<p><b>--TEASE--</b></p>\n<p>https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/nyregion/flaco-owl-central-park-zoo-death-cause.html</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Flaco, Central Park Owl, Died With High Levels of Rat Poison in System</p>\n<p>A necropsy conducted by the Bronx Zoo found that life-threatening levels of rat poison and a severe pigeon virus contributed to Flaco’s death last month.</p>\n<p>Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl whose escape from the Central Park Zoo and life on the loose captivated New York, had enough rat poison and pigeon virus in his system to kill him even if he had not died after apparently striking an Upper West Side building last month.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The finding, from a necropsy conducted by Bronx Zoo pathologists after Flaco’s death on Feb. 23, validated widespread concerns about the hazards he faced living as a free bird in Manhattan for just over a year. He would have turned 14 this month.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>“Flaco’s severe illness and death are ultimately attributed to a combination of factors — infectious disease, toxin exposures and traumatic injuries — that underscore the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting,” the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Central Park and Bronx Zoos, said in a statement on Monday.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Initial necropsy findings released the day after what onlookers described as a deadly building strike suggested Flaco had sustained an acute traumatic injury to his body, with signs of substantial hemorrhage under his sternum and in his back near his liver.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>There was also evidence of bleeding behind his left eye, but no signs of head trauma or broken bones, the society said. Flaco was in “good body condition,” with “good muscling” and “adequate fat stores.” He weighed 4.1 pounds at death, just one-tenth of a pound lighter than at his last weigh-in at the zoo.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The society said at the time of the initial findings that additional tests were needed to determine whether any underlying factors had contributed to his death.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>In confirming the role of traumatic injuries, those tests found he had a severe pigeon herpesvirus, which the conservation society attributed to his eating feral pigeons.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The herpesvirus in question can be carried by healthy pigeons but may cause fatal disease in birds of prey, including owls that become infected by eating pigeons, the society said.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>In Flaco’s case, the society said, the viral infection had caused severe tissue damage and inflammation in many organs, including the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow and brain.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Toxicity tests also determined that Flaco had been exposed to four different anticoagulant rodenticides that are commonly used for rat control in New York City.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Together, the conservation society said, the pigeon virus and rodenticide exposure “would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building.”</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>No other contributing factors were identified through the extensive testing that was performed.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Toxicology tests also revealed trace amounts of DDE, a breakdown product of the pesticide DDT, which has been banned in the United States since the early 1970s. Although the levels detected did not contribute to Flaco’s death, the society said, the finding was a “reminder of the long legacy of DDT and its dire effects on wild bird populations.”</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Flaco died three weeks after passing the one-year mark of living on his own. As impressive as reaching that unlikely milestone was, it did not provide immunity against the serious risks he faced amid what was, for New York at least, a seemingly unprecedented wildlife experiment.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Hatched on March 15, 2010, at a North Carolina bird park, Flaco arrived at the Central Park Zoo less than two months later. He was a long way from what would have been a natural home for a bird like him.</p>\n<p>The Eurasian eagle-owl, known by the scientific name Bubo bubo, is an apex predator typically found in much of Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and Central Asia. It is among the world’s largest owls, with a wingspan as wide as six feet. The bird thrives in mountains and other rocky areas near forests, swooping down at night to hunt rodents, rabbits and other prey.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>For most of Flaco’s first 13 years, his life was unremarkable. That changed on the evening of Feb. 2, 2023, when someone shredded the mesh on his enclosure at the zoo and he showed up on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk. No one has been arrested; the police have said that their investigation is continuing.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>There was a significant question about whether Flaco could thrive outside captivity. When he proved his doubters wrong by teaching himself to feast on Central Park’s vast banquet of rats, he became an underdog worth rooting for. Bird-watchers, ornithologists and everyday people tracked his movements in person or, often, online.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Wildlife Conservation Society employees tried several times to retrieve him but backed off after he showed that he could fend for himself. Before long, he had settled into a comfortable routine at the park’s north end, and then around Halloween he began to roam from the East Village to the Upper West Side.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Experts and others tried to temper the excitement over his improbable sojourn. Eurasian eagle-owls can live more than 40 years in captivity, but only 20 on average in the wild. And no one could predict whether, or when, urban hazards like rat poison, a building strike or a collision with a vehicle might cut his life short.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Flaco managed to avoid vehicles by mostly sticking to rooftops, water towers and other elevated elements of the built environment once he left the park. But the risk of hitting a building was great: Up to 230,000 birds a year die in New York City when they hit windows, NYC Audubon says. And once he left Central Park, the rodenticide risk rose substantially.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The use of rat poisons is halted in the city’s parks during nesting season, from February through August, or when a breeding pair of birds of prey is present in or near a park or park area, according to a Parks Department spokesman.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Outside parks, though, such restrictions generally do not apply, and the use of rat poisons is widespread.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Rats that have ingested rodenticides often move more slowly, making them inviting, and potentially lethal, targets for birds of prey. Many of the nine dead birds the city’s Parks Department sent to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation last year for a cause-of-death determination, including several red-tailed hawks, had been poisoned by rodenticide, the local news outlet The City reported on Monday.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>There was always the possibility that Flaco could fall victim to more than one hazard, as appears to have happened. Barry, a female barred owl who became a fixture in the park during the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, suffered such a fate.</p>\n<p>After Barry died in a collision with a Central Park Conservancy vehicle in August 2021, a necropsy found she had died of blunt-force trauma, according to a Department of Environmental Conservation diagnostic report. But she also had a potentially lethal level of rat poison in her system.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>As for Flaco, his body was found in the back courtyard of a building on West 89th Street by the superintendent, who immediately recognized him.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The super and a resident contacted the Wild Bird Fund, a rescue organization, whose volunteers responded quickly and retrieved Flaco. He was alive then but was declared dead soon after, the Wildlife Conservation Society said.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>A memorial gathering on March 3 at what Flaco followers said was his favorite oak tree at the park’s north end drew a crowd of several hundred people who left flowers, letters and other colorful mementos at the base of the trunk. Speakers read poems and shared how Flaco had inspired and moved them.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>As of Monday, about 4,300 people had signed an online petition calling for a life-size statue of Flaco to be placed in Central Park to commemorate his legacy. A second online petition, this one urging that the police and the conservation society “relaunch” the investigation into who vandalized Flaco’s habitat, had more than 48,000 signatures.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Ed Shanahan is a rewrite reporter and editor covering breaking news and general</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SUPERS</b>--</p>\n<p>Julie Larsen/WCS (Pre-fonted)</p>\n<p><b>--VIDEO SHOWS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--LEAD IN</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--VO SCRIPT</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SOT</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--TAG</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--KEYWORD TAGS--</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--MUSIC INFO---</b></p>\n<p></p>

BILL REDEKER VO CS ON THE SELL OFF BY JAPANESE INVESTORS AND LENDERS OF US REAL ESTATE PROPERTIES PURCHASED IN THE 1980'S AT A LOSS. GOOD SCENIC FTG OF HAWAII LUXURY HOTELS, OFFICE BUILDINGS, CONDOMINIUMS AND GOLF COURSES. 13:30:25 AERIAL PAN OF PEBBLE BEACH GULF COURSE IN CALIFORNIA. MS OF A GOLFER ON THE GREEN, SWINGING HIS CLUB AND STRIKING THE BALL. 13:30:37 WMS OF PEDESTRIANS ON THE STREET ADJACENT TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY, FLAGS IN THE BG. LS OF THE GILDED CHERUB FOUNTAIN. 13:30:44 WLS OF A LARGE CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY. MCU OF HOTEL BEL AIR PRINTED ON THE ENTRANCE AWNING. 13:31:09 REFEEDS. 13:31:39 REFEED, UNMIXED. 13:32:12 LA OF A TOWERING NEW BUILDING. TILT DOWN TO BILTMORE PLACE ENTRANCE. 13:32:20 PULL IN TO A MANMADE WATERFALL SURROUNDED BY LUSH FOILAGE. 13:32:24 SU. 13:32:30 VS OF THE CANAL WATERWAYS AND BOATS, MONORAIL TRAM AND POOL AT THE EXTRAVAGANT WAIKALOA HOTEL. 13:32:48 WS PAN OF THE KOOLUA GOLF COURSE. MS OF A MAN STRIKING THE BALL. 13:33:04 HA OF THE SEA, PAN TO ROOFTOPS AND SKYLINE OF HIGH RISE HOTELS. SCENIC MCU PULL BACK OF SOFT WAVES LAPPING A COUPLE SITTING ON AN EMBANKMENT IN THE BLUE WATER. 13:33:17 CU INTV W/ ECONOMIST PAUL BREWBAKER. 13:33:25 EXTS OF THE LUXURIOUS WAIKIKI LANDMARK CONDOMINIUM. 13:33:45 MCU OF THE QUEEN TOWER OFFICE BUILDING ENTRANCE, PAN TO EMPTY PARKING LOT. HA PULL IN OF A MODEL OF A RESORT COMMUNITY. WLS OF A SINGLE HOTEL BUILD ON A BEACH INLET, SMATTERING OF PEOPLE IN THE OCEAN IN THE FG. 13:33:57 MCU OF ROYAL KO LOINA SIGN, FENCE IN THE FG. VS OF THE DEVELOPMENT SITE. 13:34:01 VS OF TOWNHOUSES UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 13:34:06 CU INTV W/ THE DEVELOPER HERBERT HORITA. 13:34:13 SCENIC WS OF A FLOCK OF WHITE BIRDS LANDING ON COASTLINE ROCKS, RESORT BUILDING IN THE BG. MLS OF A REAL ESTATE FOR SALE SIGN OUTSIDE A STONE FENCE. LS OF A BEACHFRONT HOTEL, LOUNGING GUESTS AND PALM TREES IN THE FG. 13:34:20 MCU OF CB COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AVAILABLE SIGN HANGING ON A BARBED WIRE FENCE. 13:34:24 SCENIC WLS OF A RESORT POOL, THATCHED HUT AND PALM TREES IN THE BG. HA WLS OF SOFT WAVES ROLLING TO SHORE AT A PICTURESQUE OCEAN BAY.

New York City - low angle to rooftops - offices or apartment building / tenement with old water tower

A look at the water tanks on top of New York City buildings and what they mean to the city.

WORLD TRADE CENTER ON FIRE COLLAPSE

Bronx, New York City - across rooftops to high rise apartments in bg - water tower on left

COMEDIC PERSONALITY WOODY ALLEN AND ENTERTAINER BETTE MIDLER ATTENDED A COMMUNITY PROTEST TUESDAY...AGAINST THE BUILDING OF A TALL BUILDING IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD...CLAIMING, ALONG WITH OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS...THAT THE TALL BUILDING WOULD DEGRADE THEIR QUALITY OF LIVING CONDITIONS...

WORLD TRADE CENTER ON FIRE

BILL REDEKER VO CS ON THE SELL OFF BY JAPANESE INVESTORS AND LENDERS OF US REAL ESTATE PROPERTIES PURCHASED IN THE 1980'S AT A LOSS. GOOD SCENIC FTG OF HAWAII LUXURY HOTELS, OFFICE BUILDINGS, CONDOMINIUMS AND GOLF COURSES. 13:30:25 AERIAL PAN OF PEBBLE BEACH GULF COURSE IN CALIFORNIA. MS OF A GOLFER ON THE GREEN, SWINGING HIS CLUB AND STRIKING THE BALL. 13:30:37 WMS OF PEDESTRIANS ON THE STREET ADJACENT TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY, FLAGS IN THE BG. LS OF THE GILDED CHERUB FOUNTAIN. 13:30:44 WLS OF A LARGE CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY. MCU OF HOTEL BEL AIR PRINTED ON THE ENTRANCE AWNING. 13:31:09 REFEEDS. 13:31:39 REFEED, UNMIXED. 13:32:12 LA OF A TOWERING NEW BUILDING. TILT DOWN TO BILTMORE PLACE ENTRANCE. 13:32:20 PULL IN TO A MANMADE WATERFALL SURROUNDED BY LUSH FOILAGE. 13:32:24 SU. 13:32:30 VS OF THE CANAL WATERWAYS AND BOATS, MONORAIL TRAM AND POOL AT THE EXTRAVAGANT WAIKALOA HOTEL. 13:32:48 WS PAN OF THE KOOLUA GOLF COURSE. MS OF A MAN STRIKING THE BALL. 13:33:04 HA OF THE SEA, PAN TO ROOFTOPS AND SKYLINE OF HIGH RISE HOTELS. SCENIC MCU PULL BACK OF SOFT WAVES LAPPING A COUPLE SITTING ON AN EMBANKMENT IN THE BLUE WATER. 13:33:17 CU INTV W/ ECONOMIST PAUL BREWBAKER. 13:33:25 EXTS OF THE LUXURIOUS WAIKIKI LANDMARK CONDOMINIUM. 13:33:45 MCU OF THE QUEEN TOWER OFFICE BUILDING ENTRANCE, PAN TO EMPTY PARKING LOT. HA PULL IN OF A MODEL OF A RESORT COMMUNITY. WLS OF A SINGLE HOTEL BUILD ON A BEACH INLET, SMATTERING OF PEOPLE IN THE OCEAN IN THE FG. 13:33:57 MCU OF ROYAL KO LOINA SIGN, FENCE IN THE FG. VS OF THE DEVELOPMENT SITE. 13:34:01 VS OF TOWNHOUSES UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 13:34:06 CU INTV W/ THE DEVELOPER HERBERT HORITA. 13:34:13 SCENIC WS OF A FLOCK OF WHITE BIRDS LANDING ON COASTLINE ROCKS, RESORT BUILDING IN THE BG. MLS OF A REAL ESTATE FOR SALE SIGN OUTSIDE A STONE FENCE. LS OF A BEACHFRONT HOTEL, LOUNGING GUESTS AND PALM TREES IN THE FG. 13:34:20 MCU OF CB COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AVAILABLE SIGN HANGING ON A BARBED WIRE FENCE. 13:34:24 SCENIC WLS OF A RESORT POOL, THATCHED HUT AND PALM TREES IN THE BG. HA WLS OF SOFT WAVES ROLLING TO SHORE AT A PICTURESQUE OCEAN BAY.

WORLD TRADE CENTER ON FIRE COLLAPSE

BILL REDEKER VO CS ON THE SELL OFF BY JAPANESE INVESTORS AND LENDERS OF US REAL ESTATE PROPERTIES PURCHASED IN THE 1980'S AT A LOSS. GOOD SCENIC FTG OF HAWAII LUXURY HOTELS, OFFICE BUILDINGS, CONDOMINIUMS AND GOLF COURSES. 13:30:25 AERIAL PAN OF PEBBLE BEACH GULF COURSE IN CALIFORNIA. MS OF A GOLFER ON THE GREEN, SWINGING HIS CLUB AND STRIKING THE BALL. 13:30:37 WMS OF PEDESTRIANS ON THE STREET ADJACENT TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY, FLAGS IN THE BG. LS OF THE GILDED CHERUB FOUNTAIN. 13:30:44 WLS OF A LARGE CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY. MCU OF HOTEL BEL AIR PRINTED ON THE ENTRANCE AWNING. 13:31:09 REFEEDS. 13:31:39 REFEED, UNMIXED. 13:32:12 LA OF A TOWERING NEW BUILDING. TILT DOWN TO BILTMORE PLACE ENTRANCE. 13:32:20 PULL IN TO A MANMADE WATERFALL SURROUNDED BY LUSH FOILAGE. 13:32:24 SU. 13:32:30 VS OF THE CANAL WATERWAYS AND BOATS, MONORAIL TRAM AND POOL AT THE EXTRAVAGANT WAIKALOA HOTEL. 13:32:48 WS PAN OF THE KOOLUA GOLF COURSE. MS OF A MAN STRIKING THE BALL. 13:33:04 HA OF THE SEA, PAN TO ROOFTOPS AND SKYLINE OF HIGH RISE HOTELS. SCENIC MCU PULL BACK OF SOFT WAVES LAPPING A COUPLE SITTING ON AN EMBANKMENT IN THE BLUE WATER. 13:33:17 CU INTV W/ ECONOMIST PAUL BREWBAKER. 13:33:25 EXTS OF THE LUXURIOUS WAIKIKI LANDMARK CONDOMINIUM. 13:33:45 MCU OF THE QUEEN TOWER OFFICE BUILDING ENTRANCE, PAN TO EMPTY PARKING LOT. HA PULL IN OF A MODEL OF A RESORT COMMUNITY. WLS OF A SINGLE HOTEL BUILD ON A BEACH INLET, SMATTERING OF PEOPLE IN THE OCEAN IN THE FG. 13:33:57 MCU OF ROYAL KO LOINA SIGN, FENCE IN THE FG. VS OF THE DEVELOPMENT SITE. 13:34:01 VS OF TOWNHOUSES UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 13:34:06 CU INTV W/ THE DEVELOPER HERBERT HORITA. 13:34:13 SCENIC WS OF A FLOCK OF WHITE BIRDS LANDING ON COASTLINE ROCKS, RESORT BUILDING IN THE BG. MLS OF A REAL ESTATE FOR SALE SIGN OUTSIDE A STONE FENCE. LS OF A BEACHFRONT HOTEL, LOUNGING GUESTS AND PALM TREES IN THE FG. 13:34:20 MCU OF CB COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AVAILABLE SIGN HANGING ON A BARBED WIRE FENCE. 13:34:24 SCENIC WLS OF A RESORT POOL, THATCHED HUT AND PALM TREES IN THE BG. HA WLS OF SOFT WAVES ROLLING TO SHORE AT A PICTURESQUE OCEAN BAY.

Bronx, New York City - across rooftops to high rise apartments in bg - water tower on left

WORLD TRADE CENTER

BILL REDEKER VO CS ON THE SELL OFF BY JAPANESE INVESTORS AND LENDERS OF US REAL ESTATE PROPERTIES PURCHASED IN THE 1980'S AT A LOSS. GOOD SCENIC FTG OF HAWAII LUXURY HOTELS, OFFICE BUILDINGS, CONDOMINIUMS AND GOLF COURSES. 13:30:25 AERIAL PAN OF PEBBLE BEACH GULF COURSE IN CALIFORNIA. MS OF A GOLFER ON THE GREEN, SWINGING HIS CLUB AND STRIKING THE BALL. 13:30:37 WMS OF PEDESTRIANS ON THE STREET ADJACENT TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY, FLAGS IN THE BG. LS OF THE GILDED CHERUB FOUNTAIN. 13:30:44 WLS OF A LARGE CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY. MCU OF HOTEL BEL AIR PRINTED ON THE ENTRANCE AWNING. 13:31:09 REFEEDS. 13:31:39 REFEED, UNMIXED. 13:32:12 LA OF A TOWERING NEW BUILDING. TILT DOWN TO BILTMORE PLACE ENTRANCE. 13:32:20 PULL IN TO A MANMADE WATERFALL SURROUNDED BY LUSH FOILAGE. 13:32:24 SU. 13:32:30 VS OF THE CANAL WATERWAYS AND BOATS, MONORAIL TRAM AND POOL AT THE EXTRAVAGANT WAIKALOA HOTEL. 13:32:48 WS PAN OF THE KOOLUA GOLF COURSE. MS OF A MAN STRIKING THE BALL. 13:33:04 HA OF THE SEA, PAN TO ROOFTOPS AND SKYLINE OF HIGH RISE HOTELS. SCENIC MCU PULL BACK OF SOFT WAVES LAPPING A COUPLE SITTING ON AN EMBANKMENT IN THE BLUE WATER. 13:33:17 CU INTV W/ ECONOMIST PAUL BREWBAKER. 13:33:25 EXTS OF THE LUXURIOUS WAIKIKI LANDMARK CONDOMINIUM. 13:33:45 MCU OF THE QUEEN TOWER OFFICE BUILDING ENTRANCE, PAN TO EMPTY PARKING LOT. HA PULL IN OF A MODEL OF A RESORT COMMUNITY. WLS OF A SINGLE HOTEL BUILD ON A BEACH INLET, SMATTERING OF PEOPLE IN THE OCEAN IN THE FG. 13:33:57 MCU OF ROYAL KO LOINA SIGN, FENCE IN THE FG. VS OF THE DEVELOPMENT SITE. 13:34:01 VS OF TOWNHOUSES UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 13:34:06 CU INTV W/ THE DEVELOPER HERBERT HORITA. 13:34:13 SCENIC WS OF A FLOCK OF WHITE BIRDS LANDING ON COASTLINE ROCKS, RESORT BUILDING IN THE BG. MLS OF A REAL ESTATE FOR SALE SIGN OUTSIDE A STONE FENCE. LS OF A BEACHFRONT HOTEL, LOUNGING GUESTS AND PALM TREES IN THE FG. 13:34:20 MCU OF CB COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AVAILABLE SIGN HANGING ON A BARBED WIRE FENCE. 13:34:24 SCENIC WLS OF A RESORT POOL, THATCHED HUT AND PALM TREES IN THE BG. HA WLS OF SOFT WAVES ROLLING TO SHORE AT A PICTURESQUE OCEAN BAY.

South Bronx, New York City - high angle across rooftops to water tower and apartment buildings - Gritty NYC - smoke out of roof chimney - Large apartment blocks or housing projects - Loft office building

South Bronx, New York City - high angle across rooftops to water tower and apartment buildings - Gritty NYC - smoke out of roof chimney - Large apartment blocks or housing projects - Loft office

NAME: US BUSH LEGACY 20090112I TAPE: EF09/0046 IN_TIME: 10:49:07:09 DURATION: 00:04:31:19 SOURCES: AP Television/ABC/Various DATELINE: Various - Recent/File RESTRICTIONS: Check shotlist for details SHOTLIST: AP Television Baghdad, Iraq 10 December, 2008 1. Iraqi journalist throws shows at President George W. Bush POOL Washington, DC 20 January 2001 2. George W. Bush steps up to podium for Presidential Oath 3. UPSOUND: (English) George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States: "I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States." AP Television New York, New York 11 September, 2001 4. World Trade Center north tower burning after attack ABC - No Access North America/Internet Sarasota, Florida 11 September, 2001 5. Chief of Staff Andrew Card walks up to George W. Bush in a classroom to tell him the World Trade Center has been attacked POOL New York, New York 17 September, 2001 6. UPSOUND: (English) George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. (cheers and applause) And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." (cheers and applause) AP Television Baghdad, Iraq 20 March, 2003 7. Nighttime explosions of bombs in Baghdad POOL Near Kirkuk, Iraq - April 12, 2003 8. Soldiers inspect suspected chemical weapons mobile lab POOL Near Baghdad, Iraq - April 7, 2003 9. Various of American soldiers in offensive positions in Iraq 10. Suspected Iraqi arms depot destroyed by American troops AP Television Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq - 5 May, 2003 11. Marketplace in Baghdad POOL Onboard USS Lincoln 1 May, 2003 12. Bush walks toward podium on landing deck of USS Lincoln 13. Cutaway of sailors cheering (UPSOUND: Applause) 14. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, President - United States: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and her allies have prevailed." AP Television Washington, DC 15 December, 2008 15. Moises Naim walks into library 16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Moises Naim, Editor in Chief, Foreign Policy Magazine: "I don't think President Bush, today, supports the Bush Doctrine that he launched in the aftermath of 9-11." AP Television Baghdad, Iraq 24 June, 2003 17. Burning vehicle from car bombing on Baghdad street AP Television Washington, DC 18 December, 2008 18. Stephen Wayne sitting at computer 19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Stephen Wayne, Professor of Government, Georgetown University: "The fact that he kept that policy going in light of evidence that it wasn't working is really a failure and he looks bullying, inflexible and the vision looks overly simplistic and probably incorrect." AP Television Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 12 May, 2004 20. Entrance to Guantanamo Naval Station 21. Wide view of guards escorting prisoner into cell AP Television Washington, DC 21 December, 2008 22. Mid of Sibley Telhami 23. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sibley Telhami, Brookings Institution: "The Bush administration's legacy problem around the world is largely related to Iraq and I think Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib were symptoms of the failure of Iraq. So, their important for that reason, above all else." AP Television Baghdad, Iraq 3 May, 2004 24. Mid view of man looking at newspapers 25. Close-up photographs in newspaper of Abu Ghraib torture 26. Close-up of newspaper page AP PHOTOS/THE NEW YORK - No Access Canada/For Broadcast use only - Strictly No Access Online or Mobile - NO SALES/MANDATORY COURTESY: "The New Yorker" 27. Still photographic image of hooded detainee wired for electrocution 28. Still photographic image of naked Iraqi detainees in pyramid formation in front of two US soldiers AP Television New Orleans, Louisiana 4 September, 2005 29. Aerial view of flooded neighbourhoods with city skyline in background United States Coast Guard New Orleans, Louisiana 31 August, 2005 30. Rescue from rooftop of home ABC - No Access North America/Internet Pascagoula, Mississippi, 15 September, 2005 31. President George W. Bush addressing reporters on hurricane relief efforts 32. UPSOUND: (English) George W. Bush, President - United States: "And, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." ABC - No Access North America/Internet New Orleans, Louisiana 1 September, 2005 33. People wading through water 34. People climbing into warehouse seeking shelter 35. UPSOUND: (English) Unknown New Orleans Resident: "This ain't no time for this here foolishness, but people are trapped , they a lot of them hungry, don't have no water, need medicine, I need insulin right now." 36. Man dragging belongings through water AP Television Washington, DC 18 December, 2008 37. Lee Edwards walking past camera 38. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lee Edwards, Senior Scholar - Heritage Foundation: "I think probably the most dramatic mistake he made was Katrina and the response or the non-response, or at least very tardy response of the administration to that terrible disaster down there." AP Television New Orleans, Louisiana 10 September, 2005 39. Pan exterior of two homes in New Orleans AP Television Los Angeles, California 20 August, 2008 40. For Sale signs along street 41. Real Estate "auction" foreclosure sign AP Television Washington, DC 18 December, 2008 42. SOUNDBITE: (English) Stephen Wayne, Professor of Government, Georgetown University: "I don't think the President caused the recession, but he certainly was asleep at the wheel when it came." AP Television New York, New York 16 October, 2008 43. Pan down of financial newspaper headlines New York Stock Exchange Television New York, New York 15 October, 2008 44. Stock exchange tote board showing a 425 point drop in stock prices AP Television Washington, DC 4 November, 2008 45. President George W. Bush leaves White House walks to waiting helicopter STORYLINE: Two shoes hurled at George W. Bush during a farewell news conference in Baghdad will probably be remembered by many as the crowning touch to the legacy of the 43rd President of the United States. On December 16th, during one final trip to Iraq to say goodbye to American troops, Bush suddenly found the Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zeidi throwing his shoes at him and branding him a "dog". It was a huge insult, played over and over on news bulletins across the world, and an iconic moment, one that easily trumped the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad more than five years earlier. And there are those in different parts of the world who would venture that instance captured the Bush Legacy. George W. Bush was sworn in on January 20, 2001, under a political cloud. Contested votes in Florida had thrown the outcome of the election into the courts, and by a five to four decision, the US Supreme Court declared Bush to be the winner. It wasn't long before the defining moment of the Bush presidency occurred - it coloured much of what followed, much of it in conflict. Any assessment of the Bush presidency must start with September 11, 2001, when America was under attack. Bush declared war, not just on Al-Qaida and its top leadership, but on all "terrorists" and any who aided them, including governments declared to be harbouring "terrorists". It became known as the "Bush Doctrine" - the policy of launching pre-emptive wars and strikes first before an enemy attacked. On the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York, the president vowed to send the world a message. Iraq, Iran and North Korea, the so-called "Axis of Evil" - had been declared "terrorist states" and deemed enemies of democracy by the neo-conservative Bush administration. What started in Afghanistan a month after 9/11 to eliminate Al Qaida hideouts and drive the Taliban from power soon shifted to a nation Bush and his neo-con cabinet felt they had unfinished business with. The pretext was that former favoured US client and ally Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Once again, Saddam Hussein was in the gun sights of a Bush administration and this time the war went all the way to Baghdad under the banner of "shock and awe". On March 20th, 2003, a night time aerial bombardment of Baghdad started what was expected by some analysts to be a short, victorious war. Tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the initial invasion and bombing. Forty days later, and beneath a banner reading "Mission Accomplished," Bush declared from the deck of the USS Lincoln, that Saddam Hussein was out and major combat operations were over. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and her allies have prevailed," he announced to the world. It proved to be an ill-advised and premature declaration, as Bush and his advisors failed to anticipate a burgeoning Sunni insurgency, the rise of Al Qaida in Iraq and sectarian violence that took the war-ravaged nation to the cusp of civil war. Senior Editor of Foreign Policy magazine, Moises Niam, believes Bush during his second term would not support the war policies of the first term. "I don't think President Bush, today, supports the Bush Doctrine that he launched in the aftermath of 9/11," Niam said. Once the Pandora's Box of religious rivalry was opened in Iraq without a central national authority to contain it, the ensuing sectarian bloodshed erupted brutally, and elements of Al Qaida also played a role in destabilising the fledgling new government. The occupation, which many Iraqis vehemently opposed as the morgues overflowed with its citizens, brought five years of fighting, and the deaths of more than four thousand American troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. In the end, the much trumpeted reason for invading Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, proved a mirage. Stephen Wayne, professor of government at Georgetown University, cites a characteristic of George W. Bush that will keep historians busy for years. "The fact that he kept that policy going in light of evidence that it wasn't working is really a failure and he looks bullying, inflexible and the vision looks overly simplistic and probably incorrect," Wayne said. And while Bush forged ahead in Iraq despite spectacular failures on the ground, he denied alleged extremists legal rights and privileges of suspected enemy POWs. Pictures of Muslims held at the Guantanamo detention camp awaiting trial while undergoing interrogation and in some cases, torture, created a new framework for viewing America. As Bush prepares to leave office on January 20th, around 250 suspects remain in the camp awaiting military tribunals or trials in American courts. "The Bush administration's legacy problem around the world is largely related to Iraq and I think Guantanamo and Abu Graib were symptoms of the failure of Iraq," according to Sibley Talhami, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Pictures of prisoner torture at a prison outside Baghdad known as Abu Ghraib surfaced in May 2004, and caused fury in Iraq and throughout the Arab World. A group of American soldiers were responsible for the torture, as well as the photographs of their actions. In violation of the Geneva Conventions concerning the safety of prisoners of war, the soldiers staged various humiliations of Muslim prisoners. Analysts cite the events at Abu Ghraib as a major reason for the dramatic surge in Iraqis wanting to join Al Qaida and other anti-American groups. Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib undermined any credence the Bush administration's policy for democracy in Arab World had where it counted most, in the Arab World itself. In the meantime, the sense that Iraq was a turning into a costly and bloody mistake was creeping across America, when attentions were diverted to scenes of panic and carnage along the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina smashed into low lying areas of New Orleans with a force that swamped the resources of the city and the Louisiana. Urgent calls for federal help went unanswered while the city flooded from a broken levee that held back the surging lake just to the north of the Crescent City. For several days, Coast Guard and military helicopters plucked stranded residents from rooftops while others waded through waist high water to find high ground at the city's convention centre and Superdome stadium. When Bush did respond, he sent a former horse trainer to coordinate disaster relief. In words that came back to bite him, Bush told FEMA Director Michael Brown, "And, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." For ten days flood waters stagnated in the city as desperate residents fled, leaving the city deserted and dangerous. Without electricity or running water, New Orleans emerged a symbol of the Bush administration neglect of the poor, African-Americans, and political opponents. Even conservative supporters were stunned by the lack of response from the Bush administration to the plight of people in New Orleans. Lee Edwards a senior fellow at the conservative think-tank, The Heritage Foundation, in Washington DC told AP Television, "I think probably the most dramatic mistake he made was Katrina and the response or the non-response, or at least very tardy response of the administration to that terrible disaster down there." Bush promised to rebuild the city, but three years later, New Orleans remains a shell of its pre-Katrina self and thousands of residents will never return. On the domestic front in 2005, the American economy appeared full steam ahead, with consumer spending accounting for nearly 70 percent of the economic engine. Overzealous home buyers were signing up for mortgages that they couldn't afford despite what mortgage companies were saying. By 2007, signs of a slowdown were seen in the front lawns of many communities. Home foreclosures in California were only the crest of a real estate tsunami that soon swamped much of the country. While Bush maintained that the economic fundamentals were strong, the American consumer began to sense the shaky foundations were crumbling. The administration refused to admit the country was in a recession until the final full year under Bush's watch was declared a recession by government economists. "I don't think the President caused the recession, but he certainly was asleep at the wheel when it came," according to Stephen Wayne. In the age of globalisation, when the American economy began to list, the global economy sank. Stocks plunged in all the major stock markets on Asia, Europe and New York. And, the budget for the final year of the Bush administration projects a 1-point-3 trillion US dollar deficit. On January 20, George W. Bush will leave the White House as president for the final time and he apparently is looking to the verdict of history to improve his legacy. But with the lowest poll ratings of any president in living memory, and a record of few successes and many failures at home and abroad, history may take decades before any positive overall assessment of the George W. Bush presidency is made, if at all.