By Michael Kennedy
2000 Nov. 7
George W. Bush wins U.S. presidential election with 271 electoral votes, to former Vice President Al Gore’s 266. A recount of Florida votes ensues, which the U.S. Supreme Court rules unconstitutional, effectively handing the election to Bush.
2000 April 22
Federal agents raid the house where Elian Gonzales is living with American relatives. Gonzalez was five years old when he and his mother left Cuba in small boat. The boat sank and fishermen rescued Gonzalez, while his mother died. A court battle ensued, and he was eventually sent back to Cuba.
2001 Sept. 11
Hijackers seize four airplanes, crashing two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and one into a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people die in the attacks. Al-Qaida, led by Osama bin Laden, is identified as the attacker.
2001 Oct. 7
A coalition of forces, led by the U.S., attacks Afghanistan. Their aim is to overthrow the Taliban, and capture bin Laden. By Nov. 12, the coalition forces control Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Troops remain in Afghanistan through the decade.
2002 Oct. 2
A man is shot through the window of a Washington, D.C. outskirt. It is the first of 13 seemingly random sniper attacks in the area, gripping the region in fear for three weeks. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo are arrested on Oct. 24, and it is revealed that the sniper shot from the trunk of a car.
2003 Feb. 1
The Space Shuttle Columbia breaks apart while re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere over Texas. The flying debris is broadcast on national TV. It is later determined that insulating foam broke off during launch, damaging the thermal protection tiles on the underbody of the shuttle.
2003 March 20
A coalition of armies, led by the US, invades Iraq, amid allegations that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. By April 9, the coalition armies control Baghdad, deposing President Saddam Hussein. Hussein was eventually captured on Dec. 13, 2003. He would stand trial in Iraq, and was executed on Dec. 30, 2006. Military operations in Iraq would continue throughout the decade.
2004 Sept. 1
A group of 32 armed men and two women with suicide bombs storm a school in Beslan, Russia, taking 1,200 people hostage in the school gym. Three days later, the Russian army storms the building. In the ensuing confusion, gunfights, explosions and fires follow. In total, 334 people are killed.
2004 Nov. 2
George W. Bush wins re-election as president, defeating John Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, with 286 electoral votes to Kerry’s 251.
2004 Dec. 26
A massive earthquake, magnitude 9.3, occurs in the Indian Ocean, leading to numerous tsunamis. About 230,000 people are estimated to be killed, with another 1.6 million estimated to be displaced. It is the second strongest earthquake ever recorded, and believed to be the fifth most deadly national disaster in history.
2005 Aug. 29
Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast as a category 3 hurricane, with winds of 125 mph, causing widespread damage and massive flooding, as millions struggle to evacuate New Orleans. In total, 1,836 people are killed and there is an estimated $89.6 billion in damage.
2005 Sept. 30
Political cartoons of the Muhammad are published in a Danish newspaper, leading to protests and riots around the world from the Muslim community, who feel it is blasphemous to depict Muhammad. Many newspapers reproduce the cartoons to show their support for free speech.
2006 Nov. 7
Democrats win control of both houses of Congress, gaining 31 seats in the House and six seats in the Senate. Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the House.
2007 April 16
Student Seung-Hui Cho kills 32 people at Virginia Tech, before turning a gun on himself. Cho, believed to be mentally unsound, makes two separate attacks on campus, more than two hours apart. Between the attacks, he mails a package to NBC News, containing a written manifesto and videos of himself.
2008 Sept. 15
Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. Lehman Brothers is one of many firms whose assets suffer from the deterioration of the subprime mortgage market. The Federal Reserve refuses to save Lehman Brothers, as they had other entities. The Dow Jones industrial average drops 4.4 percent on this day, the largest decline since the trading days
2008 Nov. 4
Barack Obama is elected president, defeating Arizona Senator John McCain, 365 electoral votes to McCain’s 173 electoral votes. Obama is the first black U.S. president.
2009 March
The H1N1 flu strain, believed to have emerged from pigs, begins to infect humans in Mexico. On Oct. 23, Obama declares it a national emergency. The infection becomes a global pandemic, the first since 1968, and more than 7,500 people have died from it.
