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On this date in history, the daughter of Marisa and Paul Ruscito was born in the Saint Elizabeths Hospital.
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Space shuttle Columbia explodes, killing all 7 astronauts.
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Bush signs ten-year, $350-billion tax cut package. It's the third-largest tax cut in U.S. history.
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Suicide bombers attack two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey. 25 people were killed.
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Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops.
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Armed rebels in Haiti force President Aristide to resign and flee the country.
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Gay marriages begin in Massachusetts. It's the first state in the country to legalize such unions.
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Millions of Iraqi voters ratify a new constitution.
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George W. Bush is reelected president, defeats John Kerry.
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Enormous tsunami devastates Asia; 200,000 killed.
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George W. Bush is officially sworn in for his second term as president.
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Pope John Paul II Dies. Benedict XVI becomes the next pope.
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Hurricane Katrina causes catastrophic damage on the Gulf coast. More than 1,000 die and millions are left homeless. Americans are shaken by the magnitude of the disaster and by how the government is not prepared for its' aftermath.
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President Bush uses his veto power for the first time, striking down legislation that would have expanded the number of stem cell lines available for embryonic research using federal financing.
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Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, fires rockets into Israel. In response, Israel launches a major military attack, sending thousands of troops into Lebanon.
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Saddam Hussein is convicted of crimes against humanity by an Iraqi court and hanged in Baghdad.
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President Bush announces that a surge of an additional 20,000 troops will be deployed to Baghdad to try to stem the sectarian fighting.
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House releases a report on the response to Hurricane Katrina, assigning blame on all levels of government.
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The minimum wage increased from $5.15 to $5.85. It's the first increase in 10 years. The wage will continue to increase through 2009.
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India and U.S. reach an accord on civilian nuclear power that allows India to buy nuclear fuel from the U.S.
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After succeeding her husband, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is elected Argentina's first woman president.
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After temporarily handing power over to his brother Raúl in July 2006 when he fell ill, Cuban president Fidel Castro permanently steps down after 49 years in power.
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Democrats picked up a total of 19 additional seats in the House and seven in the Senate. The party held the majority in both houses of Congress.
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At a news conference in Baghdad, a reporter for Al Baghdadia hurls his shoes at President Bush and calls him a "dog." The shoes narrowly missed the President's head
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As the first African-American president, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are sworn into office in front of the Capitol. Obama makes history as the first African-American president.
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The worst wildfires in Australia's history kill at least 181 people in the state of Victoria. More than one hundred are injured and more than 900 homes were destroyed.
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Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region by the International Criminal Court.
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After confirming 20 cases of swine flu in the United States, the U.S. declares the outbreak a public health emergency.
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20,000 Jobs Lost in January . The unemployment rate drops to 9.7 down from 10%. This shows that the economy is beginning to improve from the recession.
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An explosion on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana killed 11 and injured 17. The oil spill leaked 5 million barrels of oil along the Gulf Coast,
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A landslide in Mexico following a long period of heavy rain buried hundreds of homes. At least 11 people are missing.
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When people began to panic on a densely crowded bridge that began to sway at least 300 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a stampede during Cambodia's annual water festival.
