January :
2011 Tucson shooting – US Rep.
Gabby Giffords is among 14 injured; 6 others are killed. –
February 2:
Groundhog Day blizzard – Satellite image of the storm on the evening of February 1 over the American Midwest •
January 3 • According to Dr.
Daniel Haber, chief of
Massachusetts General Hospital's cancer center, virtually unlimited
metastatic cancer detection becomes possible using a
screening method that can find cancer in the
periphery. Further, the method appears to be a sound process for monitoring the progress of intervention and thereby modifying the treatment protocol. • Lawmakers in 14 states (
Alabama,
Arizona,
Delaware,
Idaho,
Indiana,
Michigan,
Mississippi,
Montana,
Nebraska,
New Hampshire,
Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania,
Texas and
Utah) announce plans to curtail application of parts of the
14th Amendment in their respective states. •
Wisconsin becomes the 22nd state to sue the federal government over the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. •
January 6 – The
US Constitution is read aloud on the floor of the
US House of Representatives for the first time in history. •
January 7 –
Oklahoma and
Wyoming join the other 22 states suing the federal government over the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. •
January 8 –
2011 Tucson shooting: In
Tucson, Arizona, a gunman opens fire at a constituent meeting led by U.S. representative
Gabby Giffords, injuring 14, including Giffords, and killing six, including U.S. Federal Judge
John Roll. The primary suspect,
Jared Lee Loughner, is taken into custody. •
January 10 • Former
Republican United States House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay is sentenced to three years in prison for
money laundering. • In
college football, the #1
Auburn Tigers defeat the #2
Oregon Ducks to win the
2011 BCS National Championship Game by a score of 22–19. •
January 11 –
Ohio becomes the 25th state to sue the federal government over the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. •
January 12 –
Kansas and
Maine join the other 25 states suing the federal government over the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. •
January 18 – U.S. president
Barack Obama begins a four-day meeting with Chinese president
Hu Jintao. •
January 19 •
Kermit Gosnell, his wife and eight staff members at his
Philadelphia abortion clinic are arrested in connection with murders of babies, manslaughter of a patient and prescription drug charges. Prosecutors alleged that Gosnell and others killed babies at the clinic by severing their spinal cords with scissors. • The
US House votes to repeal the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with a vote of 245–189. •
January 20 – In a landmark study, a new technique renders T-Cells resistant to HIV. •
January 25 – U.S. president
Barack Obama delivers his
2011 State of the Union Address. •
January 31 –
Florida federal judge
Roger Vinson rules that the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is
unconstitutional because of the
individual mandate it contains. •
January 31–
February 2 –
A blizzard dumps as much as of snow across the
Midwestern United States, causing at least 24 storm-related deaths.
February :
STS-133:
Space Shuttle Discovery launches for the final time. •
February 2 – The
US Senate blocks a repeal of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with a vote of 51–47. •
February 6 •
NASA's
STEREO satellites obtain the first simultaneous images of the
entire surface of the
Sun. •
Super Bowl XLV between the
Green Bay Packers and the
Pittsburgh Steelers at
Cowboys Stadium in
Arlington, Texas becomes the most watched television program in US history at 111 million viewers. The Packers defeat the Steelers 31–25. •
February 7 –
AOL purchases online publisher
The Huffington Post in a $315 million deal. •
February 14 • President Obama proposes a
federal budget for
fiscal year 2012. Overall the proposal reduces expenses but also increases funding for some programs and still results in an annual deficit of more than $1 trillion. • The
House approves the extension of some parts of the controversial
Patriot Act until December. •
Disney Channel's daily morning program block for preschoolers,
Playhouse Disney, rebrands as
Disney Junior, part of the network's plan to establish Disney Junior as a stand-alone network in 2012 (replacing
SOAPNet). •
February 14–
16 – The quiz show
Jeopardy! airs the victory of
IBM's
artificial intelligence program
Watson over two of the show's most successful contestants. •
February 15 – The
Senate approves the same extension of some parts of the controversial
Patriot Act until December. •
February 17 – Amidst
large demonstrations in Wisconsin over a controversial bill (the bill intends to reduce spending on most government employees and remove their
collective bargaining rights apart from restricted wage negotiation), 14 Wisconsin Democratic senators flee the state to delay the vote on the bill by preventing a
quorum in the senate. •
February 18 –
Word Worm word game is released. •
February 20 –
2011 Daytona 500 is won by the
Wood Brothers Racing team entrant
Trevor Bayne, who became the youngest winner of the race.
Carl Edwards was second ahead of
David Gilliland. •
February 22 –
Chicago mayoral election, 2011: Former
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel wins the race for
mayor with more than 55% of the vote. He will succeed Mayor
Richard M. Daley in May. •
February 24 –
STS-133:
Space Shuttle Discovery launches from
Kennedy Space Center for the final time, carrying the
Permanent Multipurpose Module to the
International Space Station. •
February 27 • The
83rd Academy Awards, hosted by
James Franco and
Anne Hathaway, are held at
Kodak Theatre in
Hollywood.
Tom Hooper's ''
The King's Speech'' wins four awards out of 12 nominations, including
Best Picture and
Best Director.
Christopher Nolan's
Inception also wins four awards. The telecast garners 37.9 million viewers. •
Frank Buckles, America's last surviving World War I veteran and one of only three verified surviving veterans of the war worldwide, dies aged 110. Buckles, who lived in
West Virginia, served in Europe as an ambulance driver for 11 months until the war's end in November 1918.
March 's
Messinger orbiting
Mercury on pro-Gaddafi troops in Libya in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.
Barack Obama (second left) and his
wife of First Lady Michelle Obama (left) meets with
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera (second right) and his wife of First Lady
Cecilia Morel at the
La Moneda Palace in
Santiago,
Chile, on March 21, 2011. •
March 1 – The
U.S. House of Representatives passes a small spending bill that funds the federal government until March 18 and cuts $4 billion in spending, averting a potential
government shutdown. •
March 3 •
Serena Williams' spokeswoman confirmed that Williams had suffered from a life-threatening
pulmonary embolism. • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
8–1 decision that the controversial protests of the
Westboro Baptist Church at fallen US military members' funerals are a form of
protected speech under the
First Amendment. • The
U.S. Senate passes the same small spending bill that funds the federal government through March 18 and cuts $4 billion in spending. •
Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn signs legislation abolishing the state's
death penalty and commutes the death sentences of the fifteen inmates on Illinois'
death row to
life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. • The
Wisconsin Senate approves a bill that ends most
collective bargaining rights for nearly all
unions; it was able to pass the legislation without a
quorum by removing the budget oriented parts of it (a quorum would have necessitated the presence of at least one of the absent Democratic members). • The world's largest bond fund,
Pimco, announces it is dumping all of its U.S. government-related securities, including U.S. Treasurys and agency debt. •
March 10 – The
Wisconsin State Assembly passes the law that restricts bargaining rights for unions in a 53–42 vote. •
March 11 – Following the
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami warning to parts of the
U.S. West Coast along the affected coastal areas in
Alaska,
Hawaii and the
U.S. Territories in the
Pacific Ocean. •
March 15 – The
U.S. House of Representatives passes another small spending bill, avoiding the U.S. government shutdown until April 8. •
March 16 – Wholesale food prices rose by the largest monthly increase in February since November 1974, with an increase of 3.9%. Some economists claim that it will only get worse. •
March 17 • The House cuts all federal funding for
NPR. • The
US Senate passes a small spending bill, avoiding a government shutdown until April 8. •
March 18 –
NASA's
MESSENGER spacecraft becomes the first man-made technology to establish an orbit around
Mercury. •
March 19 – In light of the continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by Gaddafi forces, military intervention authorized under
UNSCR 1973 began as French
fighter jets flew reconnaissance flights over Libya.
United States Navy ships were said to be preparing for bombardment of Libyan air defenses. •
March 21 •
AT&T announces plans to buy
T-Mobile for $39 billion. If allowed by the
Federal Communications Commission, AT&T would become the largest US phone carrier, surpassing
Verizon Wireless. If allowed, the number of major US phone carriers would decrease from 4 to 3, leaving AT&T, Verizon and
Sprint. •
March 24 – According to a landmark study in
The New England Journal of Medicine, an orally administered
Takeda Pharmaceutical called
pioglitazone, marketed as
Actos, shows 72 percent effectiveness at the prevention of the development of type 2 diabetes in pre-diabetic subject participants. Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., study leader and professor in the School of Medicine and chief of the diabetes division at
The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, stated that "It's a blockbuster study. The 72 reduction is the largest decrease in the conversion rate of pre-diabetes to diabetes that has ever been demonstrated by any intervention, be it diet, exercise or medication. •
March 25 –
Archaeologists report that they have found new artifacts in an archaeological site in
Texas which indicates of human existence in America 15,500 years ago – around 2,000 years earlier than the alleged
Clovis culture took place, which until recently was considered the first human culture in North America. •
March 29 – More than 1.5 million
web sites around the world had been infected by the
LizaMoon SQL injection attack spread by
scareware since Tuesday. Novice computer users should be warned that when a pop up window opens the best way to insure you are not infected is to close the window from the task manager. •
March 31 • Because of U.S. federal budget woes and a general migration of information from printed to digital format, the
Social Security Administration announces that starting in April 2011, most U.S. workers will no longer receive their annual Social Security benefit estimates in the mail. Citizens are able to look at their social security account retirement benefit estimator online instead of waiting each year for a paper statement. • A data breach at one of the world's largest providers of marketing-email services, Dallas-based
Epsilon, a subsidiary of
Alliance Data Systems Corporation, may have enabled unauthorized people to access the names and email addresses for customers of major financial-services, retailing and other companies, (Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC, U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp., Walgreen Co., New York & Co., Kroger Co., Brookstone, McKinsey & Co., Marriott International Inc., Ritz-Carlton and TiVo Inc.).
April – Satellite image of the storm on the evening of April 27 over the American Southeast339 total fatalities by the
mainstream media, that Obama was not born in the United States, Obama releases his original birth certificate form. •
April 3 •
World Wrestling Entertainment holds
WrestleMania XXVII at the
Georgia Dome in
Atlanta, drawing a crowd of 71,617. •
Crystal Mangum, the false accuser in the
Duke lacrosse case, is arrested after repeatedly stabbing her boyfriend, Reginald Daye. •
April 4 • The
U.S. Supreme Court upholds
Arizona School Vouchers in a 5–4 ruling. • In men's
college basketball, the
UConn Huskies defeat the
Butler Bulldogs to win the
2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. •
April 5 •
Cuba and its partners announce plans to drill for oil in Cuban waters in The
Gulf of Mexico. • In women's
college basketball, the
Texas A&M Aggies defeat the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the
2011 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. •
April 6 – A
United States Navy F/A-18 crashes near
Naval Air Station Lemoore in
California, killing both crew members. •
April 8 – President Obama, House Republicans and Senate Democrats agree on a week-long stopgap spending bill preventing a
government shutdown resulting from a failure to pass the
2011 federal budget. •
April 10 –
2011 Masters Tournament:
South African
Charl Schwartzel won the 2011 event by two strokes over
Adam Scott and
Jason Day. •
April 13 • An
Air France Airbus A380, operating as
Air France Flight 007, collides with a
Comair Bombardier CRJ-700, operating as Comair flight 553/
Delta Connection Flight 6293 in Delta Connection livery, on a taxiway at
John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The double-deck Airbus A380 is the world's largest commercial passenger jet. The A380 has 520 people on board, and the smaller plane 66. There are no injuries. The incident brings into question the spatial taxiway requirements for the new large A380's wingspan on existing airport taxiways. • Reginald Daye dies 10 days after being repeatedly stabbed by
Crystal Mangum, the false rape accuser in the
Duke lacrosse case. •
April 14–
16 –
A tornado outbreak and severe thunderstorms kill at least 43 people across the
Southern United States, with fatalities occurring in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia. It is the deadliest U.S. tornado outbreak to occur in three years. •
April 15 –
Rio is released in theaters. •
April 18 –
Standard & Poor's downgrades its outlook on long-term sovereign debt of the United States to negative from stable for the first time in history, citing "very large budget deficits and rising government indebtedness" as for why it did so. A statement from Standard & Poor's explained its reasoning; "We believe there is a material risk that U. S. policy-makers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium- and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013; if an agreement is not reached...this would...render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than [its peers]". This could possibly mean the US losing its AAA credit rating. •
April 20 –
BooClips digital book app is released. •
April 25–
28 – The most active
tornado outbreak in United States history kills 339 people across the
Southeastern United States, becoming the third deadliest tornado outbreak in United States history, falling behind the
Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak of April 1936 and the outbreak that produced the
Tri-State Tornado of March 1925. •
April 27 • Responding to continued coverage by the
mainstream media of
Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories, that President
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in
Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama releases his long-form birth certificate. • In an unprecedented meeting with reporters, the U.S. Federal Reserve
chairman Ben Bernanke states that he expects less economic growth for 2011 as the economy has been weaker in recent months than he had thought it would be. Bernanke refused to speculate on when he would discontinue with The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus policy, known as quantitative easing. • Eight American troops and one contractor are shot and killed by an Afghan National Army Air Force pilot. Five Afghan soldiers were also wounded in the attack, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.
May borders. •
May 2 •
U.S. President Barack Obama announces in a media statement that
Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group
Al-Qaeda and the most-wanted fugitive on the U.S. list, was
killed by
U.S. forces during an American military operation in
Pakistan and that his body is in U.S. custody. • Bin Laden's body, which was handled in
accordance with Islamic practice and tradition, is
buried by the U.S. forces at sea less than a day after his death, thus preventing a burial site from becoming a "terrorist shrine". • In order to save the city of
Cairo, Illinois from severe flooding, the
Army Corps of Engineers blows up the levee on the Missouri side of the
Mississippi flooding acres of farmland and forcing some to go homeless. The issue went all the way to the Supreme Court. •
May 6 –
Thor, directed by
Kenneth Branagh, is released by
Marvel Studios as the fourth film of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). •
May 7 –
Jockey John R. Velazquez wins the
2011 Kentucky Derby riding
Animal Kingdom. •
May 8 –
Mississippi flooding worsens, killing 15 more than the 337 in preceding storms, with the
Army Corps of Engineers saying an area between
Simmesport, Louisiana and
Baton Rouge would be inundated 20–30 feet. •
May 10 – 360,000
Citigroup credit card accounts are hacked. •
May 11 - Dom Strauss the then head of the UN, was arrested at New York JFK airport just before the plane was going to take off. He was accused of raping a woman in a New York City hotel earlier that day. The police stopped the plane and he was arrested and taken off the plane. •
May 12 – Plans are cancelled to install prismatic glass on
One World Trade Center's bottom base. •
May 13 – The federal government predicts that the
Medicare hospital fund will run out in 2024, five years earlier than the previously projected date of 2029. They also predicted that the
Social Security trust fund would run out in 2036, instead of the previously projected date of 2037. •
May 14 • The
Morganza Spillway on the
Mississippi River is opened for the second time in its history,
deliberately flooding of rural Louisiana and placing three nuclear power plants at risk to save most of
Baton Rouge and
New Orleans. • The president of the
International Monetary Fund and candidate for
President of France,
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is charged with raping a maid in a New York City hotel room. •
May 16 •
STS-134:
Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched for the final time at 8:56 A. M. EDT. • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
8-1 decision that the
exigent circumstance warrantless searches do not violate the
Fourth Amendment when it is believed that there is an imminent destruction of evidence." Writing for the majority, Associate Justice
Samuel Alito said that citizens are under no obligation to respond when law enforcement knocks at the door or, if they do open the door, allow the police to come in. In cases where no
exigent circumstances exist, police officers who desire entry would have to persuade a judge to issue a search warrant. But Alito said, "Occupants who choose not to stand on their constitutional rights but instead elect to attempt to destroy evidence [had] only themselves to blame." • Congress considers whether and by how much to extend the
debt ceiling again. In a May 16, 2011 letter to Congress, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner declared a "debt issuance suspension period", which provides the Secretary with certain extraordinary authorities to prevent a breach of the debt limit. Geithner had previously sent letters to Congress requesting an increase in the debt ceiling on January 6, April 4 and May 2. •
May 19 • In
Pennsylvania, teenager Angela Marinucci becomes the first of The Greensburg Six to be convicted of the
murder of Jennifer Daugherty, a mentally disabled woman who was tortured and murdered in February 2010. • During a speech in support of the
Arab Spring, Obama stated that a resolution to the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict would involve creation of a Palestinian state based on the
pre-1967 borders. •
May 20 • During a meeting between U.S. president
Barack Obama and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the
White House, Netanyahu emphasizes that Israel would not make a full withdraw to the pre-
1967 borders as Obama requested the previous day because these borders are not defensible. • Travel on the Mississippi River is closed for five miles (8 km) near the US city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana due to flooding. •
WWE wrestler
Randy Savage dies of a
heart attack in
Seminole, Florida when he loses control of his
Jeep Wrangler and crashes into a tree; he was 58 years old. •
May 21 • U.S. businessman
Herman Cain announces that he will be
seeking the
Republican Party nomination in the
2012 U.S. presidential election. • The
Minnesota House of Representatives votes to put a constitutional referendum on marriage before voters in the US state of
Minnesota. •
May 22 – A
tornado touched down in
Joplin, Missouri, causing widespread damage. 158 are killed and 1,150 are injured, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado in 64 years. •
May 23 – The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
5-4 decision that court-mandated population limit was necessary to remedy a violation of prisoners’
Eighth Amendment constitutional rights (United States Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment). The court requires that there be a controversial prisoner reduction plan forced on California prison administrators whereby the state reduces its inmate population by tens-of-thousands to ease overcrowding. Writing for the majority, Associate Justice
Anthony Kennedy said that "after years of litigation, it became apparent that a remedy for the constitutional violations would not be effective absent a reduction in the prison system population". •
May 25 •
Jared Loughner, the man charged with the
2011 Tucson shooting, is found by a federal judge to be incompetent to stand trial. •
Oprah Winfrey hosts the finale of her syndicated talk show, which was on the air for 25 years. •
May 26 – The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
5–3 decision which upheld the Arizona state law that monetarily (up to and including seizure, but not criminally) punished businesses that hire illegal aliens. •
May 27 – The
Space Shuttle spacewalk portions of the
International Space Station are completed. •
May 28 – U.S.-based missile producer
Lockheed Martin, the largest military contractor in the world, is targeted by a "significant and tenacious"
cyber attack. •
May 29 •
Indy-style
British racer
Dan Wheldon wins the
2011 Indianapolis 500. • The
Wallow Fire begins, named for the
Bear Wallow Wilderness area where the fire originated, in eastern
Arizona, in the
White Mountains near
Alpine. By June 7, 2011, it had burned about . •
May 31 • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a limited-usage (narrow in scope and application)
8-0 decision which sided with former
United States Attorney General John Ashcroft in a claim for damages against a public official. • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a limited-usage (narrow in scope and application)
8-1 decision which sided with SEB S. A. in a patent infringement case.
June • June –
US-International Women in Science Dialogue conference is held. •
June 1 • The
Obama administration states that it will boycott a
United Nations anti-racism conference because of concerns over
Anti-Semitism. • The new United States military strategy explicitly states that a cyberattack is
casus belli for a traditional
act of war. •
STS-134:
Space Shuttle Endeavour lands for the final time, after 19 years of orbital spaceflight. •
June 2 • The
Federal Bureau of Investigation investigate claims that hackers in China attacked the
Google email accounts of officials in the United States and Asian countries, as well as Chinese pro-democracy activists. •
Mitt Romney announces
plans to seek the
Republican Party nomination as
President of the United States. •
June 3 –
John Edwards, former United States presidential candidate and
Senator representing
North Carolina, is
indicted on charges of conspiracy and violating
campaign finance laws in connection to his affair with
Rielle Hunter; Edwards denies he broke any laws. •
June 6 • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a
7–2 decision that inventors do not give up their patent rights to their employers if that employer received federal funding. The ruling went against
Stanford University in a dispute of patent infringement over a
Roche HIV PCR detection test. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice
John Roberts said that "Since 1790, the patent law has operated on the premise that rights in an invention belong to the inventor. The question here is whether the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act of 1980—commonly referred to as the
Bayh–Dole Act—displaces that norm and automatically vests title to federally funded inventions in federal contractors. We hold that it does not." •
Anthony Weiner photo scandal:
Representative Anthony Weiner (
D-
NY) admits he sent a lewd photo of himself over
Twitter to a
Washington woman. He also admits sending explicit photos and messages to at least 6 other woman over the past 3 years. He states that he will not resign. •
June 8 –
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, mastermind of the
1998 United States embassy bombings in
Kenya and
Tanzania, is killed in
Somalia. •
June 9 – The
U.S. Supreme Court makes an
8–0 decision that in patent dispute challenges against inventors the standard of proof required is more than a preponderance of evidence. The ruling upholds a 2009 jury verdict in favor of
i4i in a dispute of patent infringement over a
Microsoft Word software editing subprogram. Writing for the majority, Associate Justice
Sonia Sotomayor said that "Under §282 of the Patent Act of 1952, "[a] patent shall be presumed valid" and "[t]he burden of establishing in-validity of a patent or any claim thereof shall rest on the party asserting such invalidity." 35 U. S. C. §282. We consider whether §282 requires an invalidity defense to be proved by clear and convincing evidence. We hold that it does." •
June 12 • The
Dallas Mavericks win their first
NBA championship, four games to two, against the star-studded
Miami Heat in the
2011 NBA Finals. • The coat of
Mad Men star
Christina Hendricks catches fire and bursts into flames at the
Tony Awards after party. She was said to be unharmed. •
June 13 – Hackers break Into
US Senate computers. •
June 15 – The
Boston Bruins win their first
NHL title in 39 years over the
Vancouver Canucks in the
2011 Stanley Cup Finals. •
June 16 •
Anthony Weiner photo scandal:
Representative Anthony Weiner (
D-
NY) resigns. • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
5–4 decision that, in the interrogations of minors, a
Miranda statement must be made. The ruling involves a 13-year-old child under schoolroom police interview. The court ruled in favor of the child, J. D. B., in a dispute of his confession made during a
North Carolina theft investigation. Writing for the majority, Associate Justice
Sonia Sotomayor said that "This case presents the question whether the age of a child subjected to police questioning is relevant to the custody analysis of
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966). It is beyond dispute that children will often feel bound to submit to police questioning when an adult in the same circumstances would feel free to leave. Seeing no reason for police officers or courts to blind themselves to that commonsense reality, we hold that a child's age properly informs the
Miranda custody analysis." • On March 19, because of the continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by Gaddafi forces, there was a military intervention authorized under
UNSCR 1973. Various forces including ones from the United States attacked with
fighter jets in bombardment over Libya. Ten
Congressman announce plans to sue President
Barack Obama in Federal court over violation of the
War Powers Resolution. The 10 Congressman include 3
Democrats,
Dennis Kucinich of
Ohio,
John Conyers of
Michigan and
Michael Capuano of
Massachusetts, as well as 7
Republicans,
Ron Paul of
Texas,
Walter Jones and
Howard Coble of
North Carolina,
Tim Johnson of
Illinois,
Dan Burton of
Indiana,
Jimmy Duncan of
Tennessee and
Roscoe Bartlett of
Maryland. •
June 19 –
Northern Ireland golfer
Rory McIlroy wins the
2011 U.S. Open, setting scoring records in the process. •
June 20 • The internet domain names can now be any "dot"-suffix. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (
ICANN) approved the change. • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
9–0 decision that, in large
class-action lawsuits, a cohesive element must exist. The ruling involves the class-action status of a
sex discrimination case against
Wal-mart containing 1.6 million litigants. The court ruled in favor of Wal-mart, only on the class action status of the dispute of the women's claims. The ruling rejects the lower courts lowering of standards in class-action status certification. Writing for the majority, Associate Justice
Antonin Scalia said that "We are presented with one of the most expansive class actions ever. The District Court and the Court of Appeals approved the certification of a class comprising about one and a half million plaintiffs, current and former female employees of petitioner Wal-Mart who allege that the discretion exercised by their local supervisors over pay and promotion matters violates Title VII by discriminating against women. In addition to injunctive and declaratory relief, the plaintiffs seek an award of backpay. We consider whether the certification of the plaintiff class was consistent with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and (b)(2)." •
June 21 – The
Food and Drug Administration announces that starting in 2012, they will require new warning labels that feature graphic images to convey the dangers of smoking on U.S. cigarette packs. •
June 22 • The
Congressional Budget Office predicts the US
debt-to-GDP ratio will top 101% by 2021, 10% higher than the 91% previously projected. Further predictions show an increase to 150% by 2030 and 200% by 2037. This assumes current spending levels continue. • 82-year-old Boston mob boss
James "Whitey" Bulger, wanted for his alleged role in 19 murders, is captured by the
FBI in
Santa Monica, California after 16 years as a fugitive. •
June 23 – The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a
5–4 decision that, in will lawsuits, bankruptcy state courts are superseded by will courts in matters of core proceedings. The ruling involves the US$1.6 billion estate of
J. Howard Marshall Jr. between
Anna Nicole Smith and
Pierce Marshall. The court ruled in favor of the estate of the deceased
Pierce Marshall and the Texas Probate Court versus the estate of the deceased Vickie Lynn Marshall (a.k.a.
Anna Nicole Smith) and the California Bankruptcy Court. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice
John Roberts said that "... the Texas state decision controlled, after concluding that the Bankruptcy Court lacked the authority to enter final judgment on a counter claim that Vickie brought against Pierce in her bankruptcy proceeding. 1 To determine whether the Court of Appeals was correct in that regard, we must resolve two issues: (1) whether the Bankruptcy Court had the statutory authority under 28 U. S. C. §157(b) to issue a final judgment on Vickie's counterclaim; and (2) if so, whether conferring that authority on the Bankruptcy Court is constitutional ... We conclude that, although the Bankruptcy Court had the statutory authority to enter judgment on Vickie's counterclaim, it lacked the constitutional authority to do so." •
June 24 •
New York becomes the sixth state to legalize
same-sex marriage. •
Pixar Animation Studios' twelfth feature film,
Cars 2, the sequel to 2006's
Cars, is released in theaters. •
June 27 • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a
7–2 decision that strikes down a
California law enacted in 2005 that bans the sale of certain violent video games to children without parental supervision. The Court upholds the lower court decisions and revokes the law, ruling that video games were protected speech under the
First Amendment as other forms of media. The ruling involves a
freedom of speech case by The
Entertainment Merchants Association against a
California law. The court ruled in favor of The Entertainment Merchants Association, only on the overly broad status of the statute's wording of the minors' rights. Writing for the majority, Associate Justice
Antonin Scalia said that "We consider whether a California law imposing restrictions on violent video games comports with the
First Amendment...Because the Act imposes a restriction on the content of protected speech, it is invalid unless California can demonstrate that it passes strict scrutiny—that is, unless it is justified by a compelling government interest and is narrowly drawn to serve that interest. R. A. V., 505 U. S., at 395. The State must specifically identify an "actual problem" in need of solving, Playboy, 529 U. S., at 822–823, and the curtailment of free speech must be actually necessary to the solution, see R. A. V., supra, at 395. That is a demanding standard. "It is rare that a regulation restricting speech because of its content will ever be permissible." Playboy, supra, at 818. California cannot meet that standard...And finally, the Act's purported aid to parental authority is vastly overinclusive. Not all of the children who are forbidden to purchase violent video games on their own have parents who care whether they purchase violent video games." • Former
Illinois governor
Rod Blagojevich is found guilty of 17 of the 20 counts against him, including trying to sell President
Barack Obama's
Senate seat. •
June 28 • In
baseball, a judge in the U.S. state of
Delaware authorizes the
Los Angeles Dodgers to enter into a $150 million bankruptcy financing deal after the club addresses concerns of
Major League Baseball. • Richard Poplawski is
sentenced to death in the murder of three Pittsburgh police officers in April 2009. •
June 29 –
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is released in theaters as the third film in the
Transformers film series.
July ,
STS-135, ends as
Atlantis lands at
Kennedy Space Center. : U.S. president
Barack Obama meets with
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key makes a statement to the press conference at the
Oval Office in the
White House, on July 22, 2011. taken by the
Dawn spacecraft from a distance of 3,200 miles (5,200 km) signs the condolence book for a victims of the
2011 Norway attacks, during a visit to the
Norwegian ambassador's residence in
Washington, D.C. •
July 1 •
The New York Times sexual assault case against former
International Monetary Fund head
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse due to concerns over the credibility of the alleged victim's testimony. A judge releases him from house arrest as prosecutors said that the maid had made false statements. • Owners in the North American
National Basketball Association start a
lock out after failing to reach a new
collective bargaining agreement. • The
Minnesota government shuts down after budget talks fail between
Democratic governor
Mark Dayton and the
Republican-controlled
Minnesota Legislature. • According to a 2012
U.S. Census Bureau estimate, for the first time, the majority of children under one year old are
minorities. •
Leon Panetta is sworn in as the new
Secretary of Defense, succeeding
Robert Gates. •
July 2 –
ExxonMobil workers attempt to contain an
oil spill on the
Yellowstone River in the U.S. state of
Montana. •
July 3 – A tourist boat
sinks in the
Gulf of California off the coast of
Baja California in
Mexico with 23 people missing. •
July 5 • The US city of
Phoenix, Arizona is hit by a large
dust storm leaving thousands of people without power and grounding flights at
Phoenix Airport. • Casey Anthony is found
not guilty of first degree murder and manslaughter in the death of her daughter Caylee, but found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of giving false information to police. •
July 7 • The
U.S. Supreme Court makes a controversial
5–4 decision that Humberto Leal García, a
Mexican national, should be executed in the US state of
Texas despite concerns over whether the circumstances of his execution would breach
international law. •
Casey Anthony is sentenced to four years for lying to law enforcement regarding the death of her child Caylee in the U.S. state of
Florida but after credit for time served, will be released on July 17. •
Seven people are shot dead by Rodrick Dantzler in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. •
July 8 –
STS-135: In an added flight,
Space Shuttle Atlantis of the U.S.
Space Shuttle program is launched for its final time. This is also the final launch for the entire
NASA Space Shuttle program. •
July 12 • A three judge panel of the
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that
Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in the
2011 Tucson shooting, has the right to refuse
antipsychotic medication while he appeals the treatment prescribed by prison mental health authorities. •
CNN reports that the U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has lost track of 1,400 guns involved in
Operation Fast and Furious aimed at tracing the flow of weapons to
Mexican drug cartels. • The
United States Coast Guard ends aerial searches for seven
Americans still missing after a charter fishing boat sank in the
Gulf of California off
Mexico on July 3. •
July 14 •
U.S. district court judge
Reggie Walton declares a
mistrial in the
perjury trial of former baseball star
Roger Clemens after prosecutors present evidence that Walton had previously ruled inadmissible. Walton will hold a hearing on September 2 to determine whether to hold a new trial. •
News International phone hacking scandal: The
FBI is investigating reports that
News Corporation sought to hack the phones of victims of the
September 11 terrorist attacks. •
Borders, the once-major bookstore chain now in
chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, says that its arrangement with
stalking horse bidder Najafi Companies has collapsed and it will seek a modification of bid procedures. •
July 15 • The
Dawn spacecraft arrives and settles into its one-year orbit around the
minor planet 4 Vesta. •
Walt Disney Animation Studios' 51st feature film,
Winnie the Pooh, is released in theaters. A revival of the studio's
Winnie the Pooh franchise, it is met with strongly positive reception but middling box office performance. To date, it is Disney's most recent traditionally-animated film. •
July 17 – Japan wins the
FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 by beating the USA 3–2 in the Penalty Shootout. •
July 18 – The U.S. city of
Phoenix,
Arizona, is hit by a
haboob or dust storm. •
July 19 •
Northern Mariana Islands Governor Benigno Fitial and
Guam Governor Eddie Calvo state that they are in serious talks to potentially merge the
U.S. territories of
Guam and the
Northern Mariana Islands. • Sixteen alleged members of the
computer hacking group
Anonymous are arrested in FBI raids across several states in the US. • The
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrests an alleged agent of Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence in the US state of
Virginia for making illegal campaign contributions. •
July 21 • Two dozen people die throughout the week in a
heat wave in the United States. •
STS-135: Space Shuttle
Atlantis touches down at the
Shuttle Landing Facility at
Kennedy Space Center, ending the 30-year shuttle program, which began with the launch of
shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981. •
Minnesota governor
Mark Dayton signs a
budget agreement with Republicans in the
Minnesota Legislature, ending a 20-day government shutdown. •
July 22 –
Captain America: The First Avenger, directed by
Joe Johnston, is released by
Marvel Studios as the fifth film of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is the final MCU film to be distributed by
Paramount Pictures. •
July 23 – Nearly 4,000 employees of the US
Federal Aviation Administration are
furloughed due to
Congressional authorization for its programs lapsing. •
July 24 –
Democratic Party leaders call for the
United States House Committee on Ethics to investigate claims that Rep
David Wu of
Oregon had
sexually assaulted a teenager. •
July 25 • In
American football, the
NFL Players Association executive unanimously accepts a 10-year pay deal with team owners in the US
National Football League. •
Nickelodeon launches a block of reruns of its 1990s programming to cater to its twentysomething viewers. Dubbed ''
The '90s Are All That'', the block airs on its older-skewing sister channel,
TeenNick. •
July 26 • The
United States Post Office closure list is sent. Some 3,653 post offices were reviewed for possible closure. •
David Wu resigns as a member of the
United States House of Representatives following allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter with an 18-year-old. •
July 27 •
Maria Ridulph: a 7-year-old 1957 murder victim is exhumed. • The
United States Senate, in an exception to the 10-year limit, extends the term of the current
FBI director,
Robert Mueller.
August •
August 1 – The
United States Congress votes on a deal to resolve the
United States debt-ceiling crisis with the House of Representatives passing it. U.S. Rep.
Gabby Giffords (
D-
Arizona) casts her first vote since her
traumatic brain injury at the hands of a deranged assassin. •
August 2 – The
United States Senate passes legislation to raise the
debt ceiling in order to avert the
2011 US debt ceiling crisis and President
Barack Obama signs it into law; it thus became the
Budget Control Act of 2011. •
August 3 – It is announced that
Jerry Lewis would no longer host any further
MDA telethons. Earlier this year, it was announced that Lewis was no longer the national chairman of the MDA. •
August 4 •
Kraft Foods announces that it will split into two operations consisting of its North American grocery business and its global snack foods business. •
United States debt-ceiling crisis: The
Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 512 points (−4.3%) on economic worries, becoming the
worst day for stocks since December 2008 and, at this time, the 9th largest drop in United States history (See August 8). •
August 5 •
NASA's
Juno Spacecraft launches to
Jupiter. The orbital insertion will occur in August 2016. •
United States debt-ceiling crisis: After the U.S. trading markets close for the weekend, the
Standard & Poor's credit rating agency downgrades the
credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+ with a negative outlook. This was the first downgrade of the US credit rating since it was first issued in 1917.
Barack Obama's administration had told Standard and Poor's they made a nearly 2 trillion dollar error in their calculations. S&P acknowledged the error, but proceeded with the downgrade anyway. •
August 6 • A
NATO Chinook helicopter crashes in the
Sayd Abad district of
Afghanistan's
Wardak Province after being
shot down using
rocket-propelled grenade by the
Taliban with 38 deaths. At least 20 of the
U.S. Navy SEALs killed in the attack were members of
SEAL Team Six, the unit that carried out the
operation that killed Osama Bin Laden. The Associated Press and CNN later reported that none of the unit members that participated in the raid were involved. This was the single deadliest day for US troops since the
Afghanistan War began in 2001. • The
computer hacking group
Anonymous attacks 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the United States. Many of the sheriff's offices outsourced their websites to the media hosting company, Brooks-Jeffrey Marketing. If Brooks-Jeffrey's had been breached, hackers would have access to every website that the company hosted. •
August 7 – Ohio man
Michael Hance kills seven people before being shot dead by police. •
August 8 –
United States debt-ceiling crisis: The
Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges another 635 points (−5.6%) in reaction to
Standard and Poor's downgrade on August 5. It is the
6th largest drop in United States history and the largest drop since December 2008. •
August 9 •
United States debt-ceiling crisis: The U.S.
Federal Reserve announces it will keep interest rates at "exceptionally low levels" at least through mid-2013; but, it also makes no commitment for further
quantitative easing. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average and the
New York Stock Exchange as well as other world stock markets, recover after recent falls. • The largest group of
simultaneous recall elections in United States history ends with
Republicans keeping control of the
Wisconsin State Senate, despite
Democrats picking up 2 seats. •
August 10 •
New England Journal of Medicine: A therapy destroys leukemia (advanced cases of
chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL) in three patients. •
United States debt-ceiling crisis: Stocks dive again on Europe and economy fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 519.83 points, or 4.62% to 10719.94, more than wiping out the gains posted in Tuesday's sizable late-day rally. It was the Dow's fourth triple-digit move in five days and brings its declines since its April peak to more than 16%. •
August 12 • Judge sentences Ohio serial killer
Anthony Sowell to
death by
lethal injection – he is believed to be responsible for 11 murders. •
United States Post Office considering budget cuts of cutting as many as 120,000 jobs. •
August 13 •
Ames Straw Poll: Republican candidates for the party's nomination in the
2012 presidential election face off in the informal Iowa contest. Congresswoman
Michele Bachmann of
Minnesota finishes first place, ahead of runner-up Rep.
Ron Paul of
Texas and former
governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty, who comes in third. • Seven people are killed and 45 are injured when the
main stage collapses at the
Indiana State Fair in
Indianapolis. The tragedy occurred in part from a hurricane-force wind gust ahead of an approaching severe thunderstorm. The scheduled event was to be a performance by the band
Sugarland. • August 14 – The
2011 PGA Championship, played at the
Atlanta Athletic Club, is won by American professional golfer,
Keegan Bradley, defeating
Jason Dufner in a playoff. •
August 15 –
Google announces a proposed acquisition of
Motorola Mobility. •
August 17 –
University of Miami football scandal:
NCAA investigating claims by a former booster, Nevin Shapiro, who claims that he provided players with prostitutes, cars and other gifts over the past decade. •
August 19 • U.S. president
Obama provides temporary relief for
illegal immigrants who are students,
veterans, the elderly, crime victims and those with family, including
same-sex partners, as part of
immigration reform in the United States. •
Hewlett-Packard shares drop 20% on news that the company plans to spin-out its
personal computer division into a separate company. • Doctor Tyron Reece, who wrote nearly a million prescriptions for the painkiller
hydrocodone in 2010, is being charged with assisting a Mexican prescription drug smuggling ring. •
August 20 – Striking
Verizon union workers will return to work starting August 22, 2011, though their contract dispute isn't resolved. •
August 23 – A rare Eastern-seaboard
earthquake of magnitude 5.8 strikes
Virginia. The
Virginia Seismic Zone's faults ruptured, resulting in activity being felt in
Washington, D.C., New York City and other cities. •
August 24 • A Russian
Progress resupply vehicle that was destined for the
International Space Station experienced a catastrophic engine failure. The unmanned craft failed to reach orbit and impacted in the
Altai Republic. • The ailing head of
Apple Inc.,
Steve Jobs resigns. •
August 26 – The filming of government officials while on duty is protected by the
First Amendment, said the
United States First Circuit Court. •
August 28 –
Hurricane Irene: A rare hurricane drives North up the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast. Nine million homes lose power. Total Caribbean and U.S. fatalities and flooding damage are 55 dead and US$10 billion, respectively. The
New England state of
Vermont suffers its worst flooding in 100 years. •
August 30 – While reportedly on his way to surrender to police in the US city of
Atlanta to face murder charges, former
National Basketball Association player
Javaris Crittenton is arrested by the
FBI at
John Wayne Airport in
Orange County, California. •
August 31 •
Solyndra, a
California solar panel company declares bankruptcy. Only 2 years earlier, Solyndra had received over $500 million from the federal government as requested by the
Obama administration. • The
United States Department of Justice files a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the $39 billion
merger between cell phone giants
AT&T and
T-Mobile.
September •
September 1 –
Tropical Storm Lee: With memories of
Hurricane Katrina, a
Gulf of Texas storm lands on
New Orleans. After a storm track footprint into the Southeastern states, there are a total of 21 fatalities. •
September 2 – An audit report from the
United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that last year illegal aliens fraudulently collected $4.2 billion from the
Additional Child Tax Credit, a refundable credit meant for working families. The audit found that the means for the crime was as a result of vague U.S. law. •
September 3 – A 47-year-old
North Carolina man is convicted of eight counts of
second-degree murder in the shooting deaths at a nursing home on March 29, 2009 – the type of conviction means that he will not be eligible for the death penalty. •
September 5 •
Wildfires rage across
Texas. A fire near
Bastrop, Texas burns 1,500 homes and , breaking the record for most homes destroyed in a single fire in Texas history. • The new format, prime-time
Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethons begin without
Jerry Lewis the first telethon not to feature him. In six hours, the organization, which leads the fight against progressive muscle diseases, broadcast its 46th annual MDA Labor Day Telethon. The 2011 telethon raised $61,491,393 — up from the $58,919,838 achieved during the prior year's 21½-hour telethon. •
September 6 – Gunman
Eduardo Sencion opens fire in an
IHOP in
Carson City, Nevada, killing three members of
National Guard and one civilian before committing suicide. •
September 8 – U.S. president
Barack Obama unveils the
American Jobs Act to a joint-session of
Congress. Critics label it as a "Third stimulus package". •
September 11 • The
9/11 National Memorial & Museum in
New York City opens; the ceremony commemorates the tenth anniversary of the
9/11 attacks. • In
tennis,
Samantha Stosur of Australia wins the
Women's Singles in the
2011 US Open defeating
Serena Williams of the United States 6–2, 6–3. •
September 12 •
Bank of America announces 30,000 layoffs. • In
tennis,
Novak Djokovic of
Serbia wins the
Men's Singles at the
2011 US Open defeating
Rafael Nadal of Spain 6–2, 6–4, 6–7 (3–7), 6–1. •
September 13 • In what was called a
referendum on U.S. president
Barack Obama,
Republican Bob Turner defeats
Democrat David Weprin in a
special election for
New York's 9th congressional district, the seat held previously by
Anthony Weiner until he resigned amid a
sexting scandal. Turner is the first Republican to represent this district in 88 years. • The Fall television season officially kicks off with the first new show,
Ringer. •
September 14 • In a
court case concerning the theft of
Kevlar-related
trade secrets,
DuPont is awarded US$920 million in damages. •
NASA announces plans for a
Space Launch System to replace the
Space Shuttle program with the first flight tentatively scheduled for 2017. •
September 15 • The
House passes a bill that would severely limit the power of the
National Labor Relations Board with a vote of 238–186. The NLRB had recently come under fire from Republicans for trying to prevent
Boeing from opening a new
787 Dreamliner production facility in
South Carolina with non-union workers instead of in
Washington state. • Criminal questions arise over a
United States Air Force general being pressured by the
Obama administration to approve a plan by telecom company
LightSquared to develop a nationwide satellite phone network. The company has backing by
Democratic donors.
LightSquared technology may be a
threat to
Global Positioning System guidance of U. S. missiles and airline
Air traffic control systems. •
Walter Reed Army Medical Center closes. (it was merged into
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in
Bethesda, Maryland) •
September 16 –
2011 Reno Air Races crash: There are 11 dead and at least 75 injured, 25 critically, when a
P-51D Mustang airplane crashes into the crowd at the annual
Reno Air Races in
Reno, Nevada. •
September 17 –
Occupy Wall Street: Thousands march on
Wall Street in response to high unemployment, record executive bonuses and extensive bailouts of the financial system. •
September 18 – The
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards for television programs broadcast in the United States are held in
Los Angeles with
Mad Men winning the
outstanding drama series and
Modern Family winning the
Outstanding Comedy. •
September 20 – The
United States military officially ends its policy of
Don't ask, don't tell allowing gay and lesbian personal to publicly declare their sexual orientation. •
September 22 – The
Federal Bureau of Investigation arrests suspected members of the
computer hacking groups
LulzSec and
Anonymous in the US cities of
Phoenix, Arizona and
San Francisco, California. •
September 23 •
2011 NBA lockout: The ongoing labor dispute forces the
NBA to cancel the first 43 preseason games of the
2011–12 NBA season. • The
Dow Jones Industrial Average has its worst week in nearly 3 years, falling 6.41% as new recession fears grow. •
September 27 –
Andy Rooney announces his retirement from
60 Minutes after 33 years of providing commentary. •
September 28 – The United States
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention links an
outbreak of
listeriosis that has caused 23 deaths and 116 illnesses in 25 states to infected
cantaloupes from
Colorado. •
September 30 • After a manhunt that lasted more than two years, during a U.S. military operation in northern Yemen's
al-Jawf province, American
drones carried out a
targeted killing of
al-Qaida's leader in the
Arabian Peninsula Anwar al-Awlaki while he traveled in a convoy together with his senior aides. •
Jessie debuts on
Disney Channel.
October •
October 1 – 700 people are arrested while attempting to cross the
Brooklyn Bridge during the
Occupy Wall Street movement. •
October 3 •
Amanda Knox is released from Italian prison following a successful appeal of her murder conviction. • The
U.S. Supreme Court announces that it won't hear a
much-noted dispute on the width of the "
first sale" doctrine in
copyright law. The Supreme Court denied Vernor's petition for certiorari – the action affirms the lower court of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which held that when the transfer of software to the purchaser materially resembled a sale it was, in fact, not a "sale with restrictions on use", giving rise to no right to resell the copy under the first-sale doctrine. As such, Autodesk could pursue an action for copyright infringement against Vernor, who sought to resell used versions of its software on eBay. The Ninth Circuit's decision means that the policy considerations involved in the case might affect motion pictures and libraries as well as sales of used software. The net effect of the Ninth Circuit's ruling (and now the Supreme Court's) is to limit the "You bought it, you own it" principle asserted by such organizations who would like to resell items. • American
cell phone service provider
Sprint Nextel reportedly pays $20 billion for rights to
Apple's next
mobile phone. •
October 4 • In
basketball, the North American
National Basketball Association cancels the remainder of the preseason due to the
2011 NBA lockout, with cancellation of games in the
regular season occurring if the lockout continues for another week. • Voters in the U.S. state of
West Virginia go to the polls for a
gubernatorial special election with acting governor,
Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin, being elected as
Governor of West Virginia. •
October 5 –
Steve Jobs dies at the age of 56. He was an American computer engineer, who co-founded in 1976
Apple Inc., an electronics producer, which at many times has been the largest company in the world. •
October 7 – The
NYPD busts a
Queens-based
identity theft and
retail crime ring, arresting over 110 people. It was the largest identity theft ring in the history of the United States, making an annual profit of over $13 million. •
October 11 • The
United States Senate passes economic sanctions on China due to so called low manipulation of the
yuan. • The
United States Senate rejects the
American Jobs Act in a procedural vote. •
October 12 – Scott Dekraai opens fire in a
hair salon in
Seal Beach, California, killing eight, including his ex-wife. He is later arrested. •
October 14 – The United States under President
Barack Obama deployed 100 troops in
Uganda to assist in the capture of
Lord's Resistance Army leader
Joseph Kony in the current
insurgency. •
October 16 – British
auto racing driver
Dan Wheldon dies in a 15-car pileup while participating in the
final race of the
2011 IndyCar season at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway. •
October 22 –
Republican governor
Bobby Jindal wins a second term as
Governor of Louisiana. •
October 28 – The
St. Louis Cardinals defeat the
Texas Rangers in seven games to win their 11th world series.
November Obama and Asia-Pacific leaders at the
APEC United States Delegates in
Honolulu,
Hawaii, on November 11, 2011. •
November 4 – After announcing his retirement on September 27,
Andy Rooney dies aged 92. •
November 7 –
Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach for the
Penn State University football team, is arrested on nearly 40 counts of molesting eight boys over a 15-year period. The charges come following a grand jury investigation, which also alleges attempts to cover up the incidents and failure to report the incidents to law enforcement. In the days following the report, longtime coach
Joe Paterno and university president
Graham Spanier (already heavily criticized for alleged inaction) are fired. •
November 8 – Election Day •
Republican Phil Bryant wins the
2011 Mississippi Gubernatorial election. • Voters in
Mississippi reject a life-at-conception proposal. • Incumbent
Democrat Steve Beshear wins the
2011 Kentucky Gubernatorial election. • Republicans gain control of the
Virginia Senate, with Republican
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Bill Bolling breaking all tie votes. •
Arizona Senate majority leader
Russell Pearce is recalled from office. • Voters in
Ohio reject a law that would ban
collective bargaining for government employees. •
November 11 – U.S. president
Barack Obama arrives in
Honolulu,
Hawaii with Asia-Pacific leaders to attends the
APEC Summit. •
November 23 -
Walt Disney Pictures The Muppets is released in theaters. •
November 14 – The
United States Supreme Court announces it will make its ruling on the constitutionality of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act sometime in 2012. • November 18 – Mojang Studios officially releases Minecraft to the general public. •
November 21 – The
US national debt tops the United States's
GDP for the first time since the late 1940s. •
November 26 –
NASA's
Mars Science Laboratory launches with the Curiosity rover. The scheduled landing date is August 6, 2012. •
November 29 –
AMR Corporation, the parent company of
American Airlines announces a sudden bankruptcy. The company's stock plunges 84% on the news.
December :
U.S. President Obama's family at the
Oval Office in the
White House, before the
Christmas Day. •
December 2 – The U.S. unemployment rate falls to 8.6% – the lowest since early 2009. •
December 7 – Former
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years in prison for
corruption and trying to sell
Barack Obama's former Senate seat. •
December 9 • Republican party nomination hopeful
Newt Gingrich fuels controversy by referring to
Palestinians as an "invented people". • Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of the suspects in the
Cheshire, Connecticut home invasion murders, is sentenced to
death by
lethal injection. •
SnoBar Cocktails launches a line of alcohol infused ice cream and ice-pops. •
December 10 –
Robert Griffin III, the
quarterback with the
Baylor Bears college football team, wins the
Heisman Trophy. •
December 13 –
Iran rejects a U.S. request to return an
RQ-170 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that was recently captured by Iranian forces. Iranian officials claimed they used a
cyber attack to capture the aircraft and that they are extracting data from it. •
December 15 –
Impractical Jokers debuts its first episode on
TruTV. •
December 18 – The last American troops are withdrawn from Iraq, ending the
Iraq War. •
December 31–
January 2 – A
string of 52 arson fires are set in the Los Angeles area, causing up to $2 million in damage. A foreign national named Harry Burkhart, reportedly angry at Americans, is arrested for the crimes.
Ongoing •
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) •
Iraq War (2003–2011) •
2010–2012 Southern United States drought == Births ==