George W. Bush said that during his two terms in office, he rarely called on his father's counsel. But there were exceptions, intersections where the personal drifted into the presidential .
A look at some of those times, as cited by Bush in his 2014 book "A Portrait of My Father," about George H.W. Bush. The elder Bush died late Friday at age 94.
— The younger Bush asked his dad what he thought about making Dick Cheney his vice presidential choice, and his father approved. Cheney was the elder Bush's defense chief and the most influential of the people who served the 41st president to work for the 43rd.
— The elder Bush confessed to "uncontrollable sobs" that wracked his body when he watched on TV as his son reacted to the Supreme Court decision settling the 2000 election in his favor.
— The new and former presidents stood together in the Oval Office on the younger Bush's first day in office, when he invited his parents to come stay at the White House anytime.
— On Sept. 11, 2001, a day after his parents stayed at the White House, the closing of air space to commercial traffic after the terrorist attacks stranded his parents in a Brookfield, Wisconsin, motel on their way to Minnesota for an engagement. Barbara Bush joked about the indignity in a chat with her son, in what he remembers as a bit of levity that painful day.
— The younger Bush says he did not use email during his presidency; his dad would send corny jokes to presidential aides, who passed them on.
— The younger Bush also sought his father's opinions about making Colin Powell secretary of state and Bob Gates his defense chief. The elder Bush liked the choice of both men, who had also served with him.
— After the devastating 2004 tsunami, Bush asked his father and the Democrat who defeated him in 1992, Bill Clinton, to lead a private fund-raising mission to the stricken region. Thus began an unlikely friendship between the two old rivals, and a partnership that continued when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
— Bush asked his dad in 2007 if he thought it would be a good idea to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Bush family's summer home in coastal Maine. The father heartily approved and joined them. The dad, then 83, took them on a speedboat at top speed. "Putin loved the ride," said Bush the son. The next day, they went fishing; only Putin caught a fish.
See AP's complete coverage of George H.W. Bush here: https://www.apnews.com/GeorgeHWBush
NEW YORK (AP) — There they both sat in the second set of their U.S. Open semifinal on a humid afternoon Friday, simultaneously receiving treatment from trainers: Jannik Sinner got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Jack Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice.
The top-ranked Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, who was exonerated in a doping case less than a week before play began in New York, was the better player throughout and finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Draper to reach his first title match at Flushing Meadows — and second at a Grand Slam tournament his year.
“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who is a righty but uses both fists for his backhands and kept flexing his left wrist after it got hurt. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”
While both competitors were being looked at during a changeover, a vacuum was being used to clean up the green ground behind the baseline where the 25th-seeded Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, had thrown up, finishing the cleaning job he tried to do himself by wiping the court with a towel. It hearkened back to when Pete Sampras lost his lunch during a win over Alex Corretja during the 1996 U.S. Open -- and created, to say the least, an unusual scene Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the temperature was in the high 70s and the humidity was above 60%.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January and will seek his second major championship on Sunday against No. 12 Taylor Fritz or No. 20 Frances Tiafoe.
“Whoever it is,” Sinner said, “it’s going to be a very tough challenge for me. But I'm just looking forward to it.”
Word emerged last month that Sinner failed two drug tests eight days apart in March but was cleared because he said the trace amounts of an anabolic steroid entered his system unintentionally via a massage from a team member he since has fired. That whole episode has been a constant topic of conversation as he progressed through the U.S. Open bracket.
Good pals Fritz and Tiafoe were scheduled to play each other Friday night in the other men’s semifinal, the first in New York between two Americans in 19 years. One would become the first U.S. man in a Slam title match since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 — and if either were to defeat Sinner, it would give the United States its first major trophy for a man since Roddick triumphed in New York in 2003.
The women's final on Saturday also will feature an American, with No. 6 Jessica Pegula taking on No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
The longer that points lasted between Sinner and Draper — who are friends and played doubles together at an event in August — the more things went the Italian’s way as the contest stretched past three hours.
He is as pure a ball-striker as there is in the men’s game at the moment, and while Draper’s lefty power and good hands — whether following his serves to the net or simply finding other times to hit volleys, he won 22 of the 34 points when he moved forward — made some inroads, Sinner got better and better the longer exchanges went.
Sinner took the point on 50 of 80 that lasted nine or more strokes.
Draper has plenty of talent, and he hadn’t dropped a set over the past two weeks until Friday, but his biggest issue as a pro has been his body, and it was again on this day. The weather surely didn’t help. Nor did any tension associated with making his debut in a Slam semifinal. Nor did Sinner’s relentlessness.
The collection of empty water bottles kept growing by Draper’s sideline seat as he tried to hydrate. He also requested a can of soda in the third set. By the time it arrived, nothing was going to help him slow Sinner, who improved to 34-2 on hard courts in 2024.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after breaking the serve of Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Court attendant Ethan Davison cleans up an area on the court where Jack Draper, of Great Britain, vomited in the second set against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Jack Draper, of Great Britain, reacts against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jack Draper, of Great Britain, reacts after missing a shot from Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Fans cheer during the men's singles semifinals between Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Jack Draper, of Great Britain, of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jack Draper, of Great Britain, cools off during a break between games against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds his left wrist after falling on the court in the second set against Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Jack Draper, of Great Britain, cools off during a break between games against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, is examined during the men's singles semifinals against Jack Draper, of Great Britain, of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jack Draper, of Great Britain, wipes the court against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after defeating Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds his wrist after returning a shot to Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
