The expert predicted that America's gross domestic product will return to more than 3 percent yearly expansion. For example, Dow Chemical is investing $4 billion in Texas plastics production that will be operational by 2019. Such growth requires cheap oil and natural gas - and "by 2022 or so, the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia in oil output, and Russia in gas." He continued: "The big attraction is the low price of natural gas, the lowest-carbon fossil fuel, which can be produced profitably at about a third the price per unit of energy as other hydrocarbons. That is particularly attractive to chemical companies. It is the raw material for plastics, Styrofoam, tires, sealants, adhesives, films, liquid crystal screens, nylons, polyesters - nearly everything around us."

The Republican Party, also commonly called the GOP (for "Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery activists in 1854, it dominated politics nationally for most of the period from 1860 to 1932. There have been 18 Republican presidents, the first being Abraham Lincoln, serving from 1861 to 1865, and the most recent being Donald Trump who began serving in 2017.

The Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures Department routinely conducts price verification inspections at retail locations to confirm that prices charged to consumers are the same as those posted or advertised. On a typical visit to a store, the inspector will select up to 15 items and then take them to the check stand for payment. When the items’ bar codes are scanned at the register, the price showing at the register must match what is posted on the shelf or advertised. If the prices do not match, the store will receive a notice of violation and the case may be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office or local city attorney for prosecution.

Conan of Aquilonia is a collection of four linked fantasy short stories written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The stories were originally published in Fantastic for August 1972, July 1973, July 1974, and February, 1975. The collected stories were intended for book publication by Lancer Books, but this edition never appeared due to Lancer's bankruptcy. The first book edition was issued in paperback by Ace Books in May 1977 and the first British edition was published by Sphere Books in October 1978.

Balluta Bay is a bay on the northeast coast of Malta within St. Julian's. It is a popular recreation spot used for swimming, diving, and water sports, with a triangular pjazza surrounded by cafes and shaded by Judas trees.

Its skyline is dominated by the neo-gothic Carmelite Parish Church and the stunning art nouveau Balluta Buildings, which are apartment buildings on the eastern shore, as well as a cluster of terraced townhouses in the local variant of Georgian-style architecture. The south shore of Balluta Bay features Le Meridien St. Julian's Hotel, built on the grounds surrounding the 18th century Villa Cassar Torregiani.