| The
2010's - Economic Recovery |
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2010
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January 2010
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With versions passed by the House and Senate during December 2009, both
houses attempt to reconcile the Health Care Reform and expansion into a
bill that can pass both houses. The legislation, which would
be
the most sweeping change in health care law since Medicare, has been a
priority for the Obama administration despite the disproval
from
the majority of the public to the specific plans involved.
January 19, 2010 - Scott Brown, a Republican reformer from
Massachusetts, stuns the nation with an upset win for the special
election Senate seat. He is the first Republican elected to
the
Senate from the state since 1972 and only Republican member of the
Massachusetts Democratic congressional delegation. His
election
puts a halt to the 60 seat Democratic super majority in the Senate and
will prevent President Obama and the Democratic leadership from pushing
legislation in future votes past a Republican filibuster.
March 25, 2010 - The U.S. House of Representatives finalizes the Health
Care legislation approved by the Senate, extending health benefits and
insurance to most Americans. The legislation, passed on a
partisan basis by the Democratic Majority, has caused a significant
rift within the public, who disapproves of the bill, and is expected to
test the Democratic Party's hold on both houses of Congress during the
mid-term elections in November.
April 20, 2010 - A British Petroleum deep water oil rig explodes in the
Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest oil spill in the history of the
United States, killing eleven workers, and devastating the envirnoment.
It also severely damaged the fishing and tourism industries
of
gulf states.
November 2, 2010 - With an impetus from the Tea Party movement to
restore fiscal sanity to Congress and various state houses, Republican
candidates win the majority of elections, taking control of the U.S.
House of Representatives with a net gain of 63 seats, reducing the
majority of Democrats in the Senate, and taking over many governorships
and other legislative bodies. This tide was the biggest
turnaround in Congressional seats since 1948, and many attribute the
election to disfavor of Obama administration spending practices,
including the Health Care legislation passed in March.
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2011
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April 14, 2011
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Congress votes to pass the 2010-2011 budget after six months of
negotiations, including $38 billion in fiscal year cuts. This
vote was one of the first measures that showed the new dynamic of a
U.S. House of Representatives in Republican hands that was focused, due
to Tea Party member goals, to get the burgeoning
federal deficit
under control.
April 30, 2011 - Osama Bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11, 2001 attacks
on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and other locations and leader
of the terrorist group, Al-Queda, is killed after ten years of pursuit
by United States and coalition forces during a raid by U.S. Navy Seals
on his hideout location in Pakistan.
July 21, 2011 - The final shuttle flight lands at the Kennedy Space
Center, signifying the end of the NASA shuttle space program.
The
program, which began in 1981 and included 135 missions, was completed
when the Shuttle Atlantis completed its final mission to the
International Space Station.
September 17, 2011 - The first of many Occupy Wall Street protests
begin in New York City, protesting the big money interests on Wall
Street and their relationship to the recession and world economy.
December 15, 2011 - The war in Iraq is delcared over when President
Obama orders the last combat troops to leave the country.
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2012
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May
2, 2012
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At a New York auction house, the highest payment for a work of art, the
Scream by Edwin March, is paid, costing $120 million dollars.
May
7, 2012
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The first licenses for cars without drivers is granted in the state of
Nevada to Google. Autonomous cars were first introducted in
concept during the 1939 World's Fair in New York City in
the General Motors exhibit Futurama by Norman Bel
Geddes.
By September of 2012, three states had passed laws allowing
such
vehicles; Nevada, California, and Florida.
September
11, 2012
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Terrorist attack on a consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi kills
four Americans, including Ambassador John C. Stevens, showing the
continued fight against Islamic extremism had not abated after the Arab
Spring uprisings in the Middle East and deposing of dictators such as
Muammar Gaddafi.
October
29, 2012
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Hurricane Sandy, taking an unusual track up the East Coast and coming
to landfall on the New Jersey coast near Atlantic City and Long Island
coasts of New York creates significant damage to coastal towns as well
as the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, to the estimated cost
of $65.6 billion. The hurricane, at its peak a Category 2
storm,
was the largest storm in recorded history by diameter at 1,100 miles.
November
6, 2012
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President Barack Obama wins a significant victory, 332 electoral votes
to 206, for his second term in office against Republican challenger and
businessman Mitt Romney. Congress remained status quo with
divided government as the House of Representatives remained in
Republican hands and the Senate in Democratic hands.
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2013
| April 15, 2013
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Two bombs explode near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing
three and injuring hundreds in a terrorism attack coordinated by
two brothers associated with radical Islam. The attack
caused the shutdown of the city as police and federal officials
searched and apprehended the suspects within four days of the attack.
May 17, 2013
- Congressional hearings begin on the IRS scandal of group targeting
that began two years prior. The Internal Revenue Service is
accused of targeting conservative groups for additional scrutiny in tax
status matters, including groups like the Tea Party, whose stances
include lower taxes and smaller government, plus other patriotic and
religious organizations. This breach of protocol from a
government agency where all U.S. citizens file taxes has caused concern
from both Republican, Democrat, and independent political groups. |
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