per Senate rule, such a request is rejected if just one senator objects. Lee had placed such a hold on the measure, despite it having 73 Senate co-sponsors.  Stewart and Feal, as well as leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Firefighters tried to get both senators to withdraw their objections. "The people from the state of Kentucky and the people from the state of Utah deserve better," Feal stated on Fox News. Stewart stressed, "We have to stand up for the people who have always stood up for us, and maybe cannot stand up for themselves due to their illnesses and their injuries.... There [are] some things that they have no trouble putting on the credit card, but somehow when it comes to the 9/11 first responder community, the cops, the firefighters, the construction workers, the volunteers, the survivors, all of a sudden... we gotta go through this." On July 23, 2019 Senator Lee was one of two Senators who voted against the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

Flint water crisis.

In 2016, Lee used a procedural hold to block a vote on federal assistance for the Flint, Michigan water crisis. He was initially part of a group of senators blocking $220 million in aid to repair lead contaminated pipes but, due to public pressure on others, Lee eventually became the last opposing senator. While initially anonymous, multiple sources leaked Lee's opposition to the media.

Immigration.

In February 2019, Lee was one of sixteen senators to vote against legislation preventing a partial government shutdown and containing $1.375 billion in funding for barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border that included 55 miles of fencing. In that same month, he joined with Senator Kamala Harris to remove the per-country cap on employment-based green cards and raise the cap on family-based green cards from 7 to 15 percent.  In March 2019, Lee was one of twelve Republican senators to vote to block President Trump's national emergency declaration that would have granted him access to $3.6 billion in military construction funding to build border barriers.

LGBT rights.

In 2018, Lee condemned the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which is part of the Organization of American States (OAS), for recommending that Costa Rica legalize same-sex marriage. The decision by the court was spurred by a petition by Costa Rica's President Luis Guillermo Solis who was working on ways to improve LGBT rights in Costa Rica. Lee suggested that the U.S., which is a primary funder of the OAS should use its money more wisely and do more to safeguard religious liberties worldwide.  In 2018, Lee blocked the reappointment of Chai Feldblum to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Feldblum, who was the first openly LGBT individual to serve on the commission, was blocked by Lee due to what he described as her "radical views on marriage."  In May 2019, Lee described the Equality Act, which extends anti-discrimination protections to LGBT individuals, as "counterproductive" and argued it "unnecessarily pits communities against each other."

Supreme Court.

In March 2019, Lee was one of twelve senators to cosponsor a resolution that would impose a constitutional amendment limiting the Supreme Court to nine justices. The resolution was introduced following multiple Democratic presidential candidates expressing openness to the idea of expanding the seats on the Supreme Court.

Trade.

In January 2018, Lee was one of thirty-six Republican senators to sign a letter to President Trump requesting he preserve the North American Free Trade Agreement by modernizing it for the economy of the 21st Century.  In November 2018, Lee was one of twelve Republican senators to sign a letter to President Trump requesting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement be submitted to Congress by the end of the month to allow a vote on it before the end of the year as they were concerned "passage of the USMCA as negotiated will become significantly more difficult" if having to be approved through the incoming 116th United States Congress.

Roy Moore endorsement and retraction.

On October 16, 2017, Lee endorsed Roy Moore in the 2017 Alabama special election runoff, to fill the seat of U.S. Attorney General and former senator Jeff Sessions. Moore had been removed as the Alabama Supreme Court's chief justice in 2003, for defying a federal order to remove an illegal Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Judicial Building. He was reelected as chief justice in 2012. In May 2016, Moore was once again removed from the bench by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC), permanently via suspension for the rest of his term, making him ineligible for reelection, for ordering state probate judges to ignore a U.S. Supreme Court decision. In a 50-page opinion by the Court of the Judiciary, it denied Moore's appeal of the JIC's decision, and said Moore's removal was necessary "...to preserve the integrity, independence, impartiality of Alabama's judiciary." Nevertheless, Lee praised Moore for his "reputation of integrity" and said that he was essential to getting conservative legislation through the Senate. "That is why I am proudly endorsing Judge Roy Moore. Alabamians have the chance to send a proven, conservative fighter to the United States Senate," On November 9, 2017, Moore was accused of molesting a 14-year old and other girls under the age of 18 when he was 32 years old.  On November 10, Lee asked the Moore campaign to stop employing Lee's endorsement of Moore in its fundraising ads. Lee's spokesperson said of the sexual misconduct allegations, "If these allegations are true, Judge Moore should resign." Later that day, Lee rescinded his endorsement of Moore.

Committee assignments.

Current.

Committee on the Judiciary  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources  Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation  Joint Economic Committee (Chairman)

Personal life.

Lee married Sharon Burr in 1993. They live in Alpine, Utah and have three children, Michael Lee Jr, James Rex, and Eliza Rose Lee. Lee is a second cousin to former Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Udall of Colorado and current Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, as well as former Republican senator Gordon H. Smith of Oregon.  Lee has served on the BYU alumni board, the BYU Law School alumni board, and as a long-time member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Lee earned the Eagle Scout award from Boy Scouts of America in 1989 and was selected to receive the National Eagle Scout Association Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) in 2011.

Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American politician, author and attorney who is the senior United States Senator from Utah. A conservative, libertarian-leaning Republican, Lee has served in the Senate since January 3, 2011.

Michael Shumway „Mike“ Lee (* 4. Juni 1971 in Mesa, Arizona) ist ein US-amerikanischer Jurist und Politiker der Republikanischen Partei. Seit dem 3. Januar 2011 vertritt er den Bundesstaat Utah im US-Senat.


Early life.

Torres was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Denver, Colorado. She has "a Latina background" as she is of Nicaraguan descent, as well as German and Swedish. She has a younger brother, Phil, who is a television presenter.  Torres attended the University of Southern California (USC) on a full tuition scholarship. During college, she was one of the founding members of the Omega Phi Beta sorority chapter on her campus and held the vice-president position for several years. While in Omega Phi Beta, Torres was awarded for Academic Excellence at the Order of Omega Greek Awards. She graduated with honors and a grade point average above 3.5 in May 2006, with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Dancing and modeling career.

While attending USC, Torres appeared in commercials and music videos. Torres was the co-captain of the USC Fly Girls dance squad and created much of their choreography. She also danced for The Southern California Summer Pro League, the only summer league for National Basketball Association (NBA) players, in Long Beach, California. After graduating from college, she began dancing and modeling full-time. After reaching the tryout finals in previous years, Torres became a member of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team for the 2006–07 season. She also appeared on the game show "Show Me The Money".

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE.

"Diva Search" (2007).

In May 2007, Torres entered World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s "Diva Search". She was chosen by WWE officials as one of the eight finalists from a group of 50 women. On October 29, 2007, in Philadelphia, live on "Raw", she was crowned the 2007 WWE Diva Search winner, defeating finalist Brooke Gilbertsen and becoming a WWE Diva. Following her win, she began training for her wrestling debut in WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).

Main roster debut (2008–2009).

Videos promoting Eve's debut on "SmackDown" began airing on January 11, 2008. The promo aired for three weeks before Eve made her official debut on the February 1, 2008 episode of "SmackDown" interviewing Batista. During early 2008, Eve participated in a contest to determine the top Diva on "SmackDown", participating in a bikini contest, an obstacle course, and an arm wrestling competition before being eliminated. Eve appeared at WrestleMania XXIV as a Lumberjill in the BunnyMania match between Maria and Ashley against Beth Phoenix and Melina. Eve spent the rest of the year competing in similar contests, including a dance-off and a bikini contest, before participating in the Halloween Costume Contest on October 26 at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, where she was dressed as Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On the 800th episode of "Raw" on November 3, 2008, Eve made her televised in-ring debut in a 16-Diva tag team match, which her team lost although she was never tagged in.  Her first main storyline began in early 2009, when she began a scripted feud with Michelle McCool after McCool attacked her. On the February 6 episode of "SmackDown", Eve made her singles match debut in a losing effort against McCool via submission. Their feud continued for the next few months, with them competing against each other in singles and tag team matches. Eve then moved into a feud with Layla in mid-2009. After the pair competed in dance and arm wrestling competitions, Eve defeated Layla on the May 29 episode of "SmackDown" in a wrestling match. On the June 18 episode of "Superstars", Eve pinned Layla once again. After the match, they both shook hands.  Around the same as her scripted rivalry with Layla, Eve became associated with Cryme Tyme (Shad and JTG), appearing in several backstage segments with them. She also began accompanying them to the ring as their manager during their storyline rivalry with The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, and Natalya). Eve and Cryme Tyme participated in multiple six-person mixed tag team matches against The Hart Dynasty, and Eve also faced Natalya in singles matches and tag team matches involving other Divas.<ref name="PWtorch-July24/09"></ref> Her final match on "SmackDown" was on October 9, when she was defeated in a singles match by McCool.

Divas Champion (2009–2011).

On October 12, 2009, Eve was traded to the Raw brand. On the November 2 episode of "Raw", she competed in her first match after being traded: a battle royal which was won by Alicia Fox. She then entered into a storyline romance with Chris Masters in December 2009, becoming his valet. In January 2010, the WWE Divas Championship was vacated and a tournament was set up to determine the new champion. Eve made it to the semi-finals, before being defeated by the eventual winner, Maryse. At WrestleMania XXVI Eve was on the losing team in a 10-Diva tag team match, but the following night on "Raw", she pinned Maryse in a rematch to earn the victory for her team.  On the April 5 episode of "Raw", Eve won a "Dress to Impress" battle royal to become the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, and the following week on "Raw", she defeated Maryse to win the championship for the first time. She successfully defended the championship against Maryse at the Over the Limit pay-per-view in May. At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view in June, Eve lost the championship in a fatal four-way match, when Alicia Fox pinned Maryse to win the championship. On the July 5 episode of "Raw", Eve invoked her rematch clause against Fox but was unsuccessful after Fox feigned an ankle injury. As a result, she received another rematch at the Money in the Bank pay per-view, but lost again to Fox. In mid-2010 she began acting as the valet for R-Truth.  At the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2011, the Raw General Manager added Eve to a two-on-one handicap match for the Divas Championship, turning it into a fatal four-way match. Eve pinned Layla to win the match and become a two-time Divas Champion. She retained the championship against Natalya in a Lumberjill match on the February 14 episode of "Raw", and against Nikki Bella on the March 7 episode. She held the championship until the April 11 episode of "Raw", when she lost it to Brie Bella.  Eve then formed an alliance with Kelly Kelly, and after Kelly won the Divas Championship in June, Eve accompanied her to the ring during her matches. Eve and Kelly began feuding with The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya), and after Phoenix won the Divas Championship from Kelly, Eve defeated Natalya to earn a title match against Phoenix. She faced Phoenix at the Vengeance pay-per-view, but was unsuccessful. On the October 31 episode of "Raw", Eve won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the Divas Championship. She received her championship match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, but lost a Lumberjill match to Phoenix. She later described the match as her favorite.

Authority figure (2011–2013).

Eve moved into a storyline with Zack Ryder in December 2011, and the pair won a mixed tag team match against Natalya and Tyson Kidd on the December 26 episode of "Raw". On the January 9, 2012, episode of "Raw", Eve agreed to a date with Ryder beginning a storyline relationship. Eve quickly became involved in the storyline between Ryder, his ally John Cena, and Kane, who began targeting Ryder. After injuring Ryder, he turned his attention to Eve, and tried to attack her until he was stopped by Cena. On the February 6 episode of "Raw", Eve suffered a legimiately broken nose when Beth Phoenix clotheslined her during a match. The following week, Cena saved Eve from being kidnapped by Kane, and Eve kissed him in thanks. On the February 20 episode of "Raw", Eve began turning into a villainous character after she confessed backstage to The Bella Twins that she had never liked Zack Ryder and had disingenuously used him for publicity and planned to take advantage of Cena the same way. Cena overheard her revelation and scorned her as she begged for forgiveness. Eve justified her actions by stating that she had no problem using men to achieve her goals and that she was "a woman in a man's world." She wrestled her first match as a villain on the March 2 episode of "Smackdown", defeating Natalya. Ryder returned on the March 5 episode of "Raw", confronting Eve over her recent actions, but she managed to seduce him into forgiving her. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Eve and Beth Phoenix lost to Kelly Kelly and "Extra" corrspondent Maria Menounos in a tag team match. Later that night, she accompanied Ryder to the ring for the Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy matchup where she distracted Ryder, costing him and Team Teddy the match. As a result, John Laurinaitis appointed her the Executive Administrator of Raw and SmackDown. As her first order of business as Executive Administrator, on the April 30 episode of "Raw", Eve fired the Bella Twins. Despite her new authority figure role, she continued to participate in matches throughout mid-2012. On the August 10 episode of "SmackDown", Eve asked SmackDown General Manager Booker T if she could be his assistant, but Kaitlyn was given the job instead. Eve threatened Booker T that she would tell the Board of Directors about his discriminatory hiring practices and was given a match against Kaitlyn the following week. Eve won the match and the job.<ref name="WWE Smackdown 8/17/12 Results"></ref>  In August, she began a storyline where she appeared friendly and nice, diminishing her villainous characteristics. As part of this apparent personality change, she shook hands with her rival Kaitlyn following a match and teamed with her and Layla on the September 10 episode of "Raw". At the Night of Champions pay-per-view, Kaitlyn was attacked and injured by a masked figure; as a result, Eve replaced Kaitlyn in a match against Divas Champion Layla, which she won. Her victory made her the first woman to hold the Divas Championship on three occasions. After Kaitlyn revealed her attacker was blonde, Eve accused Beth Phoenix, and attacked her on the September 24 episode of "Raw". The following week, Eve suspended Phoenix, pending an investigation into Kaitlyn's attack. On the October 8 episode of "Raw", Eve defeated Kaitlyn via submission to retain the Divas Championship, and following the match, Eve reverted to her heel persona and attempted to re-injure Kaitlyn, but was stopped by Layla. The following week, she defeated Layla to retain the championship. After the reveal that Kaitlyn was attacked by Aksana, under Eve's orders, the three-way feud led to a match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, where Eve retained the Divas Championship against Layla and Kaitlyn in a triple threat match. Eve continued to feud with the duo, facing them in tag team matches with multiple partners and defeating Kaitlyn at Survivor Series to retain the championship. At, Eve stopped Kaitlyn from winning a number one contender's match, and defeated winner Naomi to retain the title. Kaitlyn won a non-title match against Eve, and won the subsequent title match by disqualification on December 18, however Eve retained the championship. The rematch occurred on the January 7, 2013, episode of "Raw", in which Eve successfully defended the championship after losing by countout. The following week, on the special "20th Anniversary" episode of "Raw", Eve lost the Divas Championship to Kaitlyn. She quit immediately following the loss in storyline. In reality, Torres had asked for her release in December 2012 to plan her upcoming wedding and focus on her role as an instructor for the Gracie Women Empowered Self-defense program.

Ambassador (2013–present).

On December 9, 2013, Torres appeared at the Slammy Award, presenting the Diva of the Year award to The Bella Twins. Since April 2014, she has served as an ambassador for WWE. Torres appeared on the June 19, 2017, episode of "Table for 3" on WWE Network alongside Kelly Kelly and Maryse. On October 28, 2018, Torres made her first appearance in over a year as part of the pre-show panel for WWE's first women's pay-per-view Evolution.

Other media.

In August 2008, Torres, along with fellow WWE Divas Maria and Candice Michelle, appeared on an episode of "Sunset Tan". On October 2, 2008, Torres and Maria appeared on a special episode of "". Torres appeared on the November 3, 2009 episode of "Deal or No Deal" with Maria and Dolph Ziggler. On July 1, 2012, Torres, Kelly, and Michelle McCool appeared on "Extreme Weight Loss". In 2012, she was part of NBC's celebrity reality competition series called "Stars Earn Stripes"; she won the competition on September 3, earning over $100,000 for her charity, the United Service Organizations. On September 7, 2012, Torres appeared on G4's "Attack of the Show" for an interview.  Torres, along with Maryse and Michelle McCool, appeared in the January 2009 issue of "Muscle & Fitness" magazine.  On April 30, 2012, it was announced that Torres would be featured in the WWE Studios and Kare Production Project "Les reines du ring" (English: Queens of the Ring), alongside fellow wrestlers The Miz and CM Punk. In mid-2013, Torres filmed a role for the film "", which was released in 2015. She later earned a role in "Matador" as Reyna Flores, a journalist reporting on the leading character's career. The show was cancelled after a single season. In 2016, Torres appeared in the film "Skiptrace" as a Russian assassin. The same year, she appeared in an episode of the "Supergirl" television series as Maxima.

Personal life.

Torres is trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and holds a purple belt from the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy based in Torrance, California. Torres also participates in kickboxing. She is a spokeswoman and head instructor for the Gracie Women Empowered self-defense program. Torres was the first female instructor for the academy.  Torres met Rener Gracie when she attended the Gracie Academy for training. They married in April 2014. They have two sons, born September 2015 and August 2018.  Torres and her sister-in-law Sage operate an event rental company named "inJOY The Party".

Championships and accomplishments.

[[File:Eve como Campeona de divas.jpg|alt=A dark-haired woman standing on the turnbuckle of a wrestling ring, with one foot on the red ring ropes. She is wearing an orange crop top with dark shorts and dark-coloured wrestling boots. Her right hand is holding a wrestling championship in the air.|thumb|upright|Torres is a three-time [[WWE Divas Championship|WWE Divas Champion]]

External links.

[[Category:1984 births]] [[Category:American ballroom dancers]] [[Category:American female dancers]] [[Category:Dancers from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Female models from Massachusetts]] [[Category:American female professional wrestlers]] [[Category:American film actresses]] [[Category:Hispanic and Latino American dancers]] [[Category:American sportspeople of Latin American descent]] [[Category:Hispanic and Latino American actresses]] [[Category:American people of Nicaraguan descent]] [[Category:American people of German descent]] [[Category:American people of Swedish descent]] [[Category:American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners]] [[Category:Gracie family]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Participants in American reality television series]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Boston]] [[Category:USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni]] [[Category:WWE Diva Search contestants]]

Eve Torres Gracie (born Eve Marie Torres on August 21, 1984) is an American actress, dancer, model, martial arts instructor, and former professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with WWE, where she is a record three-time WWE Divas Champion.

Eve Torres Gracie (* 21. August 1984 als Eve Torres), auch bekannt unter ihrem aktuellen Ringnamen Eve, ist eine US-amerikanische Tänzerin, Model und Wrestlerin.


Uses.

Fertigation is practiced extensively in commercial agriculture and horticulture. Fertigation is also increasingly being used for landscaping as dispenser units become more reliable and easier to use. Fertigation is used to add additional nutrients or to correct nutrient deficiencies detected in plant tissue analysis. It is usually practiced on the high-value crops such as vegetables, turf, fruit trees, and ornamentals.

Commonly used nutrients.

Most plant nutrients can be applied through irrigation systems. Nitrogen is the most commonly used plant nutrient. Naturally occurring nitrogen (N) is a diatomic molecule which makes up approximately 80% of the earth's atmosphere. Most plants cannot directly consume diatomic nitrogen, therefore nitrogen must be contained as a component of other chemical substances which plants can consume. Commonly, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, and urea are used as bioavailable sources of nitrogen. Other nutrients needed by plants include phosphorus and potassium. Like nitrogen, plants require these substances to live but they must be contained in other chemical substances such as monoammonium phosphate or diammonium phosphate to serve as bioavailable nutrients. A common source of potassium is muriate of potash which is chemically potassium chloride. A soil fertility analysis is used to determine which of the more stable nutrients should be used.

Advantages.

The benefits of fertigation methods over conventional or drop-fertilizing methods include:

System design.

Fertigation assists distribution of fertilizers for farmers. The simplest type of fertigation system consists of a tank with a pump, distribution pipes, capillaries, and a dripper pen.  All systems should be placed on a raised or sealed platform, not in direct contact with the earth. Each system should also be fitted with chemical spill trays.  Because of the potential risk of contamination in the potable (drinking) water supply, a backflow prevention device is required for most fertigation systems. Backflow requirements may vary greatly. Therefore, it is very important to understand the proper level of backflow prevention required by law. In the United States, the minimum backflow protection is usually determined by state regulation. Each city or town may set the level of protection required.

Fertigation is the injection of fertilizers, used for soil amendments, water amendments and other water-soluble products into an irrigation system.

Fertigation bezeichnet das Ausbringen von flüssigen oder wasserlöslichen Düngern durch ein Bewässerungssystem. Es ist ein Kunstwort aus den englischen Wörtern "fertilization" (Düngung) und "irrigation" (Bewässerung)