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Bush/Gore race
Bush v. Gore (2000), is the United States Supreme Court decision that resolved the dispute surrounding the 2000 presidential election. The ruling was issued on December 12, 2000. On December 9, the Court had preliminarily halted the Florida recount that was occurring. Eight days earlier, the Court unanimously decided the closely related case of Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board. The Electoral College was scheduled to meet on December 18, 2000, to decide the election. -
Bush Inaugurated as POTUS
The first inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd President of the United States took place on January 20, 2001. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of George W. Bush as President and Dick Cheney as Vice President. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the oath of office at 12:01 p.m. An estimated 300,000 people attended the swearing-in ceremony. -
War in Iraq
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict. -
9/11 attack
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. -
The Hunt for Osama
New information of Bin Laden's location has been emerging since his death and the arrest of his wives. On the day of the 9/11 attacks, Bin Laden was at the Khaldan terrorist training camp near Khost, which he left during the night with several Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives after sending his wives and children away into Pakistan to hide out. -
Bush Ground zero speech
President George Bush addressed the crowd with a bullhorn after the 9/11 attack to give them hope and thank them for helping with the damage done after 9/11.Bush thanks all the brave men and women who helped saved the lives of people stuck in the damage and rubble cause by the attack. He also prays on the lives of the fallen. 9/11 was tragic and Bush gave inspiration to the people of America. -
Enron Scandal (Houston, Texas)
The Enron scandal, publicized in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the de facto dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world. In addition to being the largest bankruptcy reorganization in American history at that time, Enron was cited as the biggest audit failure. -
Patriot act passed
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. With its ten-letter abbreviation expanded, the full title is "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001". -
Shuttle Columbia Explosion
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentering Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.
The disaster was the second tragedy in the Space Shuttle program after Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, which exploded and killed the seven-member crew shortly after liftoff. -
Operation Red Dawn
Operation Red Dawn was an American military operation in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that led to the capture of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno and led by Col. James Hickey of the 4th Infantry Division, with joint operations Task Force an elite and covert joint special operations team. -
Ronald Reagans death
Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, died after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade. After Reagan's death, his body was taken from his Bel Air, Los Angeles home to the Gates, Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California to prepare the body for burial. On June 7, Reagan's casket was transported by hearse and displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, then flown to Washington, D.C. -
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004, the 55th quadrennial presidential election, was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush won re-election, defeating Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and eventual United States Secretary of State. -
SE Asian Tsunami
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred on 26 December with the epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The shock had a moment magnitude of 9.1–9.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity, killing 230,000–280,000 people in 14 countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 metres high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. -
Pope John Paul II
John Paul II is recognized as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Overall, at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion. -
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the six most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded, Rita was the eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season. -
Saddam Hussein executed
The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on Saturday, 30 December, 2006. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him. -
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is an American politician who is the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, representing California's 12th congressional district. She previously served as the 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, the only woman to do so, and is to date the highest-ranking female politician in American history. -
steroids in baseball scandal
The nutrition center BALCO was accused of distributing steroids to many star players, most notably Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi. Baseball has attempted to toughen its drug policy, beginning a plan of random tests to players. Players such as Ryan Franklin and others were handed suspensions as short as ten days. -
First “Bailouts” begin
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis authorizing the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, and supply cash directly to banks. -
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. Democratic Party nominees Barack Obama, a U.S. Senator from Illinois, and his running mate Joe Biden, a long-time U.S. Senator from Delaware defeated Republican Party nominees John McCain, a long-time current U.S. Senator from Arizona, and his running mate Sarah Palin, a Governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American ever to be elected president of the United States. -
Barack Obama elected as America’s first black president
On November 4, more than 69.4 million Americans cast their vote for Obama, while some 59.9 million voters chose McCain. (Obama was the first sitting U.S. senator to win the White House since John Kennedy in 1960.) Obama captured some traditional Republican strongholds (Virginia, Indiana) and key battleground states (Florida, Ohio) that had been won by Republicans in recent elections.
