title: CBS Evening News

text: Rather left the anchor position amidst controversy and a credibility crisis over reports broadcast during the 2004 presidential election campaign. The report was a segment featured on a September 2004 broadcast of "60 Minutes Wednesday", questioning President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard record. Conservative activists challenged the authenticity of the documents used for the report. A number of bloggers analyzed scans of the documents, and rapidly concluded they were forgeries. Subsequently, CBS commissioned an independent inquiry into the matter and several CBS staffers were fired or asked to resign.


title: CBS Evening News

text: After departing from the "Evening News", Rather remained with CBS News as a correspondent. On June 20, 2006, CBS News President Sean McManus announced that Rather and CBS had agreed to end his 44-year career with the network.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On March 10, 2005, Rather was succeeded on an interim basis by "Face the Nation" host and CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer. At the time Schieffer took over, it was uncertain how long he would host the broadcast, whether it would retain its current structure, or instead adopt some kind of multiple host or alternative format. Under Rather in the years leading up to his retirement, the "CBS Evening News" trailed its rivals at ABC and NBC by a fairly large margin. White House correspondent John Roberts, and Scott Pelley, his predecessor in that position, were often mentioned as possible successors to Rather when he retired. Jim Axelrod became White House correspondent when Roberts later left for CNN.


title: CBS Evening News

text: In the months following Rather's departure, the program came to emphasize live exchanges between Schieffer and various CBS News correspondents around the world. In contrast to traditional network news practice, these exchanges were unrehearsed as part of an effort to make the language on the broadcast sound more "natural". Viewership increased over this period, with the program being the only network evening news broadcast to gain viewers during 2005. In November 2005, CBS announced that "CBS Evening News" executive producer Jim Murphy would be replaced by Rome Hartman, who took over in January 2006.


title: CBS Evening News

text: Schieffer led the "CBS Evening News" to become the #2 evening news broadcast, ahead of ABC's "World News Tonight". The ABC News division was in flux following the death of anchor Peter Jennings in 2005, and, with the adoption of a dual-anchor format on "World News Tonight", life-threatening injuries suffered by co-anchor Bob Woodruff in January 2006 when an Iraqi military convoy he rode in hit a roadside bomb, leaving Elizabeth Vargas as sole anchor. When Charles Gibson was appointed sole anchor of "World News Tonight" in May 2006, after Elizabeth Vargas resigned in connection with her pregnancy, ABC regained stability and momentum to regain the #2 spot.


title: CBS Evening News

text: Bob Schieffer's final "CBS Evening News" program was broadcast on August 31, 2006. Russ Mitchell filled in for the following two nights (September 1 and 4, 2006), after which he was succeeded by Katie Couric on September 5, 2006.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On December 1, 2005, it was reported that Katie Couric, co-anchor of NBC's "Today", was considering an offer by CBS to anchor the "Evening News". Couric officially signed a contract to become anchor of the "CBS Evening News" on April 1, 2006, and formally announced four days later on "Today" that she would be leaving the show and NBC News after a 15-year run as the morning show's co-anchor. Ratings during Couric's period as anchor fluctuated, seemingly improving at times, but also posting historic lows rivaling those dating back to at least the 1991–92 season.


title: CBS Evening News

text: Couric began working at CBS News in July 2006. During her first broadcast as anchor on September 5, 2006, a new graphics package and set, and a new theme composed by Academy Award-winning composer James Horner were introduced. Similar graphics and music would be introduced on other CBS News programs such as "Up to the Minute", "CBS Morning News" and "The Early Show" throughout the month of October. A new opening title sequence was designed, with Walter Cronkite providing the voiceover, replacing Wendell Craig unless a temporary voice-over was needed. Following Cronkite's death months earlier, actor Morgan Freeman recorded a new voice-over for the title sequence, which debuted on January 4, 2010. The program also debuted a new feature called "freeSpeech" in which different Americans, ranging from well-known national figures to average people, would provide news commentary. After overwhelmingly negative reaction, the segment was discontinued.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On March 8, 2007, "The New York Times" reported that the program's executive producer Rome Hartman was being replaced by television news veteran Rick Kaplan. Hartman left as executive producer on March 7. Kaplan came to the "Evening News" after stints at MSNBC, CNN, and ABC's "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings".


title: CBS Evening News

text: On April 4, 2007, Couric did a one-minute commentary about the importance of reading, in a piece substantially lifted from a "Wall Street Journal" column by Jeffrey Zaslow. Couric claimed that she remembered her first library card, but the words were all from Zaslow's column. It was determined that a producer had actually written the piece. What made the plagiarism especially striking was the personal flavor of the video – which was subsequently removed from the cbsnews.com website after the situation came to light that began, "I still remember when I got my first library card, browsing through the stacks for my favorite books."


title: CBS Evening News

text: Much of the rest of the script was stolen from the "Journal" article. Zaslow said at the time that CBS had "been very gracious and apologetic, and we at the "Journal" appreciate it." In a case of double plagiarism, the producer who wrote the piece copied from someone else for Couric, and the anchor claimed the words were hers when they were not. The producer responsible for Couric's piece, Melissa McNamara, was fired hours after the "Journal" contacted CBS News to complain. The network promised changes in its procedures.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On July 28, 2008, the "CBS Evening News" became the third network evening newscast to begin broadcasting in high definition (behind "NBC Nightly News" and PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer").


title: CBS Evening News

text: On August 27, 2008, Mediabistro wrote a piece about the Big Three network newscasts, praising Couric's "Evening News" for extensive reporting that had, in its opinion, content better than its rivals. Another critic from MarketWatch praised Couric's work and said that people should watch out for her in 2009. "Washington Post" writer Tom Shales praised Couric as a warmer, more benevolent presence than her two competitors, something that she brought to the program nearly 16 years of goodwill from doing "Today" and becoming America's sweetheart, or else very close to it, and he claimed that this goodwill remained. Shales added that viewers "may find bad news less discomforting and sleep-depriving if Couric gives it to them". He also added that she does not try to "sugarcoat" or "prettify" grim realities. According to Shales, the "Evening News" may be a more hospitable, welcoming sort of place than its competitors. He concluded by stating that "it's naive to think that viewers choose their news anchor based solely on strict journalistic credentials, though Couric's do seem to be in order, despite her critics' claims".


title: CBS Evening News

text: The "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" won the 2008 and 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast. In September 2008, Couric interviewed Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, earning respect from a MarketWatch critic for asking tough questions. In 2011, the program was the recipient of both an Emmy for Outstanding Continuing Coverage and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Video News Series for foreign correspondent Terry McCarthy's feature story "Afghan Bomb Squad".


title: CBS Evening News

text: On May 18, 2009, the newscast's graphics were overhauled, using a blue and red color scheme with web-influenced motifs and layouts. The new graphics design featured a look influenced by the graphics that CBS used during the 2008 presidential election coverage.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On April 3, 2011, the Associated Press reported that Couric would be leaving the "Evening News" when her contract expired in June. Couric later confirmed her departure to "People" magazine, citing a desire for "a format that will allow (her) to engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling." On May 13, 2011, Couric announced that the following Thursday, May 19, 2011, would be her last broadcast.


title: CBS Evening News

text: Despite originally retooling the newscasts to add more features, interviews, and human interest stories, over time it returned to the hard news format popularized by Cronkite. Harry Smith served as an interim anchor until Pelley's tenure started on June 6, 2011 (like Couric before him, Smith would also depart from CBS a month later).


title: CBS Evening News

text: In an April 2011 article, the "New York Times" reported that "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley was considered to be the front-runner to replace Couric as anchor of the program.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On May 3, 2011, CBS confirmed that Pelley would replace Couric as anchor for the "CBS Evening News" in June. The graphics were subtly updated (the Couric 2009-2011 graphics were used for the first two days of Pelley's tenure as anchor in 2011), the American flag background on the news set (which had been used since the 2008 elections, this was last used on Harry Smith interim anchor episodes until 2011) was replaced by a replica of the globe fixture during the Cronkite era, and the James Horner theme was replaced by the 1987–91 theme composed by Trivers-Myers Music that was used during the Rather era (the theme was last used on Up to the Minute on June 24, 2011, and was replaced by the Rather and Pelley theme the same year).


title: CBS Evening News

text: In his first nine months in the anchor chair, Pelley gained an additional 821,000 viewers. CBS News also enjoyed increases in its audience for special news events. After election night in 2012, "Variety" wrote, "With Scott Pelley front and center; the Eye was up 8% from four years ago." The CBS Evening News had increased its audience every year from 2011 through 2015. On May 29, 2015, media website The Wrap wrote: "These days, CBS brass may finally have a reason to smile. On Wednesday, the network announced 'Evening News with Scott Pelley' added more than 1.25 million viewers over the past four years – a whopping 21 percent jump. The show also saw audience growth for the fifth consecutive season, the first time any network evening news broadcast has done that since 1987."


title: CBS Evening News

text: At the end of the 2015–2016 television season, CBS News announced, ""The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley", America's fastest growing network evening news broadcast, finished the 2015–16 television season with CBS's highest ratings in the time period in 10 years (since the 2005–06 season), according to Nielsen most current ratings. The CBS Evening News has grown its audience for six consecutive seasons, a first-time achievement for any network evening news broadcast since the advent of people meters (since at least 1987). Under Pelley, who assumed the anchor chair in June 2011, the CBS Evening News has added +1.4 million viewers and an audience increase of + 23%, which is double NBC and ABC's growth combined over the same period (since the 2010–11 season).


title: CBS Evening News

text: "Pelley has refocused the program towards hard news and away from the soft news and infotainment features of the early Katie Couric era. Story selection has focused more on foreign policy, Washington politics, and economic subjects. The program's audience viewership began to grow immediately, closing the gap between the "CBS Evening News" and its competitors by one million viewers within a year, although the CBS program remains in third place among the network evening newscasts. In late May 2016, a new theme tune composed by Joel Beckerman of Man Made Music was introduced. Later that same year in December, the program moved permanently into CBS Studio 57, which the newscast used during their 2016 election coverage (moving from its longtime home of studio 47) at the CBS Broadcast Center and gained a new set to go with it.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On May 30, 2017, reports surfaced confirming that Scott Pelley had been relieved of his duties at "CBS Evening News". Pelley remained at CBS News as a "60 Minutes" correspondent. Pelley reportedly asked staff members to clear out his office. The move was made official on May 31, 2017, and Anthony Mason was named interim anchor. On June 6, 2017, "CBS Evening News" announced that Pelley would anchor until June 16, 2017.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On October 25, 2017, CBS News announced that correspondent Jeff Glor would be the new "CBS Evening News" anchor. On November 26, 2017, the organization announced his first official air date for December 4, 2017. Together with Glor's debut, the newscast also updated its looks and used a new logotype and updated typography, using Ridley Grotesk as its base. However, the theme music and set from the later Pelley era were retained. On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Glor would be leaving "CBS Evening News". His last day of his broadcast was May 10, 2019. John Dickerson, Major Garrett, Margaret Brennan, Anthony Mason, David Begnaud, Jim Axelrod, and Maurice DuBois anchored on an interim basis until Norah O'Donnell took the anchor chair on July 15, 2019.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On May 6, 2019, CBS News announced that Norah O'Donnell was named anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News" to replace Jeff Glor, effective July 15, 2019. It was also announced that the show would be moving to Washington, D.C. on December 2, 2019. This marks the first time that a major network evening news program is based outside of New York since 1978, when "ABC World News Tonight" used bureaus in Washington, Chicago and London for its broadcast.


title: CBS Evening News

text: On April 8, 2022, it was reported that O'Donnell had renewed her contract through at least the 2024 presidential election. A rebranding of the program was unveiled on August 29, 2022, featuring a world map motif (a design that has frequently been used in CBS News programming as an homage to Walter Cronkite's era) and conformity with CBS's new unified brand elements introduced in 2020.


title: CBS Evening News

text: The "CBS Evening News" expanded to weekend evenings in February 1966, originally anchored by Roger Mudd. The Sunday edition of the program was dropped in September 1971, when CBS began airing "60 Minutes" in the 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (5:00 p.m. Central) slot in order to help affiliates fulfill requirements imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Prime Time Access Rule. The Sunday edition returned in January 1976, when the network moved "60 Minutes "one hour later to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, where that program remains to this day (except when the NFL on CBS is scheduled to air a doubleheader; on those Sundays, "60 Minutes "is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET).


title: CBS Evening News

text: From 2011 to 2014, the "CBS Evening News" was the only remaining network evening newscast that used separate anchors for its Saturday and Sunday editions ("NBC Nightly News" previously used separate anchors for both weekend broadcasts until John Seigenthaler was appointed anchor of both the Saturday and Sunday editions in 1999, while ABC's "World News Tonight" maintained separate anchors for its weekend editions until Saturday anchor David Muir also assumed anchor duties on the program's Sunday edition in 2011). John Roberts did anchor both Saturday and Sunday editions of the "CBS Evening News" for several months in 1999. More recently, Russ Mitchell served as the weekend anchor for the "CBS Evening News" until December 2011, when he announced his resignation from CBS News to take a lead anchor position with NBC affiliate WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. The following year, Mitchell was replaced on the weekend editions by Jim Axelrod on Saturdays and Jeff Glor on Sundays.


title: CBS Evening News

text: Weekend editions of the "CBS Evening News" were periodically abbreviated or preempted outright due to CBS Sports programming. On May 2, 2016, CBS announced that the weekend editions of the "CBS Evening News", effective May 7, 2016, would be revamped as the "CBS Weekend News", with the Saturday and Sunday editions anchored by Reena Ninan and Elaine Quijano, respectively (the Saturday edition airs only on the West Coast from September through mid December due to CBS' longstanding SEC football coverage). CBS News executive editor Steve Capus argued that "given the number of sports overruns and out-and-out pre-emptions, it would be better for us as a news organization to come up with what I think is a smarter, 24-hour approach to covering the world, and making sure we've got all the bases covered."


title: CBS Evening News

text: In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the temporary shutdown of the CBS Broadcast Center after a number of CBS News staffers tested positive for the virus. While the network did reopen the facility for a brief period, further positive tests along with a number of corporate directives by CBS News President Susan Zirinsky resulted in a second, indefinite shutdown of the Broadcast Center. With no live weekend sporting events for the next three months (primarily due to the cancellation of CBS's March Madness coverage as well as the temporary pause of the 2019–20 PGA Tour season) resulting in no likely sports pre-emptions, production of the "CBS Weekend News" was dramatically altered with CBS News staffers outsourcing certain production services to select CBS-owned stations and affiliates, who would originate the newscasts from the stations' respective studios with the station or affiliate's main anchors serving as the program's anchor for the weekend. The usage of local CBS stations and affiliates was, in part, to reduce the pressure on CBS News' Washington, D.C. bureau, where the weeknight "CBS Evening News" is based, as it had already taken on increased responsibilities during the pandemic.


title: CBS Evening News

text: The following CBS affiliates assisted with production of the "CBS Weekend News" from March 14 until May 31:


title: CBS Evening News

text: From June 7, 2020 (a special Saturday edition of the "CBS Evening News" covering the weekend's George Floyd protests aired the previous day) until December 2020, with CBS Sports set to resume live coverage of the PGA Tour, CBS News resumed full production of the "CBS Weekend News" with either chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett or Los Angeles correspondent Jamie Yuccas presiding as anchor, as production for all CBS News programs from the CBS Broadcast Center remained temporarily suspended. On December 4, 2020, CBS News announced correspondents Adriana Diaz and Jericka Duncan would be promoted into permanent anchor positions, with Diaz leading the Saturday edition from the network's Chicago bureau at WBBM-TV and Duncan leading the Sunday edition from the CBS Broadcast Center.


title: CBS Evening News

text: CBS introduced a Western edition of the program in 1979, which was anchored by Terry Drinkwater with staff based in its Los Angeles bureau being placed on standby for updates to the main "CBS Evening News" broadcast each weeknight; this lasted until September 1985, when CBS News instituted layoffs at the Los Angeles bureau following a successful fending off of a takeover attempt of the network by Ted Turner. The program eventually resumed production of the Western edition from its New York City and now Washington studios (which may also be produced from remote locations where the program is broadcast when warranted). The host will announce, "good evening to our viewers in the West" and packages may be updated to reflect late breaking news.


title: CBS Evening News

text: An audio simulcast of the "CBS Evening News" airs weekdays on WCBS and KYW both are all-news stations formerly owned by CBS Radio. Only the first thirteen to fifteen minutes of the broadcast are aired, before resuming regular programming. In addition to a radio broadcast, the "CBS Evening News" is also available as a podcast.


title: CBS Evening News

text: In Australia, the program is shown daily on Sky News Australia at 11:30 a.m. in New Zealand, Sky News broadcasts the program live at 1:30 a.m. local time.


title: CBS Evening News

text: From March 17, 1987, until the early 2000s, the program is shown daily (from Tuesday to Saturday) with French subtitles on French network Canal+ at 7:00 a.m. every morning.


title: CBS Evening News

text: The "Evening News" was broadcast live on ATV World in Hong Kong daily until January 1, 2009. Belize's Tropical Vision Limited occasionally airs the program as a substitute for its airing of the "NBC Nightly News" on Saturdays and occasionally during the week.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective formats, with 15,313 first-class runs before making his Test debut.


title: Michael Hussey

text: However, he had a highly successful international career, being the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world in 2006. He played first-class cricket as vice-captain of the Western Warriors in Australia and played for three counties in England, as well as the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings. Michael Hussey announced his retirement from international cricket on 29 December 2012. He continued to play for Big Bash side Sydney Thunder after this date before announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket after the completion of the 2015-16 season.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey initially played for his native Western Australian Warriors, and his career total of 6471 runs ranks eighth in the list of that state's run-makers in the Sheffield Shield. He then moved to England, where in July 2001 he scored an unbeaten 329 (a Northamptonshire club record) at Wantage Road in his side's 633 for six declared on the way to a 10-wicket victory. He later captained Northamptonshire. In August 2003 he surpassed his own Northamptonshire record, when he scored 331 not out against Somerset at Taunton.


title: Michael Hussey

text: When Hussey was playing for Australia A, the Australian reserve team, Allan Border once jokingly suggested he get match practice by staying in the nets for a full six hours; surprisingly, Hussey went on to do just that.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Statistically, Hussey's international career was very successful, with his career batting average in Tests being 51.52 and in ODIs 48.15. He was a very occasional medium pace bowler, bowling only 98 overs in his Test career, 23 of them in 2008. He was brought into the attack usually to give the pace bowlers a rest, although he was once brought on in India to stop Ricky Ponting getting a one-match ban for a slow over rate. On 28 December 2008, Day 3 of the Boxing Day test, he got his first test wicket, Paul Harris caught by Mitchell Johnson. He ended with figures of 1/22. He took two wickets in One Day Internationals.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey debuted for the Australian One-day team against India on 1 February 2004 at his home WACA ground in Perth. In this match Hussey made 17* helping Australia win the match by five wickets.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the third Super Series match on 9 October 2005, Hussey became the first person to hit the roof of the Telstra Dome (the ICC World XI's Makhaya Ntini was the bowler in this case). On 6 February 2006, he tied with Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee on 22 votes for the Australian One-Day Player of the Year at the annual Allan Border Medal presentation. However, Symonds was ruled ineligible after an alcohol-related indiscretion, and after Lee and Gilchrist were eliminated on countback, Hussey was named the outright winner. Hussey had also come second overall in the Allan Border medal his first year in international cricket. On 3 November 2006, Hussey became the ICC's ODI Player of the Year at the annual ICC Awards in Mumbai. He was also named in its World ODI XI in 2006 and as 12th man in 2007.


title: Michael Hussey

text: On 18 September 2006, owing to Australia's rotation policy, and in Ricky Ponting's absence, Hussey captained Australia for the first time in the DLF Cup second round match against West Indies at Kuala Lumpur. Australia lost the game by three wickets, but Hussey and Brad Haddin put together a sixth-wicket partnership of 165, a world record for that wicket in all ODIs.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the 2007 Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series, Australia were in trouble while chasing a target against England, and in a later match New Zealand. Both times Hussey guided the Australians to victory, and on both occasions was the only recognised batsman at the crease at the end of the match.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey led Australia in the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy after selectors rested captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. The first match against New Zealand saw a 10-wicket loss, the first time Australia had lost by this margin in their One Day International history, although Hussey top scored with 42 off 96 balls. Hussey's record as captain was further marred when Australia lost the top place in the ODI rankings to South Africa for the first time since they were introduced in 2002 after losing to New Zealand two days later. Hussey top-scored for Australia with an aggressive 105 off 84 before another loss in the final match left him with a captaincy record of four losses from four matches.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In early 2007, Hussey had a major slump in form with an average of only eight in over 10 innings, which scarcely improved in the World Cup where he gained an average of 17.4 with 87 runs. However, this was also due to a lack of opportunities to bat because of Australia's top-order dominance.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the fourth ODI in the Commonwealth Bank Series played at the MCG on 10 February 2008 against India, Australia's top order and middle order collapsed, which saw Hussey come in at 5/72 with the side in deep trouble. He made a 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Brett Lee (which was the highest partnership of the innings) until Lee fell to Pathan. Hussey batted through the rest of the innings, making an unbeaten 65 off 88 being the only Australian to really contribute to the poor total of 159.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the first ODI of the 2008 Bangladesh ODI series, Hussey top-scored with 85 and received the man-of-the-match award. This coincided with his rise to second in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI player rankings.


title: Michael Hussey

text: After initially being left out, Michael Hussey was named in the Australian 2011 World Cup squad as the replacement of Doug Bollinger after recovering from hamstring injury that needed surgery.


title: Michael Hussey

text: On 19 February 2012, Michael Hussey became the 13th batsman to score 5000 runs for Australia in ODI cricket, when he scored 59 runs against India at the Gabba.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey made his Test debut at the Gabba in Brisbane on 3 November 2005, as a replacement for fellow Western Australian batsman Justin Langer in the Australia vs. West Indies series. In the first innings Hussey managed only one run, caught by Denesh Ramdin off the bowling of Daren Powell. In the second innings Hussey turned in an unimpressive 29. In the following Test, at Bellerive Oval (Tasmania) he scored 137 and 31* and was named man of the match. In the third Test at Adelaide Oval, Hussey was moved down the order to number five to accommodate the return of Langer. He made 133 not out in the first innings and 30 not out in the second, bringing his Test average to 120.


title: Michael Hussey

text: On being moved down the order, Hussey proved invaluable to the Australian team, often building impressive partnerships with the tail-end batsmen, the most impressive being a 107-run 10th-wicket partnership with Glenn McGrath in the second Test in South Africa's 2005–06 tour of Australia. Hussey continued his remarkable batting with tail-enders against Bangladesh in their Spring 2006 2-Test series when he and Jason Gillespie (as a nightwatchman) put together a 320-run partnership, with Hussey making a then career-best 182.


title: Michael Hussey

text: On 18 April 2006 Hussey set a record as the fastest player in terms of time to reach 1,000 Test runs. He reached the milestone in just 166 days. Hussey was also the fastest player to reach the top 10 of the LG ICC cricket ratings. He maintained an exceptional average of 105.25 in the 2006–07 Ashes series, which Australia won 5–0.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the second Test of the 2006–07 Ashes, Hussey made 91 before he was bowled (playing on) by Matthew Hoggard and fell nine runs short of his fifth Test century. In the second innings Australia was chasing 168 off 35 overs for victory for a chance to go 2–0 up in the series. After the fall of two early wickets, Ponting and Hussey, who was promoted to No. 4 instead of Damien Martyn, formed a steady partnership to guide Australia to victory. Ponting fell on 49 but the battle was well over. Hussey scored the winning runs and made 61 not out from 66 balls. His partner, Michael Clarke, scored 21 not out.


title: Michael Hussey

text: On 16 December Hussey scored 103 runs off 156 balls—his fifth Test century—on the third day of the third match of the series at the WACA Ground in Perth. On 6 January 2007 after Australia's 5–0 Ashes whitewash, Justin Langer anointed Hussey to be the next leader of the team's victory song Under the Southern Cross I Stand.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the first Test of the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy against Sri Lanka, Hussey scored his sixth Test century with a score of 133 runs off 249 balls. He was also part of a record-breaking fourth-wicket partnership with Clarke. Their 245-run partnership is the third-highest partnership for Australia against Sri Lanka in Test matches. In the following match of the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, Hussey scored his seventh Test century with a score of 132 and following it up in the second innings with 34 not out.


title: Michael Hussey

text: On 6 January 2008, at the SCG, Hussey scored his eighth Test century against India. This was the first time he scored more than 50 runs at that ground. He ended up not out on 145, before Ponting declared. However, in the first innings of the next Test he scored his first Test duck.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey claimed his first Test wicket against South Africa on the third day of the 2008 Boxing Day Test at the MCG, when Paul Harris skied a ball over Mitchell Johnson's head and the latter ran back and took a running catch as the ball fell down past his shoulder.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey played in all five of Ashes Test matches in England in 2009, scoring 276 runs in 8 innings. This gave him an average of 34.5. This included a century in Australia's second innings in the Fifth and final Test at The Oval where he scored 121, potentially saving his Test career after a long run without a century. He also scored two half centuries at Lord's in the Second Test, which England won, and in the Third Test at Edgbaston, which ended in a draw. He also took five catches in the field.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the summer of 2009/10 Hussey scored his eleventh test century. Australia were playing Pakistan and were losing badly when Hussey proved yet again that he was brilliant with the tail end, scoring an unbeaten 134. This innings with Peter Siddle who scored 38 potentially saved the match as Australia went from a terrible position to a reasonable one and ended up winning the match with Michael Hussey named man of the match for his heroic effort.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the first Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy against the West Indies in 2009 at the Gabba, Hussey took his second Test wicket after Dwayne Bravo hooked a short ball straight to deep backward square leg which was caught comfortably by Ben Hilfenhaus.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Prior to the 2010/11 Ashes series, Hussey was experiencing poor form in the warm-up games and many were speculating that he should be dropped, but he was not. In the first test, he scored a magnificent 195, his highest test score, in a partnership of 307 with Brad Haddin, the highest partnership ever at the Gabba, later broken by Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott in the next innings; the test ended in a draw. In the second test, he scored 93 in the first innings following up with a 52 in the next. The next match, he helped Australia to a 267 run win scoring 61 and 116.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the 2011 tour (3 test series) of Sri Lanka, he scored 95 & 15 in the first test which rewarded him with the Man of the Match honour. In the second test he made 142 and took two wickets, including a vital one in Kumar Sangakkara, and took a spectacular one-handed full length diving catch in the gully and also being rewarded with the Man of the Match honour. In the third test, he made 118 in the 1st innings.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the first Test Match of 2012, Hussey scored an unbeaten 150* to help the Aussies to 659/4(dec). He was involved in a 344 run partnership with Michael Clarke, who managed to score an unbeaten 329*. He was praised for his efforts and he once again cemented himself in the team after being under some serious pressure from critics and selectors.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey started the 2012/13 Australian summer well with a century against South Africa in the first test. A partnership with Michael Clarke proved to be vital, as the pair put on more than 200 runs during the fourth and fifth days. This feat was repeated in the 2nd test with another century, and a 272 run partnership with Clarke.


title: Michael Hussey

text: He played his final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the last of Australia's three match series against Sri Lanka. In the first innings he was run out by Michael Clarke for 25, while in the second he guided Australia to victory with 27*.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey was part of Australia's 2007 ICC World Twenty20 squad which was knocked out in the semi-finals. He played in all of Australia's matches, scoring 65 runs with a best of 37 before injuring a hamstring, which prevented his participation in Australia's tour of India that followed.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In May 2010, he scored 60 runs off 24 balls in the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 to help defeat Pakistan and secure a place for Australia in the final. It is considered to be one of the most stunning run chases in Twenty20 cricket.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey played for the IPL team Chennai Super Kings, and he became the second batsman to score a century in the competition, after New Zealand's Brendon McCullum. He scored 116 not out against the team Kings XI Punjab.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey chose to play for his Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings instead of his Australian state side Western Warriors in the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League although the 2008 event was eventually cancelled and neither side qualified in 2009.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey joined the Chennai Super Kings for the second half of the 2010 Indian Premier League along with teammate Doug Bollinger to reverse the fortunes of the side which eventually went on to win the title that year.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In the 2010 Champions League Twenty20, Michael Hussey replaced Matthew Hayden and opened the innings for the side along with Murali Vijay. He played a crucial knock in the group-clash against the Chevrolet Warriors which was a must-win game for the Chennai Super Kings. Hussey's innings fetched him the Man of the match award and helped the Chennai Super Kings to proceed to the knockout stage where they got to win the league altogether.


title: Michael Hussey

text: In IPL 2011 he was the fifth-highest run-getter in all IPL matches. He scored 492 runs from his fourteen innings with his highest score is 81 not out against the RCB. He has scored four half-centuries and three-man of the matches as well.


title: Michael Hussey

text: During IPL 2013 he finished as the league's top run scorer with 733 runs, at the time equalling the most runs by a batsman in an IPL season set by Chris Gayle the season before albeit from 3 more innings. The 2013 season also saw Hussey hit 81 fours (the third highest by a batsman in a season), face 566 deliveries (the second highest in a season) and play out 202 dot balls (the highest ever in a season by a batsman).. He was picked up by the Mumbai Indians in 2014 for the 7th edition of the league as an opener but eventually released by them in 2015. In the 2015 auction, he was bought back by the Chennai Super Kings. During IPL 2015 in what proved to be Hussey's final season in the tournament, he got to play only 4 matches and managed to score 77 runs.


title: Michael Hussey

text: His first Test century came in his second match scoring 137 against the West Indies at the Bellerive Oval. His highest Test score of 195 came against England at The Gabba in Brisbane during 2010–11 Ashes series between the teams.


title: Michael Hussey

text: He is jointly 62nd (with Colin Cowdrey, Wally Hammond and Ijaz Ahmed) overall among all-time combined century-makers.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey is married to Amy and has four children. His father is a former athletics coach and his younger brother, David, was also a professional cricketer who played for Victoria, Nottinghamshire, Chennai Super Kings and Australia. Prior to his entry into first-class cricket, Hussey studied to become a science teacher. He is also a fan of Manchester United due to his dad. Hussey attended Whitford Catholic Primary School in his early years and later attended Prendiville Catholic College in the northern suburbs of Perth. After finishing school he won a scholarship to the Australian Cricket Academy, where his contemporaries included Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey has the nickname "Mr Cricket", due to his encyclopaedic knowledge of his sport. He has repeatedly stated that he dislikes the nickname finding it "a bit embarrassing". England rival Andrew Flintoff and Graeme Swann's brother Alec were reportedly responsible for coining it. The sobriquet appeared on the back of his shirt in the Twenty20 international against South Africa in 2006, in which all the players displayed their nicknames. During the 2007 Twenty20 against England, however, he was seen with "Huss" on his shirt instead, further suggesting he is fed up with the tag Mr Cricket. Nevertheless, the nickname features prominently in his television ads for the national real estate chain LJ Hooker.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Hussey announced his retirement from international cricket after the 2012 Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. His last Test appearance was the New Year’s fixture against Sri Lanka at the SCG, on 3 January 2013. He planned to play out the rest of the Australian summer in limited overs cricket but was surprisingly dropped with Australian selectors planning for the 2015 world cup and to give Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja an opportunity at ODI level. Hussey explained that his motivation for his retirement was to spend more time with his family. Hussey also delayed his announcement until before the Sydney Test in 2013, fearing that he would have been dropped before the Australian summer season was over.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Underneath the Southern Cross is Hussey's autobiography. It was published on 1 October 2013 by Hardie Grant Books.


title: Michael Hussey

text: After retiring from all levels of cricket Hussey worked as a batting consultant for Australia for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. He was also a cricket commentator in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2016 season.


title: Michael Hussey

text: Several years after his retirement from the Big Bash League, Hussey was appointed the role of Director of Cricket for the Sydney Thunder. He was also appointed as the Batting Coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for 2018 Season of Indian Premier League (IPL)


title: Ellie Haddington

text: Ellie Haddington (born 17 February 1955 in Aberdeen) is a British actress with a career spanning over 40 years.


title: Ellie Haddington

text: Haddington was born in Scotland. She trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1975 to 1977.


title: Ellie Haddington

text: Haddington appeared in 101 episodes of "Coronation Street" as Josie Clarke from 1995 to 1996. Haddington's other TV credits include "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "Life Begins", "Foyle's War" (as Hilda Pierce), "Endeavour", "A&E", "Cracker", "Cutting It", "Holby City", "Wire in the Blood", "Midsomer Murders", "The Musketeers", "Taggart", "Scott & Bailey", "Bad Girls", "Guilt", "New Tricks" - and "The Bill", in which she played two different roles, the first in 1997 and the second in 2007. She later appeared as Professor Docherty in the third-season finale of "Doctor Who", entitled "Last of the Time Lords". In 1997 she played Joan Braithwaite in “Closing Ranks,” the fourth episode of the seventh series of "Heartbeat". In 2001 she appeared in "Midsomer Murders" "Tainted Fruit", as Joan Farley.


title: Ellie Haddington

text: On stage, in 2012, she appeared in "Bingo" at the Chichester Festival Theatre and the Young Vic. In 2011 and 2013 she appeared in the lead role of Carol Porter in the Sky One comedy series "The Café". In 2013, she appeared as Madame Dupin in the BBC TV miniseries "Spies of Warsaw".


title: Ellie Haddington

text: In 2015 Haddington played Gina Corbin in "Ordinary Lies" and Fanny Biggetywitch in "Dickensian". In 2017, she played Julia's mother Marion in "Motherland". In 2018 she appeared in "Midsomer Murders" "Death of the Small Coppers" as Giny Weldon and in "Endeavour" "Quartet" as Millie Bagshot. In 2019, she played Dr Moss in the final episode of BBC 6-part TV drama by Russell T Davies, "Years and Years".


title: Ellie Haddington

text: In 2021 she reprised the part of Sheila Gemmell in the BBC black-comedy series "Guilt", which was first shown on BBC Four in 2019. She also played Wendy in the Channel 4 miniseries "Close to Me".


title: Buxus

text: Buxus is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.


title: Buxus

text: The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, with the majority of species being tropical or subtropical; only the European and some Asian species are frost-tolerant. Centres of diversity occur in Cuba (about 30 species), China (17 species) and Madagascar (9 species).


title: Buxus

text: They are slow-growing evergreen shrubs and small trees, growing to 2–12 m (rarely 15 m) tall. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate, and leathery; they are small in most species, typically 1.5–5 cm long and 0.3–2.5 cm broad, but up to 11 cm long and 5 cm broad in "B. macrocarpa". The flowers are small and yellow-green, monoecious with both sexes present on a plant. The fruit is a small capsule 0.5–1.5 cm long (to 3 cm in "B. macrocarpa"), containing several small seeds.


title: Buxus

text: The genus splits into three genetically distinct sections, each section in a different region, with the Eurasian species in one section, the African (except northwest Africa) and Madagascan species in the second, and the American species in the third. The African and American sections are genetically closer to each other than to the Eurasian section.


title: Buxus

text: "Cydalima perspectalis" which can devastate a box hedge within a short time. This is a recently introduced species first noticed in Europe in 2007 and in the UK in 2008 but spreading. There were 3 UK reports of infestation in 2011, 20 in 2014 and 150 in the first half of 2015.


title: Buxus

text: Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for fine wood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available. It is also resistant to splitting and chipping, and thus useful for decorative or storage boxes. Formerly, it was used for wooden combs. As a timber or wood for carving it is "boxwood" in all varieties of English.


title: Buxus

text: Owing to the relatively high density of the wood, boxwood is often used for chess pieces; unstained boxwood for the white pieces, and stained ('ebonized') boxwood for the black pieces in lieu of ebony.


title: Buxus

text: The extremely fine endgrain of box makes it suitable for woodblock printing and woodcut blocks, for which it was the usual material in Europe. In the 16th century, boxwood was used to create intricate decorative carvings, including intricate rosary prayer beads. As of 2016, the largest collection of these carvings is at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.


title: Buxus

text: High quality wooden spoons have usually been carved from box, with beech being the usual cheaper substitute.


title: Buxus

text: Due to its high density, resistance to chipping, and relatively low cost, boxwood has been used to make parts for various stringed instruments since antiquity. It is mostly used to make tailpieces, chin rests and tuning pegs, but may be used for a variety of other parts as well. Other woods used for this purpose are rosewood and ebony.


title: Buxus

text: Boxwood was a common material for the manufacture of recorders in the eighteenth century, and a large number of mid- to high-end instruments made today are produced from one or other species of boxwood. Boxwood was once a popular wood for other woodwind instruments, and was among the traditional woods for Great Highland bagpipes before tastes turned to imported dense tropical woods such as cocuswood, ebony, and African blackwood.


title: Buxus

text: Prior to the development of plastics, boxwood was important to a wide range of fields from engineering to arts, construction to cartography, due to its density and stability making it one of the best available materials for measurement scales and technical drawing rulers. Alternative materials of the era were ivory, paper, and metal. Disadvantages of ivory included that it would slightly shrink over time, the size and shape of blanks was limited by that of the tusk, and supply was limited. Paper was soft, difficult to use, and did not last long. Metal marked the surface it was being used on and increased expense. Ebony was another dense and stable wood prized for drawing instruments but typically only if scales were not necessary; boxwood's light color contrasted much better with scales.


title: Buxus

text: Devices made of boxwood included set squares, scale rulers, yardsticks, folding rulers, slide rules, Marquois scales, T-squares, protractors, and a wide range of other measuring, metering, and straight-edge devices and tools, as well as general functional items such as combs, weaving shuttles, etc.


title: Buxus

text: General Thomas F. Meagher decorated the hats of the men of the Irish Brigade with boxwood during the American Civil War, as he could find no shamrock.


title: Cartouche

text: In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the feature did not come into common use until the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu. While the cartouche is usually vertical with a horizontal line, if it makes the name fit better it can be horizontal, with a vertical line at the end (in the direction of reading). The ancient Egyptian word for cartouche was , and the cartouche was essentially an expanded shen ring. Demotic script reduced the cartouche to a pair of brackets and a vertical line.


title: Cartouche

text: Of the five royal titularies it was the "prenomen" (the throne name), and the "Son of Ra" titulary (the so-called "nomen" name given at birth), which were enclosed by a cartouche.


title: Cartouche

text: At times amulets took the form of a cartouche displaying the name of a king and placed in tombs. Archaeologists often find such items important for dating a tomb and its contents. Cartouches were formerly only worn by pharaohs. The oval surrounding their name was meant to protect them from evil spirits in life and after death. The cartouche has become a symbol representing good luck and protection from evil.


title: Cartouche

text: The term "cartouche" was first applied by French soldiers who fancied that the symbol they saw so frequently repeated on the pharaonic ruins they encountered resembled a muzzle-loading firearm's paper powder cartridge ( in French).


title: Cartouche

text: As a hieroglyph, a cartouche can represent the Egyptian-language word for "name". It is listed as no. V10 in Gardiner's Sign List.


title: Rodney A. Grant

text: Rodney Arnold Grant (born March 9, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Wind In His Hair" (Lakota: "Pahíŋ Otȟáte") in the 1990 film "Dances with Wolves".


title: Rodney A. Grant

text: Grant, a Native American, was raised on the Omaha Reservation in Macy, Nebraska. After his biological parents abandoned him, his grandparents raised him from six months of age until 1982. Besides "Dances with Wolves", he has also appeared in films such as "Ghosts of Mars", "Wild Wild West", "", "", "Wagons East", "The Substitute", "War Party", and "Powwow Highway". He portrayed "Chingachgook" in the syndicated television series "Hawkeye" and also had guest roles in television series such as "Due South", "Two", and the "Stargate SG-1" (episode "Spirits"). He also portrayed the famous warrior Crazy Horse in the 1991 television movie "Son of the Morning Star".


title: Rodney A. Grant

text: Grant is a member of the Omaha tribe of Nebraska. He has been very active in youth activities and had served on the Native American Advisory Board for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He has five grown children, three from a previous marriage, and two from previous relationships. He now lives in southern California.


title: Low Ki

text: Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestling as Low Ki and Senshi and with WWE as Kaval.


title: Low Ki

text: He is a one-time PWG World Champion, the inaugural ROH World Champion, one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion and a three-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, and has won a number of tournaments and other championships on the independent circuit, and was the winner of the second season of "NXT" in 2010. Silvestry has also worked extensively in Japan, most notably for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and Pro Wrestling Zero-One (Zero-One), where he was a one-time Zero-One International Junior Heavyweight and NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champion. He is a three time world champion, and is the only wrestler in history to have been ROH, PWG, and MLW World Champion.


title: Low Ki

text: Silvestry began wrestling in late 1998 under the ring name Low Ki, which he derived from the lyrics of the song "No Diggity". He began wrestling for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) in 1998, challenging Homicide and Kane D for the JAPW Tag Team Championship. The following year he challenged for the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship twice, unsuccessfully, but defeated Crazy Ivan and Judas Young to win the second Best of the Light Heavyweights tournament.


title: Low Ki

text: In 2000, he began making several appearances in the World Wrestling Federation on their programs "Metal" and "Jakked", where he competed against the likes of Raven, Crash Holly, Christian and Essa Ríos. The following year he made it through to the finals of All Pro Wrestling's King of the Indies tournament, losing the crown to American Dragon. It was also during 2001 that he defeated Nick Berk and Homicide in separate matches on the same evening to win both the JAPW Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Titles; he would successfully defend both titles in separate matches at their Fourth Anniversary Show later that month in July. He lost both titles in a Three Way match the following month to Homicide, with Xavier as the other competitor.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut at its first show, The Era of Honor Begins, on February 23. In the show's main event, he defeated Bryan Danielson and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. On July 27, 2002, at Crowning a Champion, he became the first ever ROH Champion by defeating Daniels, Spanky and Doug Williams in a Four Way Ironman match. On August 24, Low Ki successfully defended his title against A.J. Styles. On September 21, at Unscripted, he lost the title to Xavier, who, after winning the title, became a member of Daniels's faction The Prophecy. Low Ki then faced Samoa Joe on October 5 in what was Joe's official ROH debut in a "Fight Without Honor". In what resembled more of an MMA fight, Low Ki won the match and they shook hands after the match. Low Ki left the promotion in 2004 due to the Feinstein incident, but he returned on July 17, 2004, during a match, where Samoa Joe and the Briscoe Brothers fought against The Rottweilers (Homicide and the Havana Pitbulls). It looked like Low Ki would save Samoa Joe from a beatdown by The Rottweilers, but instead he spat on the ROH Championship, which was then held by Joe, and joined The Rottweilers.


title: Low Ki

text: At Weekend of Thunder Night 2 on November 6, 2004, he started a feud with Bryan Danielson, who was Low Ki's partner in a match against Samoa Joe and Jushin Thunder Liger. Low Ki and Danielson lost the match and Low Ki blamed his partner for that, so The Rottweilers started a beatdown on Danielson. On December 4, at All Star Extravaganza II, Danielson defeated Homicide of The Rottweilers. In that same event, Low Ki wrestled Austin Aries in a number one contender's match to determine who would face ROH Champion Samoa Joe for the title. The match ended in a draw. Officials extended the match, but Low Ki refused to wrestle, so Aries was declared the winner. Instead of facing Joe at Final Battle 2004, Low Ki wrestled Danielson, but got himself disqualified and then attacked the referee. This was enough for ROH officials to suspend him indefinitely as a result.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki returned on May 7, 2005 and immediately attacked Jay Lethal and Samoa Joe at Manhattan Mayhem with his fellow Rottweilers, Homicide, Julius Smokes, Monsta Mack and Rocky Romero. The impromptu tag team match was made: The Rottweilers vs. Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal. Low Ki and Homicide won the match and injured Lethal with a Ghetto Stomp/Cop Killa combination. The feud continued on June 18 at Death Before Dishonor III, where he and Lethal faced each other in a singles match, but it ended in a no contest. They had a rematch on August 12 at Redemption, but the ending was the same and Rottweilers beat Lethal down after the match. Finally, on September 17 at Glory By Honor IV, a "Fight Without Honor" between the two ended with Low Ki getting a pinfall victory over Lethal. After Samoa Joe went on to save Colt Cabana from a beatdown by The Rottweilers, Lethal came out to even the odds and said that he wanted yet another rematch with Low Ki, which Lethal won this time, ending the feud. Later in the year, Low Ki helped Homicide in his feud against Colt Cabana. On December 17, 2005, at Final Battle 2005, he challenged Kenta for his GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, but came up short. Low Ki left ROH once again in January 2006 due to a "disagreement in business arrangements". He won his last match on January 28 against Jack Evans. ROH covered his leaving by having the ROH commissioner Jim Cornette ban Low Ki from Ring of Honor for life after it was discovered that he was the one who knocked Cornette's tooth out at that show. He was also used as a focus point (in name only) in the Cornette/Homicide feud in the summer of 2006, with Cornette refusing to reinstate Low Ki as Homicide's "third wish."


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki's first stint with NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA) was for its debut show on June 19, 2002, in a six-man tag team match alongside A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn against the Flying Elvises. On June 26, he attempted to become the first X Division Champion, but was beaten by Styles. He would, though, eventually go on to win the title from Styles on August 7, but lost it three weeks later to Lynn. He would later form the Triple X faction with Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper that year and hold the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times under the "Freebird Rule". Low Ki wrestled beside Skipper when Triple X defeated America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) for the title on January 22, 2003. When Daniels's greed for the X Division Championship initially forced Low Ki out of Triple X, Low Ki would go on to battle Daniels in Ultimate X, but his pursuit was unsuccessful. He left NWA TNA in July 2004 and made his return to ROH.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki made his first trip to Japan with Pro Wrestling Zero-One in 2002. On September 16, he defeated Leonardo Spanky for the International Junior Heavyweight Championship from him. He held the championship until August 31, 2003, when he lost it to Wataru Sakata. During 2003, Low Ki also made several appearances for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki left Zero-One in mid-2004 to join Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was instantly given a title shot against Global Honored Crown (GHC) Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru, which he was unable to win. During this period, he represented Noah in MXW Pro Wrestling's Gaijin Battle Series. He later joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and joined Shinsuke Nakamura's stable RISE, replacing the injured Milano Collection A.T.; in his first match back, he suffered a knee injury, which required surgery. Low Ki returned to the promotion in September, defecting from RISE to join New Japan's main villainous faction, Great Bash Heel (GBH).


title: Low Ki

text: After joining GBH, he captured the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Junior Heavyweight Championship from Tiger Mask on September 21, 2008 on NJPW's Circuit 2008 New Japan Generation tour. He subsequently lost it back to Tiger Mask on NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom III show in Tokyo on January 4, 2009. After losing the championship, Low Ki made several appearances for Hustle.


title: Low Ki

text: At Lockdown, Christopher Daniels's mystery opponent was revealed to be the returning Low Ki, who wrestled under the name of Senshi (Japanese for "warrior" or "soldier"). Following Lockdown, Senshi was not seen in action for several weeks. Instead, he was built up with a series of vignettes hyping his background, training, and desire to dominate the X Division once more, hinting at the possibility of challenging the X Division Champion, the undefeated Samoa Joe.


title: Low Ki

text: Senshi defeated Alex Shelley, Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, Shark Boy, and Sonjay Dutt at Slammiversary to become the number one contender to the X Division Championship. Senshi went on to become X Division Champion again on the June 22, 2006 episode of "Impact!", defeating Joe and Dutt after he pinned Dutt. He remained undefeated for six months, successfully defending the X Division Championship against Kazarian at Victory Road, Jay Lethal and Petey Williams in a three-way match at Hard Justice, and Chris Sabin at No Surrender, before losing the title to Sabin in October at Bound for Glory.


title: Low Ki

text: Senshi later feuded with Austin Starr. Their feud would continue until Lockdown in a Six Sides of Steel match, which he won. At Slammiversary, he teamed with Rhino to defeat The Latin American Xchange (LAX). At Victory Road, Senshi competed in a 10-Man Ultimate X Match, which he lost. After the match, however, Triple X was reformed with Daniels, Senshi, and the returning Skipper. They won their reunion match on the July 19, 2007 episode of "Impact!" against Serotonin.


title: Low Ki

text: Triple X faced Lethal and Dutt and The Motor City Machine Guns at Hard Justice in a losing effort. Skipper and Senshi also went on to face LAX at Bound for Glory in Ultimate X, ultimately losing.


title: Low Ki

text: At Turning Point, Senshi competed in the Feast or Fired match in which he one of four briefcases. On the following episode of "Impact", it was revealed that Senshi's case contained a pink slip which meant he was fired.


title: Low Ki

text: In December 2007, it was reported that Senshi had submitted his resignation to TNA and he left the promotion shortly after. In 2008, Silvestry helped TNA during the development of its first ever video game by providing both voicing and motion capture for the game's protagonist, Suicide.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) on April 7, 2007, defeating Davey Richards at "All Star Weekend V – Night One". On January 5, 2008, Low Ki won the PWG World Championship after defeating Bryan Danielson in an unannounced match. He had one successful title defense against El Generico, before a knee injury forced him to forfeit the championship just a month later.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki returned to PWG at "All Star Weekend 7 – Night One" on August 30, 2008, where he was a part of a four-way match for the World Championship; the bout also featured Eddie Kingston, Necro Butcher, and defending champion Chris Hero, who retained by pinning Kingston. On November 1 and 2 in Burbank, California, Low Ki defeated Roderick Strong in the opening round, Masato Yoshino in the quarterfinals, Nigel McGuinness in the semifinals, and Chris Hero in a non-title final match to win the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles tournament.


title: Low Ki

text: After his World Wrestling Entertainment tenure, Low Ki returned to PWG on January 29, 2011, during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend, in a rematch from 2007, where he defeated Davey Richards. In his next appearance on April 9, Low Ki defeated Akira Tozawa. On May 28, during the second night of "All Star Weekend 8", Low Ki unsuccessfully challenged Claudio Castagnoli for the World Championship.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki appeared on the November 7, 2008 edition of "SmackDown" in a dark match, losing to then-WWE Tag Team Champion Primo. Low Ki then won a match against Trent Beretta at the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) tapings on January 8. It was later announced on his official website that he had signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Initially, he wrestled under the name Kawal – "soldier" in the Tagalog language – in FCW, WWE's development territory, but later changed it to Kaval. In January 2009, he took a hiatus from FCW due to a leg injury, which would keep him sidelined until late October. On November 24, Kaval defeated Paul Burchill in a dark match prior to the SmackDown/ECW tapings. At the December 8 tapings, he was defeated by Goldust in another dark match. On the February 7 episode of "FCW", he defeated Bryan Danielson, for whom this was a debut match, after hitting him with "Warrior's Way", and on February 8 won a fatal four-way match against Alberto Banderas, Wade Barrett and Michael Tarver to become the number one contender for the Florida Heavyweight Championship. Kaval received his title shot two weeks later, but was defeated by the defending champion, Justin Gabriel. On July 15, Kaval and Michael McGillicutty defeated "Los Aviadores" (Hunico and Epico) to win the Florida Tag Team Championship. Kaval and McGillicutty only held the championship for a single day before losing it back to "Los Aviadores".


title: Low Ki

text: It was announced on June 1 that Kaval would be a participant in the second season of "NXT", with Team Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool and Layla) as his storyline mentors. He debuted on the June 8 episode of "NXT", but did not compete in a match. On the June 15 episode of "NXT", he was defeated by Alex Riley in his debut, and the following week he was defeated by Eli Cottonwood. On the June 29 episode of "NXT", Kaval teamed with Michael McGillicutty and Lucky Cannon against Riley, Cottonwood and Titus O'Neil, which his team won when he pinned Riley, giving Kaval his first win on "NXT". Later that night, he was ranked first in the poll. Four weeks later on July 27, he slipped down to second place in the second poll, behind McGillicutty. On August 9, the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on Raw, which Kaval's team lost when he was pinned by Husky Harris. Following the match, he was attacked by Sheamus. The following night on "NXT", Kaval's team won a rematch when Kaval pinned McGillicutty. In the poll later that night, Kaval regained the number one ranking. On the August 30 episode of "Raw", Kaval and Daniel Bryan lost a triple threat tag team match to The Miz and Alex Riley. On August 31, Kaval won the second season of "NXT", with McGillicutty ranked second and Riley in third place. Following the announcement of his victory, he was attacked by all the former season two rookies.


title: Low Ki

text: Following his "NXT" victory, Kaval was moved to the SmackDown brand, making his debut during the September 7 tapings in a loss to Drew McIntyre, which aired on September 10. On the September 24 episode of "SmackDown", Kaval lost to Chavo Guerrero Jr. On the October 8 episode of "SmackDown", Kaval and Kofi Kingston lost to Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes when Rhodes pinned Kaval. On the October 15 episode of "SmackDown" Kaval lasted five minutes in the ring with Big Show and in doing so earned a spot on Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights. However, after the match, Kaval was challenged by Tyler Reks, who ultimately went on to defeat him for his spot at the pay-per-view. On the October 18 episode of "Raw", Kaval competed in a SmackDown vs. Raw Battle Royal where he was eliminated by Mark Henry. On the October 29 episode of "Smackdown", Kaval lost to Jack Swagger. Kaval then lost a rematch on the November 4 episode of "WWE Superstars". On the November 11 episode of "Superstars", Kaval lost to Drew McIntyre.


title: Low Ki

text: Kaval won his first match on the November 19 episode of "SmackDown", by defeating the Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match. Following his victory, Kaval announced that he would be using his guaranteed title opportunity that he earned by winning "NXT" at the Survivor Series pay-per-view against Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. At the pay-per-view, Kaval was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the Intercontinental Championship. On the December 3 episode of "Smackdown", Kaval and MVP lost to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. On the December 10 episode of "Smackdown", Kaval lost to Jack Swagger by submission. On the December 17 episode of "Smackdown", Kaval and Kofi Kingston defeated Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler.


title: Low Ki

text: Kaval's final appearance in WWE was a loss to Drew McIntyre on the live December 21 episode of "SmackDown", and he was released from his contract on December 23.


title: Low Ki

text: On May 13, 2011, Silvestry, under the name Low Ki, made his return to NJPW, during the Invasion Tour 2011, the promotion's first tour of the United States, teaming with Homicide in a tag team match, where they defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask. The following day, Low Ki unsuccessfully challenged Prince Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On the third and final day of the tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Low Ki and Homicide unsuccessfully challenged Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.


title: Low Ki

text: On June 27, 2011, Low Ki returned to TNA at the tapings of the June 30 edition of "Impact Wrestling", defeating Jimmy Yang and Matt Bentley in a three-way match to advance to a four-way match for a TNA contract at Destination X. At the pay-per-view, Low Ki was defeated in the finals by Austin Aries.


title: Low Ki

text: On April 21, 2012, Low Ki returned to NJPW, aligning himself with the Chaos stable and teaming with Gedo, Jado and Rocky Romero in an eight-man tag team match, where they defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask, with Ki pinning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Devitt for the win. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2012, Low Ki defeated Devitt to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On May 27, Low Ki entered New Japan's 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. When the round-robin stage of the tournament concluded on June 9, Low Ki finished with eight wins out of his eight matches, winning his block and advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. The following day, Low Ki defeated Prince Devitt in the semifinals, before losing to Ryusuke Taguchi in the finals of the tournament. On June 16 at Dominion 6.16, Low Ki defeated Taguchi in a rematch to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On July 29, Low Ki lost the title to Kota Ibushi in his second defense. Low Ki regained the title from Ibushi on October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling. On October 21, Low Ki and Brian Kendrick entered the 2012 Super Jr. Tag Tournament as "Chaos World Wrestling Warriors". However, the team was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi). On November 11 at Power Struggle, Low Ki lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Prince Devitt in his first title defense.


title: Low Ki

text: On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, Low Ki unsuccessfully challenged Devitt for the title in a three-way match, which also included Kota Ibushi. Low Ki wrestled the entire match in a suit. The following month, New Japan removed Low Ki's profile from its official website, signaling the end of his run with the promotion. Low Ki had told New Japan office that he did not want to wrestle at an upcoming event in Fukushima because of health and safety reasons stemming from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Low Ki wrestled the WK7 match in the suit in protest. NJPW was reportedly "furious" over Low Ki wrestling a title match in a suit without clearing it with them first to the point that even years later, the company was said to be open to bringing anyone back "with the exception of Low Ki".


title: Low Ki

text: On January 14, 2012, Low Ki made his unadvertised debut for Evolve, defeating Ahtu at the final professional wrestling event in the Asylum Arena. Afterwards, it was announced that Low Ki had joined both Evolve and Dragon Gate USA full-time. Low Ki made his debut for Dragon Gate USA on January 27, when he defeated BxB Hulk in a singles match. Among speculations regarding his retirement from wrestling, Low Ki worked for Right Coast Pro's July 13, 2013, "Festivus" event, defeating Billy Bax in a singles match.


title: Low Ki

text: On March 30, 2014, Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) announced that Low Ki was coming out of retirement to work an event for the promotion on June 7. The following day, he was also announced for Dragon Gate USA's April events. On April 4, Ki was defeated by Trent Baretta in his Dragon Gate USA return match.


title: Low Ki

text: On August 11, 2013, AJPW announced that Low Ki would be returning to the promotion the following month to take part in the 2013 Ōdō Tournament. Low Ki entered the tournament on September 11, defeating Dark Cuervo in his first round match. Five days later, Low Ki was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Akebono. Following the match, Low Ki was sidelined with an abdominal injury for the rest of the tour. On October 14, Silvestry announced his retirement from professional wrestling due to All Japan supposedly not honoring their contractual obligation of medical care following his injury.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki returned to TNA in 2014, starting a rivalry against Samoa Joe over the X Division Champion. On the August 7 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Low Ki was defeated by Samoa Joe in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title, which also included Sanada. Ki would face Joe again at Hardcore Justice in a losing effort. However, on September 19, Joe vacated the title due medical issues. On the November 12 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Low Ki defeated Tigre Uno, Manik and DJ Z in a Four-Way match to win the vacant X Division Championship, becoming a three-time champion. Then, he started a storyline with Austin Aries. On January 7, 2015 episode of "Impact Wrestling" Ki lost the title against Aries, turned heel and joining the newly formed, villainous stable led by MVP known as The Beat Down Clan. On the following episode of "Impact Wrestling", Low Ki defeated Austin Aries in a rematch to reclaim the X Division title, with help from interference of The Beat Down Clan. On the March 20 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Low Ki lost the title to Rockstar Spud. In April, The Beat Down Clan started a feud with The Rising (Drew Galloway, Eli Drake and Micah) culminating in a match between both stables on the July 1 episode of "Impact Wrestling", The Beat Down Clan defeated The Rising in a 4-on-3 Handicap match, forcing The Rising to dissolve. On June 25, 2015 Low Ki announced that he had parted ways with the company.


title: Low Ki

text: On the April 20 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Low Ki made his return, debuting a Hitman / Agent 47 inspired gimmick. He defeated Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Sonjay Dutt, Dezmond Xavier and Suicide in a six-way match to win his fifth Impact Wrestling X Division Championship. As champion, he would make appearances in the United Kingdom, defeating Mark Haskins for 4 Front Wrestling and Ultimo Tiger for Pro Wrestling Pride. At the Impact Wrestling taping that occurred in Mumbai, India, on May 30 Dutt pinned then X Division Champion Low Ki to win his championship. At the July 6 Impact Wrestling tapings, Low Ki turned heel again by attacking Dutt during his Championship celebration, leading to a two out of three falls match at Slammiversary XV in which Ki was unsuccessful in regaining the X-Division Championship. After that, he was joined with the Latin American Xchange (LAX), starting a storyline with the Impact World Champion Alberto El Patron. Ki was scheduled to face Alberto for the title at Bound for Glory, but since Impact stripped him from the title, the match was cancelled. Instead, Eli Drake was crowned new champion and Johnny Impact was pointed as the challenger at Bound for Glory. On August 23, it was reported that Silvestry had parted ways with GFW. Sources agreed that Silvestry had made the decision to leave, but disagreed whether the departure was over financial or creative differences.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki debuted in Major League Wrestling (MLW) in 2018 as a heel, where Salina de la Renta became his manager. His first match for the promotion was on January 11, where he and MVP went to a draw. On the July 20 episode of "Fusion", Low Ki defeated Shane Strickland to win the MLW World Heavyweight Championship He would follow that win with successful defences against John Hennigan and Fenix. On November 10 Low Ki defended his championship against Daga, where he won after ripping a portion of Daga's ear off. Low Ki would also defeat Strickland in a rematch on November 23, where Ki ripped out a piece of Strickland's hair before pinning him. He would hold the title 205 days, losing it to Tom Lawlor at SuperFight on February 2, 2019. Low Ki was announced as part of the MLW roster that would be present at the company's relaunch following their hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Low Ki

text: Low Ki has also made an appearance in the "TNA Impact" video game, where he also did the voice and motion-capture of the wrestling character Suicide.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: Unplugged is a live album and DVD by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on July 30, 1996 by Columbia Records. It was recorded on April 10, 1996 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre for the television series "MTV Unplugged". The show was directed by Joe Perota and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. The "MTV Unplugged" was Alice in Chains' first concert in two and a half years, and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's biggest hits and lesser-known songs. A new song, "The Killer Is Me", was performed for the first time during the concert. The acoustic version of "Over Now" (originally released on Alice in Chains' 1995 self-titled album) was released as a single. The album debuted at No. 3 on the "Billboard 200" chart, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The performance was released on DVD on October 26, 1999, and re-released as a CD/DVD package featuring unaired footage on September 18, 2007. The home video release has received gold certification by RIAA.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: On April 10, 1996, Alice in Chains resurfaced to perform their first concert in two and a half years for "MTV Unplugged", a program featuring all-acoustic set lists. The band was offered to do the segment numerous times prior to the actual taping before finally accepting. The show was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. It was Layne Staley's idea to have big candles decorating the stage to keep it dark and moody, as the band never liked bright lights on stage, so Staley himself bought the candles at Seattle's Pike Place Market.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: The performance was one of Alice in Chains' final appearances with vocalist Layne Staley and featured some of the band's highest charting singles, including "Rooster", "Down in a Hole", "Heaven Beside You", and "Would?", and introduced a new song, "The Killer Is Me". The show marked Alice in Chains' first appearance as a five-piece band, adding second guitarist Scott Olson.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: Jerry Cantrell has attested to being fairly ill during the performance as a result of food poisoning from a hot dog consumed before the gig. Mike Inez's bass had the phrase "Friends Don't Let Friends Get Friends Haircuts..." written on it, directed at the members of Metallica who were in the audience and had recently cut their hair short. Inez and drummer Sean Kinney did pay tribute to Metallica, however, playing the intro to their hit song "Enter Sandman" just before "Sludge Factory". Before "Angry Chair," Jerry Cantrell paid further tribute by playing the intro to "Battery" going into the "Hee Haw" song, "Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me". This was omitted from the CD but can be found on the VHS and DVD. On the CD version of the MTV Unplugged concert, as Staley says "Okay, that's it," at the end of the song, booing can be heard (presumably due to the performance concluding). Staley responded to the heckler by shouting, "Hey, fuck you, man!" which was greeted by laughter from the audience.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: Cantrell has stated that the band was considering playing the songs "Love, Hate, Love" and "We Die Young" for the set, but ultimately chose not to, chiefly as a result of limited time. Moreover, a few songs such as "Got Me Wrong" and "Sludge Factory" had to be replayed numerous times due to error. Accordingly, the taping took approximately three hours to finish.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: Cantrell said that one of his favorite things from the concert was when Staley said at the end of the show, "I wish I could hug you all, but I'm not gonna".


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: A live album of the performance was released in July 1996, which debuted at number three on the "Billboard" 200, and was accompanied by a home video release. The album has received platinum certification by the RIAA and the home video release has received gold certification by the RIAA. A full length DVD of the concert was also later released on October 26, 1999. The songs "Angry Chair", "Frogs", and "The Killer Is Me" were cut from the original MTV broadcast but are included on both the CD and home video releases. The album was re-released as a CD/DVD package on September 18, 2007.


title: Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)

text: The album initially received mixed reviews from critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his review of the album: "It doesn't offer anything that the albums don't already. The acoustic arrangements of the harder songs sound like novelties, and the rest sound like rehashes of their previous work, only without much energy." Sandy Masuo of "Rolling Stone" wrote in her review "Unplugged certainly reaffirms the emotional range and technical prowess of Alice in Chains. But it lacks electricity in more ways than one. The concentrated catharsis in Alice in Chains' music is still best heard with the amps cranked up to 11." Despite this, the album eventually gained more recognition and praise after the death of vocalist Layne Staley, mainly due to his powerful performance despite his condition, and is now considered an iconic live album. Alice Pattillo of "Metal Hammer" considers Alice in Chains' "MTV Unplugged" as the best live album ever made.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (; July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist who, at the age of 23, achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold War.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn's mother, a piano teacher and an accomplished pianist in her own right, discovered him playing at age three, mimicking one of her students and arranged for him to start taking lessons. Cliburn developed a rich, round tone and a singing-voice-like phrasing, having been taught from the start to sing each piece.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn toured domestically and overseas. He played for royalty, heads of state, and every US president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the son of Rildia Bee ("" O'Bryan) and Harvey Lavan Cliburn Sr. When he was three, he began taking piano lessons from his mother, who had studied under Arthur Friedheim, a pupil of Franz Liszt. When Cliburn was six, his father, who worked in the oil industry, moved the family to Kilgore, Texas.


title: Van Cliburn

text: At 12, Cliburn won a statewide piano competition, which led to his debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. He entered the Juilliard School in New York City at 17 and studied under Rosina Lhévinne, who trained him in the tradition of the great Russian romantics. In 1952, Cliburn won the International Chopin Competition at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City. At 20, Cliburn won the Leventritt Award and made his debut at Carnegie Hall.


title: Van Cliburn

text: The first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 was an event designed to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority during the Cold War, after the USSR's technological victory with the Sputnik launch in October 1957. Cliburn's performance at the competition finale of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 on April 13 earned him a standing ovation lasting eight minutes. After the ovation, Van Cliburn made a brief speech in Russian and then resumed his seat at the piano and began to play—to the surprise and delight of the Russian musicians visible behind him in the film made of his part in the competition—his own piano arrangement of the much-beloved song "Moscow Nights," which further endeared him to the Russians. When it was time to announce the winner, the judges felt obliged to ask permission of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to give the first prize to an American. "Is he the best?" Khrushchev asked. "Yes." "Then give him the prize!" Cliburn was to maintain a lasting relationship with the Soviet leader. Cliburn returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the only time the honor has been accorded a classical musician. Arriving at City Hall after the parade, Cliburn told the audience:I appreciate more than you will ever know that you are honoring me, but the thing that thrills me the most is that you are honoring classical music. Because I'm only one of many. I'm only a witness and a messenger. Because I believe so much in the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible, the importance for all generations, for young people to come that it will help their minds, develop their attitudes, and give them values. That is why I'm so grateful that you have honored me in that spirit.A cover story in "Time" magazine proclaimed him "The Texan Who Conquered Russia". His triumph in Moscow propelled Cliburn to international prominence.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Upon returning to the United States, Cliburn appeared in a Carnegie Hall concert with the Symphony of the Air, conducted by Kirill Kondrashin, who had led the Moscow Philharmonic in the prize-winning performances in Moscow. The performance of the Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto at this concert was subsequently released by RCA Victor on LP. Cliburn was also invited by Steve Allen to play a solo during Allen's prime time NBC television series on May 25, 1958. He later went to the White House to meet with President Eisenhower to discuss relations with the USSR.


title: Van Cliburn

text: RCA Victor signed him to an exclusive contract, and his subsequent recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance. It was certified a gold record in 1961, and it became the first classical album to go platinum, achieving that certification in 1989. It was the best-selling classical album in the world for more than a decade. It eventually went triple-platinum. In 2004, this recording was re-mastered from the original studio analogue tapes, and released on a Super Audio CD.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Other standard repertoire Cliburn recorded include the Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 and No. 5 "Emperor", and the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3.


title: Van Cliburn

text: In 1958, during a dinner hosted by the National Guild of Piano Teachers, President and Founder Dr. Irl Allison announced a cash prize of $10,000 to be used for a piano competition named in Cliburn's honor. Under the leadership of Grace Ward Lankford and with the dedicated efforts of local music teachers and volunteers, the First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was held from September 24 to October 7, 1962, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Until his death, Cliburn continued to serve as Director Emeritus for the Van Cliburn Foundation, as host of the quadrennial competition and host of other programs honoring his legacy.


title: Van Cliburn

text: In 1961, he first performed at the Interlochen Center for the Arts during its summer camp. He went on to do so for eighteen more years, his last visit to the school being in 2006.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn returned to the Soviet Union on several occasions. His performances there were usually recorded and even televised. In a 1962 Moscow appearance, Nikita Khrushchev, who met Cliburn again on this visit, and Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet Foreign Minister, were "spotted in the audience applauding enthusiastically". According to "The Wall Street Journal", "Mr. Cliburn's affection for the Soviet people—and theirs for him—was notable in its warmth during a prolonged period of superpower strain." A 1972 concert performance of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Kondrashin and the Moscow orchestra, as well as a studio recording of Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini", were later issued on CD by RCA Victor.


title: Van Cliburn

text: On May 26, 1972, Cliburn gave a concert at Spaso House, the residence of the United States Ambassador to Russia, for an audience that included President Richard Nixon, Secretary of State William P. Rogers, and Soviet government officials.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn performed and recorded through the 1970s, but in 1978, after the deaths of his father and of his manager, Sol Hurok, he began a hiatus from public life. In 1987, he was invited to perform at the White House for President Ronald Reagan and Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and afterward was invited to open the 100th anniversary season of Carnegie Hall. He embarked on a 16-city tour in 1994, commencing with a performance of the Tchaikovsky concerto at the Hollywood Bowl. Also in 1994, Cliburn made a guest appearance in the cartoon "Iron Man", playing himself in the episode "Silence My Companion, Death My Destination". In his late seventies, he gave a limited number of performances to critical and popular acclaim. Cliburn appeared as a "Pennington Great Performers" series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2006. In 2006 he performed at Interlochen Center for the Arts, spending two hours talking to the students afterwards and signing their programs while many waited at a reception at the school's president's house.


title: Van Cliburn

text: He played for royalty and heads of state from dozens of countries and for every U.S. president from 1958 until his death.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn received the Kennedy Center Honors on December 2, 2001. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on July 23, 2003 by President George W. Bush, and, on September 20, 2004, the Russian Order of Friendship, the highest civilian awards of the two countries. He was also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the same year and played at a surprise 50th birthday party for United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He was a member of the Alpha Chi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and was awarded the fraternity's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award in 1962. He was presented a 2010 National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama on March 2, 2011.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn's 1958 piano performance in Moscow, when he won the prestigious Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, has been added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress for long-term preservation.


title: Van Cliburn

text: In 1996, Cliburn was named in a lawsuit by his domestic partner of 17 years, mortician Thomas Zaremba. In the suit, Zaremba claimed entitlement to a portion of Cliburn's income and assets and asserted that he might have been exposed to HIV, causing emotional distress. Cliburn denied the allegations, with his attorney, Dee Kelly, stating that "Van Cliburn categorically denies the charges." Cliburn's defense team further maintained that the claims were not only false, but that they amounted to extortion. Zaremba's attorney, Mike McCurley, acknowledged that Zaremba did not have AIDS and further admitted that "he had no reason to believe that Cliburn has HIV." The claims were dismissed by a trial court and rejected by an appellate court, on the basis that palimony suits were not permitted in the state of Texas unless the relationship is based on a written agreement.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn was known as a night owl. He often practiced until 4:30 or 5 a.m., waking around 1:30 p.m. "You feel like you're alone and the world's asleep, and it's very inspiring."


title: Van Cliburn

text: On August 27, 2012, Cliburn's publicist announced that the pianist had advanced bone cancer, had undergone treatment and was "resting comfortably at home" in Fort Worth, where he received around-the-clock care. Cliburn died on February 27, 2013, at the age of seventy-eight.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn was a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and attended regularly when he was in town. His services were held on March 3, 2013, at the Broadway Baptist Church with entombment at Greenwood Memorial Park Mausoleum in Fort Worth. His obituary lists as his only survivor his "friend of longstanding", Thomas L. Smith.


title: Van Cliburn

text: "The Wall Street Journal" said on his death that Cliburn was a "cultural hero" who "rocketed to unheard-of stardom for a classical musician in the U.S." Calling him "the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status", the Associated Press on his death noted the 1958 "Time" cover story that likened him to "Horowitz, Liberace, and Presley all rolled into one".


title: Van Cliburn

text: A year after Cliburn's death, a free anniversary concert was held on February 27, 2014, in his honor in downtown Fort Worth. "It's part of the Cliburn ideology of sharing the music with the larger audience", said Jacques Marquis, the Cliburn Foundation president.


title: Van Cliburn

text: A highlight of Cliburn's legacy was the profoundly positive reception of his person and performances in the Soviet Union during and after the Tchaikovsky competition. The same is true of his reception during and after the Cold War in the Soviet Union. According to "Life" (1958), the excitement and hype surrounding the news of Cliburn's debut in Moscow was almost too much to bear for some. They became infatuated with him and made no attempt to conceal it. "In the preliminaries, which had enlisted 50 young pianists from 19 different countries, Van was the big crowd-pleaser. Fans called him Vanyusha. Girls trailed him to the hotel. Soviet record companies pleaded with him to wax anything. In the finals, when he crashed out the last chords of the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto, the ecstatic audience in Moscow chanted 'first prize—first prize'."


title: Van Cliburn

text: Mark MacNamara of the "San Francisco Classical Voice" wrote: "The 6-foot 4-inch aw-shucks kid from Shreveport was 23, the son of an oil executive and a Juilliard graduate, and by all accounts didn't have a mean bone in his body. Indeed, much of his charm, then and throughout his life, was that he seemed so genuinely unaware of intrigue and enmity. Cliburn's talents were astounding, and he had a heart that loved people and music. This is a legacy that lasts."


title: Van Cliburn

text: As of the last International Tchaikovsky Competition (2019), Van Cliburn is still the only American to win the competition in piano. Three Americans have won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in its 58-year history.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Cliburn's contributions to society were many and one of his greatest contributions was the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.


title: Van Cliburn

text: Founded in 1958, the Cliburn is held every four years and is open to pianists between the ages of 18 and 30. Through screening auditions held in five cities around the world, 35 pianists are chosen to participate in the competition in Fort Worth, Texas, where their performances are open to the public and judged by a distinguished international jury. Since its third cycle, the Cliburn has qualified to be a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. (Sage Journals 2009)


title: Van Cliburn

text: For many young pianists, Cliburn is not only a symbol of talent and inspiration, but a friend to the arts that shows how appreciation for music is powerful, and his impact on the tensions of the Cold War was certainly one of distinct and unique merit.


title: Without Me (Halsey song)

text: "Without Me" is a song by American singer Halsey, released on October 4, 2018. Halsey wrote the song with Brittany Amaradio, Amy Allen, and Louis Bell; while production was handled by Bell and Dylan Bauld. It interpolates Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" with Timberlake, Timbaland and Scott Storch credited as co-writers. It was released through Capitol Records as the lead single from Halsey's third studio album, "Manic".


title: Without Me (Halsey song)

text: "Without Me" reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming Halsey's first number-one single as a lead artist, and her second overall, following her feature on The Chainsmokers' song "Closer" in 2016. The song also reached number one in Greece and the top three of ten other countries, namely Australia, Canada, Hungary, Malaysia, Portugal, Slovakia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. It also reached the top five in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Norway. Its music video, directed by Colin Tilley, was released on October 29, 2018. The track is certified Platinum or higher in eleven countries including 8× Platinum in the US, 7× Platinum in Australia and Canada, and Diamond in Mexico. The single was the number-one song of 2019 on pop radio in the US, the tenth biggest song overall of 2019 in the world, and the twelfth biggest song overall of the 2010s decade in the US.


title: Without Me (Halsey song)

text: Halsey performed "Without Me" live on a number of high-profile occasions; she performed it on "The Voice", "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", "Saturday Night Live", at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards, at the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards, at the 2019 MTV Millennial Awards, and at the 2019 "Billboard" Music Awards.


title: Without Me (Halsey song)

text: During a performance in London on September 23, 2018, Halsey teased visuals for "Without Me" before announcing it would be released on October 4. The song premiered on Zane Lowe's "World Record" radio show on Beats 1, and was followed by an interview about the song. It is her first solo song since her 2017 album, "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom".


title: Without Me (Halsey song)

text: "Without Me" was written by Halsey with Delacey, Edei, and Amy Allen; while its production was done by Bell. It is a mid-tempo trap-influenced pop, R&B, electro-R&B, and club-pop break-up song, which comprises an atmospheric blend of synths and electropop beats in its production. The song's bridge contains an interpolation of the pre-chorus of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River".