January 2005 in the United States

__NOTOC__January 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December

Events in the United States

"This page deals with current events in the United States, of interest to the US and/or involving Americans."

January 31, 2005

* Margaret Spellings, an adviser to President Bush when he was Governor of Texas, is sworn in as the Secretary of Education. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050131/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/spellings (AP)]

January 28, 2005

*Michael McManus, author of the U.S.-wide syndicated newspaper column "Ethics & Religion", was paid $10,000 by the Department of Health and Human Services for writing articles promoting a marriage initiative. [http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/index_np.html (Salon)]

January 26, 2005

*At least 10 people died and nearly 200 were injured in Glendale, California near Los Angeles, when two Metrolink commuter trains collided after one hit a car parked on the tracks by a man intent on killing himself. The driver of the car has been taken into custody and is expected to be charged with homicide. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=444357 (ABCnews)] , [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-012605crash_lat,0,6086765.story?coll=la-home-headlines (Los Angeles Times)]
*The United States Senate, by a vote of 85-13, confirms Condoleezza Rice as the successor for Colin Powell for the position of Secretary of State, and she is sworn in. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-rice0126,1,4127661.story?coll=bal-home-headlines (Baltimore Sun)]

January 23, 2005

*Johnny Carson, former host of "The Tonight Show", dies at age 79. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/23/carson.obit/index.html (CNN)]
*The Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 to win the National Football Conference [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=1973728 (ESPN/AP wire)] and the New England Patriots defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-27 to win the American Football Conference [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=1973825 (ESPN/AP wire)] . The Eagles and the Patriots advance to face each other in the Super Bowl.
*Paralyzing snowstorms afflict much of the eastern United States. The Midwest region receives 12-20 inches (30 to 50 cm) while New England gets up to 36 inches (90 cm) of snow. At least 20 casualties are reported to be related to this storm, one of the worst snowstorms to hit the US in the past century. The storm lasted January 20 to January 23. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/01/23/winter.storm.ap/index.html (CNN)]

January 15, 2005

*Film and television actress Ruth Warrick, best known for her roles in the movie "Citizen Kane" and on the television soap "All My Children", has died from complications stemming from pneumonia, the latest ailment in a long illness. She was 88. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=7&u=/ap/20050118/ap_on_en_tv/obit_warrick AP]

January 11, 2005

* Former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean announces that he will run for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/11/dean.dnc/index.html (CNN)]
* 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy: The voters challenging the presidential election results in the Ohio Supreme Court asked to drop their lawsuit (Moss v. Bush) Tuesday, saying congressional certification of the electoral votes last week and the upcoming inauguration render the case moot [http://www.nbc4i.com/politics/4071567/detail.html]

January 8, 2005

*The "Los Angeles" class submarine USS "San Francisco" runs aground 350 miles south of Guam. Several sailors have been reported injured, one of them critically. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/submarine_aground (AP)]

January 7, 2005

*Rosemary Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy political family and the inspiration behind the Special Olympics, dies at a mental institution at the age of 86. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/07/kennedy.obit.ap/index.html CNN]

January 6, 2005

*The murder conviction of Andrea Yates for drowning her children has been overturned by the Texas First Court of Appeals, after it was discovered that psychiatrist Park Dietz gave false testimony during her trial. The court has ordered a new trial. [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_re_us/andrea_yates_17 (AP)] [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-01-06-yates_x.htm?csp=34 (USA Today)] [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aqDvo8WvexeE&refer=us (Bloomberg)]
*Alberto Gonzales Confirmation hearings: Alberto Gonzales, nominee for US Attorney General, promised to respect all international treaties governing the treatment of prisoners at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday. He denied that he paved the way for prisoner abuse, even though he had argued in a January 2002 legal memo made public today that the War on Terrorism rendered the anti-torture provisions of the Geneva Conventions "obsolete". Extensive newspaper coverage retraced the tracks from Abu Ghraib to the Justice Department of the White House. [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/politics_government/ (Minnesota Public Radio)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/ (BBC)] [http://www.taz.de/pt/2005/01/07/a0127.nf/text (taz.de)] .
*California Senator Barbara Boxer and Ohio Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones delay the certification of the Electoral College results for several hours by objecting to the votes from Ohio that gave President George W. Bush victory in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Both houses of Congress overwhelmingly reject the objections, the House by a vote of 267-31, and the Senate by 74-1. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,143510,00.html (FOX News)] [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimests/20050107/ts_latimes/boxerposesachallengebriefly (LA Times)] [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=4&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_go_co/electoral_vote (AP)]

January 4, 2005

* Ashlee Simpson is booed after a performance of the song "La La" during the half-time show at the Orange Bowl. [http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=386878 (ABC News)]

January 3, 2005

*The amphibious assault ship USS "Bonhomme Richard" and two other ships transporting a marine expeditionary unit join the battle group of the supercarrier USS "Abraham Lincoln" off the coast of Sumatra, joining the relief effort following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. [http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050103/ap/d87cfbc80.html (Yahoo!)]

January 2, 2005

*Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Governor Jeb Bush head a U.S. delegation to Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries impacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The delegation will evaluate the relief effort and assess additional needs. The U.S. has pledged $350 million in aid. [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050102/pl_afp/asiaquakeuspowell_050102220537 (Yahoo!)]
* The US Congress is considering weakening its ethics rules. [http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/31/house.ethics.rules.ap/index.html (CNN)]

January 1, 2005

* U.S. Representative Robert Matsui, a Democrat from California, dies of a rare disease. He was 63. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/02/obit.matsui.ap/index.html (CNN)]

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