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The death of George Floyd, an African-American man, occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; 2 minutes and 53 seconds of which occurred after Floyd became unresponsive, according to the criminal complaint filed against Chauvin.
Elon Reeve Musk (; born June 28, 1971) is an engineer, industrial designer and technology entrepreneur. He is a citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the United States. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX; early investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink; and co-founder and initial co-chairman of OpenAI.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. , trading as SpaceX, is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has developed several launch vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) in low Earth orbit. The ISS programme is a multi-national collaborative project between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).
Ghislaine Maxwell ( ghee-LAYN, -LEN; born 25 December 1961) is a British socialite and alleged procurer who is known for her association with Jeffrey Epstein. The youngest child of disgraced publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, she moved to the United States after her father's death in 1991 and became a close associate of the financier and subsequently convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove who entered her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, while serving a "no-knock warrant". Taylor was shot eight times.
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the incident generated widespread national attention and raised questions about the appropriate use of force by law enforcement.
SpaceX Demo-2 (also referred to as Crew Demo-2, and Dragon Crew Demo-2) is a crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which launched on 30 May 2020 at 3:22:45 PM EDT (19:22:45) UTC. Demo-2 is the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011, and also the first ever operated by a commercial provider.
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012) was an American construction worker turned writer and activist after surviving an act of police brutality by the Los Angeles Police Department. On March 3, 1991, King was violently beaten by LAPD officers during his arrest for fleeing and resisting arrest on I-210.
Abrus precatorius, commonly known as jequirity bean or rosary pea, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is a slender, perennial climber with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves that twines around trees, shrubs, and hedges. The plant is best known for its seeds, which are used as beads and in percussion instruments, and which are toxic because of the presence of abrin.
George Floyd (American football)
George Floyd Jr. (born December 21, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back for two seasons with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Over his NFL career, Floyd appeared in seven games during the Jets' 1982 season, including three playoff games, and eight in their 1983 season, with two games started.
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space warfare service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services. The sixth and youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, it was the first branch of the military established since the formation of the independent U.S. Air Force in 1947.
Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX as the successor to the Dragon 1 cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and returns to Earth via an ocean splashdown. Unlike its predecessor, the spacecraft can dock itself to the ISS instead of being berthed.
RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)
The twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on February 28 and concluded on May 29, 2020. The competition was broadcast on VH1 in the United States and saw 13 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". VH1 renewed both RuPaul's Drag Race and it's spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for a twelfth and fifth season respectively on August 19, 2019.
The following deaths of notable individuals occurred in 2020. Names are reported under the date of death, in alphabetical order by surname or pseudonym. A typical entry reports information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent nationality (if applicable), what subject was noted for, cause of death (if known), and reference.
Minneapolis ( (listen)) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the principal city of the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. As of 2019, Minneapolis has an estimated population of 429,606, making it the 46th-largest city in the United States. Minneapolis and its neighbor Saint Paul make up the Twin Cities, with Minneapolis being the larger of the two.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player and the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls.
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The crew consisted of five NASA astronauts, one payload specialist, and a civilian schoolteacher.
Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966) is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot, and current NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 (July 2009) and STS-135 (July 2011), the final flight of the Space Shuttle program. He launched into space for the third time as Commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed spaceflight from American soil since STS-135.
Frederick Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 – May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap; the Christopher Guest mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration and Mascots; and the Anchorman films.
Uncut Gems is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein. The film stars Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a Jewish jeweler and gambling addict in New York City's Diamond District, who must retrieve an expensive gem he purchased to pay off his debts.
George Soros, Hon (born Schwartz György; August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American billionaire investor and philanthropist. As of February 2018, he had a net worth of $8 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to his philanthropic agency, the Open Society Foundations. Born in Budapest, Soros survived Nazi Germany-occupied Hungary and emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1947.
Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old African American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a pretextual traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protests against her arrest, disputing the cause of death, and alleging racial violence against her.
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current president of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. Trump was born and raised in Queens, a borough of New York City, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School.
Autonomous spaceport drone ship
An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform and is controlled by an autonomous robot.
Defending Jacob is an American crime drama web television miniseries, based on the novel of the same name by William Landay, produced by Apple TV+. The series was created and written by Mark Bomback and directed by Morten Tyldum. It stars Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel, Sakina Jaffrey and J.K. Simmons.
Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn (born 26 September 1985), known professionally as Talulah Riley, is an English actress. She has appeared in films such as Pride & Prejudice, St Trinian's, The Boat That Rocked, St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, and Inception. Riley portrayed Angela on the HBO science-fiction Western television series Westworld.
Ponmagal Vandhal (transl. The Golden Girl has Arrived) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film written and directed by J. J. Fredrick in his debut, and produced by Jyothika and Suriya. The film stars Jyothika leading an ensemble cast including K. Bhagyaraj, R. Parthiban, Thiagarajan, Pandiarajan and Pratap Pothen.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people. BLM regularly holds protests speaking out against police killings of black people, and broader issues such as racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.
List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
Wikipedia has articles on most of the major episodes of civil unrest. This list does not include the numerous incidents of destruction and/or violence associated with various sporting events.
Race and ethnicity in the United States
Race and ethnicity in the United States is a complex topic because the United States of America has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately.
Sonu Sood (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian film actor, model, and producer who acts predominantly in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Punjabi films. In 2009, he received the Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Award for Best Villain and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu for his work in the Telugu blockbuster Arundhati.
Catherine II (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796—the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état that she organised—resulting in her husband, Peter III, being overthrown.
Minnesota ( (listen)) is a state in the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and northern regions of the United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory. The state has many lakes, and is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes".
The Boston Tea Party was a political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts.
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was the second fatal accident in the Space Shuttle program, after the 1986 breakup of Challenger soon after liftoff.
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums. John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists.
Rene Alexander Acosta (born January 16, 1969) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 27th United States Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019. President Donald Trump nominated Acosta to be Labor Secretary on February 16, 2017, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 27, 2017. Acosta is the only Hispanic person to have served in President Trump's Cabinet.
Stephen Jesse Jackson (born April 5, 1978) is an American retired professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers. Jackson won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2003.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country consisting of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3. 8 million square miles (9. 8 million km2), it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area.
Diriliş: Ertuğrul (English: "Resurrection: Ertuğrul") is a Turkish historical fiction and adventure television series created by Mehmet Bozdağ, starring Engin Altan Düzyatan in the title role. It was filmed in Riva, a village in the Beykoz district of Istanbul, Turkey, and premiered on TRT 1 in Turkey on December 10, 2014.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency's governing structure and principles, states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health".
List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films are a series of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set.
The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385, original at 20 Stat. 152) signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The purpose of the act – in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807 – is to limit the powers of the federal government in using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States.
On January 18, 2016, Daniel Leetin Shaver of Granbury, Texas was shot dead by police officer Philip Brailsford in the hallway of a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Mesa, Arizona. Police were responding to a report that a rifle had been brandished at the window of Shaver's hotel room. After the shooting, the rifle, which remained in the room, was determined to be a pellet gun.
James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher and faith healer turned cult leader who conspired with his inner circle to direct a mass murder-suicide of his followers in his jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana. He launched the Peoples Temple in Indiana during the 1950s. Rev.
Race and crime in the United States
In the United States, the relationship between race and crime has been a topic of public controversy and scholarly debate for more than a century. The crime rate varies between racial groups. Most homicides in the United States are intraracial—the perpetrator and victim are of the same race.
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Arabic: ٱلْحَاجّ مَالِك ٱلشَّبَازّ, romanized: al-Ḥājj Mālik ash-Shabāzz; born Malcolm Little; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965), better known as Malcolm X, was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement.
Katherine Megan McArthur (born August 10, 1971) is an American oceanographer and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut. She has served as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) for both the space shuttle and space station. Megan McArthur has flown one space shuttle mission, STS-125.
Karen LuJean Nyberg (born October 7, 1969) is an American mechanical engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Nyberg became the 50th woman in space on her first mission in 2008. Nyberg started her space career in 1991 and spent a total of 180 days in space in 2008 and 2013 (as a Mission Specialist on STS-124 and a Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-09M).
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( STEF-ən-ee JUR-mə-NOT-ə) (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and businesswoman. She is known for reinventing herself throughout her career and for her versatility in numerous areas of the entertainment industry.
Elisabeth Anne Broderick (née Bisceglia; born November 7, 1947) is an American woman and convicted murderer who was accused of the killing of her ex-husband, Daniel T. Broderick III, and his second wife, Linda (Kolkena) Broderick on November 5, 1989. At a second trial on December 11, 1991, she was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and later sentenced to 32-years-to-life in prison.
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to a temporary emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public, as seen in multiple countries listed below.
Gwynne Shotwell (née Rowley; born November 23, 1963) is an American businesswoman and engineer. She is the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, an American space transportation company, where she is responsible for day-to-day operations and company growth. As of 2020, she is listed as the 55th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255) (until 2016, found at 10 US Code, Chapter 15, §§ 331–335, renumbered to 10 USC, Chapter 13, §§ 251–255) that governs the ability of the President of the United States to deploy military troops within the United States to put down lawlessness, insurrection, and rebellion.