Events from the year 2008 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government President: George W. Bush (R-Texas) Vice President: Dick Cheney (R-Wyoming) Chief Justice: John Roberts (Maryland) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nancy Pelosi (D-California) Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-Nevada) Congress: 110th
State governments Governors and lieutenant governors Governors
Lieutenant governors
Events
January January 3 Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Iowa Democratic caucus. Joe Biden drops out of the running for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. January 5 – A levee bursts in Fernley, Nevada, flooding a large portion of the town and forcing the evacuations of 3,500 residents. January 7–11 – A tornado outbreak passes through eastern North America, producing at least 75 tornadoes across the mid-eastern United States and record-breaking temperatures in eastern Canada. Four fatalities are reported. January 7 – NBC announces the 2008 Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be canceled due to the Writers Guild of America strike. The network announces the winners in a 1-hour news conference. Mickey Rourke and Tina Fey, among others, are winners. January 9 – President George W. Bush begins a tour of the Middle East with a stop in Israel. Other destinations include Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt. January 10 – Bill Richardson drops out of the U.S. presidential election due to shortage of money. January 15 – The Food and Drug Administration declares that food from cloned cattle, swine, goats, and their progeny is safe to eat. January 18 – President George W. Bush announces an economic stimulus package, proposing $800 per individual and $1600 per couple in tax refunds. January 21 – Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis. January 22 – Actor Heath Ledger, 28, is found dead at his home in New York City. He would later be awarded a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Dark Knight, released in July 2008. January 25 – In Las Vegas, the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino catches fire. January 27 The 2008 NHL All-Star Game occurs in Atlanta. World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Royal Rumble pay-per-view event from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. January 28 – President George W. Bush delivers his final State of the Union address.President Delivers State of the Union Address , The White House January 30 – U.S. presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards drop out of the race.
February
February 1 – The Food and Drug Administration issues a Public Health Advisory on Chantix, an anti-smoking medication, due to a possible "association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms." February 2 The military accidentally kills nine civilians in a raid in Iraq. An unidentified gunman enters a Tinley Park, Illinois Lane Bryant store, taking 6 women hostage and later shooting them all, killing 5 of the 6 women. The crime remains unsolved. February 3 – The New York Giants defeat the heavily favored New England Patriots 17–14 in Super Bowl XLII, played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. February 5–6 – Super Tuesday tornado outbreak: A tornado outbreak, the deadliest in 23 years, kills 58 in the Southern United States. February 5 – U.S. stock market indices plunge more than 3% after a Non-Manufacturing ISM Report on Business shows signs of economic recession in the service sector. The S&P 500 falls 3.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 370 points. February 7 STS-122: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches to deliver the European-built Columbus science laboratory to the International Space Station. The Senate passes a $170 billion economic stimulus package by a margin of 81–16. Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton kills five and wounds two people at city hall before being shot and killed by police in Kirkwood, Missouri.(St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Mitt Romney suspends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President.Romney suspends White House bid, BBC News February 10 The 50th Annual Grammy Awards take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Americans Herbie Hancock and Kanye West, among others, are winners. Maine holds its Democratic caucuses in the U.S. presidential election. Barack Obama wins 15 out of the possible 24 delegates. February 11 A marine is arrested on suspicion of raping a fourteen-year-old Japanese girl in Okinawa, Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda calls this "grave case...unforgivable". Ambassador Tom Schieffer later offers a personal apology.AFP: US envoy sorry over Japan rape case A former Boeing engineer and Defense Department analyst are arrested and charged with espionage for allegedly passing information to the Chinese government. February 12 – The 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike ends effectively at 6:51pm PST (02:51 UTC, February 13) as members vote to stop picket lines in response to a tentative deal reached by the WGA and the AMPTP three days earlier. February 14 Northern Illinois University shooting: former student Steven Kazmierczak opens fire, killing five and wounding 18 before fatally shooting himself at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Lawrence "Larry" King, a 15-year-old 8th grade student at E.O. Green Junior High School, is shot to death by 14-year-old student Brandon McInerney, for being gay. February 17 The Department of Agriculture recalls 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse.USDA orders major beef recall from California slaughterhouse under abuse investigation – International Herald Tribune World Wrestling Entertainment holds its No Way Out pay-per-view event from the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. February 20 – The United States Navy destroys an American spy satellite, USA 193, with a missile, prompting international speculation that it is testing its capability to destroy the satellites of other countries. February 24 – The 80th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, take place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, with the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men winning four awards out of eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film is tied in nominations with Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. The telecast garners 31.7 million viewers, making it the least-watched broadcast since 1974.
March March 4 – Senator John McCain secures the Republican Party presidential nomination after winning primary elections in Texas, Vermont, Ohio, and Rhode Island. March 6 – During the early hours of the morning, a small bomb explodes at an unoccupied military recruiting station in Times Square, New York City. No one is injured. March 12 – New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation (effective March 17) days after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson succeeds the governorship of New York. March 13 – The colorized $5 bill is released, with nearly all of the features of the earlier colorized currency (the color-shifting numeral was not added). March 15 – A construction crane falls on a residential building in Manhattan, killing four people and injuring at least 17. March 18 – The Federal Reserve System cuts the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 2.25%. March 24 – Relatives of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre report that the government of Virginia will offer victims compensation of $100,000 to forestall lawsuits. March 26 – Former First Lady Nancy Reagan endorses John McCain for the presidency. March 30 – World Wrestling Entertainment holds WrestleMania XXIV at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, drawing a crowd of 74,635.
April April 7 – The Kansas Jayhawks beat the Memphis Tigers 75–68 in overtime to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. April 11 – The Newseum opens in Washington, D.C. April 15–20 – Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States. Among his destinations are the White House, The Catholic University of America, the United Nations General Assembly, and the site of the fallen World Trade Center. Benedict XVI also celebrates Mass at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium. April 18 – The 5.4 Illinois earthquake strikes southeastern Illinois with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing several injuries and limited damage. April 20 – Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win a top-level sanctioned open wheel car racing event. April 22 – Senator Hillary Clinton wins the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. April 27 – World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Backlash pay-per-view event from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. April 28 – General Motors announces that it will cut production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in three plants in Michigan and one in Oshawa, Ontario and negotiate layoffs with the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers.
May May 1–2 – A tornado outbreak in the Southern and Central United States kills seven. May 2 – Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau, is released by Marvel Studios as the first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the first film of its "Phase One" slate. May 6 – Senator Barack Obama wins the North Carolina Democratic primary. Senator Hillary Clinton narrowly wins the Indiana Democratic primary. May 7–15 – Several tornadoes cause substantial damage in the Midwestern United States and kill 28 people. May 12 – A leaked video of Fox News Channel anchor Bill O'Reilly from the early 1990s goes viral on YouTube. In the video, O'Reilly is seen shouting "We'll do it live!" May 14 – NASA announces the discovery of Supernova remnant G1.9+0.3. May 15 California becomes the second state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional. The Department of the Interior lists the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, citing the melting of Arctic sea ice as the primary threat to the polar bear. May 18 – World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Judgment Day pay-per-view event from the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. May 20 Senator Hillary Clinton wins the Kentucky Democratic primary while Senator Barack Obama wins the Oregon Democratic primary. Senator Ted Kennedy announces that he has a malignant glioma, a type of cancerous brain tumor. May 22–31 – A series of tornado outbreaks affecting the Central Plains of the United States is one of the largest continuous tornado outbreaks on record. A total 239 tornadoes are confirmed, and there are 13 fatalities. May 24 – After over thirteen years, Kids' WB, The CW's children's programming block, ceases airing and becomes The CW4Kids when the network sells the air time to Grupo Clarin (through its subsidiary 4Kids Entertainment). May 25 – NASA's Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first to land in the northern polar region of Mars.
June June 1 A large fire engulfs parts of Universal Studios in Universal City, California, destroying a vault with the master tapes of as many as half a million songs. The landmark Broadway musical Rent ends its run after 12 years and more than 4,300 shows. World Wrestling Entertainment holds its One Night Stand pay-per-view event from the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. June 3 – Senator Barack Obama secures the Democratic Party presidential nomination, becoming the first African American presumptive presidential nominee of a major political party. June 4 Travis Alexander is stabbed multiple times then shot in the forehead by his former girlfriend, Jodi Arias, in Mesa, Arizona. The murder and subsequent trial receive widespread media attention.