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A heavy snowstorm has swept through US south-eastern states, killing at least two people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

A state of emergency has been declared in North Carolina, with some areas reporting as much as 0.5m (18.5ins) of snow over the weekend.

One man died after a tree fell on his car. A search is under way for a driver whose vehicle was found in a river.

Thousands of flights were also cancelled across the region.
'A dangerous system'

Snow, sleet and freezing rain continues to impact the South.

At a news conference on Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said "a year's worth of snowfall fell in some places in a day".

More than 300,000 people were affected by electricity outages in the Carolinas, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia on Sunday, while storm warnings remained in place in the south-east "especially North Carolina and Virginia", the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The storm was expected to move off the coast on Monday, although the NWS's lead forecaster Michael Schichtel warned it would continue to be "a dangerous system".

"It's slow to move off the Carolinas but a saving grace is that it won't hit New England," he told Reuters news agency.

In some areas, so much snow fell the weight brought power lines crashing down.

But the main danger appeared to be on the roads.

Almost 60 crashes were reported in Virginia, state police told local media, with the number rising to 672 in North Carolina as of Monday morning.

NWS officials warned of black ice forming on roads on Monday and into Tuesday.

Gov Cooper emphasised that the roads could "turn into ice rinks" even as the storm passes.

At Monday's news conference, the governor confirmed two storm-related deaths, saying the snow "turned into a nightmare and tragedy".

A man was killed in a suburb of Charlotte when a tree fell on his car. A second person was taken to hospital following the accident, WRAL.com said.

Another woman receiving hospice care in the western part of the state died during the storm, the News & Observer reported.

Gov Cooper urged residents to check on their loved ones and neighbours, particularly senior citizens.

The North Carolina National Guard remains active. The troops rescued 20 people in Wilkesboro, Brig Gen Todd Hunt said at the news conference, and continue to assist with road clearing and traffic accidents.

Several hundred miles east, in Kinston, divers were searching for another driver, whose tractor-trailer apparently crashed into the Neuse River.

Officials were alerted after debris was spotted on a bridge over the river, ABC12 said.
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President Donald Trump traveled to Kansas City Friday to speak at the Project Safe Neighborhood National Conference.

The three-day event, which gathers hundreds of police officers and prosecutors, is sponsored by the Department of Justice.

Trump will speak at 12:30 p.m. EST.

Earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein spoke at the annual event.

The program, started during the administration of President George W. Bush and revived by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is designed to reduce violent crime. Kansas City has seen 120 homicides this year.

U.S. District Attorney of Kansas Stephen McCallister speculated Trump will "talk about the problem of violent crime and his commitment and Department of Justice commitment to address those problems."
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Enrollment for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act is down 11 percent this year, figures from the Trump administration show.

Officials said Thursday 3.2 million have signed up so far in the first five weeks of the enrollment period -- down from 3.6 million at this time last year.

Also down is the number of new customer signups, down 17 percent, compared to last year.

Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said lower enrollment could be a result of cutbacks in federal outreach efforts, an expanded Medicaid, lower unemployment, the repeal of the individual mandate penalty and expansion of short-term plans.

Levitt said enrollment the figures came from 39 states that depend on the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1. Idaho, Maryland and Vermont have not reported their figures yet. Of all states, Florida leads signups with nearly 800,000. Texas has 414,000 and North Carolina 185,000, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Healthcare analyst Charles Gaba said seven of the nine states that run their own marketplace programs are actually ahead of signups from last year. Gaba wrote that New York's have increased 15 percent, Rhode Island's 13 percent and Connecticut's 12 percent. California and Washington, D.C., he said, were down.

This is the first year signups are taking place without the individual mandate penalty, which was scrapped by Congress this year. Anyone without insurance had been subject to a penalty of $695, or 2.5 percent of their household income.
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An Oklahoma state senator is introducing a bill to name the rib eye as the official "State Steak of Oklahoma."

State Sen. Casey Murdock, R-District 61, authored Senate Bill 21, which would enshrine the rib eye as Oklahoma's official state steak.

"I don't want to say it's a cheerleading bill, but it's promoting an Oklahoma product," Murdock told KFOR-TV.

He said Oklahoma has 5.2 million head of cattle, and the state's positive accomplishments need to be celebrated.

"We get beat up on different issues; we're last in education, we're last in this and that, and we need to promote what is good in that state also," he said.

Murdock said his bill could be a boon to one of the state's largest industries.

"They say, 'Oh, you are wasting your time down there.' We are running bills anyway; this is just running a bill that is going to promote a business in Oklahoma. I don't like higher taxes; I like more businesses in Oklahoma paying more taxes. I see this bill as promoting the AG industry," he said.
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The Federal Communications Commission said Friday it will investigate whether major U.S. wireless providers have submitted false data.

The FCC said it will temporarily suspend the start of a $4.5 billion program to improve wireless Internet service in rural and other underserved areas while the probe is underway.

Wireless providers were required to submit current data of their broadband coverage to determine which areas of the United States are most in need of support. A Microsoft study this week indicated 163 million people are without broadband-speed Internet access -- significantly more than the FCC's estimate of just 24.7 million.

"The FCC's Mobility Fund Phase II program can play a key role in extending high-speed Internet access to rural areas across America," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement Friday. "In order to reach those areas, it's critical that we know where access is and where it is not.

"A preliminary review of speed test data submitted through the challenge process suggested significant violations of the Commission's rules. That's why I've ordered an investigation into these matters. We must ensure that the data is accurate before we can proceed."

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr agreed with Pai's move to investigate.

"Earlier this year, I said I would monitor how the maps align with consumers' real-world experiences. Now that the challenge process has closed, the data provided confirm that Chairman Pai has made the right call," Carr said in a statement. "I heard from providers serving the Oklahoma panhandle and communities across rural America. I spent time in small towns and rural counties in Mississippi, Nebraska, Colorado, and other states and heard firsthand the challenges that many Americans face in getting a high-speed, 4G LTE connection. That's why it's so important to ensure the data underlying our broadband maps are accurate.

"It is deeply concerning that FCC staff's preliminary analysis of the challenge data shows that one or more major carriers potentially violated [FCC] mapping rules and submitted incorrect maps."
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President Donald Trump signed a stopgap spending bill Friday to avoid a shutdown and keep the government running for another two weeks.

The bill, unanimously passed in the Senate and House, will extend appropriations for certain government agencies until Dec. 21. It also continues funding for the National Flood Insurance Program.

The two-week extension gives legislators and the White House more time to deal with a stalemate on the president's wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The House offered $5.6 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for the wall and other border security upgrades, while a Senate bill provides $1.6 billion.

Trump has asked for $5 billion for the wall, but congressional Democrats are reluctant to appropriate money for that endeavor. Seven government agencies have not yet obtained appropriations, but funding for the border wall remains the most contentious issue.

The stopgap bill sets up a pre-Christmas showdown over funding. Trump has repeatedly threatened a partial shutdown if funding for the wall isn't approved.

The president will meet with the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Tuesday to discuss the matter. Pelosi said Thursday she would not trade wall funding for the DACA program, which offers legal protection for young immigrants taken to the United States illegally as children.
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More than a quarter of Americans would prefer to live in a rural area than in an urban setting, a new Gallup survey showed Friday.

Gallup gave respondents six options in which ti live -- a large city, a small city, a suburb of both a large and small city, a town and a rural area. The research said 27 percent prefer the rural area -- an 8-point decline since 2001.

The second most popular answer (21 percent) was a suburb of a large city, followed by a small city (17 percent), a tie between a town and a large city (12 percent) and a small city suburb (10 percent).

Those who prefer a large city is up 4 points since the first survey 17 years ago.

Younger Americans aged 18-29 are on both sides -- with 17 percent favoring a big city and 18 percent a rural area. Only 13 percent of the 30-49 age group said they prefer a larger city.

The rural preference among Americans 30-49 mirrors the overall average, 27 percent. For Americans over 50, that figure rises to 31 percent.

The survey also found that more educated Americans prefer to live in an urban setting -- and the suburbs are most desirable among those with college educations, Gallup said.

The poll showed Republicans are more than twice as likely to opt for a rural lifestyle than Democrats, who are most likely to go for the suburbs.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has chosen State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, U.S. news organizations are reporting.

Media outlets reported on December 6 that Nauert, a former ABC and Fox News anchor and correspondent, will succeed Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would leave the UN post at the end of the year.

Fox News reported that Trump will send out a tweet early on December 7 announcing the move. Bloomberg News and Reuters also reported the Nauert decision.

White House and State Department representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On November 1, Trump said he was seriously considering naming Nauert to succeed Haley.

"She's excellent. She's been with us for a very long time. She's been a supporter for a long time,” he told reporters at the time.

The 48-year-old Nauert, who joined the State Department as spokeswoman in April 2017, was named acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs earlier this year.

She would be an unusual choice for the UN diplomatic post as she has no prior political or policy-making experience.
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AUSTIN, Texas --
The film "Christmas Vacation" is considered a holiday classic by some, and one man in Austin has taken that to a new extreme.

The Heerlein family recreated the scene from the movie where Clark Griswold hangs from the roof while trying to put up Christmas lights.

They bought a dummy online and put a Clark Griswold mask on it, then scoured Goodwill for clothes that look exactly like the ones Chevy Chase wears in the movie.

Chris Heerlein hung the dummy from his own roof and rigged a ladder underneath to look like it was tipping over.

Heerlein wanted to win a neighborhood holiday display contest. Instead, he caused panic only a day after putting his display up.

A passerby is seen on home surveillance video rushing in to try and help a dummy, believing it was a real person.

He called 911.

"He was doing everything he could to get the ladder! And be like 'Save Clark!'" Heerlein's sister-in-law Leah Wheless said to KVUE-TV. "He didn't give up. Whatever he had to do, he was going to save old Clark Griswold."

The family posted a sign at the bottom of the ladder that reads: "Clark G is part of our Christmas display please do not call 911."

They felt so bad about the passerby's reaction that they reached out to him to thank him for being so concerned.

"We'd love to be able to find him and reach out. We have a very special gift that we would like to give him and we'd like to tell him thank you," Wheless said.

It turns out the good Samaritan, named Alfred, is a retired veteran. Once he realized it wasn't real, he had a good sense of humor about the whole thing.

"I was trying to get him down any way I can. Except when I started talking to him, he never said nothing!" Alfred said over the phone, laughing. "Then I thought, 'Oh my God I hope he's not dead, lemme call 911.'"
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BUENOS AIRES: The G20 Summit of leaders of the world’s most powerful nations ended in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, with a consensus for “fair and sustainable development through an agenda that is people-centred, inclusive and forward-looking.”
The official leaders’ declaration stressed their common goals in the future of work, infrastructure for development, a sustainable food future and a gender-mainstreaming strategy.

“We have addressed our agenda promoting dialogue and the search for common ground. Building consensus requires the commitment of the society as a whole,” the declaration read.

But it stopped short of agreement on the two biggest challenges facing the G20: The future of world trade and climate change.

On these issues, US President Donald Trump has taken a stance not shared by most of the other leaders.

The declaration struck a neutral formula on trade, reading: “We welcome the strong global economic growth while recognizing it has been increasingly less synchronized between countries and some of the key risks, including financial vulnerabilities and geopolitical concerns, have partially materialized. We also note current trade issues.”

The declaration sought to reconcile the US position with the majority opinion. “International trade and investment are important engines of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development,” it said. “We recognize the contribution that the multilateral trading system has made to that end. The system is currently falling short of its objectives and there is room for improvement,” the declaration added, calling for further reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On climate, the leaders said: “A strong economy and a healthy planet are mutually reinforcing… We recognize the importance of comprehensive adaptation strategies, including investment in infrastructure that is resilient to extreme weather events and disasters.”

They declared the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which most countries in the world have signed, to be “irreversible.”

The declaration thanked Argentina for hosting the G20, and the leaders said they look forward to the next scheduled meetings, in Japan next year and Saudi Arabia in 2020.

The Kingdom played a full role in the Buenos Aires summit, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meeting world leaders of the UK, China, Indonesia and South Africa, among others.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jaadan took part in the G20 Investor Forum, organized by the World Bank and held on the sidelines of the main event with a view to promoting long-term sustainable investments.
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A U.S. court in Virginia on Friday sentenced Sinaloa drug cartel leader Damaso Lopez to life in prison.

Lopez, 52, aka "El Licenciado," received the sentence after an agreement with U.S. officials, Animal Politico reported, citing Mexican state news agency Notimex. As part of the deal, he declared himself guilty of a drug trafficking charge and offered to help with Mexican investigations of the 2017 death of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, the report said.

Lopez, who said he led the Sinaloa Cartel for 15 years, offered "apologies to the people of the United States" at his sentencing. He'd previously accepted a seizure of $25 million.

Defense attorneys said he's ready to cooperate investigators in Valdez's death as soon as the Mexican government requests.

While the information could not be independently confirmed, U.S. court documents show Lopez's sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Thomas Ellis was scheduled Friday at 9 a.m.

Damaso was extradited from Mexico in July and Mexican authorities handed him over to U.S. officials at the border between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, it was reported at the time.

According to the El Paso Times, Lopez worked for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman as his right hand and was considered by authorities as his successor in the Sinaloa Cartel before he turned to Guzman's enemy. The Times said he was expected to testify against Guzman at his New York trial, where he faces drug trafficking charges. It began early this month.

Valdez, a Mexican journalist specialized in organized crime, was shot dead after he was abducted, El Pais reported in May 2017. Lopez was captured during a police and army operation in Mexico City that month. El Universal reported in May his name surfaced after one of Valdez's killers was captured and it was found he had ties to Lopez.
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AL-JAHRA, Kuwait: On the outskirts of Kuwait City, the love Kuwaitis have for former US President George H.W. Bush could be seen in 2016 on a billboard one Bedouin family put up to announce their son’s wedding.
That son being Bush Al-Widhan, born in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War that saw US-led forces expel the occupying Iraqi troops of dictator Saddam Hussein.
“He was a real man, a lion,” said Mubarak Al-Widhan, the father of the Kuwaiti Bush, of the American president. “He stood for our right for freedom, and he gave us back our country.”
With Bush’s death , his legacy across the Middle East takes root in that 100-hour ground war that routed Iraqi forces. That war gave birth to the network of military bases America now operates across the Arabian Gulf supporting troops in Afghanistan and forces fighting against Daesh in Iraq and Syria.


However, Bush ultimately would leave the Shiite and Kurdish insurgents he urged to rise up against Saddam in 1991 to face the dictator’s wrath alone, leading to thousands of deaths. That mixed picture only extends to the presidency of his son, George W. Bush, who ordered the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that overthrew Saddam, whom he once famously described as “the guy who tried to kill my dad one time.”
“I feel tension in the stomach and in the neck ... but I also feel a certain calmness when we talk about these matters,” the elder Bush once said about the 1991 Gulf War, according to biographer Jon Meacham. “I know I am doing the right thing.”
Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, angry that the tiny neighbor and the United Arab Emirates had ignored OPEC quotas, which Saddam claimed cost his nation $14 billion. Saddam also accused Kuwait of stealing $2.4 billion by pumping crude from a disputed oil field and demanded that Kuwait write off an estimated $15 billion of debt that Iraq had accumulated during its 1980s war with Iran.
A World War II fighter pilot shot down fighting against the Japanese, Bush came to view Saddam as similar to Adolf Hitler, a madman who seized neighboring Kuwait and could plunge the world into conflict if he continued into Saudi Arabia. With Vietnam still a potent memory, Bush rallied together a coalition of nations to back the US as it deployed troops to the region and began bombing runs. He talked Israel out of retaliating for Iraqi Scud missiles attacks for fear of alienating Arab allies.
“This will not stand. This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait,” Bush famously warned.
And it didn’t.
On Feb. 24, 1991, US troops and their allies stormed into Kuwait. It ended 100 hours later. America suffered only 148 combat deaths during the whole campaign, while over 20,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed.
In the aftermath of the campaign, some called for Bush to continue into Iraq and topple Saddam. Bush in speeches encouraged Iraqis to rise up against the dictator, while privately hoping someone within his own military would depose him.
“To occupy Iraq would shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us, and make a broken tyrant into a latter-day Arab hero,” Bush later said. “It would have taken us way beyond the imprimatur of international law, ... assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerrilla war.”
That hesitation allowed Saddam to regain the upper hand against insurgents and caused a refugee crisis in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region. The dictator tauntingly installed a tile mosaic of a scowling likeness of the president at the door of Baghdad’s Al-Rashid Hotel, which forced entering foreign dignitaries to often step on his face just above its “Bush is criminal” caption.
Even Iran, which hated Saddam for starting their 1980s war, remained suspicious of Bush despite his pledge of “good will begets good will.” Iran leaned on Lebanon’s Shiite militants to help win the release American hostages like Terry Anderson of The Associated Press, but relations went no further. One of Bush’s last acts as president, pardoning former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and others for their role in the Iran-Contra scandal, an offshoot of that hostage crisis.
Still, Bush’s decisions in the 1991 war and its aftermath echo even now. The Kurdish crisis gave birth to the US-imposed no-fly zone in northern Iraq that allowed the Kurds to flourish into the semi-autonomous region now demanding independence. Defense agreements with Gulf nations grew into a series of major military installations across the region.
His son would launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq after 9/11 and become so hated in the Arab world an Iraq journalist would even throw a shoe at him during a news conference. But the elder Bush remained beloved, perhaps nowhere more than Kuwait, where Americans even today can get hugged while walking down the street. A group of Kuwaiti officials including the country’s National Assembly speaker met with the former president in October 2017 to wish him well.
The former president’s Kuwaiti namesake Bush Al-Widhan ended up working in the country’s National Guard. His name fascinated others.
“I went with my father to Cleveland, Ohio ... and the passport control clerk asked me about the name,” Al-Widhan recounted. “I couldn’t tell him the story. My English is bad. I said: ‘George Bush, George Bush. Kuwait war.’ Everyone thought it was a great name.”
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A federal judge in New York ruled Friday the Trump administration's threat to withhold public safety funds to jurisdictions with so-called "sanctuary" policies is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of seven states that sued the Justice Department after it required in June that states comply with new rules enforcing federal immigration law. The action put the country's local and state governments on notice that they would lose federal funding if they refused to cooperate.

Ramos said the Justice Department "did not have lawful authority" to force local and state governments to notify the federal government when an undocumented immigrant was in custody.

The states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington joined together for the suit.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood called the ruling a "major win" for the state's public safety.

"As we argued, local law enforcement has the right to decide how to meet their local public safety needs -- and the Trump administration simply does not have the right to require state and local police to act as federal immigration agents," she said. "The Trump administration's attempt to withhold these vital funds was nothing more than a political attack at the expense of our public safety."

In a separate case in August, a federal appeals court found an executive order by President Donald Trump threatening to withhold funds to be unconstitutional. That suit was brought by the city of San Francisco and Santa Clara County, both in California.

"We conclude that, under the principle of separation of powers and in consideration of the spending clause, which vests exclusive power to Congress to impose conditions on federal grants, the executive branch may not refuse to disperse the federal rants in question without congressional authorization," Judge Sidney Thomas wrote in that ruling.

Trump said some of the people protected by sanctuary policies include "bad actors," "predators," "rapists" and "killers" during a sanctuary cities roundtable event in March.
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The Office Of Special Counsel determined six more White House officials violated the Hatch Act, a federal law limiting federal employees' political activities, with four previously reprimanded.
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The 1939 Hatch Act prohibits federal employees other than the president and vice-president from engaging in some political activities to prevent them from affecting elections in a partisan way, including sending partisan messages from social media accounts officially used for government work.

Six White House officials violated the law by using their official Twitter accounts to send or display political messages supporting President Donald Trump, including tweets using his campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," the Office of Special Counsel said.

The violation was revealed in a letter from the Office of the Special Counsel to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Executive Director Noah Bookbinder.

The OSC issued warning letters to the six officials that stated further "prohibited political activity while employed in a position covered by the Hatch Act" will be considered "a willful and knowing violation of the law, which could result in further action."

The six White House officials reprimanded were principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah; deputy director of communications Jessica Ditto, executive assistant to the president Madeleine Westerhout; former director of media affairs Helen Aguirre Ferré; press secretary for the Vice President Mike Pence Alyssa Farah; and Office of Management and Budget Deputy Communications Director Jacob Wood.

The OSC is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act. The act is a guideline, so violations are not considered crimes. Punishment may range from a simple reprimand to job loss.

Still, the OSC has limited enforcement power.

If the OSC finds that disciplinary action is required, "OSC can only send a report to the president alerting him of the violation," said Zachary Kurz, communications director for the Office of the Special Counsel. "It is up to him to impose any discipline."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint against four Trump administration officials in a statement in July for violating the Hatch Act and called for the Office of Special Counsel to investigate Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, deputy assistant to the president and communications director for the Office of the First Lady Stephanie Grisham and White House director of social media Dan Scavino.

Grisham, Haley and Scavino were reprimanded for Hatch Act violations, the statement said. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway also received ethics counseling following a complaint over her violation of federal ethics regulations by using her official position to promote Ivanka Trump products.

"OSC should commence an thorough investigation immediately," Bookbinder said. "This pattern of improper, politicized behavior is unacceptable and must not be allowed to continue."
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George H.W. Bush was the definition of establishment success: Yale graduate. Prosperous business career. Forty-first president of the United States.

But to one admittedly biased observer, the elder Bush has always been shortchanged.

"As a result of him being a one-term president, historians hadn't paid much attention to him," George W. Bush told NPR in a 2014 interview. He called his father "one of the greatest one-term presidents in the nation's history."

George Herbert Walker Bush died Friday at the age of 94. He had been hospitalized for low blood pressure and fatigue in May, a week after arriving in Maine to spend the summer.

There were fears that after his wife, Barbara, died in April, Bush might die, too. He was admitted to the hospital with a blood infection on April 23, one day after the funeral for the former first lady, and remained there for 13 days.

He was hospitalized again in May for low blood pressure and fatigue a week after arriving in Maine to spend the summer. He was released a few days later and celebrated his birthday on June 12 — making history by becoming the first former president to reach the age of 94.

Bush was the patriarch of a political dynasty that included one son who served as president, another as a governor and a grandson who currently holds statewide office in Texas

The senior Bush had a lifetime of public service before he became president — as a young Navy pilot in World War II, Texas congressman, CIA director and faithful vice president to Ronald Reagan.

"His loyalty to Ronald Reagan was legendary," said biographer Timothy Naftali. "He did not always agree with Ronald Reagan. And he was so secretive about those moments where he disagreed, we don't even have good documentation — at least not available yet — on when he disagreed."

Bush famously disagreed with Reagan when he ran against him in the Republican primary of 1980. Bush branded Reagan's supply-side faith that government could slash tax rates without losing revenue as "voodoo economic policy."

History would prove that assessment right. Reagan later had to reverse some of his tax cuts in the face of mounting deficits. But by the time Bush ran to succeed Reagan, he knew what it took to win the confidence of conservative Republicans.

"Read my lips," Bush pledged at the 1988 GOP convention. "No new taxes."

Bush trounced Democrat Michael Dukakis that year to win the White House. But he ultimately backtracked on his lip-reading promise. During 1990 budget negotiations with Democratic congressional leaders, Bush, like Reagan before him, agreed to a tax increase.

His press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater, recalled a budget meeting where the deal was presented.

"The minute I saw it, I looked around the table and the Democrats looked like the cat who ate the canary," Fitzwater said. "They knew they had negotiated a winner."

The tax hike cut the deficit, but it cost Bush dearly with conservatives. Years later, he would receive a Profile in Courage award from John F. Kennedy's grandson, who said, "America's gain was President Bush's loss."

Bush's most notable accomplishments in the White House came in the area of foreign policy. While Reagan is often credited with winning the Cold War, it was Bush who successfully navigated the aftermath. His low-key approach avoided inflaming communist hard-liners and allowed for the peaceful breakup of the Soviet Union.

"The soft landing that occurred, which was not inevitable, is in large measure due to George H.W. Bush's diplomacy," said Naftali.

Bush, who served as U.S. envoy to China as well as a globe-trotting vice president, had a thick Rolodex and plenty of experience working the phones. His lifetime of foreign contacts also came in handy when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in 1990. Bush methodically assembled an international coalition to push them back.

A five-week bombing campaign was followed by a 100-hour ground assault that routed the Iraqis from Kuwait. Some wanted allied troops to push on to Baghdad and topple Saddam Hussein. But Bush said no.

"The president's decision was we are not going on to Baghdad," the late diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger recalled. "If we do, we will have violated the agreement we have with our allies, which was to bring Saddam out of Kuwait. It was not to bring Saddam down. And in addition, it will tie us into an area where we cannot be sure how soon we can withdraw."

Bush's son George W. would revisit that decision a dozen years later, with costly results.

The first Gulf War was a clear victory for U.S. forces. As commander in chief, George H.W. Bush saw his approval ratings soar to nearly 90 percent. His lock on a second term seemed so solid, many national Democrats opted to sit out the 1992 election, leaving it to the governor of a small Southern state to challenge him.

Bill Clinton had one big advantage, though: the economy, stupid. As the country sank into recession, Bush's popularity sank with it. There was no parachute or soft landing this time. He lost a three-way race in the November election, carrying just 38 percent of the vote.

More than two decades later, George W. Bush, who experienced his own roller coaster ride in the polls, wrote an affectionate portrait of his father, titled 41.

"I want people to better appreciate George Bush, as not only a great person but a very successful president," the younger Bush said.

Bush was also the linchpin of a political dynasty that now spans four generations — including a second son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ran for the White House and lost in the 2016 Republican primaries as Donald Trump became the dominant force in a GOP that had evolved far from where it was when the 41st president was in office.

Whatever the senior Bush's political shortcomings, hindsight has cast his presidency in a kinder, gentler light.
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