1.
Houston
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Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within an area of 667 square miles, it also is the largest city in the southern United States and the seat of Harris County. Located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, it is the city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land. Houston was founded on August 28,1836, near the banks of Buffalo Bayou and incorporated as a city on June 5,1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded, the burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the citys population. Houstons economy has an industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics. Leading in health care sectors and building equipment, Houston has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits than any city except for New York City. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled, the city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse city in Texas and has described as the most diverse in the United States. It is home to cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has a visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District. In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, purchased 6,642 acres of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the general at the Battle of San Jacinto. The great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through the slave trade. New Orleans was the center of trade in the Deep South. Thousands of enslaved African Americans lived near the city before the Civil War, many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5,1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor, in the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas
2.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
3.
State school
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State schools generally refer to primary or secondary schools mandated for or offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation. The term may refer to public institutions of post-secondary education. State education is inclusive, both in its treatment of students and in that enfranchisement for the government of public education is as broad as for government generally and it is often organized and operated to be a deliberate model of the civil community in which it functions. Although typically provided to groups of students in classrooms in a school, it may be provided in-home, employing visiting teachers. It can also be provided in non-school, non-home settings, such as shopping mall space, State education is generally available to all. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to school up to a certain age. In the case of private schooling, schools operate independently of the state, the funding for state schools, on the other hand, is provided by tax revenues, so that even individuals who do not attend school help to ensure that society is educated. In poverty stricken societies, authorities are often lax on compulsory school attendance because child labour is exploited and it is these same children whose income-securing labor cannot be forfeited to allow for school attendance. The term public education when applied to schools is not synonymous with the term publicly funded education. Government may make a policy decision that it wants to have some financial resources distributed in support of, and it may want to have some control over. Grants-in-aid of private schools and vouchers systems provide examples of publicly funded private education, conversely, a state school may rely heavily on private funding such as high fees or private donations and still be considered state by virtue of governmental ownership and control. In some countries, private associations or churches can operate schools according to their own principles, when these specific requirements are met, especially in the area of the school curriculum, the schools will qualify to receive state funding. Proponents of state education assert it to be necessary because of the need in society for people who are capable of reading, writing. In most industrialized countries, these views are distinctly in the minority, Government schools are free to attend for Australian citizens and permanent residents, whereas independent schools usually charge attendance fees. They can be divided into two categories, open and selective schools, the open schools accept all students from their government-defined catchment areas. Government schools educate approximately 65% of Australian students, with approximately 34% in Catholic, regardless of whether a school is part of the Government or independent systems, they are required to adhere to the same curriculum frameworks of their state or territory. The curriculum framework however provides for flexibility in the syllabus. Public or Government funded schools are found throughout Bangladesh and these schools mostly teach students from Year 1 to 10, with examinations for students in years 5,8, and 10
4.
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
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The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District is an independent school district in northwest unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. Cy-Fair ISD is the largest Recognized school district in the state of Texas with 75 out of 78 campuses receiving an Exemplary or Recognized rating by the Texas Education Agency in 2010. The district covers a portion of Houston, the city of Jersey Village. The district covers 186 square miles of land, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD is part of the taxation base for Lone Star College System. As of August 2016, the district had 88 general-purpose campuses, the first official classes in the area were held in a church. However, in 1884, local residents built a house on donated land. In 2012, Children at Risk evaluated and ranked 150 high schools in the greater Houston area and 8 CyFair-ISD high schools appeared in the rankings, additionally, Cypress Ridge High School ranked fifth among Greater Houston’s Best Urban, Comprehensive High Schools. By the 2006-2007 school year, the district was the third largest in Texas with more than 70 campuses and 100,603 students, in the 2010-2011 school year the district had over 106,000 students. Of them,42. 5% were Hispanic, 31% were White,15. 5% were Black, 8% were Asian, activity bus service was also discontinued for most CFISD schools. Bus service continued and was expanded to accommodate student mothers, delivering mothers and their children to schools, if a student has to cross a major street then bus service is available even if the student lives within 2 miles of the school. Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center Ken Pridgeon Stadium Homes in the Cy-Fair ISD area get the Cy-Fair ISD channel on Comcast cable Channel 16, the channel also streams on the districts website. List of school districts in Texas Cy-Fair ISD website
5.
Harris County, Texas
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Harris County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,092,459, making it the most populous county in Texas and its county seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837 and it is named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area. By the July 2016 Census Bureau estimate Harris Countys population had grown to 4,589,928, Harris County is included in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area. John Richardson Harris, early Harris County settler and founder of Harrisburg, on May 7,1813, he married Jane Birdsall. John and Jane Birdsall Harris settled near Waterloo, New York, in 1819 they were living in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, where their daughter Mary Jane Harris Briscoe was born, a third son, John Birdsall Harris, was born in 1821. Genevieve Harris met Moses Austin and decided to move to Texas and he came to Texas in his own vessel in 1824 and received title to 4,428 acres of land at the junction of Brays and Buffalo bayous in what is now Harris County. He boarded with William Scott while he built a house on the peninsula between the bayous and a store and warehouse on Buffalo Bayou, in 1826 he employed Francis W. Johnson to lay out the town of Harrisburg. With his brother David Harris, John Harris established a trading post at Bells Landing on the Brazos River. Their sloops and schooners plied between Texas and New Orleans, One of these vessels, the Rights of Man, carried eighty-four bales of cotton to New Orleans in 1828. Harris was building a steam sawmill-gristmill at Harrisburg in 1829, when he went to New Orleans to buy equipment, after his death on August 21,1829, his sawmill and shipping enterprise were operated by his brothers David, Samuel, and William Plunkett Harris. His widow and son DeWitt moved to Texas in 1833, the children came later. Litigation over Harriss estate prevented Harrisburg from becoming the seat of the new Texas government in 1836, when Houston was named instead. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,777 square miles. Both its total area and land area are larger than the state of Rhode Island. 6% of Harris Countys population, black Americans made up 18. 9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0. 7% of Harris Countys population, Asian Americans made up 6. 2% of the population. Pacific Islander Americans made up just 0. 1% of the population, individuals from other races made up 14. 3% of the population, people from two or more races made up 3. 2% of the countys population
6.
Gray wolf
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The gray wolf or grey wolf, also known as the timber wolf or western wolf, is a canine native to the wilderness and remote areas of Eurasia and North America. It is the largest extant member of its family, with males averaging 43–45 kg, like the red wolf, it is distinguished from other Canis species by its larger size and less pointed features, particularly on the ears and muzzle. Its winter fur is long and bushy, and predominantly a mottled gray in color, although pure white, red. As of 2005,37 subspecies of C. lupus are recognised by MSW3 and it is nonetheless closely related enough to smaller Canis species, such as the eastern wolf, coyote, and golden jackal to produce fertile hybrids. It is an animal, travelling in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair. The gray wolf is typically an apex predator throughout its range, with only humans and it feeds primarily on large ungulates, though it also eats smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. The gray wolf is one of the worlds best known and well researched animals, although the fear of wolves is pervasive in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies. The English wolf stems from the Old English wulf, which is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic *wulfaz. The Latin lupus is a Sabine loanword, both derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *wlqwos/*lukwos. The species Canis lupus was first recorded by Carl Linnaeus in his publication Systema Naturae in 1758, the thirty-seven subspecies of Canis lupus are listed under the designated common name of wolf in Mammal Species of the World third edition that was published in 2005. The nominate subspecies is the Eurasian wolf, also known as the common wolf, the subspecies includes the domestic dog, dingo, eastern wolf and red wolf, but lists C. l. italicus and C. l. communis as synonyms of C. l. lupus. However, the classification of several as either species or subspecies has recently been challenged, ecological factors including habitat type, climate, prey specialization and predatory competition will greatly influence the wolfs genetic population structure and cranio-dental plasticity. The domestic dog is the most widely abundant large carnivore and a descendant from one of those now-extinct wolf populations, in 2013, a genetic study found that the wolf population in Europe was divided along a north-south axis and formed five major clusters. Three clusters were identified occupying southern and central Europe in Italy, the Carpathians, another two clusters were identified occupying north-central Europe and the Ukrainian steppe. The Italian wolf consisted of a population with low genetic diversity. Wolves from Croatia, Bulgaria, and Greece formed the Dinaric-Balkans cluster, the wolves from the Carpathians were more similar to the wolves from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe than they were to wolves from north-central Europe. These clusters may have been the result of expansion from glacial refugia, an adaptation to environments, and landscape fragmentation. These six wolf ecotypes were named West Forest, Boreal Forest, Arctic, High Arctic, Baffin, the studies found that precipitation and mean diurnal temperature range were the most influential variables
7.
Oakland Raiders
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The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football franchise based in Oakland, California. The Raiders currently compete in the NFL as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. At the end of the NFLs 2015 season, the Raiders boasted a lifetime record of 444 wins,397 losses. The Raiders plan to remain in Oakland through 2018 – and possibly 2019 –, the Raiders off-field fortunes have varied considerably over the years. The teams first three years of operation were marred by poor performance, financial difficulties, and spotty attendance. In 1963, however, the Raiders fortunes improved dramatically with the introduction of head coach Al Davis, in 1967, after several years of improvement, the Raiders reached the postseason for the first time. The team would go on to win its first AFL Championship that year, in doing so, the Raiders advanced to Super Bowl II, the Raiders run of success intensified during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1977, the team won six division titles, in 1976, the team captured its first NFL Championship with a convincing victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. In 1982, amidst much controversy, the Raiders relocated to Los Angeles, the team finished with the NFLs best regular season record that year, one year later, the Raiders beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII to capture their third Super Bowl championship. The Raiders fortunes declined following the 1985 season, they would win just one division title. In 1995, the Raiders returned to Oakland, after several years of continued mediocrity, the team entered a brief period of pronounced success in the early 2000s. From 2000 to 2002, the Raiders won three division titles and four playoff games, their renaissance culminated with a lopsided 2002 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Super Bowl loss marked the beginning of a period of futility for the Raiders, from 2003 through 2015. In 2016, the Raiders finally ended their postseason drought with a victory over the division rival San Diego Chargers. At the end of the 2016 NFL season, the finished with a 12–4 record. The Raiders are known for their fan base and distinctive team culture. Since 1963, the team has won 15 division titles, four AFC Championships, one AFL Championship, fourteen former members of the team have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Having enjoyed a successful coaching career at Navy during the 1950s
8.
Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships and one Super Bowl and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFLs founding. The team played games at Wrigley Field on Chicagos North Side through the 1970 season, they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side. The Bears have a rivalry with the Green Bay Packers. The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, the Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur and this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward Dutch Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, the 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL. The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys, under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100. In 1922, Halas changed the name from the Staleys to the Bears. The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, as with several early NFL franchises, the Bears derived their nickname from their citys baseball team. Halas liked the bright colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois. The Staleys/Bears dominated the league in the early years and their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL, was key in four out of the first six league titles. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts, the Bears rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921. The franchise was a success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921
9.
Carolina Panthers
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The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The team president is Danny Morrison, and the coach is Ron Rivera. The Panthers were announced as the leagues 29th franchise in 1993 and they did not have another winning season until 2003, when they won the NFC Championship Game and reached Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots. After recording playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008, the failed to record another playoff appearance until 2013. After losing in the round to the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the Panthers finally returned to the Super Bowl in 2016. The Panthers have reached the playoffs seven times, advancing to four NFC Championship Games and they have won six division titles, one in the NFC West and five in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers are legally registered as Panther Football, LLC, the team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte, also the teams home field. They are one of the few NFL teams to own the stadium they play in, the team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. On December 15,1987, entrepreneur Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas. Richardson drew his inspiration to pursue an NFL franchise from George Shinn, who had made a bid for an expansion National Basketball Association team in Charlotte. Richardson founded Richardson Sports, a partnership consisting of himself, his family, Richardson looked at four potential locations for a stadium, ultimately choosing uptown Charlotte. In choosing the name, the Richardsons did not run focus groups with potential fans. Their intention had always been the Panthers, Jerry Richardson began driving a car with the license plate PNTHRS near the end of 1989, to highlight the demand for professional football in the Carolinas, Richardson Sports held preseason games around the area from 1989 to 1991. The matchups were between existing NFL teams, in 1991, the group formally filed an application for the open expansion spot, and on October 26,1993, the 28 NFL owners unanimously named the Carolina Panthers as the 29th member of the NFL. The Panthers first competed in the 1995 NFL season, they were one of two teams to begin play that year, the other being the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was named the first head coach, the team finished its inaugural season 7–9, the best performance ever from a first-year expansion team. They performed even better in their season, finishing with a 12–4 record and winning the NFC West division
10.
Houston Chronicle
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The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. As of April 2016, it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, with its 1995 buy-out of long-time rival the Houston Post, the Chronicle became Houstons primary newspaper. The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily paper owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation, the paper employs nearly 2,000 people, including approximately 300 journalists, editors, and photographers. The Chronicle has bureaus in Washington, D. C. and it reports that its web site averages 125 million page views per month. The publication serves as the newspaper of record of the Houston area, previously headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building at 801 Texas Avenue, Downtown Houston, the Houston Chronicle is now located at 4747 Southwest Freeway. From its inception, the practices and policies of the Houston Chronicle were shaped by strong-willed personalities who were the publishers, the history of the newspaper can be best understood when divided into the eras of these individuals. The Houston Chronicle was founded in 1901 by a reporter for the now-defunct Houston Post. The Chronicles first edition was published on October 14,1901, at the end of its first month in operation, the Chronicle had a circulation of 4,378 — roughly one tenth of the population of Houston at the time. Within the first year of operation, the paper purchased and consolidated the Daily Herald, in 1908, Foster asked Jesse H. Jones agreed, and the resulting Chronicle Building was one of the finest in the South. Under Foster, the circulation grew from about 7,000 in 1901 to 75,000 on weekdays and 85,000 on Sundays by 1926. Foster continued to write columns under the pen name Mefo, and he sold the rest of his interest to Jesse H. Jones on June 26,1926 and promptly retired. In 1911, City Editor George Kepple started Goodfellows, on a Christmas Eve in 1911, Kepple passed a hat among the Chronicles reporters to collect money to buy toys for a shoe-shine boy. Goodfellows continues today through donations made by the newspaper and its readers and it has grown into a city-wide program that provides needy children between the ages of two and ten with toys during the winter holidays. In 2003, Goodfellows distributed almost 250,000 toys to more than 100,000 needy children in the Greater Houston area, in 1926, Jesse H. Jones became the sole owner of the paper. He had approached Foster about selling, and Foster had answered and he replied, On real estate and everything about 200,000 dollars. I then said to him that I would give him 300,000 dollars in cash, having in mind that this would pay his debts, I considered the offer substantially more than the Chronicle was worth at the time. No sooner had I finished stating my proposition than he said, I will take it, in 1937, Jesse H. Jones transferred ownership of the paper to the newly established Houston Endowment Inc. Jones retained the title of publisher until his death in 1956. As such, it eschewed controversial political topics, such as integration or the impacts of economic growth on life in the city
