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Menendez Brothers Murder Trial
In 1989 Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. They shot and killed both of their parents, went back to the home that same night, and called 911 to report the death. In the months following the murder, the brothers spent an estimated $1,000,000 on personal items, giving poliece a reason to suspect them as murders. Eventually, Erik confessed the murders to his psychiatrist and the brothers were given life in prison. -
U.S. Invades Panama
Manuel Noriega, the military dictator of Panama, who was accused of drug trafficing in America and suppressing democracy in Panama canceled an election that would rid him of his power, George Bush ordered troops into the Panama Canal zone. On December 16th, 1989, a U.S. soldier was shot and killed by the Panama Defence Forces. This sparked Bush to authorize a U.S. invasion of Panama. On December 20th-24th U.S. troops crushed the Panama Defence Forces and put an end to Noriega's reign. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an act that prohibits dicrimination of people with disabilities in the workplace, public accommadaitons, transportation, communication, and government activities. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law intending it to give disabled americans more protection. The ADA was modled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It protected Americans with a wide range of disabilities, from hearing, speach, and mobility impedements to learning disabilities. -
Rodney King Beating and Los Angeles Riots
On March 3rd, Rodney King, an African American construction worker, became involved in a high speed chase when he refused to pull over his car for speeding. King was repeatedly tazed and beatten by L.A. poliece officers. After he was arrested, he was shown to have broken bones and many lacerations. The Poliece officers involves were put on trial but not charged with any crimes. The aquittal of the officers caused the 1992 L.A. riots where 53 were killed and and 2,000 injured. -
US Soldiers in Somalia, Blackhawk Down
Violence in Somalia was rising rapidly in 1992. Corrupt leadership had led the country to civil war. President Bush sent in American soldiers to try to figure out a solution, and they decided that ist was General Aidid who needed to be taken out. On October 3rd, 1993, the US attempted to capture Aidid, but it went terribly wrong when the Somali militia and hundreds of armed citizens started shooting down the US blackhawk helicopters. The battle resulted in 18 American deaths and 315-500 Somali. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement is an arrangement that brought free trade throughout Canada, The United States, and Mexico. The NAFTA eliminated tariffs for certain products within the three countries. The NAFTA effected the lives of millions within North America, and made the three economies prosper. The NAFTA was intended to lower tarriffs for agricultural products, but also led to increased saftey measures for transportatio of good. The NAFTA geatly effected small buisnesses. -
Unabomber Arrest
Ted Kaczynski had radical views against the growth of the technology industry. He believed that technology was ruining the feedom of human nature and he needed to get revenge. Kaczunski sent a total of 16 bombs in a span of 17 years to different locations across the U.S.. He sent them to airports, universities and technology stores. A total of 3 people were killed and 23 injured. His brother led the FBI to his cabin in Montana where Kaczinski was arrested and later charged with a life sentance. -
TWA Flight 800 Explosion
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 exploded and crashed 12 minutes after takeoff from JFK airport into the Atlantic Ocean. All 230 passengers and crew were killed in the accadent. Initially, the crash was believed to be a terrorist attack, but after 16 months of investigation, the FBI could not come up with any criminal evidence. It was decided that the crash was caused by a short circut in the fuel tank. It is deemed the 3rd dedleast plane crash over US territory. -
Centennial Olympic Park Bombing
On July 27th, 1996, in the Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, a bomb went off. 2 people were killed and another 111 were injured. A security guard had seen the suspicious package laying on the ground and told everybody to clear the area but it was too late. The FBI could not identify the suspect untill 1997, but it was Eric Rudolph who had set of the bomb. Rudolph became a fugitive and evaded poliece forces for 5 years untill he was finally caught in 2003. He was sentanced to 4 life sentances. -
Murder of JonBenét Ramsey
On Christmas of 1996, 6 year old pagent queen JonBenét Ramsey was found dead inside of her home in Boulder, Colorado. An amber alert was issued 8 hours prior to the discovery of her body because the Ramsey family found a ransom note written to them demanding $118,000 in return for their child. Poliece told John to search his home for anything unusual and he found his daughter tied up, her mouth ducktaped, and a cord around her neck.This murder is still gone unsolved today. -
Heaven's Gate Cult Mass Suicide
Marshall Applewhite and 38 members of the Heaven's Gate religious group committed a mass sucicide in their rented San Diego mansion. Each body was found neatly laying on a bed dressed in identical black shirts, sweatpants, nike shoes. Each member also had $5.75 in each pocket, and their bodies were covered in a purple cloth. The members were trying to free their souls by hopping on board a UFO that was trailing the Hale-Bopp Comet. -
The Murder of James Byrd
James Byrd, an African-American found a ride home with Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King. Byrd and Berry apparently knew eachother from town. The three men took him to a remote road where they severly beat him, and chained his ankles up to the back of a truck. They dragged him for about 3 miles, but Byrd died when his body hit a culvert 1.5 miles in. King and Brewer were given the death sentance and Berry was sentanced to life in prison. King and Brewer were white supremisists. -
Murder of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming in 1998. On October 6th, he got a ride home from Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson but instead, they drove him to a remote area where they proceeded to beat, tourture, and rob him. Matthew was found 18 hours later in a coma and rushed to a hospital where he died 6 days later. Aaron and Russell were arrested shortly after and it was decided in court that killed Matthew because he was gay. They were charged with two life sentances each. -
NATO Bombing in Yugoslavia
In 1999, much like Hitler and the Jews, the Serbian forces were trying to kill off all of the Kosovar Albanians. This sparked actions from NATO. First, NATO threatened to bomb Serbia from the air, but the Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic agreed to let tens of thousands of refugees go home. Serbia launched another offensive on Kosovo which gave NATO a reason to bomb Serbia. NATO targeted Serbian government bulidings and by June 10th, Serbia surrendered. Thousands of Serbians were killed. -
Columbine High School Massacre
On April 20th, 1999, two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher before both committing suicide at Columine High School in Columbine, Colorado. On them, they had 4 guns, 4 knives, and 99 explosive devices. Their motive for the attack is still unclear today, but many speculations have been made. Some say it could have been motivated by bullying, antidepressant medications, or violent videogames, but no one knows the real reason behind the massacre.
