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AARP

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said it had more than 38 million members as of 2018. The magazine and bulletin it sends to its members are the two largest-circulation publications in the United States.

AARP was formed in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired educator from California, and Leonard Davis, who later founded Colonial Penn's insurance companies. It is an influential lobbying group in the United States. AARP sells paid memberships, and markets insurance and other services to its members.

Overview
AARP is a nonpartisan 501(c)(4) nonprofit that advocates for older Americans on a number of federal health and fiscal issues such as Medicare and Social Security,  and at the state and local level for better community healthcare services and lower utility rates. It fights age discrimination in the workforce, lobbies for lower prescription drug prices,   and educates seniors about consumer fraud through the AARP Fraud Watch Network.

AARP also advocates at the state and local level for better community healthcare services and lower utility rates. It has millions of volunteer activists and offices in every state, along with Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Through its affiliated organizations such as AARP Foundation, AARP helps seniors with legal assistance, tax preparation, job training  and personal finance.

Members receive AARP the Magazine and the AARP Bulletin, the top-circulating consumer publications in the country, along with special offers and discounts related to travel, restaurants, prescriptions, and more. A full AARP membership is available to those 50 and older; however, those under the age of 50 can also join.

AARP licenses its brand to certain products, including Medicare insurance with UnitedHealthcare. The organization is overseen by a volunteer board of directors.

According to its 2018 Consolidated Financial Statement, the largest sources of income were:
 * royalties for the rights to use AARP's intellectual property (name, logo, etc.) paid by commercial providers of products, services and discounts for AARP members $908,960,000;
 * membership dues $301,017,000;
 * advertisements placed in its publications $147,687,000; and
 * total operating revenue $1,648,795,000

20th century
AARP was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired public school teacher and principal in California.

Andrus had been an advocate for health insurance coverage for retired teachers. Volunteering with the California Retired Teachers Association (CRTA), Andrus sought out former teachers who were struggling on their $40/month state pensions. Her goal was to get them out of poverty and access to affordable health insurance.

In 1944, Andrus checked on a former Spanish teacher who was ill and found her living in a chicken coop. Like many other retirees at the time, her pension was not enough to afford adequate housing or healthcare. Before Medicare was enacted in 1965, no national program existed in the United States to provide health insurance to people aged 65 and older. At the same time, many states enforced mandatory retirement, forcing people to leave their jobs and forfeit health coverage. The poverty rate for Americans 65 and older was 35 percent higher than any other age group. Shocked by what she saw, Andrus helped the teacher get the care she needed and began searching for ways to improve the health and financial security of older adults.

In 1947, Andrus formed the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) to secure affordable group health coverage. She met with 42 private insurance companies who deemed adults over 65 to be "uninsurable" and was rejected each time. The policy that Andrus had in mind was one that covered individuals aged 65 and older, with no exclusions for pre-existing health conditions. Leonard Davis, an insurance broker from New York, offered to work with Andrus to develop a pilot program for New York retired teachers. The experiment was a financial success, and he and Andrus teamed up to establish a national version – the NRTA Health Plan insured by Continental Casualty Co. in 1955. In 1958, the American Association of Retired Persons Membership (AARP) was incorporated, and reached 130,000 in its first year.

The NRTA/AARP insurance model was the first in the United States, opening up a new insurance market for older Americans. AARP expanded beyond health insurance and began developing other benefits, programs, and services for its members, each tailored to the needs of people aged 55 and older and filling a gap in the marketplace. For example, she created one of the first modern retirement homes, Grey Gables, in Ojai, California, in 1954, designed to keep older residents healthy, active, and socially engaged.

Word about the NRTA Health Plan spread, and thousands of retired non-educators who also faced challenges finding health coverage contacted the NRTA about joining. In 1958, Andrus created the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) as a sister organization to NRTA. Through membership in AARP, the general population age 55 and older gained access to the insurance benefits previously limited to former teachers.

In 1958, AARP began publishing its magazine called Modern Maturity to spread the word about the association, keep members informed of its activities, and publicize issues affecting older adults.

National concern about pharmaceutical industry practices at this time prompted U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver (D-Tenn), who chaired the Senate Judiciary Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee, to lead a congressional investigation into prescription drug prices, which lasted from 1959 to 1962. Andrus testified four times during the investigation, and NRTA/AARP legislative director Ernest Gidding testified once.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation creating the first White House Conference on Aging. He named Andrus to the National Advisory Committee for the first conference, held in 1961. More than 2,500 delegates met in Washington, D.C. over four days to address challenges facing older adults such as poverty, housing, and healthcare, and develop policy recommendations for the administration. White House conferences on aging have been held every decade since the first and are credited with making contributions to U.S. aging policy, including laying the groundwork for Medicare.

At the first conference, AARP spotlighted a potential solution to the growing issue of older adults with mobility problems living independently. It constructed the House of Freedom in downtown Washington, D.C., the nation's first universal design home easily accessible by older adults and people with disabilities. It was built by AARP and the Douglas Fir Plywood Association and signaled the beginning of AARP's work to help older Americans remain independent in their own homes and neighborhoods for as long as they wanted.

By 1962, the combined membership of AARP and NRTA had grown to 400,000, making it one of the largest membership organizations in the United States.

In 1963, Leonard Davis bought out Continental Casualty's AARP/NRTA insurance policies and formed Colonial Penn, his own company, which became the sole provider of insurance to AARP/NRTA.

In 1968, AARP launched Tax-Aide, which matched low and moderate-income people with trained volunteers who provided free tax preparation and filing services.

As AARP grew, it expanded the range of benefits offered to its members. It established a travel service that took members on modestly priced domestic and international trips, created a retired senior volunteer program, and offered a range of discounts.

Increasingly, AARP's members were asking the organization to take on age discrimination in the marketplace. Hundreds of members wrote to AARP in the early years, explaining that auto insurers and rental companies were charging punishing rates for older drivers, classifying them as high risk and reckless just because of their age. AARP challenged the insurers and rental companies with research that demonstrated drivers over the age of 65 were among the safest.

In 1979, the organization began offering a driver safety course for any licensed driver, taught by volunteers. In 2016, the AARP Driver Safety Program taught 360,000 older drivers in classrooms and another 130,000 through its online course. Some who take the training receive discounts on their insurance premiums. In 1984, AARP licensed its brand name to affordable auto insurance that members could purchase and could not be canceled solely because of age.

In 1973, AARP created a charitable affiliate, the AARP Andrus Foundation, to award research grants in gerontology.

Andrus continued to run AARP until 1967, when she died of a heart attack at age 82. Today, the NRTA is a division within AARP. She wrote her final column for Modern Maturity four days before she died.

In 1975, AARP had over seven million members, making it one of the largest membership organizations in the country. In 1977, it enrolled its ten millionth member. By the end of the 1980s, membership nearly tripled to 33 million and AARP mailings were so large that the organization had its own zip code. It had tens of thousands of volunteers, the highest circulation magazine in the nation, and rising national awareness. In 1997, it topped Fortune's first annual list of the most powerful lobbying organizations.

In 1984, AARP reduced its membership age from 55 to 50. It began sending “birthday” cards and membership invitations to Americans who were approaching their 50th birthday.

During this phase of rapid growth for AARP, competing insurance providers entered the marketplace, selling plans tailored to retired Americans. With more competition, the quality of Colonial Penn's offerings and the nature of AARP's relationship with Colonial Penn came into question.

In 1982, NRTA formally merged with AARP. In 1988, it formed a career planning workshop for older Americans who were unemployed and introduced a series of AARP mutual funds in 1997.

By the mid-1990s, telemarketing fraud had become pervasive and cost consumers more than $40 billion a year. A 1995 AARP survey found that more than half of all victims were aged 50 or older, a group that comprised less than one-third of the U.S. population. In 1995, working with the National Association of Attorneys General and the FBI, AARP helped expose a series of boiler room operations targeting thousands of potential phone fraud victims across the country. Acting as victims, AARP members volunteered to collect evidence for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Operation Senior Sentinel targeting illegal telemarketers. In 1996, 78 million baby boomers began turning 50, contributing to AARP's growth.

In 1999, the organization changed its name from American Association of Retired Persons to AARP, dropping the word “retirement.” At the time, a third of AARP's members were still in the workforce. AARP no longer requires that members be retired, and there are no longer any age restrictions even for full membership.

21st century
Recognizing the changing circumstances of its membership, AARP began offering more work-related tools and resources and ramped up its advocacy against age discrimination in the workplace. Beginning in 2009, AARP backed the “Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act” (POWADA), which aims to restore fairness for workers aged 40 and over by treating age discrimination as seriously as other forms of workplace discrimination. As of 2020, POWADA has been passed by the House of Representatives and is with the Senate.

In 2017, the organization created an online jobs board to connect job seekers over 50 with employers. AARP also created an employer pledge program, where more than 1,000 employers—including Google and CVS—promised to adhere to a set of age-friendly hiring and employment practices.

In 2018, AARP Foundation lawyers represented two employees of the Ohio State University who were forced out of their jobs because of their age. This action resulted in a settlement which helped the employees regain their positions, receive back pay, and required the university to hold training sessions with its staff on preventing age bias.

AARP has advocated for the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) since its passage in 1967, which protects workers at or over the age of 40 from bias in the workplace.

Economic security
Facing growing pension obligations and high annual health cost increases, American businesses in the 2000s began scaling back their retirement and health benefits to employees. While 35 percent of private-sector workers had a defined benefit pension in the 1990s, only 18 percent did in 2013. Beginning in 2004, AARP opposed attempts to undermine the guaranteed nature of the Social Security program through privatization or diverting Social Security payroll taxes to private accounts.

AARP's research indicates that  nearly half (57 million) of American workers have no access to a retirement savings plan through their employers. Through its state offices, the organization began advocating individual states to enact work and save programs, which made it easier for businesses to create a private retirement savings account for employees. As of 2020, eighteen  states had signed Work and Save programs into law.

Health care
Continuing a theme that began at its founding, AARP during this period used its lobbying efforts to advocate against reductions in Medicare benefits and to protect the federal program that offered health coverage to older Americans.

In 2003, AARP supported legislation proposed by Republican President George W. Bush that included partial coverage for prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, among other things. Democratic congressional leaders, seeking a more generous benefit, strongly opposed the bill and prompted thousands of AARP members to quit in protest. Six years later, in 2009, AARP endorsed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) proposed by Democratic President Barack Obama, which protected those with pre-existing health conditions, limited the amount that insurance companies could charge because of age, provided tax credits, and improved drug coverage in Medicare. At that time, more than 50 million Americans were without health insurance coverage at some point during the year. The ACA, which passed a year later, was opposed by Republicans and AARP's support prompted thousands of members to leave the organization.

In 2019, with the price of prescription drugs far outpacing inflation, AARP began lobbying for legislative and industry changes that would lower the price of prescription medications. AARP supported a bipartisan bill by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) that set caps on drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and increased pressure on drug companies to lower prices.

That year, AARP also supported the Trump administration's goal of allowing Americans to import lower-cost drugs from other countries and in 2021, the organization backed a House Democratic bill that, among other things, would allow Medicare to use its bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices with manufacturers. AARP backed legislation proposed by President Biden and passed by Congress in 2022 that would enable Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices, set caps on out-of-pocket drug spending by those on Medicare and capped the price for insulin at $35.

Brain health
In 2016, the organization created Staying Sharp, a program which allowed people to evaluate their brain health through a scientifically based assessment and receive tips for slowing cognitive decline. In 2018, AARP invested $60 million in the Dementia Discovery Fund, which supports research into diagnosis, treatments, and cures for dementia.

Health care
AARP has been active in healthcare policy debates since the 1960s. Its focus areas have included Medicare, affordable health insurance, and lower prescription drug costs and its recent engagement is a reflection of this long-standing involvement.

Medicare
AARP testified before Congress in support of the Older Americans Act and the amendments to Social Security that created the Medicare Program, which President Johnson enacted into law in 1965.

AARP's public stances influenced the United States Congress' passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which created Medicare Part D, in 2003, and also influenced Congress by resisting changes to Social Security in 2005. President George W. Bush called the Medicare legislation “the greatest advance in health care coverage for America's seniors since the founding of Medicare.” In 2007, AARP launched the “Divided We Fail” campaign with the Business Roundtable, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Service Employees International Union. The campaign urged presidential candidates in both major parties to commit to making health insurance coverage more affordable and to strengthen Social Security.

Lower prescription drug costs
As early as 1959, AARP began advocating for lower prescription drug costs to ease the burden on older consumers. Founder Ethel Percy Andrus testified during the 1962 Senate hearings on pharmaceutical industry pricing practices. “Our concern is relief from suffering and improvement of health. We feel that 15 to 20 percent profit earned by several large manufacturers is detrimental to this concern,” Andrus told the committee in 1962. AARP regularly publishes Rx Price Watch Reports noting pricing trends in popular drugs for seniors.

From 2018 to 2019, AARP helped pass more than 35 laws aimed at lowering drug prices at the local level.

In early 2017, AARP strongly opposed the American Health Care Act of 2017, saying that older Americans would be unfairly burdened with higher premiums and smaller tax credits.

In 2019, AARP mounted a multi-million dollar campaign against the pharmaceutical industry and its high drug prices called “Stop Rx Greed” and supported a bipartisan bill by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) that set caps on drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and increased pressure on drug companies to lower prices. In 2021, AARP launched the “Fair Rx Prices Now!” Campaign to support legislation that would enable the Medicare Program to negotiate prices with drug companies as a means of lowering prices for consumers, limit price increases for certain drugs and cap out-of-pocket spending by Medicare beneficiaries.

AARP pushed Congress to include drug pricing reform in the proposed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, ran ads countering drug industry claims and mobilized its members to lobby their representatives to pass the bill. The Act was signed into law in August 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act requires HHS, for the first time, to negotiate prices with drug makers for many of the most expensive drugs covered under Medicare. It also penalizes drug companies that raise prices more than the rate of inflation and sets a cap of $2,000 on annual out-of-pocket drug spending for Medicare's more than 63 million beneficiaries beginning in 2025. These provisions in the act could be life-changing for older Americans who rely on high-priced prescription drugs, saving some thousands of dollars a year.

In a 2014 study conducted by AARP, 93% of people identified maintaining brain health as a high priority as they age. AARP created a brain health assessment and program called Staying Sharp and it formed the Global Council on Brain Health – an independent, international group of brain health experts and researchers that publishes findings such as the impact of music on brain health. In 2018, AARP donated $60 million to the Dementia Discovery Fund for research into the causes and treatments of Alzheimer's Disease.

In 2022, AARP held “The World’s Most Expensive Tailgate” to highlight problems with rising drug prices. The organization shared what popular tailgate items would cost if their prices had increased at the same rate as drug prices over the last 15 years.

Health insurance
Approximately seven million people have AARP-branded health insurance, including drug coverage and Medigap, as of April 2007 and the association earns more income from selling insurance to members its businesses through licensing arrangements than from membership dues.

While AARP is not an insurer, it allows its name to be used by insurance companies in the sale of products, for which it is paid a commission.

At times, congressional members have accused AARP of having a conflict of interest in taking sides over health insurance debates. AARP licenses its brand to United Healthcare which sells Medigap policies. As of October 2009, health care reform contained a proposal to trim an associated program Medicare Advantage, which was expected to increase demand for Medigap policies.

Social Security
AARP has long been an advocate for preserving Social Security as a safety net for older Americans. Since March 2012, AARP's "You've Earned a Say" campaign has sought to foster nonpartisan conversations about how to strengthen Social Security and Medicare. The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch reported: "AARP took the debate about Medicare and Social Security from what it called behind closed doors in Washington to a series of town hall meetings around the country to make sure retirees have a voice in the discussion."

In 2023, AARP started campaigning for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to receive a $1.4 billion increase in funding to improve its "woeful" customer service. The AARP also called for the SSA to "step up non-monetary measures to improve customer service and quality," stating that all issues won't be resolved with more funding alone.

In the summer of 2023, AARP held a series of nationwide forums to help educate people about social security, and debunk social security myths. The forum in Richmond was held alongside The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM).

Age discrimination
AARP advocated for the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. A 2020 joint project with The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that age discrimination cost the U.S. $850 billion in lost gross domestic product in 2018. In 2020, AARP supported the passage of the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA), which aimed to restore protections under the Age Discrimination Employment Act that were adversely affected by a 2009 Supreme Court decision.

In 2018, AARP worked to change how older people are portrayed in media and advertising to cut down on age discrimination. The organization spoke against stock photos that portray people that are 50+ as confused or incapable, and pressed advertising agencies and their clients to update their portrayals of ageing. AARP worked with Getty Images to introduce 1,400 images of older people running businesses, playing sports, and spending time with younger generations. The photos were part of the Disrupt Aging Collection.

In 2018  the organization also spoke out against employers who use age-specific targeting features on online platforms and thereby deny all age groups the ability to see the job opportunities.

The AARP Employer Pledge program is for employers who publicly pledge to work to end ageism. To join the program, employers must not have any discrimination lawsuits within the past five years, and must agree to recruit across diverse age groups and consider all applications equally. In 2022, there were over 1,000 signees, including Humana, Microsoft, Marriott International, and McDonald's.

Consumer fraud protection
In 2017 the AARP and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched Operation Protect Veterans. This national campaign uses local outreach, ads, emails, social media, a website and phone calls to warn the military about scams.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network holds “reverse boiler rooms” to help warn people about consumer scams and teach them how to protect themselves. During these events, AARP volunteers call local residents to make them aware of fraud risks. Similar AARP events include Tip-Offs to Rip-Offs and the Scam Jam.

Local advocacy
AARP also advocates on the state and local levels through its offices around the country.

In New York, AARP helped achieve the following reforms: Care Act, Assisted Living protections, Anti Predatory Lending, Paid Family Leave, and Affordable Housing.

In 2022, AARP and others brought a class action lawsuit against Alden Group, a healthcare provider based in Illinois. AARP said that Alden's nursing facilities were intentionally understaffed, which led to neglect and unfair business practices.

AARP also advocates locally against high-rising utility rates, for example, in Oklahoma, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Florida.

Programs and offerings
AARP also provides several non-advocacy support programs for people older than 50. These include the following:

Virtual Community Center
AARP's Virtual Community Center provides digital literacy courses, exercise classes, caregiving classes, and university lectures.

AARP Driver Safety
In 1979, AARP introduced the nation's first driver safety course geared towards older adults. AARP Driver Safety, which can be completed in a classroom setting or online, teaches defensive driving techniques and provides "added information on age-related cognitive and physical changes that affect driving". The course is instructed and promoted by volunteers throughout the U.S.

In addition to course fees, the program is supported by a grant from the automobile manufacturer, Toyota. Over a half million drivers completed the course in 2012 and over 15 million people completed the courses since 1979.

AARP publications and broadcasts
AARP The Magazine, with a circulation of approximately 37 million, and the AARP Bulletin with 30 million as of 2016, are the two largest-circulation publications in the United States. AARP The Magazine (known until 2002 as Modern Maturity), is a lifestyle magazine for people 50+. Established in 1958, the magazine is distributed bi-monthly to AARP members. Other publications include The Journal and several newsletters. In 2018, the digital publication titled Sisters from AARP was launched, aimed at African American women.

The organization also produces radio programs and has a book division.

AARP en Español is AARP's Spanish-language multimedia platform. Offerings include a Spanish-language website, a Spanish-language YouTube channel, and informational resources.

Awards
AARP's Purpose Prize is awarded to people 50 and older who are making a social impact. The award was started in 2005 by CoGenerate and transferred to AARP in 2016.

The Movies for Grownups Awards "recognizes achievements of those in the entertainment industry age 50 and over, and the films that speak to that vast audience", as well as supports the overall goals of the AARP. Past recipients include Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Jeff Bridges, Viola Davis, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, and Lily Tomlin.

Innovation Labs
The AARP Innovation Labs works to identify products and services that can help the aging.

Tax Aide
AARP Foundation's Tax Aide provides free tax assistance through trained and IRS-certified tax preparers. Tax Aide operates nationwide.

The Longevity Economy Outlook
“The Longevity Economy Outlook: How people age 50 and older are fueling economic growth, stimulating jobs, and creating opportunities for all” is a 2019 report jointly released by AARP and The Economist Intelligence Unit. The report focuses on the impact of the 50-plus population on the economy, and uses a forecasting model from REMI as well as spending, workforce, and tax contribution data. It also includes the estimated economic value of unpaid activities like volunteering and caregiving. This report was an update of a 2013 study.

In 2020, the Global Longevity Economy Outlook was published. It focused on how much older adults contributed to the global gross domestic product.

Telephone "town halls"
During the coronavirus pandemic, AARP hosted state and national telephone town halls to share information about the virus, vaccines, and boosters, as well as other relevant topics such as mental and financial challenges for those aged fifty-plus, nursing homes, and voting procedures.

Affiliates
AARP has several affiliated organizations, including:
 * AARP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity that helps people over age 50 who are socioeconomically disadvantaged; it includes:
 * AARP Experience Corps, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity that encourages people over age 50 to mentor and tutor school children
 * AARP Institute, a non-profit charity that holds some of AARP's charitable gift annuity funds
 * AARP Services, Inc., a for-profit corporation that provides quality control and research on new AARP products.
 * Legal Counsel for the Elderly, a 501(c)(3) charity that provides legal aid to seniors in the Washington, D.C.
 * AARP Financial Services Corporation, a for-profit corporation that holds AARP's real estate.
 * AARP Insurance Plan, an organization that runs some of AARP's group health insurance policies.

Criticism
In 2004, BusinessWeek said questions have arisen in the past about whether AARP's commercial interests may conflict with those of its membership, and characterizes many of the funds and insurance policies that AARP markets as providing considerably less benefit than seniors could get on their own.

In a November 2008 editorial, The Des Moines Register and the Canada Free Press called AARP a lobbying group masquerading as a non-profit, meanwhile charging high membership fees and selling expensive private health care plans.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in 2008 that the "limited benefit" insurance plans offered by AARP through UnitedHealth provided inadequate coverage and were marketed deceptively. One plan offered $5,000 for surgery that may cost two or three times that amount.

Criticism has been leveled at the salaries that AARP staff earn, and the use of first-class and business-class travel for short trips. According to AARP's 2014 IRS annual return, Chief Executive Officer Addison B. Rand received $1,698,289 of salary and benefits from AARP and its subsidiaries. Board members, officers, and key employees flew first class on flights longer than five hours unless business class was available. The Chief Executive Officer flew first-class on flights longer than 90 minutes. AARP reported that it had spent $8,694,890 on the compensation of its officers, directors, and key employees during 2014.

Senate investigation
In 1995, Senator Alan K. Simpson launched an investigation into AARP's books, financial interests, and hiring practices. He described AARP as "a vast empire that has figured out how to gimmick the nonprofit laws" describing the organization as "33 million people paying $8 dues, bound together by a common love of airline discounts and automobile discounts and pharmacy discounts," and that members "haven't the slightest idea what the organization is asking for."

The investigations did not reveal sufficient evidence to change the organization's status.

Class action lawsuits
In 2018 and 2019, several class action lawsuits were filed against AARP regarding insurance policies. One lawsuit is over undisclosed licensing revenue that AARP earned from AARP-branded Medigap insurance policies. Another lawsuit claims that AARP acted as an insurance agent or an insurance broker, neither of which AARP is licensed to be, for AARP-branded Medigap insurance policies. In another lawsuit, the plaintiff said that AARP should not have used its status to claim the AARP-branded insurance policies were "best for seniors".

All the lawsuits were dismissed.

title: AARP


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Laayoune

Laayoune or El Aaiún (العيون) is the largest city of the disputed territory named Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is de facto under Moroccan administration as occupied territory. The modern city is thought to have been founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938. From 1958, it became the administrative capital of the Spanish Sahara, administered by the Governor General of Spanish West Africa.

In 2023, Laayoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, it is still under the supervision of MINURSO, an UN mission.

The town is located south of the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra, where the old lower town constructed by Spanish colonists is located. The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral was constructed during the Spanish period and is still active with a few Catholic missionaries.

History
Laayoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Maghrebi Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which could mean "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.

The city was founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938 as a small military outpost, but quickly became the Spanish Sahara's administrative and political centre. The location was chosen for two reasons: the presence of water and the strategic military position the site offered. Its position on the banks of the Saguia el-Hamra river enabled good communication with the harbors of Tarfaya and Boujdour. The city underwent a period of rapid economic growth in the 1940s due to the discovery of vast deposits of phosphates at the Bou Craa site fuelling a phosphate industry.

The town was the scene of the Zemla Intifada that occurred on June 17, 1970, that culminated in a massacre, resulting in the deaths ranging from 2 to 11 people and hundreds injured.

After the Spanish withdrew in 1975, Laayoune, along with much of the rest of the Western Sahara, was annexed by Morocco. Since then, large numbers of Moroccans have moved to the city, and now outnumber the indigenous Sahrawis, who have gradually given up their traditional nomadic lifestyles.

The city has continued to develop rapidly and benefits of a desalinization plant. The city's rate of urbanization continues to outpace that of Morocco, though on most indicators of human development, it lags behind southern Morocco.

Climate
Laayoune has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), moderated by the Canary Current, with an average annual temperature just over 21 °C.

Climate change
A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5-3 C-change by 2100, the climate of Laayoune in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Alexandria. The annual temperature would increase by 1 C-change, and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.8 C-change, while the temperature of the coldest month would decrease by 0.1 C-change. According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 C-change, which closely matches RCP 4.5.

Demographics
Laayoune has a population of 271,344 and is the largest city in Western Sahara.

Economy and status
The city is a hub for fishing and for phosphate mining in the region. In 2010, the country was negotiating a new fishing agreement with Europe over offshore fishing.

Sport
The football club of the city is Jeunesse Massira. The club plays in the Moroccan Second Division, the second highest football league in the country. Jeunesse Massira uses Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf for training and games.

Transport
Laayoune is served by the international Hassan I Airport.

Education
French school associated to the Alliance française was established in 2018, the city also includes a Spanish international school, Colegio Español La Paz, owned by the Spanish government.

Diplomatic missions
On 18 December 2019, Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in support of Moroccan claims to the region. In January 2020, Gabon opened also a general consulate. Later on, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Eswatini, Zambia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, also opened consulates in the city.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Laayoune


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Smara

Smara (السمارة as-Samāra, also romanized Semara; Esmara) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station.

History
The largest city in its province, Smara, was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. In the center of the city the remains of a stone fortress can be found, the Zawiy Maalainin, which enclosed a mosque. The Maalainin lived there from 1830 until 1912. It was made a capital and religious center in 1902 by shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn, in what was then Spanish Sahara. The location of the city was intended to ensure its becoming a caravan trade hub in the sparsely populated Sahara desert. The enlargement of Smara was carried out by local Sahrawis as well as craftsmen sent by the sultan Hassan I. In 1902, shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn moved to Smara and declared it his holy capital. Among other things, he created an important Islamic library, and the town became a center of religious learning.

In 1904 the shaykh declared himself an imam and called for holy war (jihad) against French colonialism, which was increasingly pressing into the Sahara at this time. During the campaign against Ma al-'Aynayn, Smara was sacked almost completely in 1913 by the French Army, and its library destroyed. The town was then handed over to the Spanish. In 1934 the town was once again destroyed after Sahrawi rebellions against the Spanish occupation.

The Vieuchange brothers
Reaching Ma el Ainain's mysterious Smara was the goal of the brothers Vieuchange, early 20th-century French writers and romantics. Michel Vieuchange's painful journey through the rebel-held Sahrawi lands in 1930 disguised as a Berber tribeswoman, eventually reaching Smara on 1 November 1930, and the dysentery that led to his death on the return, is documented in his journals. Comprising seven notebooks and more than 200 photographs, the account was published posthumously in 1932 as Smara: The Forbidden City (1932) by his brother Jean and became a bestseller.

After 1975
In 1975, Morocco took control of Saguia Elhamra as Spain withdrew, according to the Madrid Accords. The Moroccan army took the city from the Polisario Front in 1976. Near Tindouf, Algeria, there still exists a Sahrawi refugee camp named after Smara. It is one of the four camps of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic administration in Algeria.

The town is controlled by the Moroccan authorities, as part of what the government terms its Southern Provinces, and enclosed by a section of the Moroccan Wall.

Transport
CTM, Supratours and Satas companies have daily travels from Smara to Agadir. Supratours have daily travel from Smara to Laayoune.

Notable people
Brahim Ghali, 3rd President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Notes and sources

 * Notes

 * Sources

title: Smara


text:
User talk:Wikyd

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title: User talk:Wikyd


text:
Human T-lymphotropic virus 1

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 or human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-I), also called the adult T-cell lymphoma virus type 1, is a retrovirus of the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) family.

Most people with HTLV-1 infection do not appear to develop health conditions that can be directly linked to the infection. However, there is a subgroup of people who experience severe complications. The most well characterized are adult T-cell lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/Tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), both of which are only diagnosed in individuals testing positive to HTLV-1 infection. The estimated lifetime risk of ATL among people with HTLV-1 infection is approximately 5%, while that of HAM/TSP is approximately 2%.

In 1977, Adult T-cell lymphoma (ATL) was first described in a case series of individuals from Japan. The symptoms of ATL were different from other lymphomas known at the time. The common birthplace shared amongst most of the ATL patients was suggestive of an infectious cause, referred to as ATLV. Strikingly, ATLV had the transforming activity in vitro. These studies established that HTLV-1 was the causitive agent of ATL. The retrovirus is now generally called HTLV-I because later studies proved that ATLV is the same as the firstly identified human retrovirus called HTLV discovered by Bernard Poiesz and Francis Ruscetti and their co-workers in the laboratory of Robert C. Gallo at the National Cancer Institute. Persistent lifelong infection is established when HTLV-1 integrates into the host genome as a provirus. A patient infected with HTLV-1 can be diagnosed when antibodies against HTLV-1 are detected in the serum.

Virology
HTLV-1 is a retrovirus belonging to the family retroviridae and the genus deltaretrovirus. It has a positive-sense RNA genome that is reverse transcribed into DNA and then integrated into the cellular DNA. Once integrated, HTLV-1 continues to exist only as a provirus which can spread from cell to cell through a viral synapse. Few, if any, free virions are produced and there is usually no detectable virus in the blood plasma though the virus is present in genital secretions. Like HIV, HTLV-1 predominantly infects CD4+ T cells.

The viral RNA is packed into the icosahedral capsid which is contained inside the protein inner envelope. The lipid outer envelope is of host cell origin but contains viral transmembrane and surface proteins. The virion is spherical in shape with a diameter of about 100 nm.

HTLV-1 is genetically classified into seven subtypes, each defined by a unique geographic distribution influenced by population migration. The most globally widespread is the cosmopolitan subtype A, which further branches into several subgroups: transcontinental, Japanese, West African, North African, Senegalese, and Afro-Peruvian. While subtypes B, D, E, F, and G are localized to distinct regions in Africa, subtype C is predominant in Australia and Oceania.

HTLV-1 is believed to have originated from the simian T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (STLV-1), a retrovirus prevalent among numerous nonhuman primates in intertropical Africa. This theory is supported by the significant genetic diversity of HTLV-1 subtypes in Africa, potentially arising from repeated zoonotic transmissions during human interactions with STLV-1 endemic nonhuman primates. This correlation is further reinforced by the observation that individuals bitten by nonhuman primates exhibit HTLV-1 strains with sequences remarkably homologous to the STLV-1 found in local primate species.

Epidemiology
The global distribution of HTLV-I is highly heterogeneous, with focal occurrence in diverse regions. Within areas where HTLV-I is found, its occurrence varies considerably, with endemic clusters often situated near populations with lower prevalence. This pattern might be influenced by the founder effect, suggesting prolonged viral transmission within isolated groups, but this theory warrants further investigation. Consistent findings reveal that HTLV-1 prevalence increases with age and is usually higher in adult females than males. Areas broadly regarded as having endemic regions include Japan, Iran, the Americas, the Caribbean, Melanesia, Central and West Africa, and Australia. Globally, there remains a lack of robust data from populous countries like India and Nigeria and most of North and East Africa. As such, current global prevalence estimates, which are based on known endemic regions, likely underestimate the true global prevalence.

In Australia, HTLV-I has notably high prevalence among Aboriginal communities in Central Australia. Community-based cross-sectional studies from Central Australia report HTLV-1 prevalences exceeding 30%, representing the highest reported prevalence for any population worldwide. In Taiwan, in Iran, and in Fujian (a Chinese province near Taiwan) the prevalence is 0.1–1%. The infection rate is about 1% in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, where the genotype C predominates. In Europe HTLV-1 is uncommon, although it is present in some populations, generally people who have migrated from known endemic regions. In the Americas HTLV-1 is found in some Indigenous populations and descendants of African ancestry from where it is thought to have originated. Prevalence ranges from 0.1 to 1%. In Africa the prevalence is not well known, but it is about 1% in some countries.

HTLV-I infection in the United States appears to be about half as prevalent among IV drug users and about one-tenth as prevalent in the population at large as HIV infection. Although little serologic data exist, the prevalence of infection is thought to be highest among blacks living in the Southeast. A prevalence rate of 30% has been found among black intravenous drug users in New Jersey, and a rate of 49% has been found in a similar group in New Orleans.

It is also high among the Inuit of Northern Canada, in Japan, northeastern Iran, Peru, the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador, and the Caribbean.

Transmission
HTLV-1 has three main routes of transmission. Vertical transmission is most common, through which an infected mother transmits the virus to her child. Interestingly, the risk to a fetus while inside the womb is minimal, given the virtual absence of viral particles in human plasma. Most vertical infection occurs through breastfeeding. About 25% of infants who are breastfed by infected mothers are infected, while less than 5% of children born to but not breastfed by infected mothers are infected. Sexual transmission is second-most common, whereby an individual infects another through exchange of bodily fluids. Some evidence has suggested that male-to-female transmission is more efficient than female-to-male transmission. For example, one study in Japan found a 61% transmission rate for males to females vs. a less than 1% rate for females to males. Least common is parenteral transmission through blood transfusion, with an infection rate of 44-63% estimated in one study, and needle sharing among intravenous drug users. With proper prophylaxis (e.g. breastfeeding counseling for mothers, condom use, and donor blood screening), rates of transmission can be effectively reduced. The importance of the various routes of transmission is believed to vary geographically. The research in discordant couples showed that probability of sexual transmission is about 0.9 per 100 person-years.
 * In Japan, the geographic clustering of infections suggest that the virus is more dependent on mother-to-child transmission.
 * In the Caribbean, the geographic distribution of the virus is more uniform, and it is more common among those with many sexual partners, indicating that sexual transmission is more common.

Tropism
The term viral tropism refers to which cell types HTLV-I infects. Although HTLV-1 is primarily found in CD4+ T cells, other cell types in the peripheral blood of infected individuals have been found to contain HTLV-1, including CD8+ T cells, dendritic cells and B cells. HTLV-I entry is mediated through interaction of the surface unit of the virion envelope glycoprotein (SU) with its cellular receptor GLUT1, a glucose transporter, on target cells.

Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma
HTLV-1 is also associated with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and has been quite well studied in Japan. The time between infection and onset of cancer also varies geographically. It is believed to be about sixty years in Japan and less than forty years in the Caribbean. The cancer is thought to be due to the pro-oncogenic effect of viral RNA incorporated into host lymphocyte DNA. Chronic stimulation of the lymphocytes at the cytokine level may play a role in the development of the malignancy. The lymphoma ranges from a very indolent and slowly progressive type to a very aggressive and nearly uniformly lethal proliferative type.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
There is some evidence that HTLV-1 is a causative agent of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

HTLV myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis
HTLV-1 is also associated with a progressive demyelinating upper motor neuron disease known as HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), characterized by sensory and motor deficits, particularly of the lower extremities, incontinence and impotence. Only 0.3 to 4% of infected individuals develop HAM/TSP, but this will vary from one geographic location to another.

Signs and symptoms of HTLV myelopathy include: Other neurologic findings that may be found in HTLV include:
 * Motor and sensory changes in the extremities
 * Spastic gait in combination with weakness of the lower limbs
 * Clonus
 * Bladder dysfunction (neurogenic bladder) and bladder cancer
 * Mild cognitive impairment
 * Erectile dysfunction

Arthropathy
HTLV-1 is associated with a rheumatoid-like arthropathy, although the evidence is contradictory. In these cases patients have a negative rheumatoid factor.

Uveitis
Studies from Japan demonstrated that HTLV-1 infection may be associated with an intermediate uveitis. At onset the patients present with blurred vision and floaters. The prognosis is favorable—the condition usually resolves within weeks.

Opportunistic infections
Individuals infected with HTLV-1 are at risk for opportunistic infections—diseases not caused by the virus itself, but by alterations in the host's immune functions.

HTLV-1, unlike the distantly related retrovirus HIV, has an immunostimulating effect which actually becomes immunosuppressive. The virus activates a subset of T-helper cells called Th1 cells. The result is a proliferation of Th1 cells and overproduction of Th1 related cytokines (mainly IFN-γ and TNF-α). Feedback mechanisms of these cytokines cause a suppression of the Th2 lymphocytes and a reduction of Th2 cytokine production (mainly IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and IL-13). The result is a reduction in the ability of the infected host to mount an adequate immune response to invading organisms that require a predominantly Th2 dependent response (these include parasitic infections and production of mucosal and humoral antibodies).

In the central Australian Aboriginal population, HTLV-1 is thought to be related to their extremely high rate of death from sepsis. It is also particularly associated with bronchiectasis, a chronic lung condition predisposing to recurrent pneumonia. It is also associated with chronic infected dermatitis, often superinfected with Staphylococcus aureus and a severe form of Strongyloides stercoralis infection called hyper-infestation which may lead to death from polymicrobial sepsis. HTLV-1 infection has also been associated with Tuberculosis.

Treatment
Treatment of opportunistic infections varies depending on the type of disease and ranges from careful observation to aggressive chemotherapy and antiretroviral agents. Adult T cell lymphoma is a common complication of HTLV infection and requires aggressive chemotherapy, typically R-CHOP. Other treatments for ATL in HTLV infected patients include interferon alpha, zidovudine with interferon alpha and CHOP with arsenic trioxide. Treatments for HTLV myelopathy are even more limited and focus mainly on symptomatic therapy. Therapies studied include corticosteroids, plasmapheresis, cyclophosphamide, and interferon, which may produce a temporary symptomatic improvement in myelopathy symptoms.

Valproic acid has been studied to determine if it might slow the progression of HTLV disease by reducing viral load. Although in one human study it was effective in reducing viral load, there did not appear to be a clinical benefit. Recently however, a study of valproic acid combined with zidovudine showed a major decrease in the viral load of baboons infected with HTLV-1. It is important to monitor HTLV patients for opportunistic infections such as cytomegalovirus, histoplasmosis, scabies, pneumocystis pneumonia, and staphylococcal infections. HIV testing should also be performed, as some patients may be co-infected with both viruses.

Allogenic bone marrow transplantation has been investigated in the treatment of HTLV-1 disease with varied results. One case report describes an HTLV-1 infected woman who developed chronic refractory eczema, corneal injury and adult T cell leukemia. She was subsequently treated with allogenic stem cell transplantation and had complete resolution of symptoms. One year post-transplant, she has had no recurrence of any symptoms, and furthermore has had a decrease in her proviral load.

title: Human T-lymphotropic virus 1


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Dakhla, Western Sahara

Dakhla (الداخلة) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative region Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. It has a population of 106,277 and is on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast, the Río de Oro Peninsula, about 550 km south of Laayoune.

Early history
Rio de Oro was settled in the twelfth century by the Oulad Delim, an Arab Bedouin tribe of South Arabian descent that emigrated from Yemen. Dakhla was expanded by Spanish settlers during the expansion of their empire. The Spanish interest in the desert coast of Western Africa's Sahara arose as the result of fishing carried out from the nearby Canary Islands by Spanish fishers and as a result of the Barbary pirates menace.

Spanish fishers were seal fur hunters, traders, and whalers along the Saharan coast from Dakhla to Cabo Blanco from 1500 to the present, engaging in whaling for Humpback whales and their calves, mostly around Cape Verde, and the Gulf of Guinea in Annobón, São Tomé and Príncipe islands through 1940. These fishing activities had a negative impact on wildlife, causing the disappearance or endangering of many species, particularly marine mammals and birds.

Spanish colonization
The Spaniards established whaling stations with some cod fishing and trading. In 1881, a dock was anchored off the coast of the Río de Oro Peninsula to support the work of the Canarian fishing fleet. However, it was not until 1884 that Spain formally founded the watering place as Villa Cisneros, in the settlement dated in 1502 by Papal bull. It was included in the enclaves conceded to the Spanish to the east of the Azores islands. Upon arriving in Rio de Oro in 1884 to establish their first coastal factories, the Spanish were forced to deal with the Oulad Delim, a Sahrawi Arab tribe that controlled the entirety of Rio de Oro and a strip of land in Mauritania extending from Nouadhibou to Idjlil. In 1884, the settlement of Villa Cisneros was promoted by the Spanish Society of Africanists and funded by the government of Canovas del Castillo. In the same year, the Oulad Delim attacked the trading post and looted its stores before the Spanish issued a royal decree that placed the coast from Cape Bojador to Cape Blanc under Spanish colonization. By 1886, Spanish colonial authority was extended 150 miles inland. The Spanish reached an agreement with a sheikh of the local Oulad Delim two years later. The Spanish military, along with the Spanish Africanist Emilio Bonelli, claimed the coast between Cape Bojador and Cabo Blanco for Spain, founding three settlements on the Saharan coast: one in Villa Cisneros, named in honour of Francisco Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros (1436–1517), the Spanish prelate who was the Grand Inquisitor during the Spanish Inquisition; and another in Cabo Blanco for seal hunting, which was given the name of Medina Gatell; and another in Angra de Cintra with the name of Puerto Badia, in honour of the Arabist and adventurer Domingo Badia. Bonelli got the native inhabitants of the peninsula de Río de Oro to sign an agreement that placed them under the "protection" of the Kingdom of Spain. Due to the presence of the three new settlements, in December 1884 the Spanish Government officially informed the main colonial powers assembled at the Berlin Conference that the Spanish Crown was in possession of the territory lying between Cape Bojador and Cape Blanco.

During the colonial period, Spanish authorities made Dakhla the capital of the province of Río de Oro, one of the two regions of what was known as Spanish Sahara. They built a military fortress and a modern Catholic church. A prison camp also existed at the fort during the Spanish Civil War at which writers such as Pedro García Cabrera were imprisoned. During the 1960s, the Francoist State also built Dakhla Airport, one of the three paved airports in Western Sahara. It was from Dakhla, then known as Villa Cisneros, that on 12 January 1976, General Gomez de Salazar became the last Spanish soldier to depart what until that moment had been the colony of the Spanish Sahara; faced with Moroccan and Mauritanian pressure, Spanish authorities decided to give up the territory peacefully, instead of undertaking a fight that they believed they could win but would have cost many lives on all sides. Between 1975 and 1979, Dakhla was the provincial capital of the Mauritanian province of Tiris al-Gharbiyya, as Mauritania annexed the southern portion of Western Sahara. Dakhla Airport is used as a civilian airport and by Royal Air Maroc. The 3000 m runway can accommodate a Boeing 737 or smaller aircraft. The passenger terminal covers 670 m2 and is capable of handling up to 55,000 passengers per year.

Moroccan occupation
Dakhla was occupied by Spain from the late 19th century to 1975, when power was then relinquished to a joint administration between Morocco and Mauritania. There was a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire in 1991, but as recently as 2006, most UN member states have refused to recognise Moroccan sovereignty in the area.

In 2020, The Gambia, Guinea, Djibouti, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo opened consulates in Dakhla.

Tourism and sports

Dakhla's main economic activity is fishing and tourism. In recent years the town has become a centre for aquatic sports, such as kitesurfing, windsurfing and surf casting, and is known as a centre for water sports.

Golfo de Cintra and the Mauritanian Banc d'Arguin National Park are located in the south.

Oil
A United States firm Kosmos Energy and its United Kingdom counterpart Cairn Energy began searching for oil in Western Sahara in early 2015.

Oyster industry
Oyster farming by hand is a traditional practice in Dakhla. Oysters are first sold to people and businesses in Dakhla, then to restaurants in cities like Marrakesh or Casablanca, and then any left are sold to Europe. In April 2015, Vice Media reported that oysters had recently begun to be exported to high-end European restaurants.

Climate
Dakhla has a mild desert climate (BWh) according to the Köppen climate classification. Dakhla receives an average 33 mm of precipitation per year. The temperature averages around 17.4 C during January, Dakhla's coldest month and around 23.0 C during September, its warmest month. The temperature seems to be moderated by the Canary Current.

Nature and ecology

Like most areas in Western Sahara, Dakhla and vicinity areas are very poor in vegetation and are mostly covered by the Sahara Desert. Unlike on land however, sea waters are or had been very rich in sea life due to the highly productive Current System of Canary flowing offshore and the renown Nouadhibou upwelling which is located nearby as well. These environmental factors provide excellent conditions for local fisheries, and result in strong local biodiversity for birds in particular. For these reasons, there has been a UNESCO proposal to create the "Dakhla National Park".

Birds
Dakhla Peninsula and Cintra Bay are some of the most important wintering grounds for birds especially for waders. The greater flamingo is one of the most iconic birds in the region and there are numerous others known to migrate or inhabit. Some of these are; pelican, great cormorant, gulls (slender-billed, Audouin's, black-backed), larks (sparrow, bar-tailed), terns (little, Caspian, royal, Sandwich), black wheatear, western reef heron, marsh harrier, sparrowhawk, lesser kestrel, laughing dove, great spotted cuckoo, little swift, hoopoe, rock martin, cricket longtail, oystercatcher, bar-tailed godwit, pharaoh eagle owl, and red-knobbed coot.

Bald ibis and buttonquail are also rare on today's Western Sahara.

Several species such as golden nightjar, Sudan golden sparrow, hooded vulture, dark chanting goshawk, speckled pigeon, African mourning dove, blue-naped mousebird, Kordofan lark, red-chested swallow, chestnut-bellied starling, African swallow-tailed kite, tawny eagle, slender-billed curlew, demoiselle crane, Arabian bustard, ostrich, lappet-faced vulture, helmeted guineafowl are seemingly locally rare or extinct, or rather visitors of vagrants.

Mammals
Terrestrial animals are less diverse than birds, including Ruppell's fox, fennec fox, caracal, hyena, camel, gazelles, addaxes, hares, hedgehog variants, fat sand rat, lesser Egyptian jerboa, bats, and others. Barbary lion and hartebeest became extinct, and possibly local cheetah and North African elephant as well.

The calm, sheltered water of the Dakhla Bay was once an ideal habitat for various forms of marine life, including marine mammals. Most of the local animals such as Mediterranean monk seals and whales (mostly North Atlantic right whales) have disappeared due to histories of slaughter and exploitation like in Cintra Bay. Atlantic gray whales were likely to be seen along the coast before extinction.

On the other hand, monk seals are showing slow but certain recoveries and Ras Nouadhibou holds the world's most notable colony for this species. Nowadays, very small, remnant groups of bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic humpback dolphins are the only marine mammals still seen regularly in Dakhla Bay while there are occasional visits by some other species including orcas while cetaceans like minke, or sei, pilot whales, beaked whales, and dolphins are more common in offshore waters in today's Western Sahara.

Reptiles and others
Other than mammals, limited varieties of terrestrial reptiles, amphibians, arthropods are present here including lizards, smooth snake, Brongersma's toad, and yellow-tailed scorpion. Sea turtles are also present in the Dakhla region.

Larger fish like groupers, seabasses or croakers inhabit along the coasts. Dakhla and Cintra Bay areas are considered to be spawning grounds for local sardines.

Twin towns – sister cities
Dakhla is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇹 Crotone, Italy
 * 🇮🇹 Vibo Valentia, Italy

title: Dakhla, Western Sahara


text:
Talk:Incheon International Airport Expressway

The last sentence stated that this was the first modern, 4-lane highway built in South Korea, in 1968; but that honour goes to the Gyeongin Expressway (Route #120). The Incheon Int'l Airport Expressway was only built for the opening of the the new airport in 2001. --Sewing 02:42, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

The link in Olympic-daero is wrong. It points to 88 Olympic Expway, which is located in the Southern part (Daegu-Gwangju) of Korea. The Olympic-daero here is situated in the Gangnam (Riversouth) section of Seoul Metropolitan City. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.207.128.107 (talk) 00:10, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 08:41, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
 * BanghwaBridge.jpg


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Edmund Szoka

Edmund Casimir Szoka (September 14, 1927 – August 20, 2014) was an American Catholic prelate who served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 1997 to 2006., He previously served as Bishop of Gaylord from 1971 to 1981 and Archbishop of Detroit from 1981 to 1990. Szoka was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.

Early life
Edmund Casimir Szoka was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Casimir and Mary (née Wolgat) Szoka, Polish immigrants. He has an older sister, Irene, and moved with his family in the early 1930s to Muskegon, where he did his primary studies at St. Michael School. Attracted to life as a priest at an early age, Szoka attended St. Joseph's Seminary in Grand Rapids, Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit for his junior and senior years, and then St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan to study theology.

Priesthood
On June 5, 1954, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas Noa in St. Peter's Cathedral in Marquette, Michigan. He did pastoral work in Manistique. From 1957 to 1959, he studied canon law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University or the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He then became secretary to Bishop Noa of Marquette, whom he accompanied to the first session of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. During this period he also served as chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital and K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base. Upon returning to the United States, Szoka did pastoral and curial work, including serving as an official of the matrimonial tribunal in Marquette until 1971. He was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness on November 14, 1963, by Pope Paul VI.

Bishop of Gaylord
Szoka was appointed the first Bishop of Gaylord on June 11, 1971. He received his episcopal consecration on the following July 20 from Cardinal John Francis Dearden, with Bishops Charles Salatka and Joseph McKinney serving as co-consecrators. A year later, the Bishops of the 4th pastoral region of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) elected him president for the period of 1972-77. At the same time, he was treasurer and secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Michigan. As Bishop of Gaylord, Szoka improved the annulment consideration process, drawing from his experience in the matrimonial tribunal in Marquette.

Archbishop of Detroit
On March 21, 1981, he was promoted to be third Metropolitan Archbishop of Detroit (eighth bishop) by Pope John Paul II. After 1981, he also served as president of the Administration Council for the provincial seminary of St. John in Plymouth, Michigan, and of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary near Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. He was also a president of the board of directors of the Episcopal Conference of Michigan, member of the executive committee of The Catholic University of America, president of the Committee for University Relations, Administrator of the National Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, treasurer of the NCCB, and served on committees within the Conference for: human values, bishops, dioceses and provinces, and economic affairs. He faced challenges of finance and enforcing Church discipline, and welcomed John Paul II to Detroit in 1987 during his tenure as Archbishop.

In 1983, he dealt with the case of Agnes Mary Mansour, a nun and the director of the Michigan Department of Community Health who worked to continue abortion services in Michigan. Szoka had given his permission for Mansour to serve the state but said she must oppose publicly funded abortion. Mansour believed abortion was tragic but should be legal, and she continued disbursing Medicaid abortion funds. Szoka appealed to Mansour's superiors in the Sisters of Mercy but the order supported her stance. Szoka referred the case to the Vatican, and Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua resolved it by ordering Mansour to resign either her government post or her orders. Mansour left the sisterhood.

He was created Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Celio by John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1988.

Rev. Joseph Gembela, pastor of St. Malachy's parish, noted that Szoka received a good deal of unjust criticism when he closed thirty churches in Detroit during 1989-90; many of which were sparsely attended. The first large-scale closing of Catholic churches in a major U.S. city, other dioceses with changing demographics have since followed suit.

Roman Curia
Resigning as Archbishop of Detroit on April 28, 1990, Szoka had been named President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See on January 22, 1990, and served as such to October 14, 1997. In this position, he helped manage the Vatican's financial affairs.

On October 14, 1997, Cardinal Szoka was named President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and on February 22, 2001, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. Within the Roman Curia his membership included: Secretariat of State (second section), and Causes of Saints, Bishops, Evangelization of Peoples (Congregatio de Propaganda Fide), Clergy, Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (congregations). He submitted his resignation to John Paul II in 2002, at the Church's mandatory retirement age of 75, but was requested to continue working. During his rare spare time, Szoka enjoyed walking through the Vatican Gardens.

Szoka was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. As Governor of the Vatican, it fell to Szoka, along with Secretary of State Angelo Sodano and Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo, to prepare for the cardinal electors' housing at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Retirement
It was announced on June 22, 2006, that his resignation had been accepted by Pope Benedict and that he would officially step down on September 15, 2006; he maintained all curial memberships until age 80. On what he would do after retirement, Szoka said he was interested in travel, writing, studying the Church Fathers, and continuing to provide priestly assistance to Detroit. Cardinal Szoka had fond memories of Pope John Paul II, especially in regard to his travels to Poland and to the United States: Cardinal Szoka lived in Northville, Michigan.

Szoka died on August 20, 2014, of natural causes, at Providence Park Hospital in Novi, Michigan.

title: Edmund Szoka


text:
Belcourt of Newport

Belcourt is a former summer cottage designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction was begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, and it was intended to be used for only six to eight weeks of the year. Belcourt was designed in a multitude of European styles and periods; it features a heavy emphasis on French Renaissance and Gothic decor, with further borrowings from German, English, and Italian design. In the Gilded Age, the castle was noted for its extensive stables and carriage areas, which were incorporated into the main structure.

Construction
Belcourt is located on Bellevue Avenue at Lakeview Avenue, in Newport. A 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2), 60-room summer villa, it was designed by Richard Morris Hunt for 33-year-old Oliver Belmont, who during the construction was divorced from Sara Swan Whiting and the father of a daughter, Natica, for whom he denied paternity. It was based on the Louis XIII hunting lodge at Versailles, and incorporated Oliver's love of pageantry, history and horses in its magnificent interior halls, salons and ballrooms. The Belmont Stakes was named for his father, August Belmont Sr., and Oliver was known for his skill as a four-in-hand carriage driver. Belmont wanted Belcourt designed precisely to his specifications. Hunt was hesitant, but concentrated on his guiding principle that it was his client's money he was spending. Construction cost $3.2 million in 1894, a figure of approximately $80 million in 2011 dollars. Belmont employed some thirty servants at Belcourt, with aggregate wages of approximately $100 per week, or approximately 40% of the national average wage at the time.

Belmont years
When construction finished in 1894, the entire first floor was composed of carriage space and a multitude of stables for Belmont's prized horses. Upstairs was a master bedroom with wall scenes depicting the life of a nobleman and a bathroom with Newport's first standing shower. Scheduled to open for July 4 of that year, Belcourt would remain closed for the summer season while Belmont was hospitalized in New York City, the victim of a mugging. It would be a full year until Belmont saw his completed mansion.

The building was formed of a large quadrangle, with two-story wings connecting to a three-story main block (the north wing). The effect can be viewed today in the form of a large, 80-by-40-foot (24-by-12m) central courtyard with half timbers in the Norman style. The immense mansard roof is pierced by oval copper dormers and chimneys finished in the same manner as the walls. The symmetrical north façade is where the carriage entrances were located. A narrow wrought-iron balcony stretches 70 feet (20 m) on the second floor.

Belmont had disdain for the nouveau riche who, in splashy displays of wealth, built ostentatious mansions between Bellevue Avenue and the Atlantic coast. As a result, guests entered Belcourt through an entrance just off of Ledge Road, a short road that runs parallel to Bellevue Avenue.

Inside the castle was just as magnificent and somewhat eccentric. Belmont housed his vast collection of horses and carriages on the ground floor, accessed by two huge carriage entrances on either side of the north façade. To the west of this vast area was Belmont's Francis I Renaissance-style Grand Hall and foyer, which exited onto Ledge Road. The monumental Gothic rooms with their huge stained-glass windows were emblazoned with the Belmont coat of arms. The room's original damask, blood red in color, has long since been replaced with the same fabric in gold.

The Grand Staircase, now a replica of the stairs in the Cluny Museum in France, connects the Lower Grand Hall to Belmont's Upper Grand Hall on the second floor. The details are mostly the same as those of its partner room below. Myriad formal rooms open onto one another in varying periods of French style and decoration. The galleries and halls of the second floor employ the architect's trademark of vistas framing the views into various rooms.

Belmont married his neighbor Alva Vanderbilt, the former wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt, on January 11, 1896. Eager to reshape and redesign Belcourt, Alva made changes that morphed the already eccentric character of Belcourt into a yet more eccentric hybrid mixture of styles. Alva Belmont converted the carriage room into a banquet hall and transformed a study into a boudoir, importing 18th-century French paneling. In 1899, Belcourt was the host of the nation's first automobile parade.

Changes in ownership
Oliver Belmont died in 1908 and Mrs. Belmont died in France on January 26, 1933. Belcourt passed to 80-year-old Perry Belmont, the eldest Belmont child and Alva's brother-in-law. At the onset of World War II, Perry Belmont had most of the contents of Belcourt moved to his other estates as Newport was a naval base and potentially at risk of attack. Select pieces of Alva's were auctioned off, as Perry allegedly had no great love for her.

In 1940, Belmont decided to rid himself of Belcourt. Negotiations commenced with George Waterman, an entrepreneur. Waterman envisioned Belcourt as an antique auto museum. The only conditions of the sale were that Waterman had to restore the castle as close  as possible to Hunt's original plans. Waterman was responsible for the restoration of the third-floor roof and removal of an addition overlooking the courtyard. After paying $1,000 for the castle, Waterman was informed that zoning wouldn't allow his antique auto museum.

In 1943, Waterman sold Belcourt to Edward Dunn, who never lived at Belcourt during the eleven years that he owned it (up until 1954). During the war years when many of the grand mansions were being razed or converted into various institutions, Dunn rented the stables of the rundown castle to the military to use for repairing equipment.

Dunn sold Belcourt to Louis and Elaine Lorillard in 1954 for $22,500. The Lorillards, of tobacco fame, envisioned Belcourt as a seat for the Newport Jazz Festival. The lawns on Bellevue Avenue could accommodate over 10,000 and the masonry and stucco façade provided an acoustic background. The large central courtyard was the scene for concerts, with the open loggia providing further room for spectators. Inside, the massive rooms were used for workshops and lodging. However, the future for Belcourt as a permanent venue for the festival was dim due to protests from the neighbors.

Belcourt had deteriorated, largely uninhabited for over two decades. In November 1956, the Lorillards sold the rundown, mostly abandoned castle to the Tinney Family.

The Tinneys
The Tinney Family, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, bought Belcourt in 1956 for $25,000. In addition to changing the name from Belcourt to Belcourt Castle, the Tinneys filled the castle with their own collection of antiques and reproductions. Included are a coronation coach, which son Donald made, and a 1701 copy of a Hyacinthe Rigaud portrait of Louis XIV, which hung in the Green Room in the Palace of the Tuileries. The centerpiece of the Tinney additions was an enormous Imperial Russian-style chandelier, which holds 13,000 rock crystal prisms and 105 lights. The chandelier hangs a few feet above the rose marble mosaic floor of the banquet hall.

At the time that Belcourt was purchased in 1956, the Tinney family comprised Harold Tinney, his wife Ruth Tinney, their son Donald Tinney, and Ruth's aunt Nellie Fuller (a descendant of Mayflower passenger Edward Fuller). In 1960, Donald Tinney married Harle Hanson, who had been at Belcourt to work as a tour guide. Harle Tinney was the only surviving member of the family when Belcourt was sold in 2012.

Other artifacts within Belcourt included an immense collection of Persian rugs, French royal art and furnishings, Oriental art and furnishings, and numerous religious objets d'art.

Changes at Belcourt have been numerous in the years following 1956, when the Tinney family moved in. They raised the ceiling of the Organ Loft 11 feet (3.4 m) to accommodate a 26-rank tracker organ. Between 1966 and 1970, when the coronation coach was being built, an old kitchen area became a coach hall. In 1969, the open loggia became a French salon. In 1975, they transformed the north-west reception room into a chapel with the addition of German Renaissance stained glass. In the early 1980s, the Tinneys built gate piers on Bellevue Avenue and installed gates that they had acquired from the Taylor estate in Portsmouth. The overthrow was altered to make the gates the tallest of any estate entrance in Newport.

In 1983, robbers attempted a million-dollar heist of Belcourt's antiques. Police recovered many artifacts but not a 14-pound silver reliquary containing a relic from the third century.

The lawns contain many sculptural pieces in bronze, terra cotta, marble and stone. Depicting scenes from mythology, nymphs and cherubs, the collection is an informal contrast to the strong and robust lines of the French-style château. The driveways and pathways are lined with lush arborvitae, planted by the Tinneys a few years after they moved into Belcourt.

Belcourt is the third largest mansion in Newport, after The Breakers and Ochre Court. The castle has been the subject of an ongoing restoration project spanning from the beginning of the Tinney family's occupation of the castle up to and including the present day.

On May 26, 2009, it was reported that the then-owner of Belcourt, Harle Tinney, had put the residence up for sale. The home was put on the market for $US 7.2 million. As of June 2011, the price had been reduced twice to $US 5.1 million and then to $US 3.9 million. Subsequently, it was taken off of the market and re-listed for sale in two parcels totaling $US 4.625 million. Tinney said she was ready to part with the home after her husband's death in 2006.

Belcourt as a museum
Belcourt was open to the public as a museum of antiquities and architectural and social history. Of the 60 rooms at Belcourt, over a dozen were viewable on tour. A visit to the castle included viewings of an English library (added in 1910 by John Russell Pope; the ceiling is a replica of the one in Haddon Hall's Long Gallery), a banquet hall, a chapel, two of three grand halls, a music room, an Empire-style dining room, a French gothic-style ballroom, two principal bedrooms, a loggia and a gallery. All of the rooms are furnished with pieces from the Tinney family collections. The first tours of Belcourt were given in 1957 and, ever since then, the castle has been a fixture on Bellevue Avenue. The collections included furnishings, art and artifacts from 33 European and Asian countries and 37 other Newport mansions. The Tinney family's enormous collection earned Belcourt a notable status within Newport's thriving tourism industry. Belcourt was also the only mansion in Newport that was both open to the public and had a private owner in residence. Harle Tinney frequently guided tours through her home and was often present to greet visitors when she was in residence.

Rafaeilian
On November 12, 2012, Belcourt was purchased by Carolyn Rafaelian, owner of the Cranston, Rhode Island-based company Alex and Ani, for $3.6 million. Rafaelian is currently restoring and renovating the mansion, which she reopened in summer 2014 as a tour house, art gallery, and event space under the business name Belcourt of Newport. Rafaelian reports she has already spent $5 million on renovations, including $3 million for a new roof.

Materials
Belcourt's distinctive exterior appearance was achieved through the use of brick and Westerly granite to frame the windows, doors and fields of stucco. The roof is sheathed in Pennsylvania slate and is pierced by numerous ox-eye (elliptical) dormer windows. The interior, completed by 300 imported artisans, was created of carved oak with oak and mosaic marble floors. The numerous decorative ceilings were finished with sculpted and molded plaster and carved woods such as chestnut. The walls are finished with canvas paintings, carved oak, imported paneling and pure silk damasks. The numerous exterior railings and gates are composed of wrought iron and bronze, featuring a shell motif and the monogram "OB." The foundations are stone, brick and poured concrete with thick brick walls supporting enormous roof timbers and steel I-beams.

title: Belcourt of Newport


text:
Mizuho Fukushima

Mizuho Fukushima (福島 瑞穂) is a Japanese politician and attorney. A native of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, she has been a member of the House of Councillors since 1998, was re-elected in 2004 and 2010, and was the head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP), from 2003 to 2013. She was elected as the leader of the party for a second time in February 2020.

Education and career before politics
After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Laws degree, she became a lawyer in 1987. She was a Visiting Professor at Gakushuin Women's College.

Political career and political views
Fukushima was also Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Social Affairs, and Gender Equality in Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet (16 September 2009 – 28 May 2010); the SDP was the junior partner in the DPJ-led government coalition. However, in May 2010 disagreements over the issue of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma led to the sacking of Fukushima from the cabinet on 28 May and the SDP subsequently voted to leave the ruling coalition.

Fukushima's Social Democratic Party has an anti-nuclear platform, and she has been referred to as a prominent anti-nuclear activist. For three decades, she was at the forefront of an often futile fight against the utilities that operated Japan's nuclear reactors, the corporations that built them and the bureaucrats who enabled them. That situation changed with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.

She has stated her opposition to capital punishment on the SDP's website.

After a disappointing result in the 2013 election for the House of Councillors she announced her resignation as head of the party.

Fukushima was elected as the leader of the Social Democratic Party on 22 February 2020.

Fukushima was recipient of Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite in December 2020.

title: Mizuho Fukushima