The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is an American single-jet engine, ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and flown by the Central Intelligence Agency. It provides high-altitude, all-weather intelligence gathering. Lockheed Corporation proposed it in 1953, it was approved in 1954, its first test flight was in 1955, it was flown during the Cold War over the Soviet Union, China and Cuba. In 1960, Gary Powers was shot down in a CIA U-2A over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile. Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down in a U-2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. U-2s have taken part in post-Cold War conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, supported several multinational NATO operations; the U-2 has been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, scientific research, communications purposes. The U-2 is one of a handful of aircraft types to have served the USAF for over 50 years, along with the Boeing B-52 and Boeing KC-135.

The newest models entered service in the 1980s, the latest model, the U-2S, had a technical upgrade in 2012. After World War II, the U. S. military desired better strategic aerial reconnaissance to help determine Soviet capabilities and intentions. Into the 1950s, the best intelligence the American government had on facilities deep inside the Soviet Union were German Luftwaffe photographs taken during the war of territory west of the Ural Mountains, so overflights to take aerial photographs of the Soviet Union began. After 1950, Soviet air defenses aggressively attacked all aircraft near the country's borders—sometimes those over Japanese airspace—and existing reconnaissance aircraft bombers converted for reconnaissance duty such as the Boeing RB-47, were vulnerable to anti-aircraft artillery and fighters. Richard Leghorn of the United States Air Force suggested that an aircraft that could fly at 60,000 feet should be safe from the MiG-17, the Soviet Union's best interceptor aircraft, which could reach 45,000 feet.

He and others believed that Soviet radar, which used American equipment provided during the war, could not track aircraft above 65,000 feet. The highest-flying aircraft available to America and its allies at the time was the English Electric Canberra, which could reach 48,000 feet; the British had produced the PR3 photo-reconnaissance variant, but the USAF asked for English Electric's help to further modify the American-licensed version of the Canberra, the Martin B-57, with long, narrow wings, new engines, a lighter airframe to reach 67,000 feet. The U. S. Air Research and Development Command mandated design changes that made the aircraft more durable for combat, but the resulting RB-57D aircraft of 1955 could only reach 64,000 feet; the Soviet Union, unlike the United States and Britain, had improved radar technology after the war, could track aircraft above 65,000 feet. It was thought that an aircraft that could fly at 70,000 feet would be beyond the reach of Soviet fighters and radar. Another USAF officer, John Seaberg, wrote a request for proposal in 1953 for an aircraft that could reach 70,000 feet over a target with 1,500 nmi of operational radius.

The USAF decided to solicit designs only from smaller aircraft companies that could give the project more attention. Under the code name "Bald Eagle", it gave contracts to Bell Aircraft, Martin Aircraft, Fairchild Engine and Airplane to develop proposals for the new reconnaissance aircraft. Officials at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation heard about the project and decided to submit an unsolicited proposal. To save weight and increase altitude, Lockheed executive John Carter suggested that the design eliminate landing gear and not attempt to meet combat load factors for the airframe; the company asked Clarence "Kelly" Johnson to come up with such a design. Johnson was Lockheed's best aeronautical engineer, responsible for the P-38 and the P-80, he was known for completing projects ahead of schedule, working in a separate division of the company, informally called the Skunk Works. Johnson's design, named CL-282, was based on the Lockheed XF-104 with long, slender wings and a shortened fuselage; the design was powered by the General Electric J73 engine and took off from a special cart and landed on its belly.

It had a 1,600 mi radius. The reconnaissance aircraft was a jet-powered glider. In June 1954, the USAF rejected the design in favor of the Bell X-16 and the modified B-57. Reasons included the lack of landing gear, use of the J73 engine instead of the more proven Pratt & Whitney J57 used by the competing designs, not using multiple engines, the USAF believed, was more reliable. General Curtis LeMay of Strategic Air Command walked out during a CL-282 presentation, saying that he was not interested in an airplane without wheels or guns. Civilian officials including Trevor Gardner, an aide to Secretary of the Air Force Harold E. Talbott, were more positive about the CL-282 because of its higher potential altitude and smaller radar cross-section, recommended the design to the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Scientific Intelligence. At that time, the CIA depended on the military for overflights, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles favored human over technical intelligence-gathering methods.

However, the Intelligence Systems Panel, a civilian group advising the USAF and CIA on aerial reconnaissance, had recognized by 1954 that the RB-57D would not meet the 70,000 feet requirem

Harold Wayne Greenhaw was an American writer and journalist. The author of 22 books who chronicled changes in the American South from the civil rights movement to the rise of a competitive Republican Party, he is known for his works on the Ku Klux Klan and the exposition of the My Lai Massacre of 1968. Greenhaw wrote for various Alabamian newspapers and magazines, worked as the state's tourism director, was considered "a strong voice for his native state". Born in Sheffield, Alabama and his family moved to Tuscaloosa when he was ten, he attended Tuscaloosa High School, at age fourteen contracted polio and spent the better part of a year in a body cast. During this time he decided to become a writer, he enrolled at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and studied under the creative writing professor Hudson Strode. He wrote for The Montgomery Journal and helped break the story of the indictment of William Calley for murder on September 12, 1969; the story earned him a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 1973.

He wrote for and edited the Alabama Magazine in the 1980s, wrote for The New York Times and Time. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Alabama's state tourism director under Democratic Governor James Folsom Jr. and was awarded the Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished Writer in 2006. His papers are held in Auburn Montgomery's library. Greenhaw died on May 2011, in Birmingham from complications during heart surgery, his book Fighting the Devil in Dixie: How Civil Rights Activists Took on the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama was hailed as "an important addition to the civil rights record". Greenhaw navigates through the explosive events that spurred a sea change in race relations, encompassing both the villains-e.g. Robert "Dynamite Bob" Chambliss, who supplied the explosives responsible for many of the bombings, including the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in 1963-and the numerous heroes, such as the sole early black lawyers in Selma, J. L. Chestnut Jr. and Orzell Billingsley. The author skillfully weaves a rich historical tapestry from his engaged, firsthand observations.

He co-wrote with Donnie Williams The Thunder of Angels: The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the People Who Broke the Back of Jim Crow. Williams and Greenhaw "expose the reader to lesser-known figures" of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, "bring to life the boycott that catapulted the nation into the civil rights era, portraying the personal sacrifices and heroism of ordinary people". Among his friends were a number of notables who were active in the civil rights movement, including Judge Frank M. Johnson, notable Alabama professors and writers such as Harper Lee, Don Noble, Rick Bragg, Truman Capote. In his book on George Wallace, George Wallace and the Defeat of the American Left, "Greenhaw portrays Wallace as a intelligent man whose worst flaw is not racism but egocentricity"; the Making of a Hero: A Behind-the-Scenes View of the Lt William Calley Affair Elephants in the cottonfields: Ronald Reagan and the new Republican South Fighting the Devil in Dixie: How Civil Rights Activists Took on the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama Guide to the papers of Wayne Greenhaw at Auburn Montgomery Wayne Greenhaw in the Encyclopedia of Alabama

Ponmagal Vanthal is a Tamil-language family melodrama series starring Meghna Vincent, Vicky Krish, Shanoor Sana Begum and Vandana Michael. It started airing on 26 February 2018 and ended at 1 February 2020 for 571 Episodes on Vijay TV, every Monday to Friday in an afternoon programming block called "Vijay Matinee Thodargal"; the show was rescheduled to air Monday through Saturday. The series marks the debut Tamil-language television series for Ayesha of Kerala, who plays the lead role, however she was replaced by Meghna Vincent after episode 105; the series is directed by Gopal Shamugam. The story is about Rohini, ready to give up anything to make them happy. Under certain circumstances, she is forced to marry a man from a rich family. Rohini receives dowry from her mother-in-law Rajeshwari. How will Rohini lead a good married life? Meghna Vincent as Rohini Gautham Vicky Krish as Gautham Shanoor Sana Begum as Rajeshwari Chandramouli Vandana Michael as Priya Vishnu Dharini as Maragatham Ravishankar as Selvam Nathan Shyam as Vishnu Devaraj as Chakravarthy Feroz Khan as Ashok Vijay Krishnaraj R Krishnan as Shanmugam Yuvasree as Thamarai Sangeetha as Thanam Swetha Venkat as Kaveri Ashok Archana Kumar as Swathi Madhan as Sethu Mercy Leyal as Pushpa Ravi Varma as Minister Ayesha as Rohini Gowtham - replaced by Meghna Vincent RJ Mownika as Kaveri - replaced by Swetha Ramya Shankar as Soumiya - replaced by Archana Harish, left Nisha Jagadeeswaran as Priya - replaced by Vandana Michael Priya Prince as Maya - left Akila as Saritha - left Vincent Roy as Sena - left Sivaranjini as Malini Director Nambiraja was accused by Ayesha for misbehaving in the shooting spot.

The problem was highlighted to the channel and Ayeesha was sacked from playing the lead role in the serial. The series was released on 26 February 2018 alongside Avalum Naanum on Vijay TV and Vijay TV HD; the series was broadcast internationally on the channel's international distribution. It airs in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Hong Kong, United States, Malaysia and South Africa on Vijay TV and Vijay TV HD with English subtitles; the drama episodes are on their app hotstar with English subtitles. It is available via the internet protocol television service, Lebara Play with English subtitles. Official website at Hotstar