title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The "45RFE" and "545RFE" automatic transmission in the WJ was notable. It included three planetary gear sets rather than the two normally used in a four-speed automatic. This gave it six theoretical speeds, and it would have been the first six-speed transmission ever produced in volume, but it was programmed to only use five of these ratios. Four were used for upshifts, with a different second gear for downshifts. Although five of the six ratios were used, Chrysler decided to call it a "4-speed automatic". For MY 2001, the programming was changed to make use of all six ratios. Rather than have six forward gears, the transmission was programmed to act as a five-speed with the alternate second gear for downshifts. The rpm at on a 545RFE is 2,000 rpm, 200 rpm less than the 45RFE programming. 1999 and 2000 model-year WJ owners can have their 45RFE transmission's programming flashed to enable the extra gear as both transmissions are physically the same. (Must purchase new PCM and ABS module and program them with a fake VIN to make this work.) The 42RE 4-speed automatic remained the transmission for the inline 6 engine. It had slight changes from the previous model Grand Cherokee.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The interior was also completely redesigned. The redesign allowed for larger rear doors, and more space for rear passengers. Controls for various items like headlights, heated seats, and rear wiper were moved to more convenient locations. The electronic Vehicle Information center was moved from below the radio to above the windshield and was standard on 2000–2004 models. Limited models included automatic dual-zone climate control. A 10-CD changer was also available with the Infinity Audio package.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In addition to Jeep's UniFrame construction, Daimler Chrysler partnered with Porsche to further strengthen the frame. This was done to reduce Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH). UniFrame is an unusual construction scheme, it incorporates all of the strength and durability of a body-on-frame construction into a unitized construction. By adding stiffness and rigidity to the structure, they enhanced the ride and strengthened the network of steel beams, rails and pillars (or "safety cage") that surround and protect occupants. More than 70 percent of the underbody is high-strength steel. All Jeep Grand Cherokees feature UniFrame construction.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The Grand Cherokee received a minor facelift for 2004 including round fog lamps, a lower front fascia, and a new body color-matched inset grille design.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The WK Grand Cherokee debuted in 2004 for the 2005 model year at the 2004 New York International Auto Show with available Quadra-Drive II four-wheel drive, rear-seat DVD player and optional 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The 3.7-liter V6 engine replaced the 4.0-Liter straight-6. A Mercedes-Benz-sourced 3.0-liter V6 Common Rail Diesel (CRD) was available outside of North America from launch.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Jeep replaced the XJ-era leading-arms live-axle front suspension (found in the ZJ and WJ) with an independent double-wishbone setup like that which debuted in the 2002 Liberty. Classed as a truck-based SUV, the WH/WK Grand Cherokee offers "crossover" refinement, capability and NVH.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee made its European debut at the Euro Camp Jeep in Ardèche, France. This Jeep has gained 4 stars in the Euro NCAP crash safety tests conducted in 2005.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The Grand Cherokee received a minor facelift for 2008 with revised headlights and available High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps with auto-leveling. The lower portion of the front bumper was still removable as it was from launch to increase the approach angle for off-road use. The 4.7-liter was refined, now producing , and .


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee is available with an improved 5.7-liter Hemi engine rated at and of torque. The engine uses variable valve timing to increase fuel economy.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The fourth-generation WK2 Grand Cherokee went on sale in summer 2010 as a 2011 model. It was unveiled at the 2009 New York Auto Show. In 2009, during its development, Chrysler management used it as an example of future products to convince United States federal regulators of Chrysler's future viability for the purpose of requesting a federal loan. This culminated in the Chrysler Chapter 11 reorganization that same year.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Like previous generations, the WK2 Grand Cherokee chassis is a steel unibody. Unlike previous generations, it features four-wheel independent suspension for better on-road handling. The WK2 and 2011 Durango use a Chrysler designed and engineered platform/chassis that Mercedes-Benz later used for the Mercedes-Benz series. The Chrysler designed platform was part of the DaimlerChrysler engineering projects that were to launch the WK2 Grand Cherokee with the Mercedes-Benz ML to follow.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Engine choices include the all new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The Hemi V8 retains the Multiple Displacement System (MDS) that shuts down four cylinders in low-power driving situations. The V8 comes with the multi-speed automatic transmission that includes Electronic Range Selection (ERS) to manually limit the high gear operating range. Trailer towing is rated for Hemi models and for Pentastar models. A 3.0 L turbocharged diesel V6 developed and built by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and VM Motori (with Multijet II injection) rated at and of torque offered in export markets from mid-2011. The new 3.0 L CRD turbodiesel engine is available in European markets as low-power version.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The new Grand Cherokee SRT8, which started production on July 16, 2011, is equipped with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine. Jeep claims the new SRT8 gets 13 percent better fuel economy than its predecessor.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: For the 2022 model year, Jeep marketed the outgoing Grand Cherokee WK2 alongside the all-new Grand Cherokee WL model as the Grand Cherokee WK (not to be confused with the Grand Cherokee (WK), which was produced from 2005 until 2010). The lineup is condensed to base Laredo "E", mid-level Laredo "X", and range-topping Limited trims, with the only engine option being the base 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 gasoline engine.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The fifth generation (WL) Grand Cherokee was revealed as the three-row LWB version, Grand Cherokee L on January 7, 2021. The two-row version was revealed on September 30, 2021. The Grand Cherokee L is assembled at the new Mack Avenue Assembly Complex, which is built on the grounds of the Mack Avenue Engine Complex in Detroit, Michigan. The two-row Grand Cherokee will continue to be assembled at the nearby Jefferson North Assembly Plant, where it has been assembled since its introduction in 1992 for the 1993 model year.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Three different four-wheel-drive systems will be available: Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II featuring low range, and Quadra-Drive II with low range and "Quadra Lift" air suspension system, as well as rear-wheel drive. When properly equipped, the Grand Cherokee will be able to tow up to . The Grand Cherokee will also be able to ford up to of water (when equipped with the Quadra Lift air suspension system). All engines will be mated to a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission that is controlled via a rotary shift knob. The Selec Terrain system, first introduced on the Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK2), will also be available on the Grand Cherokee WL, and is now controlled via a toggle switch in the center console. The Quadra Lift air suspension system is available only with the Quadra-Drive II system.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The 2021 Grand Cherokee is the third Fiat Chrysler Automobiles product to offer the new UConnect 5 infotainment suite, which will offer either an 8.4-inch or 10.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen display, SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 360L, SiriusXM Travel Link services, UConnect Guardian (powered by SiriusXM), a 4G LTE wireless Internet hotspot, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, and an integrated virtual assistant that can be activated by the phrase, "Hey UConnect", or "Hey Jeep", and can control multiple features of the vehicle, as well as provide other pertinent information.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The Grand Cherokee L went on sale in June 2021, wheelbase is longer than the previous generation two-row model, and longer than its two-row counterpart. It is equipped with an independent front and multi-link rear suspension. It arrived in Mexico in September 2021, offered only in the Summit Reserve 4X4 trim.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The Grand Cherokee L is available in five trim levels: Laredo, Altitude, Limited, Overland, and Summit. While all models will be powered by a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 gasoline engine producing and (now assisted by the eTorque Mild Hybrid system), Overland and Summit models will also offer the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 gasoline engine with Multi Displacement System (MDS) that will produce and of torque.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: For the first time, the Grand Cherokee will offer a 950-watt, nineteen-speaker McIntosh premium amplified surround sound audio system, replacing the previous 825-watt, eighteen-speaker Harman Kardon system on the Grand Cherokee WK2. Other new features available for the first time on a Grand Cherokee include massaging front seats, a rear seat view camera, a surround-view (360-degree) camera system, a rear view camera digital mirror, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, Qi-compatible wireless device charging, heated and ventilated second-row seats, second-row captain's chairs, twenty-one inch tires and wheels, Level 2 semi-autonomous driving technology, and power-folding second and third-row seats.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: For 2022, the Grand Cherokee L, along with the all-new two-row Grand Cherokee, received the front passenger interactive touchscreen display, which was first introduced on the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Integrated into the woodgrain trim on the passenger side of the dashboard, the widescreen display allows the passenger to stream music wirelessly via Bluetooth to the vehicle's audio system, view the GPS navigation map, and send destinations directly to the central touchscreen display's navigation system. The display features a special coating that allow only the front passenger to view it while the vehicle is in motion.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Originally scheduled to be released for the 2021 model year, but delayed until 2022, The two-row Grand Cherokee is available in seven trim levels: Laredo, Altitude, Limited, Overland, Trailhawk, Summit, and Summit Reserve (the off-road oriented Trailhawk trim will not be available on the long wheelbase Grand Cherokee L model). Compared to the previous generation two-row Grand Cherokee, the total passenger volume increases by , while cargo space is up .


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Engine choices are carried over from the previous generation Grand Cherokee (WK2), with two naturally-aspirated units, but also added is turbocharged gasoline/electric plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. The base engine on all Grand Cherokees is the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 gasoline engine, producing , and of torque.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The optional engine, available on all Grand Cherokee trims aside from the Laredo, Altitude, and Limited, is the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 gasoline engine with the Multi Displacement System (MDS) cylinder deactivation system, producing , and of torque. When equipped with the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 gasoline engine, the all-new Grand Cherokee has a maximum towing capacity of . All engines, including the Plug In Hybrid (PHEV) powertrain, are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, with Stellantis manufacturing the 850RE transmission for the 3.6-liter model, and ZF manufacturing the 8HP70 transmission for the 5.7-liter model (all transmissions are based on the design of the ZF 8HP transmission, and use a new rotary controller in the center console). In addition to rear-wheel-drive, three different four-wheel-drive systems are available, and use a new Selec-Terrain toggle controller (the Quadra Drive II four-wheel-drive system also features the Quadra-Lift air suspension system. The Quadra-Lift system can raise or lower the vehicle to different heights, and is standard on all Trailhawk models.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: It is available with an optional 4xe plug-in hybrid available on the Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, Summit, and Summit Reserve trim levels. It uses an electrically assisted 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making a total of and . The 17 kWh battery pack provides an estimated of range when running solely on electric power. It has the ability to tow .


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: At the 2022 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), Jeep introduced the 2022 Grand Cherokee 4xe High Altitude Edition Package. Available on both Summmit and Summit Reserve trims, the High Altitude Edition Package features dark exterior accents, unique 21-inch wheels. Following introduction on the Grand Cherokee 4xe, the High Altitude Edition Package will also be available on the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L in both Summit and Summit Reserve trims. A new exterior color, Hydro Blue Pearlcoat, will also be available on most Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee 4xe, and Grand Cherokee L models.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into 1993–2004 model year Jeep Grand Cherokees which involves the fuel tanks of these SUVs. In moderate- to high-energy rear collisions, the fuel tank (located behind the rear axle) could be compromised structurally, resulting in fuel leakage and fire. The NHTSA claims that it has reports of 157 deaths resulting from fires caused by Grand Cherokees crashing. Also affected are 2002–2007 Jeep Liberty models and 1986–2001 Jeep Cherokee models, which totals about 5.1 million affected vehicles.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In June 2013, Chrysler Corporation responded to the recall, agreeing to recall 2.7 million Jeeps, though eliminating both the 1986–2001 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) and 1999–2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ from the recall. The recall will include 2.7 million 1993–1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ and 2002–2007 Jeep Liberty KJ vehicles.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Two weeks prior to this recall, Chrysler Corporation claimed that the affected Jeep vehicles were safe, citing the vehicles' rates of fatal rear-impact crashes involving fire as well as their compliance with then-current requirements of FMVSS standard No. 301, though agreed to recall the affected vehicles later. To remedy the problem, Jeep dealerships will install a trailer hitch onto the rear bumpers of the vehicles that will protect the fuel tank if the vehicle is involved in a rear impact. If an affected vehicle is not currently equipped with a trailer hitch, one will be installed onto it, and older Jeep and non-factory aftermarket trailer hitches will be replaced with one from Chrysler Corporation. Despite the recall, the market for these Jeep vehicles has not suffered.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In May 2013 there was a recall of WKs with the Quadra-Drive II and Quadra-Trac II systems. This followed cases of cars rolling away due to the transfer case moving into neutral of its own accord, and the owner not having applied the parking brake. The recall revised the Final Drive Control Module (FDCM) software. However, following the recall there were widespread reports on enthusiast web sites of both the neutral and low ratio modes of the transfer case ceasing to function, and a survey showed that fewer than 10% of respondents had experienced no issues with the recall. Attempting to resolve these issues, some dealers subsequently replaced the transfer case actuator, FDCM, and even the transfer case itself, often at customer expense and usually to no avail.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The cause of the roll-aways was faulty soldering in the transfer case actuator. It has been deduced that the revised software detects this by noting any deviation in resistance, and thereupon locks the transfer case in the high ratio for safety; but that it is over-reacting to minor resistance variations from other causes. Originally Chrysler dealers claimed that the loss of neutral and low ratio following the recall was a coincidence; then it claimed that the revised software was revealing pre-existing faults in the system, despite it occurring even with new parts. Chrysler has also claimed that only a small fraction of cars have issues following the recall; but most users never have occasion to use the low ratio and may never discover the fault. Four years after this recall its issues remain unresolved.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In April 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered a recall of 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees and other cars that use an electronic gear shifter because it sometimes does not go into (or does not remain in) the park position, despite the operator's best intentions. Consumers reported that they put the car in park and left the engine running, and then were surprised when the car rolled away under power.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: An investigation by FCA US and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found some drivers have exited their vehicles without first selecting "PARK." Such behavior may pose a safety risk if a vehicle's engine is still running.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The company is aware of 41 injuries that are potentially related. It was also the cause of actor Anton Yelchin's death. The vehicles involved in these events were inspected and no evidence of equipment failure was found. The vehicles also deliver warning chimes and alert messages if their driver-side doors are opened while their engines are still running and "PARK" is not engaged. However, the investigation suggested these measures may be insufficient to deter some drivers from exiting their vehicles without selecting "PARK," so FCA US will enhance the warnings and transmission-shift strategy on these vehicles. The enhancements will combine warnings with a transmission-shift strategy to automatically prevent a vehicle from moving, under certain circumstances, even if the driver fails to select "PARK."


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: The final fix was Safety Recall S27 / NHTSA 16V-240, a software update that adds an "auto park" feature that will automatically put the vehicle in park if the driver's door is opened and the driver seatbelt is unlatched while the vehicle is stopped or moving slowly.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: Jeep has now replaced the shifter with a conventional lever which stays in position for late-2016 models.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In July 2017, 2012–14 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs were recalled due to possible alternator failure. If the alternator fails, the vehicle may stall and/or if the alternator has a short circuit, a fire may occur.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: In October 2017, 2011–14 model year Grand Cherokees were recalled due to improperly installed brake shields in some vehicles.


title: Jeep Grand Cherokee

text: On February 25, 2022, Stellantis and Jeep issued a stop-sale order for 2022 Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L models in dealership inventory. The order was issued after it was discovered that the Radio Frequency Hub Module (RFHM) would cause some vehicles to not recognize the key fob, rendering the vehicles unable to start. This would require the vehicles to be towed to the dealership. This order only affected a "limited number of vehicles", and parts were shipped to dealerships as soon as they became available.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: The Amazing Race 33 is the thirty-third season of the American reality television show "The Amazing Race". It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: Though filming initially started in February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused production to be placed on hold for over a year and a half. The race resumed in September 2021 with most of the original teams and a modified route. The season premiered on CBS on January 5, 2022, and the season finale aired on March 2, 2022.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: Married internet personalities Kim and Penn Holderness were the winners of this season, while flight attendants Raquel Moore and Cayla Platt finished in second place, and best friends Ryan Ferguson and Dusty Harris finished in third.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: In January 2020, during the winter press tour for the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California, "Amazing Race" co-creators and executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, who were promoting their new National Geographic show "Race to the Center of the Earth", confirmed to Andy Dehnart of "Reality Blurred" that they would be filming a thirty-third season of "The Amazing Race" later in the year.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: Filming began on February 22, 2020, after host Phil Keoghan finished filming the first season of "Tough as Nails". This season of "The Amazing Race" started with Keoghan contacting teams at their homes, instructing them to travel to London, and it was expected to conclude in mid-March. However, filming was suspended on February 28 after three legs had been completed in England and Scotland with the contestants and production crew sent home as a precaution due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. According to van Munster, he contacted CBS after he and his crew arrived in Sweden to film in Lapland, where the fourth leg was to take place, to halt the season due to the dangers of the emerging pandemic. In addition to Sweden, the remainder of the original racecourse prior to production shutdown would have visited Austria, Italy, Vietnam, Thailand, South America, and a first-time visit to Nepal.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: After the season was suspended, Phil Keoghan stated that the show intended to resume filming where it had left off, but he also acknowledged that filming could not resume until viral transmissions declined. Kelly Kahl, the President of CBS Entertainment, stated that the show would film "as soon as we can safely get back into production" with the producers working to "plot out a race that sticks to countries that are safe" but acknowledged the difficulties of "literally [having] to navigate some international waters." Kahl also stated that he wasn't aware of any contestants that had dropped out of the season. Keoghan later stated a year later that he could not guarantee that every team would be able to return once filming restarted. In April 2021, Mitch Graham, SVP of Alternative Programming, stated that production looked at the option of going to COVID-light countries but that it was unlikely as it would not lead to the same experience of traveling the globe. The following month, the creators of the show stated that they have plans to resume filming the season once they can assure team safety with mass vaccinations in target travel locations. Kahl stated that he hoped to have the season air in the midseason of the 2021–22 television season provided that enough countries open up in the coming months to film the remaining legs. In an interview with Gold Derby in June 2021, Keoghan stated that a plan to film safely had been established.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: In September 2021, Thom Sherman, the Senior Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Entertainment, announced at the Television Critics Association that the show was in pre-production and would return for the 2021–22 television season. In order to restart the season, production chartered an "Amazing Race"-branded Titan Airways Boeing 757 for subsequent travel by teams and crew, which included four COVID testing teams, to reduce infection risk. To account for common travel on the chartered jet, teams were released from the charter plane in a number of groups, with those who had checked in at the previous Pit Stop earlier able to start the next leg earlier. Keoghan said that the use of a chartered jet was something they had considered to use on the show previously as it eliminated problems with airports, and in this season, they at times did not inform the racers where their next destination was until they landed, making it like a mystery tour for the racers. New tasks were developed with social distancing in mind, with preference for outdoor activities rather than crowded indoor ones. Teams were still made to rely on either their own driving or using public transportation where production affirmed that drivers took COVID precautions.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: Racers traveled to Switzerland and resumed racing on September 19, 2021, after (nearly nineteen months). The remaining legs after Scotland were altered to have travel proceed through locations with the lowest COVID-19 rates: Zürich, Lugano, Corsica, Halkidiki, Thessaloniki, and Lisbon before returning to Los Angeles. However, four teams were unable to return after production resumed due to extenuating circumstances: Anthony was unable to return due to work; Caro & Ray had broken up during the hiatus and Caro's work visa had expired, meaning she was unable to return to the United States due to travel restrictions against non-U.S. citizens; Connie and Sam were expecting a child when the restart was planned; and Taylor was on bereavement following the death of his brother from COVID-19 which had occurred shortly before the planned restart. Two teams that had been originally eliminated before the production shutdown, Michael & Moe and Arun & Natalia, were brought back to the competition. Filming of the season wrapped in October.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: This season saw Jesse Tannenbaum, who was recently promoted to casting director of "Survivor" starting with "Island of the Idols", become the show's new casting director, a role he previously held during season 29 and season 30, after Lynne Spillman's contract with CBS expired in 2018. The cast was announced by CBS on December 10, 2021.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: The cast included "Love Island" season 1 couple Caro Viehweg and Ray Gantt; married internet personalities Kim and Penn Holderness; 2015 Thalys train attack heroes Anthony Sadler and Spencer Stone; and Ryan Ferguson, who spent ten years in prison after being wrongfully convicted.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: In 2022, Caro Viehweg and Ray Gantt appeared on the fifth season of MTV's "Ex on the Beach". Cayla Platt competed on "".


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order. Note that the race was suspended at the end of Leg 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resumed a year-and-a-half later.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: "The Amazing Race 33" received mixed-to-positive reviews. Andy Dehnart of "reality blurred" wrote that ""The Amazing Race 33" was a great season overall. Even with some very thin legs, it felt to me like a throwback to earlier seasons, especially with the post-restart season not having any U-Turns or Yields." Sage Negron of "Comic Book Resources" wrote that "Season 33 ended up being one of the show's stronger outings." Sandy Casanova of Hidden Remote called it "another amazing season". Dustin Rowles of Pajiba called it "a strange and almost surreal season of "The Amazing Race"." Denton Davidson of Gold Derby wrote that he "loved most of the cast, but the pandemic and changes it caused this race really hurt the season overall." Daniel Fienberg of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that the season was "generally muted and limited challenge-wise" due to the pandemic.


title: The Amazing Race 33

text: Canadian broadcaster CTV also aired "The Amazing Race" on Wednesdays. Canadian DVR ratings are included in Numeris's count.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as "Diner" (1982); "The Natural" (1984); "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987); "Bugsy" (1991); and "Wag the Dog" (1997). He won the Academy Award for Best Director for "Rain Man" (1988). In 2021, he co-executive produced the Hulu miniseries "Dopesick" and directed the first two episodes.


title: Barry Levinson

text: After growing up in Forest Park, Baltimore and graduating from Forest Park Senior High School in 1960, Levinson attended Baltimore City Community College and American University in Washington, D.C. at the American University School of Communication, where he studied broadcast journalism.


title: Barry Levinson

text: He then moved to Los Angeles to work as an actor and writer and performed comedy routines. Levinson at one time shared an apartment with would-be drug smuggler (and subject of the movie "Blow") George Jung.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson's first writing work was for variety shows such as "The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine", "The Lohman and Barkley Show", "The Tim Conway Show", and "The Carol Burnett Show". After some success as a screenwriter – notably the Mel Brooks comedies "Silent Movie" (1976) and "High Anxiety" (1977) (in which he played a bellboy) and the Oscar-nominated script (co-written by then-wife Valerie Curtin) "...And Justice for All" (1979) – Levinson began his career as a film director.


title: Barry Levinson

text: His first directorial effort was "Diner" (1982), for which he also wrote the script, earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. "Diner" was the first of four films set in the Baltimore of Levinson's youth. The other three were "Tin Men" (1987), a story of aluminum-siding salesmen in the 1960s starring Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito; the immigrant family saga "Avalon" (1990) featuring Elijah Wood in one of his earliest screen appearances; and "Liberty Heights" (1999).


title: Barry Levinson

text: His biggest hit, both critically and financially, was "Rain Man" (1988), a sibling drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise in which Levinson appeared as a doctor in a cameo appearance. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also won the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson directed the popular period baseball drama "The Natural" (1984), starring Robert Redford. Redford would later direct "Quiz Show" (1994), and he cast Levinson as television personality Dave Garroway. Levinson also directed the classic war comedy "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987), starring Robin Williams (as Adrian Cronauer), and he later collaborated with Williams on the fantasy film "Toys" (1992) and the political comedy "Man of the Year" (2006). Levinson also directed the critically acclaimed historical crime drama "Bugsy" (1991), which starred Warren Beatty and which was nominated for ten Academy Awards.


title: Barry Levinson

text: He directed Dustin Hoffman again in "Wag the Dog" (1997), a political comedy co-starring Robert De Niro about a war staged in a film studio. (Levinson had been an uncredited co-writer on Hoffman's 1982 hit comedy "Tootsie.") The film won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson partnered with producer Mark Johnson to form the film production company Baltimore Pictures, with 1990's "Avalon" as the company's first production. Johnson departed the firm in 1994. Levinson has been a producer or executive producer for such major productions as "The Perfect Storm" (2000), directed by Wolfgang Petersen; "Analyze That" (2002), starring De Niro as a neurotic mob boss and Billy Crystal as his therapist; and "Possession" (2002), based on the best-selling novel by A. S. Byatt.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson has a television production company with Tom Fontana (The Levinson/Fontana Company) and has served as executive producer for a number of series, including "" (which ran on NBC from 1993 to 1999) and the HBO prison drama "Oz". Levinson also played an uncredited main role as a judge in the short-lived TV series "The Jury".


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson published his first novel, "Sixty-Six" (), in 2003, and like several of his films, it is semi-autobiographical and set in Baltimore in the 1960s. In 2004, he directed two webisodes of the American Express ads "The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman." In 2004, he was also the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award. Levinson directed a documentary "PoliWood" about the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions: the documentary — produced by Tim Daly, Robin Bronk and Robert E. Baruc — had its premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson, in 2011, was developing a film based on Whitey Bulger, the Boston crime boss. The film "Black Mass" (script by Jim Sheridan, Jez Butterworth, and Russell Gewirtz) is based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, and it is said to be the "true story of Billy Bulger, Whitey Bulger, FBI agent John Connelly and the FBI's witness protection program created by J. Edgar Hoover." Levinson later left the project.


title: Barry Levinson

text: Levinson finished production on "The Humbling" (2014), starring Al Pacino. Levinson also directed "Rock the Kasbah" (2015), written by Mitch Glazer. The film starred Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Leem Lubany, Scott Caan, Danny McBride, Kelly Lynch, Arian Moayed, Taylor Kinney, and Beejan Land.


title: Barry Levinson

text: In 2010 Levinson received the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, which is the lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of America.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the clerical change and mostly remained in the same structure they took at the introduction of the regular script in the 2nd century. Over the following centuries, traditional characters were regarded as the standard form of printed Chinese characters or literary Chinese throughout the Sinosphere until the middle of the 20th century, before different script reforms initiated by countries using Chinese characters as a writing system.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Traditional Chinese characters remain in common use in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside Southeast Asia; in addition, Hanja in Korean language remains virtually identical to traditional characters, which is still used to a certain extent in South Korea, despite differing standards used among these countries over some variant Chinese characters. In Taiwan, the standardization of traditional characters is stipulated through the promulgation of the Standard Form of National Characters, which is regulated by Taiwan's Ministry of Education. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore in official publications.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: The debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Currently, many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both character sets.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty and have been more or less stable since the 5th century (during the Southern and Northern dynasties).


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: The retronym "traditional Chinese" is used to contrast traditional characters with "simplified Chinese characters", a standardized character set introduced in the 1950s by the government of the People's Republic of China on Mainland China.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Although simplified characters are endorsed by the government of China and taught in schools, there is no prohibition against using traditional characters. Traditional characters are used informally, primarily in handwriting (Chinese calligraphy), but also for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear. Nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China use simplified characters.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: In Hong Kong and Macau, traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, however, simplified Chinese characters are also used to accommodate Mainland Chinese tourists and immigrants. The use of simplified characters has led to residents being concerned about protecting their local heritage.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, simplified characters (簡體字) might be understood by some Taiwanese people, as it could take little effort to learn them. Some writing stroke simplifications have long been in folk handwriting from the ancient time, existing as an informal variant form () of the traditional characters.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as the "Chinese Commercial News", "World News", and "United Daily News" all use traditional characters. So do some magazines from Hong Kong, such as the "Yazhou Zhoukan". On the other hand, the "Philippine Chinese Daily" uses simplified characters.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: DVD subtitles for film or television mostly use traditional Characters, that subtitling being influenced by Taiwanese usage and by both countries being within the same DVD region, 3.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Having immigrated to the United States during the second half of the 19th century, well before the institution of simplified characters, Chinese-Americans have long used traditional characters. Therefore, US public notices and signage in Chinese are generally in traditional Chinese.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Traditional Chinese characters are known by different names within the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially calls traditional Chinese characters "standard characters" or "orthodox characters" (). However, the same term is used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard, simplified, "and" traditional characters from variant and idiomatic characters.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: In contrast, users of traditional characters outside Taiwan—such as those in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas Chinese communities, and also users of simplified Chinese characters—call the traditional characters "complex characters" (), "old characters" (), or "full Chinese characters" () to distinguish them from simplified Chinese characters.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Some users of traditional characters argue that traditional characters are the original form of the Chinese characters and cannot be called "complex". Similarly, they argue that simplified characters cannot be called "standard" because they are not used in all Chinese-speaking regions. Conversely, supporters of simplified Chinese characters object to the description of traditional characters as "standard", since they view the new simplified characters as the contemporary standard used by the vast majority of Chinese speakers. They also point out that traditional characters are not truly traditional, as many Chinese characters have been made more elaborate over time.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Some people refer to traditional characters as simply "proper characters" ( or ) and to simplified characters as "simplified-stroke characters" () or "reduced-stroke characters" () ("simplified-" and "reduced-" are actually homophones in Mandarin Chinese, both pronounced "jiǎn; ㄐㄧㄢˇ" ).


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: When printing text, people in mainland China and Singapore use the simplified system. In writing, most people use informal, sometimes personal simplifications. In most cases, an alternative character () will be used in place of one with more strokes, such as for . In the old days, there were two main uses for alternative characters. First, alternative characters were used to name an important person in less formal contexts, reserving traditional characters for use in formal contexts, as a sign of respect, an instance of what is called "offence-avoidance" () in Chinese. Secondly, alternative characters were used when the same characters were repeated in context to show that the repetition was intentional rather than a mistake ().


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: In the past, traditional Chinese was most often rendered using the Big5 character encoding scheme, a scheme that favours traditional Chinese. However, Unicode, which gives equal weight to both simplified and traditional Chinese characters, has become increasingly popular as a rendering method. There are various IMEs (Input Method Editors) available to input Chinese characters. There are still many Unicode characters that cannot be written using most IMEs, one example being the character used in the Shanghainese dialect instead of , which is U+20C8E ( with a radical).


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: In font filenames and descriptions, the acronym TC is used to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters to differentiate fonts that use SC for Simplified Chinese characters.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: The World Wide Web Consortium recommends the use of the language tag as a language attribute and Content-Language value to specify web-page content in traditional Chinese.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: In Japanese, "kyūjitai" is the now-obsolete, non-simplified form of simplified ("shinjitai") "Jōyō kanji". These non-simplified characters are mostly congruent with the traditional characters in Chinese, save for a few minor regional graphical differences. Furthermore, characters that are not included in the Jōyō list are generally recommended to be printed in their original non-simplified forms, save for a few exceptions.


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: In Korean, traditional Chinese characters are identical with "Hanja" (now almost completely replaced by "Hangul" for general use in most cases, but nonetheless unchanged from Chinese except for some Korean-made Hanja).


title: Traditional Chinese characters

text: Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups, especially the Maniq people—of southern Yala Province of Thailand and northeastern Kedah state of Malaysia—for writing the Kensiu language.


title: Laura Bush

text: Laura Lane Welch Bush ("née" Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. She is the wife of former President George W. Bush, and the daughter-in-law of former president George H. W. Bush.


title: Laura Bush

text: Born in Midland, Texas, Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in education, and took a job as a second grade teacher. After attaining her master's degree in library science at the University of Texas at Austin, she was employed as a librarian.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush met her future husband, George W. Bush, in 1977, and they were married later that year. The couple had twin daughters in 1981. Bush's political involvement began during her marriage. She campaigned with her husband during his unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress, and later for his successful Texas gubernatorial campaign.


title: Laura Bush

text: As First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health, education, and literacy. In 1999–2000, she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency in a number of ways, such as delivering a keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which gained her national attention. She became First Lady after her husband was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2001.


title: Laura Bush

text: Polled by The Gallup Organization as one of the most popular First Ladies, Bush was involved in national and global concerns during her tenure. She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and literacy by establishing the annual National Book Festival in 2001, and encouraged education on a worldwide scale. She also advanced women's causes through The Heart Truth and Susan G. Komen for the Cure organizations. She represented the United States during her foreign trips, which tended to focus on HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness.


title: Laura Bush

text: Laura Lane Welch was born on November 4, 1946, at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas, the only child of Harold Welch and Jenna Louise ( Hawkins) Welch. She is of English, French, and Swiss ancestry.


title: Laura Bush

text: Her father was a house builder and later successful real estate developer, while her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father's business. Early on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love of reading. She said, "I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the "Little House on the Prairie" and "Little Women" books, and many others ... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life." Bush has also credited her second grade teacher, Charlene Gnagy, for inspiring her interest in education.


title: Laura Bush

text: On the night of November 6, 1963, two days after her 17th birthday, Laura Welch ran a stop sign and struck another car, killing its driver. The victim was her close friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas. By some accounts, Douglas had been Welch's boyfriend at one time, but she stated that he was not her boyfriend at that time but rather a very close friend. Welch and her passenger, both 17, were treated for minor injuries. According to the accident report released by the city of Midland in 2000, in response to an open-records request, she was not charged in the incident. In 2000 Laura Bush's spokesman said, "It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at large." In her book "Spoken from the Heart", she said that the crash caused her to lose her faith "for many, many years".


title: Laura Bush

text: She attended James Bowie Elementary School, San Jacinto Junior High School, and Robert E. Lee High School in Midland. She graduated from Lee in 1964 and went on to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.


title: Laura Bush

text: After graduating from SMU, she began her career as a school teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District. She then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a Houston Independent School District school in Houston, until 1972.


title: Laura Bush

text: In 1973, Bush attained a Master of Science degree in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin. She was soon employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library. The following year, she moved back to Austin and took another job as a librarian in the Austin Independent School District school Dawson Elementary until 1977. She reflected on her employment experiences to a group of children in 2003, saying, "I worked as a teacher and librarian and I learned how important reading is in school and in life."


title: Laura Bush

text: She met George W. Bush in July 1977 when mutual friends Joe and Jan O'Neill invited her and Bush to a backyard barbecue at their home. He proposed to her at the end of September and they were married on November 5 of that year, the day after her 31st birthday, at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, the same church in which she had been baptized. Laura bought a tan, two-toned dress off the rack for the wedding. The couple honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico. George W. Bush detailed his choice to marry Laura as the "best decision of [his] life". Laura, an only child, said she gained "brothers and sisters and wonderful in-laws" who all accepted her after she wed George W. Bush.


title: Laura Bush

text: The year after their marriage, the couple began campaigning for George W. Bush's 1978 Congressional candidacy. According to George Bush, when he asked her to marry him, she had said, "Yes. But only if you promise me that I'll never have to make a campaign speech." She soon relented, and gave her first stump speech for him in 1978 on the courthouse steps in Muleshoe, Texas. After narrowly winning the primary, he lost the general election.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush attended the inauguration of her father-in-law George H. W. Bush as Ronald Reagan's vice-president in January 1981, after Reagan won the 1980 United States presidential election. She credited her father-in-law's election to the vice presidency with giving her and her husband national exposure.


title: Laura Bush

text: The Bushes had tried to conceive for three years, but pregnancy did not happen easily. On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The twins were born five weeks early by an emergency Caesarean section in Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, as Laura had developed life-threatening pre-eclampsia (toxemia).


title: Laura Bush

text: George W. Bush credited his wife with his decision to stop drinking in 1986. She reflected that she thought her husband "was drinking too much" amid her knowing it was not his desired way of living. Approaching him, she related that her father had been alcoholic and it was not a pattern she wished to repeat in their family.


title: Laura Bush

text: She is also credited with having a stabilizing effect on his private life. According to "People" magazine reporter Jane Simms Podesta, "She is the steel in his back. She is a civilizing influence on him. I think she built him, in many ways, into the person he is today."


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush traveled to Kuwait in April 1993, accompanying her in-laws as well as brothers-in-law Jeb and Marvin Bush after former president Bush was invited to return to the Middle East for the first time since his presidency.


title: Laura Bush

text: Several times a year, Bush and her husband travel to their sprawling family estate, the Bush compound, better known as Walker's Point. Located in Kennebunkport, Maine, the compound is where Bush family gatherings have been held for nearly 100 years.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush became the First Lady of Texas when her husband was elected as the Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from January 17, 1995, to December 21, 2000. When asked about her interest in politics, she responded "It doesn't drive me."


title: Laura Bush

text: Though during her years in the Governor's Mansion, she did not hold a single formal event, Laura worked for women's and children's causes including health, education, and literacy. She implemented four major initiatives: Take Time For Kids, an awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on parenting; family literacy, through cooperation with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, she urged Texas communities to establish family literacy programs; Reach Out and Read, a pediatric reading program; and Ready to Read, an early childhood educational program.


title: Laura Bush

text: She raised money for public libraries through her establishment of the Texas Book Festival, in 1995. She established the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative, which encouraged families to read together. Bush further established "Rainbow Rooms" across the state, in an effort to provide emergency services for neglected or abused children. Through this, she promoted the Adopt-a-Caseworker Program to provide support for Child Protective Services. She used her position to advocate Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer awareness as well.


title: Laura Bush

text: Her husband announced his campaign for President of the United States in mid-1999, something that she agreed to. She did say, however, that she had never dreamed that he would run for office. The Bush campaign worked to assure voters that as First Lady, she would not seek to emulate then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who had faced controversy for leading several policy initiatives from within the White House despite being unelected. When asked who she would be like out of the past First Ladies, she insisted it would be herself.


title: Laura Bush

text: In July, she delivered a keynote address to the delegates at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which put her on the national stage. In December 2000, her husband resigned as Governor of Texas to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States in January 2001.


title: Laura Bush

text: As First Lady, Bush was involved in issues of concern to children and women, both nationally and internationally. Her major initiatives included education and women's health.


title: Laura Bush

text: Early into the administration, Bush made it known that she would focus much of her attention on education. This included recruiting highly qualified teachers to ensure that young children would be taught well. She also focused on early child development. In 2001, to promote reading and education, she partnered with the Library of Congress to launch the annual National Book Festival. In January 2002, Bush testified before the Senate Committee on Education, asking for higher teachers' salaries and better training for Head Start programs. She is also credited with creating a national initiative called "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn", which promotes reading at a young age. To promote American patriotic heritage in schools, she helped launch the National Anthem Project. In 2006, Bush and media executives worked together to provide a $500,000 grant for school libraries along the Gulf Coast which had been devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


title: Laura Bush

text: [W]e need to reassure our children that they are safe in their homes and schools. We need to reassure them that many people love them and care for them, and that while there are some bad people in the world, there are many more good people.


title: Laura Bush

text: The following day, she composed open letters to America's families, focusing on elementary and middle school students, which she distributed through state education officials. She took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children, particularly the disturbing images repeatedly replayed on television. On the one-year anniversary, she encouraged parents to instead read to their children, and perhaps light a candle in memoriam, saying, "Don't let your children see the images, especially on September 11, when you know it'll probably be on television again and again – the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling."


title: Laura Bush

text: Later in her tenure, she was honored by the United Nations, as the body named her honorary ambassador for the United Nations' Decade of Literacy. In this position, she announced that she would host a Conference on Global Literacy. The conference, held in September 2006, encouraged a constant effort to promote literacy and highlighted many successful literacy programs. She coordinated this as a result of her many trips abroad where she witnessed how literacy benefited children in poorer nations.


title: Laura Bush

text: On July 28, 2008, she visited Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina, where she met with superintendent Connie Backlund and the Friends of Carl Sandburg Home's President Linda Holt as well as various students from Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County, North Carolina.


title: Laura Bush

text: On October 3, 2008, she visited Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum where she praised her works such as "Farmer Boy", "These Happy Golden Years" and "Little House on the Prairie", the last of which she had felt an association with as a child. During the same Laura Ingalls Wilder's estate visit, she said that she read her books to her daughters and gave the writer Save America's Treasures grant.


title: Laura Bush

text: On September 11, 2001, Bush had been hosting her in-laws George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush at the White House and was scheduled to give a testimony to Congress on education. Instead, during the September 11 attacks, Bush was taken to inside the White House and placed in an underground bunker, later being met by her husband, who had returned to Washington from Florida.


title: Laura Bush

text: Two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Bush inaugurated a music concert at the Kennedy Center, organized to raise funds for families of the victims. Though she received applause, she returned the compliment to members of the audience and added that although the event was tragic, Americans had deepened their appreciation "of life itself, how fragile it can be, what a gift it is and how much we need each other". Senator Ted Kennedy, who introduced Bush at the event, praised her and said he knew his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, would also be proud of her. Bush believes the September 11 attacks ignited the interest in the way Afghan women were treated.


title: Laura Bush

text: Another of her signature issues were those relating to the health and well-being of women. She established the Women's Health and Wellness Initiative and became involved with two major campaigns.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush first became involved with The Heart Truth awareness campaign in 2003. It is an organization established by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to raise awareness about heart disease in women, and how to prevent the condition. She serves in the honorary position of ambassador for the program leading the federal government's effort to give women a "wake up call" about the risk of heart disease. She commented on the disease: "Like many women, I assumed heart disease was a man's disease and cancer was what we would fear the most. Yet heart disease kills more women in our country than all forms of cancer combined. When it comes to heart disease, education, prevention, and even a little red dress can save lives." She has undertaken a signature personal element of traveling around the country and talking to women at hospital and community events featuring the experiences of women who live, or had lived, with the condition. This outreach was credited with directly saving the life of at least one woman who went to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack after hearing her message.


title: Laura Bush

text: With her predecessor, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Bush dedicated the First Ladies Red Dress Collection at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May 2005. It is an exhibit containing red suits worn by former First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush meant to raise awareness by highlighting America's first ladies. She has participated in fashion shows displaying red dresses worn on celebrities as well.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush's mother, Jenna Welch, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 78. She endured surgery and had no further signs of cancer. Laura Bush has become a breast cancer activist on her mother's behalf through her involvement in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She applauded the foundation's efforts in eliminating cancer and said, "A few short years ago, a diagnosis of breast cancer left little hope of recovery. But thanks to the work of the Komen Foundation ... more women and men are beating breast cancer and beating the odds." She used her position to gain international support for the foundation through the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas, an initiative that unites experts from the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico.


title: Laura Bush

text: In November 2001, she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address. She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in Afghanistan leading up to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, saying "The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists." Her husband was originally to give the address but he felt that she should do it; she later recalled, "At that moment, it was not that I found my voice. Instead, it was as if my voice found me." Her words summarized one of the goals and moral rationales of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and it became one of the more famous speeches of his administration. In May 2002, she made a speech to the people of Afghanistan through Radio Liberty. In March 2005, she made the first of three trips to that country as First Lady.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush campaigned for Republicans around the country in 2002 for that year's midterm elections, attending and hosting fundraisers as well as giving speeches.


title: Laura Bush

text: Opponents deemed this as the Bush administration "working against women's rights issues and using women to do their dirty work" and partly a test for Bush on how well she could campaign for her husband in the impending two years when he sought re-election.


title: Laura Bush

text: During the 2004 election cycle, Bush made joint appearances with her husband on the campaign trail, including in battleground states such as Florida. She advocated for his re-election in a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention, and was credited with having raised $15 million for her husband's campaign as well as the Republican Party while still succeeding in keeping a separate schedule that allowed for her to tend to the traditional duties she had as First Lady. In a July 2004 interview, Teresa Heinz, wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, said, "Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I don't know that she's ever had a real job—I mean, since she's been grown up." Heinz later apologized for the remark, stating that she had forgotten that Laura Bush was a teacher and librarian prior to her marriage. Bush stated that she forgave her while insisting her apology was unnecessary, citing her understanding of the "trick questions" asked by the media.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush was a participant in the 2006 midterm elections, beginning her campaigning in April. Though her poll numbers had decreased from an 80% approval rating, they still superseded that of President Bush, whose approval rating was only praised by a third of Americans. Ed Henry of CNN noted Bush's popularity, writing, "The first lady is treated like a rock star on the campaign trail – with local Republicans lining up for photographs and autographs – as she criss-crosses the country to help candidates." Bush relied on a strategy of praising the Republican candidate for their achievements and attending events alongside them. In September 2008, Bush spoke during the first night of the 2008 Republican National Convention, her joint appearance with Cindy McCain geared toward raising hurricane relief funds for victims of Hurricane Gustav.


title: Laura Bush

text: Laura Bush's approval ratings have consistently ranked very high. In January 2006, a "USA Today"/CBS/Gallup poll recorded her approval rating at 82 percent and disapproval at 13 percent. That places Bush as one of the most popular first ladies. Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, "She is more popular, and more welcome, in many parts of the country than the president ... In races where the moderates are in the most trouble, Laura Bush is the one who can do the most good."


title: Laura Bush

text: Jude Ellison Sady Doyle reasoned that Bush was hard to dislike due to her adopting "the least partisan causes" such as literacy and breast cancer, which would attract the support of most Americans and her coming off as a "mild, polite, ordinary woman who might go to church with your mother, or organize suburban potlucks". Doyle furthered that her statements were never enough to offend others and the harshest criticism that could be bestowed upon her was that she was boring.


title: Laura Bush

text: She disagreed with Fox News' Chris Wallace in 2006 when Wallace asked why the American people were beginning to lose confidence in President Bush, saying, "Well, I don't think they are. And I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country, I see people, I see their response to my husband, I see their response to me. There are a lot of difficult challenges right now in the United States ... All of those decisions that the President has to make surrounding each one of these very difficult challenges are hard. They're hard decisions to make. And of course some people are unhappy about what some of those decisions are. But I think people know that he is doing what he thinks is right for the United States, that he's doing what he – especially in the war on terror, what he thinks he is obligated to do for the people in the United States, and that is to protect them ... When his polls were really high they weren't on the front page."


title: Laura Bush

text: During the January 2005 second inauguration ceremonies for her husband, Laura Bush was looked highly upon by "People" magazine, "The Washington Post", and others for her elegance and fashion sense. At the inauguration she wore a winter white cashmere dress and matching coat designed by Oscar de la Renta. Following the inauguration were the inaugural galas, to which Bush wore a pale, aqua lace gown, sprinkled with crystals, with long sleeves in a silver blue mist. The tulle gown was also designed for her by de la Renta. According to "The Washington Post", "[I]t made her look radiant and glamorous."


title: Laura Bush

text: During her husband's second term, Bush was more involved in foreign matters. She traveled to numerous countries as a representative of the United States.


title: Laura Bush

text: As First Lady, she took five goodwill trips to Africa. The purpose of these has mostly been to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and malaria as part of the Bush administration's initiative to address the global epidemics, but Bush has also stressed the need for education and greater opportunities for women. She has taken many other trips to other countries to promote and gain support for President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief; these countries include Zambia (2007), Mozambique (2007), Mali (2007), Senegal (2007), and Haiti (2008).


title: Laura Bush

text: In mid-2007, she took a trip to Myanmar where she spoke out in support of the pro-democracy movement, and urged Burmese soldiers and militias to refrain from violence. Later that October, she ventured to the Middle East. Bush said she was in the region in an attempt to improve America's image by highlighting concern for women's health, specifically promoting her breast cancer awareness work with the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. She defined the trip as successful, saying that stereotypes were broken on both sides.


title: Laura Bush

text: Overall, Bush traveled to 77 countries in the eight years of her husband's presidency, touring 67 of those during the second term.


title: Laura Bush

text: When asked about abortion in 2000, Bush said she did not believe "Roe v. Wade" should be overturned. She did not comment on whether women had the right to an abortion. She did say, however, that the country should do "what we can to limit the number of abortions, to try to reduce the number of abortions in a lot of ways, and that is, by talking about responsibility with girls and boys, by teaching abstinence, having abstinence classes everywhere in schools and in churches and in Sunday school".


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush responded to a question during a 2006 interview concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment by calling for elected leaders not to politicize same-sex marriage, "I don't think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously. It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue ... a lot of sensitivity."


title: Laura Bush

text: On July 12, 2005, while in South Africa, Bush suggested her husband replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman. On October 2, during a private dinner at the White House with his wife, President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor. Later that month, after Miers had faced intense criticism, Laura Bush questioned whether the charges were sexist in nature.


title: Laura Bush

text: In late October 2008, days before that year's presidential election, Bush hosted a three-hour session with staffers and historians discussing how she would like to be remembered, leading to this meeting being termed the "legacy lunch". According to historian Myra Gutin, this was the first time in history that a First Lady had ever directly reached out to historians to talk about her accomplishments. Attendants of the meeting said that Bush wanted to change the perception that she was a traditional First Lady in that she always stayed by her husband's side. At a 2014 National Press Club, Anita McBride opined that it would be harder for people to understand where Bush had "the greatest impact" due to the several signature issues that Bush advocated for while First Lady.


title: Laura Bush

text: In 2017, journalist Brooke Baldwin suggested Bush's efforts toward improving the lives of Afghan women may have contributed to more Afghanistan women being in positions within the Afghanistan private sector.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush enjoyed widespread approval by the American public both as the incumbent First Lady and during her retirement. "The Washington Post" contributor Krissah Thompson recalled Bush's favorability being "as close to universal popularity as any modern political figure" when the Bushes left the White House in 2009 and called her "the most high-profile promoter of the George W. Bush legacy — a burden she carries lightly and with a smile." A 2014 poll which asked who was the most popular First Lady in the past 25 years found Bush ranked in fourth place (out of 4 candidates), behind Hillary Clinton, mother-in-law Barbara and direct successor Michelle Obama.


title: Laura Bush

text: In February 2009, the month after she and her husband left office, Laura and George W. Bush moved into a new residence in Dallas. In November 2009, the former First Lady, accompanied by her husband, made a visit to families of veterans in Fort Hood. The couple expressed their wishes that the trip not be publicized. However, Fox News revealed the trip the following morning.


title: Laura Bush

text: On May 11, 2010, during an interview on "Larry King Live", Bush was asked about same-sex marriage. She said she viewed it as a generational issue and believed it would be made legal in the future. Bush offered support for the issue by saying "when couples are committed to each other and love each other ... they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has." Bush referred to her 2000 interview, reaffirming her support for "Roe v. Wade", "I think it's important that [abortion] remain legal. Because I think it's important for people – that for medical reasons and, and other reasons."


title: Laura Bush

text: On February 22, 2013, without her consent, she was included in a pro-gay advertisement from the Respect of Marriage Coalition. A statement from Bush's spokesperson states that Bush "did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated with the group that made the ad in any way. When she became aware of the advertisement last night, we requested that the group remove her from it."


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush continued to remain involved and concerned over the state of women in Afghanistan, speaking out editorials and appearances during 2013 that the women and girls who had been helped could not be abandoned during and after the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. In March 2016, Bush wrote an op-ed for "The Washington Post" on changes occurring among women in Afghanistan while noting continued violence and calling for American involvement in Afghanistan to be consistent and predictable in continuing along with the international community "to provide significant development assistance in the areas of health care, entrepreneurship and education". In June 2016, Bush stated that she hoped the US remained in Afghanistan and had consulted with women there who feared the departure of American troops would create "a vacuum" similar to Iraq, furthering that the US "would have to start all over again" if they withdrew troops. In late 2017, Bush and First Lady of Afghanistan Rula Ghani traveled to Washington to rally lawmaker support for Afghanistan and women there.


title: Laura Bush

text: In April 2015, Bush criticized Rand Paul's isolationist stance on U.S. foreign aid, calling the view "not really realistic" and asserting the United States should save lives whenever it can. That August, she shared the first public photos of her newborn granddaughter Poppy Louise.


title: Laura Bush

text: On May 31, 2012, Bush and her husband unveiled their official portraits painted by John Howard Sanden in a ceremony at the White House attended by several members of their family and former members of the Bush administration. Bush jokingly told then First Lady Michelle Obama at the ceremony that "nothing makes a house a home like having portraits of its former occupants staring down at you from the walls". Bush was portrayed in the White House's Green Room in her portrait, wearing a midnight blue gown.


title: Laura Bush

text: On July 25, 2012, she spoke at the Luisa Hunnewell's estate, where she praised Edith Wharton's works, in particular "Ethan Frome" on her 150th anniversary. She also said that prior to this speech she also visited houses of Mark Twain at his 166th anniversary on November 29, 2001, and was a guest of the show Mark Twain Tonight. Ten years prior to the Luisa Hunnewell's estate visit she also visited Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts at which she met with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's President and listened to Concord-Carlisle High School's chorus.


title: Laura Bush

text: In April 2013, Bush was in attendance at a news conference, where she said the recently built George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum was not a monument for her husband but instead a representation of the White House and the struggles of America during his tenure. She also mentioned not having trouble donating clothes to the library, admitting that she probably would have never worn them again in the first place. That month it was announced that she would serve as a keynote speaker for the 2013 Global Business Travel Association Convention in August. At the convention, she stressed the importance of child literacy, continuing her advocating of an issue that she had become associated with since her tenure as First Lady. In early August 2013, she reported that her husband was in stable condition after having a stent implanted in his heart, calling it "terrific" that it was caught in time, and stressed the importance of regular check ups with doctors. In September, she appeared at a fundraiser for the organization Solutions for Change.


title: Laura Bush

text: On April 26, 2014, she gave a speech at the Ericsson Center in Plano, Texas, where she spoke on behalf of the company's mentoring program for girls. Throughout the month, she made appearances at fundraisers for schools in Colorado. On May 9, 2014, she was scheduled to speak at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. She was to arrive there with her daughter Barbara Pierce Bush, her husband George W. Bush, and Soledad O'Brien, a journalist.


title: Laura Bush

text: In 2015, Bush had several speaking arrangements on issues relating to her husband's presidency. In July, the former First Lady, accompanied by her husband, attended the centennial anniversary of Tioga Road In Yosemite National Park in July and appeared in New Orleans in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In October, she was a featured speaker for Wayland Baptist University.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush was keynote speaker at the Go Red for Women Summit in Austin in February 2016, an event designed to promote both financing and awareness for women fighting heart disease. In March, Bush attended the funeral of Nancy Reagan in California. and attended the memorial service for victims in the Dallas police officers shooting four months later in July.


title: Laura Bush

text: On February 4, 2017, Bush appeared at the annual Union Regional Foundation's Heart of a Woman brunch, saying women do not worry about their own health due to often taking care of someone else and that their improving in health would benefit those around them.


title: Laura Bush

text: On March 8, Bush was keynote speaker at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner, Bush relating that she had learned about the Holocaust through her father. In April, Bush was the keynote speaker of the 25th annual Art of Hope Gala at the Dallas Museum of Art. On May 17, Bush made her second visit to the Andrew Johnson Hermitage and gave the keynote address at the 117th Spring Outing celebration. On May 31, Bush delivered a speech at the South-Central Monarch Symposium on the monarch butterfly decline in recent years. On June 3, Bush served as the keynote speaker at the National Willa Cather Center dedication in Red Cloud, Nebraska and officially opened the center with a ribbon cut. The following month, Bush accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east–west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Myanmar. In September, Bush delivered the keynote address at the Gateway to Opportunity luncheon at the Omni Dallas Hotel.


title: Laura Bush

text: In April 2020, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bush and Michelle Obama made a joint appearance on the "One World: Together At Home" televised concert special by the Global Citizen Festival where they expressed appreciation for healthcare workers, first responders, pharmacists, veterinarians, sanitation workers as well as grocery store workers and those delivering food and supplies to homes.


title: Laura Bush

text: On September 11, 2021, Bush and her husband commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial.


title: Laura Bush

text: Over the course of the Obama presidency, she developed an alliance with Michelle Obama, her immediate successor as First Lady. Despite their political differences, Michelle Obama has called Laura Bush both her friend and a role model, crediting Bush with setting "a high bar" for her during her tenure as First Lady. Bush defended Obama during her husband's campaign for president in 2008, publicly coming to her defense when she received criticism for a remark she made about being proud of her country for the first time in her adulthood during the campaign.


title: Laura Bush

text: Obama sent Bush a note thanking her and after the election met with Bush at the White House in November 2008, Bush giving Obama a tour of her and her family's soon-to-be home.


title: Laura Bush

text: In September 2009, Bush openly praised President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She reasoned that President Obama was performing well in the presidency despite having multiple initiatives taking place and complimented the First Lady's transformation of the White House into "a comfortable home for her family".


title: Laura Bush

text: The following year, in September 2010, Bush and Obama commemorated the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by leading a ceremony from a mountaintop to national memorial park.


title: Laura Bush

text: The two both acted as keynote speakers and met with the families of the 40 victims of United Airlines Flight 93 plane crash. In their remarks, the two sang each other's praises. Obama thanked Bush for her handling of the aftermath of September 11 attacks, while Bush called her a "first lady who serves this country with such grace".


title: Laura Bush

text: In July 2013, Bush and Obama appeared together in Africa at the First Ladies Summit. Their husbands were also present, leading White House staffer Ben Rhodes to refer to the joint appearance as proof of the support for Africa in the United States regardless of political party. In their remarks, both Bush and Obama stressed the importance of being role models.


title: Laura Bush

text: Nine months later, on April 18, 2014, Bush spoke to "Inquisitr" regarding income inequality where she said next regarding Michelle Obama's income: "I want to make sure that when she's working she's getting paid the same as men. I gotta say that First Ladies right now don't [get paid], even though that's a tough job!" In August 2014, Bush and Obama appeared together at the Kennedy Center. Shortly afterward, Bush told "The Washington Post" that she believed Obama was ready to leave the White House.


title: Laura Bush

text: In March 2015, Bush and Obama were named as co-chairs of the Find Your Park campaign, an attempt to increase national park support and introduce millennials to the park service before its centennial the following year. The pair made a joint appearance at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in September 2015, Bush appearing physically while Obama was present through a video call. Obama spoke of her admiration for Bush, who in turn mentioned their collaborations as "a great example for the world to see that women in different political parties, in the United States, agree on so many issues".


title: Laura Bush

text: On January 20, 2017, Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Donald Trump. In a November interview, Bush stated that she wished the Trumps "the very best" given that she knew what it was like to live in the White House and confirmed that she both been in contact with former First Lady Melania Trump and been invited to the Diplomatic Reception Room by retained personnel from the Bush administration.


title: Laura Bush

text: On June 17, 2018, Bush wrote an opinion piece firmly opposing the Trump administration family separation policy in "The Washington Post". She mentioned how her mother-in-law Barbara Bush had picked up a crying AIDS baby while on a visit to the HIV/AIDS shelter "Grandma's House" in 1989. She mentioned this to indicate her shock upon discovery that the workers at the children's border shelter have been instructed "not to pick up or touch the children to comfort them".


title: Laura Bush

text: In the later months of 2012, Bush campaigned for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, hosting a fundraiser in September with Ann Romney and appearing in Livonia, Michigan, the following month for a Romney campaign event. Michigan spokeswoman for the Romney campaign Kelsey Knight said having Mrs. Bush there would "just fuel the fire and the momentum we are seeing". She also campaigned for vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, telling a crowd in Detroit that he and Romney had "better answers" on the economy and foreign policy.


title: Laura Bush

text: After the 2012 election, where Romney lost to President Obama, Bush was asked in March 2013 during an interview whether the GOP's positions on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion led to more than half of female voters voting for the President. Bush responded that some of the candidates had "frightened some candidates", but at the same time expressed her liking of the Republican Party having room for difference of opinion and that within the party, "we have room for all".


title: Laura Bush

text: Throughout 2015, Bush was active in the presidential campaign of brother-in-law Jeb Bush, hosting fundraisers and endorsing him. This was the most politically involved she had been since leaving the White House seven years prior, supporting her brother-in-law alongside the rest of her family because, in her words, he was "our candidate".


title: Laura Bush

text: In March she affirmed her support for her brother-in-law, calling herself and her husband "huge Jeb supporters". It was reported that she would be assisting the campaign's fundraising in Florida in October, Bloomberg News commenting that Jeb Bush was "calling in help from perhaps the most popular member of his family". According to Clay Johnson, a friend of the Bush family, she was reportedly surprised by Donald Trump's becoming frontrunner over the course of the election cycle. In February 2016, amid her brother-in-law's campaign trailing Trump in South Carolina polls, Bush traveled there with her husband. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race after the South Carolina primary. The following month, Bush declined answering if she would vote for Trump, who was the frontrunner in the Republican primary, should he become the nominee and said the U.S. was going through a xenophobic period at the time of the election cycle. Ultimately, Bush and her husband refused to vote for president in 2016.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush created the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries "to support the education of our nation's children by providing funds to update, extend, and diversify the book and print collections of America's school libraries". Every year, the Laura Bush Foundation's grants awards more than $1,000,000 to US schools. The Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program grant, offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, provides funding for "the recruitment and education of library students and continuing education for those already in the profession, as well as the development of new programs and curricula". Bush's 21st Century Library Program is an equal opportunity grant that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. In May 2015, Bush bestowed a $7,000 grant to six schools within Austin, Texas. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries awarded grants of $10,000 to $75,000 to school libraries whose collections were damaged or destroyed in the hurricanes. In 2017, after the devastation from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria as well the California wildfires, the foundation again is going to dedicate their resources to disaster-affected schools to rebuild their book collections.


title: Laura Bush

text: In August 2007, the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health (LWBIWH) was founded at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. This institute aims to integrate research, education and community outreach in a multidisciplinary approach to women's health and has begun efforts to establish a multi-campus women's health institute in Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock and the Permian Basin.


title: Laura Bush

text: A subsidiary of the center, the Jenna Welch Women's Center, opened in Midland, Texas, on August 10, 2010, to deliver expert medical care to women and their families. Operating in partnership with the Laura Bush Institute, the Jenna Welch Center, named for Bush's mother, strives for excellence in research, education and community outreach.


title: Laura Bush

text: Bush wrote her first book with her daughter Jenna called "Read All About It!". It was published on April 23, 2008. Bush's memoir, "Spoken from the Heart", was published in 2010. The book received mixed reviews from critics but got positive responses from readers. The book earned "Goodreads" Choice Award Nominee for Memoir and Autobiography (2010). Her non-fictional book about oppressed women of Afghanistan titled "" was published on March 8, 2016. She wrote another children's book with her daughter Jenna, "Our Great Big Backyard". The book was published on May 10, 2016. She was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Junior League of Dallas, of which she is a member.


title: Laura Bush

text: During and after her tenure as the First Lady, Laura Bush received a number of awards and honors. In October 2002, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity honored her in recognition of her efforts on behalf of education. Also in 2002, she was named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of the year.


title: Laura Bush

text: The American Library Association honored her for her years of support to America's libraries and librarians in April 2005.


title: Laura Bush

text: On October 18, 2003, she was conferred by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the Order of Gabriela Silang, a single-class order which makes her the first U.S. First Lady recipient during the state visit of President George Bush to the Philippines.


title: Laura Bush

text: She received an award in honor of her dedication to help improve the living conditions and education of children around the world, from the Kuwait-American Foundation in March 2006. She accepted The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal on behalf of disaster relief workers around the world in May 2006 from Vanderbilt University. In 2007, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.


title: Laura Bush

text: Four learning facilities have been named for her: the Laura Welch Bush Elementary School of Pasadena ISD in Houston, Texas, the Laura W. Bush Elementary School in the Leander ISD in Travis County, Texas, just outside Austin, the Laura Bush Middle School (Lubbock-Cooper ISD) in Lubbock, Texas, and the Laura Bush Education Center at Camp Bondsteel, a U.S. military base in Kosovo. She was awarded the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award. Bush is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.


title: Laura Bush

text: In 2012, Bush—along with Hector Ruiz, Charles Matthews, Melinda Perrin, Julius Glickman and Admiral William H. McRaven, the Navy Seal who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden—was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin.


title: Laura Bush

text: In October 2015, Bush was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wayland Baptist University in recognition of her longtime advocacy on behalf of education, health care and human rights following an address she gave on the university's campus. November, she received the 2015 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award.


title: Laura Bush

text: In November 2016 Bush received 10 for 10 award from "Women's Democracy Network" in recognition of her years of work on behalf of Afghan women's rights.


title: Laura Bush

text: In 2018 Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush were awarded the National Constitution Center Liberty Medal for their work with U.S. military veterans since leaving the White House.


title: Laura Bush

text: Laura Bush is portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone's film "W". Curtis Sittenfeld's bestseller novel "American Wife" is based on much of her life. In 2005 her biography "The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush" by Ann Gerhart was published. In 2006 another biography was also published called "Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady" by Ronald Kessler.


title: Dessert

text: Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts of China, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.


title: Dessert

text: The term "dessert" can apply to many confections, such as biscuits, cakes, cookies, custards, gelatins, ice creams, pastries, pies, puddings, macaroons, sweet soups, tarts, and fruit salad. Fruit is also commonly found in dessert courses because of its naturally occurring sweetness. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts.


title: Dessert

text: The word "dessert" originated from the French word "desservir," meaning "to clear the table". Its first known use in English was in 1600, in a health education manual entitled "Naturall and artificial Directions for Health", written by William Vaughan.


title: Dessert

text: In his book "Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert" (2011), Michael Krondl explains that it refers to the fact that dessert was served after the table had been cleared of other dishes.


title: Dessert

text: The term dates from the 14th century but attained its current meaning around the beginning of the 20th century, when "service à la française" (setting a variety of dishes on the table at the same time) was replaced with "service à la russe" (presenting a meal in multiple courses).


title: Dessert

text: The word "dessert" is most commonly used for this course in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States, while it is one of several synonyms (including ""pudding"", ""sweet"" and ""afters"") in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries.


title: Dessert

text: Sweets were fed to the gods in ancient Mesopotamia and ancient India and other ancient civilizations. Herodotus mentions that Persian meals featured many desserts, and were more varied in their sweet offerings than the main dishes. German army officer Helmuth von Moltke whilst serving in the Ottoman Empire noted the unusual presentation of courses with the sweet courses served between roasts and other savory dishes.


title: Dessert

text: Dried fruit and honey were probably the first sweeteners used in most of the world, but the spread of sugarcane around the world was essential to the development of dessert. Sugarcane was grown and refined in India before 500 BC and was crystallized, making it easy to transport, by AD 500. Sugar and sugarcane were traded, making sugar available to Macedonia by 300 BC and China by AD 600. In the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and China, sugar has been a staple of cooking and desserts for over a thousand years.


title: Dessert

text: Sugarcane and sugar were little known and rare in Europe until the twelfth century or later when the Crusades and then colonization spread its use. Europeans began to manufacture sugar in the Middle Ages, and more sweet desserts became available. Even then sugar was so expensive usually only the wealthy could indulge on special occasions. The first apple pie recipe was published in 1381. The earliest documentation of the term "cupcake" was in "Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats" in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's "Receipts" cookbook.


title: Dessert

text: The Industrial Revolution in Europe and later America caused led to the mass-production of foodstuffs, including desserts, that could be processed, preserved, canned, and packaged. Frozen foods, including desserts, became very popular starting in the 1920s.


title: Dessert

text: Sweet desserts usually contain cane sugar, palm sugar, brown sugar, honey, or some types of syrup such as molasses, maple syrup, treacle, or corn syrup. Other common ingredients in Western-style desserts are flour or other starches, cooking fats such as butter or lard, dairy, eggs, salt, acidic ingredients such as lemon juice, and spices and other flavoring agents such as chocolate, coffee, peanut butter, fruits, and nuts. The proportions of these ingredients, along with the preparation methods, play a major part in the consistency, texture, and flavor of the end product.


title: Dessert

text: Sugars contribute moisture and tenderness to baked goods. Flour or starch components serves as a protein and gives the dessert structure. Fats contribute moisture and can enable the development of flaky layers in pastries and pie crusts. The dairy products in baked goods keep the desserts moist. Many desserts also contain eggs, in order to form custard or to aid in the rising and thickening of a cake-like substance. Egg yolks specifically contribute to the richness of desserts. Egg whites can act as a leavening agent or provide structure. Further innovation in the healthy eating movement has led to more information being available about vegan and gluten-free substitutes for the standard ingredients, as well as replacements for refined sugar.


title: Dessert

text: Desserts can contain many spices and extracts to add a variety of flavors. Salt and acids are added to desserts to balance sweet flavors and create a contrast in flavors. Some desserts are coffee-flavored, for example an iced coffee soufflé or coffee biscuits. Alcohols and liqueurs can also be used as an ingredient, to make alcoholic desserts.


title: Dessert

text: Dessert consist of variations of tastes, textures, and appearances. Desserts can be defined as a usually sweeter course that concludes a meal. This definition includes a range of courses ranging from fruits or dried nuts to multi-ingredient cakes and pies. Many cultures have different variations of dessert. In modern times the variations of desserts have usually been passed down or come from geographical regions. This is one cause for the variation of desserts. These are some major categories in which desserts can be placed.