January •
January 1 •
Recreational marijuana becomes legal in
Illinois. • Several new regulations take effect in the United States, including new regulations on retirement funds, new minimum wage rules, and new overtime rules. •
Public Domain Day: All books and films published in 1924 enter the
public domain in the United States. •
January 3 – 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis: President
Donald Trump approves the
targeted killing of
Iranian general
Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in
Baghdad, Iraq. •
January 5 – The
77th Golden Globe Awards are held in
Beverly Hills, California. •
January 6 – Former film producer
Harvey Weinstein is charged with four additional counts of rape and sexual battery in a
Los Angeles court. •
January 8 • The
American Cancer Society reports a 2.2% drop in the
cancer death rate between 2016 and 2017, the largest single-year decline in mortality for this disease ever recorded in the U.S. •
January 10 • For the first time since the
Great Recession, women outnumber men in the American workforce, with women holding 50.04% of all jobs. •
January 14 • The seventh
Democratic presidential debate is held in
Des Moines, Iowa, with six candidates participating. • The
Women's National Basketball Association and its players' union reach an eight-year agreement allowing top players to earn $500,000 with an average salary of $130,000. It also provides fully paid
maternity leave. • En route to
Shanghai,
Delta Air Lines Flight 89 dumps fuel on a school playground near
Los Angeles International Airport. 60 people, including 17 children, are treated for skin irritation. •
January 15 – President Donald Trump and China's Vice Premier
Liu He sign the
U.S.–China Phase One trade deal in
Washington, D.C. •
January 16 – The
impeachment trial of President Donald Trump begins in the
U.S. Senate. •
January 20 – 22,000 people attend a
gun rights rally at the
Virginia State Capitol in
Richmond to protest proposed gun laws. •
January 21 –
COVID-19 pandemic: The first case of
COVID-19 in the United States is confirmed by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). •
January 22 – The
Oakland Raiders officially relocate to
Las Vegas,
Nevada. •
January 24 – Donald Trump becomes the first sitting president to personally attend the annual
March for Life anti-abortion protest in Washington, D.C. •
January 26 • A
helicopter crash in
Calabasas, California, kills nine people, including basketball star
Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter
Gianna Bryant. • The
62nd Annual Grammy Awards are held in
Los Angeles, California, hosted by
Alicia Keys. •
January 28 •
Fotis Dulos attempts suicide at his home in Connecticut and is airlifted to a Bronx hospital where he dies 2 days later. •
January 29 •
COVID-19 pandemic: President Donald Trump establishes the
White House Coronavirus Task Force. • President Trump signs the
United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). •
January 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The CDC confirms the first case of human-to-human transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the U.S. •
January 31 • COVID-19 pandemic: President Donald Trump imposes travel restrictions preventing foreign nationals from entering the U.S. if they visited China within the previous two weeks. • The U.S. Senate votes 51–49 against calling witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial. •
Travel ban restricting certain visas, particularly immigration, is expanded to include six new countries:
Eritrea,
Kyrgyzstan,
Myanmar,
Nigeria,
Sudan, and
Tanzania. Tourist visas are still allowed. • President Trump signs an executive order creating a new White House position dedicated to addressing
Human trafficking in the United States at a White House summit on the issue.
February •
February 2 –
Super Bowl LIV: The
Kansas City Chiefs defeat the
San Francisco 49ers, 31–20.
Jennifer Lopez and
Shakira co-headline the
halftime show. •
February 3 – The 2020
Iowa Democratic and
Republican caucuses take place. The Democratic caucus results are delayed due to problems with a
vote-counting app. •
February 4 – President Donald Trump delivers his
third State of the Union address. Among the guests are Venezuelan opposition leader
Juan Guaidó and conservative radio host
Rush Limbaugh, who is awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. •
February 5 – The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump concludes with the Senate voting 52–48 to
acquit on the
first article of impeachment and 53–47 on
the second charge.
Utah Senator
Mitt Romney becomes the first ever senator to vote to remove a president of their own political party. •
February 6 – The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives permission for
Nuro Inc. to deploy up to 5,000 driverless delivery vehicles across the country. It is the first time the NHTSA allows deployment of
automated driving systems without meeting all national auto safety standards. •
February 9 – The
92nd Academy Awards, the second in a row with no official host, are held at
Dolby Theatre in
Hollywood.
Bong Joon-ho's
Parasite becomes the first
South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, winning four awards as well as becoming the first non-English-language film to win
Best Picture; Joon-ho also wins
Best Director.
Todd Phillips'
Joker leads the nominations with 11, with
Joaquin Phoenix winning
Best Actor.
Renée Zellweger wins
Best Actress for
Judy,
Brad Pitt Best Supporting Actor for
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and
Laura Dern Best Supporting Actress for
Marriage Story. The telecast garners over 23.6 million viewers, a 20% decrease from the previous year, at that point the lowest viewership for the ceremony since
Nielsen began compiling figures. •
February 10 – Former Congressman
J. C. Watts launches the first all-news channel aimed at African Americans, the
Black News Channel. •
February 11 – The
2020 New Hampshire primaries are held. •
February 17 • COVID-19 pandemic: More than 300 Americans are evacuated from the
quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, including 14 who have tested positive for the
COVID-19 coronavirus. • The national
Boy Scouts of America files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, however independently funded local councils are not effected. •
Pier 1 Imports files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to do so in
Canada as well. •
February 19 – The
Utah Senate votes to decriminalize
polygamy. •
February 20 –
Political consultant Roger Stone is sentenced to 40 months in prison after being found guilty of witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements. •
February 21 •
Wells Fargo agrees to pay a $3 billion fine as a result of the
2016 fake account scandal. •
February 22 – The
2020 Nevada Democratic presidential caucuses are held. The
Republican caucuses are cancelled with President Trump winning all delegates by default. •
February 24 – Former film producer
Harvey Weinstein is found guilty of
rape. •
February 25 • Amazon opens its first
cashierless grocery store, located in
Seattle. •
February 27 • COVID-19 pandemic: Growing fear of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic causes the
Dow Jones Industrial Average to plunge by 1,190.95 points (4.4%), closing at 25,766.64—its largest one-day points decline in history. This follows several days of large falls, the Dow's worst week since 2008. • Marine commandant General
David H. Berger orders the removal of
Confederate symbols from
Marine Corps bases around the world. •
February 29 • The
Trump administration and the
Taliban sign a
conditional peace agreement in
Doha,
Qatar as part of a process to end the
war in Afghanistan. • COVID-19 pandemic: The
first death from COVID-19 in the U.S. is reported by officials in
Washington state, as the total number of cases nationwide reaches 66. • The
2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary is held; billionaire candidate
Tom Steyer suspends his presidential campaign.
March •
March 1 – Former
South Bend, Indiana mayor
Pete Buttigieg suspends his
presidential campaign. •
March 2 • A
tornado outbreak strikes four counties around
Nashville, Tennessee, killing 26 people. • Senator
Amy Klobuchar suspends her
presidential campaign. •
MSNBC commentator
Chris Matthews announces his retirement. •
March 3 –
Super Tuesday 2020 takes place. • March
3–10 – The
2020 Democrats Abroad presidential primary takes place. •
March 4 •
COVID-19 pandemic: California governor
Gavin Newsom declares a state of emergency. • Former
New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg suspends his
presidential campaign. •
March 5 • COVID-19 pandemic: The Senate approves an
$8.3 billion federal emergency aid package in response to the
COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. President Trump signs the bill into law the next day. • The
Arizona House of Representatives passes a bill banning transgender females from sports. • Senator
Elizabeth Warren suspends her
presidential campaign. •
March 6 • COVID-19 pandemic: •
Florida reports two deaths from COVID-19, the first confirmed U.S. fatalities outside of the
west coast. • The annual
South by Southwest (SXSW) festival is
canceled due to COVID-19 fears, the first time the event has been canceled in its 34-year history. •
March 9 •
Black Monday 2020: Share prices fall sharply in response to economic concerns and the impact of COVID-19. The Dow Jones industrial average plunges more than 2,000 points, its biggest ever fall in intraday trading.
Oil prices plunge by as much as 30% in early trading, the biggest fall since 1991, after Saudi Arabia launches a
price war with Russia. •
March 11 • COVID-19 pandemic: • President Trump announces a 30-day ban on incoming travel from
Europe, except the
United Kingdom, effective on March 13. The travel ban is extended to the UK and
Ireland on March 16. • The
National Basketball Association suspends its season after
Utah Jazz center
Rudy Gobert tests positive for the virus, becoming the first major professional sports league to do so. • The Justice Department and the
Drug Enforcement Administration announce the arrest of more than 600 alleged members of the
Jalisco New Generation Cartel. • Former film producer
Harvey Weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. •
Black Thursday 2020: Following a series of recent major falls, the Dow Jones plunges yet again, this time by over 9.5%. • Federal judge
Anthony Trenga orders
whistleblower Chelsea Manning be released from prison, but must pay accrued fines of $256,000. •
March 13 • COVID-19 pandemic: • President Trump declares a
national emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, freeing up $50 billion in disaster relief funds. • The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants emergency authorization for a coronavirus test by Swiss diagnostics maker
Roche. •
Bill Gates steps down from the board of
Microsoft to focus on philanthropic activities. •
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old
emergency medical technician, is
shot eight times by
Louisville police during a
no-knock warrant as part of a
narcotics investigation. •
March 15 – COVID-19 pandemic: The
Federal Reserve announces that it will cut its target interest rate to 0-0.25 percent. •
March 16 • COVID-19 pandemic: • Most schools nationwide are
closed by this date. • The Dow Jones
falls by 2,997.10, the single
largest point drop in history and the second largest percentage drop ever at −12.93%, a larger crash than the
Wall Street Crash of 1929. • The first Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating a potential
COVID-19 vaccine begins at
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in
Seattle. • The
2020 Kentucky Derby is postponed until September 5, the first postponement since 1945. •
March 17 • COVID-19 pandemic:
West Virginia becomes the
50th state to have a confirmed a case of COVID-19. •
March 18 • COVID-19 pandemic: • President Trump signs the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law and announces he will invoke the
Defense Production Act to improve U.S. medical resources and that he directed the
Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) to suspend evictions and foreclosures of federal housing until the end of April. He also announces the temporary closure of the
Canada–United States border; cross-border trade will continue. • The Dow Jones
closes down 6 percent, falling below 20,000 points. • A 5.9
earthquake hits
Salt Lake City, Utah. • Representative
Tulsi Gabbard suspends her
presidential campaign. •
March 19 – COVID-19 pandemic: The
Department of Labor reports that 281,000 Americans filed for
unemployment in the last week, a 33 percent increase over the prior week and the biggest percentage increase since
1992. •
March 20 – COVID-19 pandemic: New York governor Cuomo orders staff at all "non-essential" businesses to remain at home. •
March 21 – COVID-19 pandemic: Biotech company
Cepheid Inc reports that it has been granted
FDA approval for a new rapid diagnostic test, able to detect COVID-19 in 45 minutes. •
March 22 • COVID-19 pandemic: • President Trump says the
National Guard has been activated in California, Washington, and
New York, thus far the states most impacted by the outbreak. The
Washington National Guard clarifies that it was yet to be "activated", only put on stand-by. • The
USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) hospital ship is announced to be deployed to New York. The
USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) is to be deployed to Los Angeles. •
Rand Paul (R-KY) is the first senator to test positive for
COVID-19. •
March 23 – Colorado becomes the 22nd state to abolish the
death penalty. •
March 24 • COVID-19 pandemic: • The Dow Jones jumps by over 2,100 points, or 11.3 percent—its biggest one-day percentage gain since
1933. • The U.S.
box office records zero revenue
for the first time ever. •
Nevada governor
Steve Sisolak bans the use of anti-
malaria drugs for COVID-19 treatment, notably
chloroquine and
hydroxychloroquine. • FBI agents kill a man in
Belton, Missouri suspected of
plotting a bombing attack at a
Kansas City hospital believed to be treating COVID-19 patients. • A
Gallup poll places President Trump's approval rating at 49 percent, his highest thus far. A separate
Hill-
HarrisX poll places him at 50 percent, his highest since August
2018. •
March 25 • COVID-19 pandemic: • Nationwide COVID-19 deaths surpass 1,000 as the total number of cases reach almost 69,000. • The White House and the Senate agree to a
$2 trillion stimulus package—the largest in U.S. history—to
boost the economy amid the ongoing pandemic. The Senate subsequently approves the negotiated bill (the CARES Act) in a 96–0 vote. Trump signs the bill into law on March 27 after a House
voice vote. •
The Pentagon orders a 60-day halt on all overseas troop travel and movement as 227 U.S. troops have thus far tested positive for COVID-19. The withdrawal from Afghanistan will continue. •
March 26 • COVID-19 pandemic: • Nationwide COVID-19 infections exceed 82,000—surpassing infections in China and
Italy—as the U.S. now has more cases reported than any other country to date. • The Department of Labor reports that 3.28 million Americans filed for
unemployment benefits in the last week, the largest increase in U.S. history. It supersedes the all-time high of 695,000 in October
1982. • The Trump administration indicts Venezuelan president
Nicolás Maduro's government of
drug trafficking and
narcoterrorism and offers a $15 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest. • The
Space Force launches its first satellite, a $1.4 billion
Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-6) military communications satellite. •
March 27 – President Trump signs the
CARES Act in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. •
March 31 • COVID-19 pandemic: • Three-quarters of the U.S. population are under lockdown restrictions as
Maryland,
Virginia,
Arizona and
Tennessee become the latest states to restrict movement. • U.S. dairy producers dump thousands of gallons of milk due to economic restrictions in response to the coronavirus outbreak. • The
Federal Communications Commission mandates cell phone providers implement
STIR/SHAKEN by June 30, 2021, for large carriers and June 30, 2022, for small carriers to prevent
robocalls maliciously using
caller ID spoofing to avoid being traced. • A 6.5
earthquake strikes
Central Idaho.
April •
April 1 • The Trump administration deploys anti-drug Navy ships and
AWACS planes near
Venezuela in reportedly the largest military build-up in the region since the
1989 invasion of Panama. •
April 3 – COVID-19 pandemic: The CDC recommends all citizens consider wearing cloth or fabric face coverings in public. •
April 6 • COVID-19 pandemic: Nationwide COVID-19 deaths surpass 10,000, with more than 19,800 recoveries. • President Trump signs an executive order encouraging future long-term commercial exploitation of various celestial bodies and mining of
lunar resources. •
April 8 • Senator
Bernie Sanders suspends his
presidential campaign, leaving
Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee. • COVID-19 pandemic: • Over 100 inmates at
Monroe Correctional Complex in
Monroe, Washington riot after six inmates test positive for COVID-19. •
The Broadway League extends the Broadway theatre shutdown through June 7, which would lead to the longest shutdown in Broadway history. •
April 11 • COVID-19 pandemic: • Farmers are forced to dump nearly four million gallons of milk per day and 750,000 eggs per week due to economic restrictions in response to the coronavirus outbreak. • The U.S. becomes the country with the highest number of reported COVID-19 deaths: over 20,000, overtaking
Italy. • For the first time in U.S. history, all 50 states have simultaneous federal major
disaster declarations after
Wyoming receives the final declaration.
Washington, D.C., the
U.S. Virgin Islands, the
Northern Mariana Islands,
Guam and
Puerto Rico also have major disaster declarations by this time. •
April 12 – At least 30 people are killed and 1.3 million left without electricity after an
Easter tornado outbreak across the South. •
April 14 – COVID-19 pandemic: President Trump announces that he will suspend U.S. funding of the
World Health Organization (WHO) pending an investigation into its early response to the outbreak. •
April 15 • COVID-19 pandemic: •
Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer faces two federal lawsuits accusing her of violating constitutional rights during the
state's restrictions. Thousands of people attend a
protest in Lansing as
anti-lockdown sentiment spreads. • New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo signs an executive order requiring everyone in the state to wear a mask or a mouth/nose covering in public when not
social distancing. •
April 16 • COVID-19 pandemic: • Nearly 22 million Americans have filed for
unemployment within a single month due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the worst unemployment crisis since the
Great Depression. • The Trump administration releases federal guidelines outlining a three-phased, gradual reopening of schools, commerce, and services for parts of the country. •
April 17 – COVID-19 pandemic:
Texas is the first state to begin easing coronavirus-related restrictions. Florida's
Duval County is the first in the state to ease restrictions, with
Jacksonville,
Atlantic, and
Neptune being the first beaches in the state to reopen, on a limited basis. •
April 21 • COVID-19 pandemic: The state of
Missouri challenges China's
sovereign immunity in
U.S. district court by suing three Chinese government ministries, two local governments, two laboratories and the
Chinese Communist Party over its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. •
April 22 – COVID-19 pandemic: President Trump signs an immigration executive order halting the issuance of certain
green cards for 60 days. •
April 24 • COVID-19 pandemic: President Trump signs a $483 billion bill to rescue small businesses. •
April 27 • COVID-19 pandemic: Nationwide confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 1 million. •
The Pentagon officially releases
three short videos showing "
unidentified aerial phenomena". •
April 29 – The
Department of Commerce reports that the U.S. economy shrank by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2020, its most severe contraction since
2008. •
April 30 • COVID-19 pandemic: Armed protesters enter
Michigan's State Capitol building to demand an end to lockdown measures. •
NASA selects three U.S. companies—
Blue Origin,
Dynetics, and
SpaceX—to design and develop human landing systems for the agency's
Artemis program, one of which is planned to deliver the
first woman and next man on the Moon by
2024.
May •
May 1 – COVID-19 pandemic: The FDA authorizes emergency
remdesivir use to treat the sickest COVID-19 patients. •
May 2 –
2020 Kansas Democratic primary: •
May 3 – The United States faces an invasion of
Asian giant hornets, likely brought by international shipping, which threatens domestic bees. •
May 7 – The Department of Justice drops charges against former National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn in the
Mueller investigation. •
May 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: The national
unemployment level reaches 14.7%, with more than 33 million jobless claims having been filed since mid-March. •
May 11 – Nearly 2,000 former
Justice Department officials sign a letter calling for
Attorney General William Barr to resign over what they describe as his improper intervention in the Flynn case. •
May 12 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Broadway League extends its shutdown of Broadway theatres for a second time, projecting reopening on September 6. •
May 15 • COVID-19 pandemic: The Trump administration formally announces
Operation Warp Speed, a
public–private partnership for accelerating the development of a
COVID-19 vaccine. • A 6.4 earthquake strikes
Nevada. •
May 16 •
Tropical Storm Arthur is the first storm of the
2020 Atlantic hurricane season. •
May 18 – The FBI confirms that the 2019
Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting was the first terrorist attack on U.S. territory that had been directed by a foreign actor since
9/11. •
May 19 • COVID-19 pandemic: The
Congressional Budget Office reports a 38% fall in GDP on an annualized basis in the second quarter of 2020, with 26 million more unemployed Americans than in Q4 2019. •
May 25 –
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murders George Floyd, 46, by kneeling on his neck, as three other officers watch. •
May 26 begin. •
George Floyd: • Video of the incident goes viral and the four officers are fired. • For the first time,
Twitter labels a tweet by President Trump "misleading" and includes a "fact check" link. •
May 27 • COVID-19 pandemic: The official nationwide death toll surpasses 100,000. • George Floyd protests:
Protests in Minneapolis turn violent as activists call for murder charges against the police officers involved in George Floyd's murder. • President Trump threatens to shut down Twitter and other social media platforms, accusing them of bias against
conservatives. •
May 28 • George Floyd protests: A state of emergency is declared in the Twin Cities, with hundreds of
National Guard soldiers deployed on the streets as protests
spread nationwide. • President Trump signs an executive order rolling back liability protections for social media companies over user-generated content. •
May 29 • George Floyd protests: • Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. An independent autopsy concludes on June 1 that Floyd's cause of death was "homicide caused by
asphyxia", with
arteriosclerotic and
hypertensive heart disease, as well as the presence of
fentanyl and
methamphetamine also noted. Minnesota Attorney General
Keith Ellison later increases the charge against Derek Chauvin to
second degree on June 3; charges against the three other officers who were present are also filed. •
May 30 • The
first crewed flight of the
SpaceX Dragon 2 is launched from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida, the first crewed spacecraft to launch from U.S. soil since
2011. • George Floyd protests: Curfews are declared in Los Angeles,
Philadelphia and
Atlanta as riots and protests continue nationwide. The weeks' rioting is termed the worst instance of civil unrest in the United States since the 1968
King assassination riots. •
May 31 – In response to the
wave of civil unrest across the country, President Trump says he will designate the far-left activist group
Antifa a terrorist organization.
June •
June 1 – Trump threatens to deploy the military to quell the George Floyd riots and conducts a
photo-op with a bible at
St. John's Episcopal Church. •
June 2 –
Blackout Tuesday, an industry-driven collective protest against
racism and
police brutality inspired by the George Floyd protests, is observed. •
June 8 • Rioters and protestors declare an
autonomous zone amid unrest in Seattle's
Capitol Hill. •
June 9 –
Air Force General
Charles Brown becomes the first African American to lead a branch of
U.S. Armed Forces and the first African American
Air Force Chief of Staff. •
June 11 – The Trump administration authorizes
sanctions and additional visa restrictions against the
International Criminal Court in retaliation for their
investigation into potential war crimes by U.S. officials. •
June 12 • The
Minneapolis City Council votes unanimously to disband the
Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a "community" safety department, however it is prevented from doing so by the
city charter. • Protests breakout in
Atlanta following the
killing of Rayshard Brooks by a police officer in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. •
June 13 –
Atlanta Chief of Police Erika Shields resigns and protesters burn down the fast food restaurant where the incident took place. •
June 15 • The
Supreme Court rules that
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, also covers
sexual orientation. • COVID-19 pandemic: The FDA withdraws emergency use authorization for
hydroxychloroquine to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients, citing unnecessary risk. •
June 18 – The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdraws the introduction of federal limits for
perchlorate, which has been linked to brain damage in infants. •
June 20 – President Trump holds his first
2020 campaign rally in months at the
Bank of Oklahoma Center in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. •
June 26 • President Trump signs an executive order against the destruction or vandalism of public monuments, memorials, or statues. •
June 29 – COVID-19 pandemic: Arizona Governor
Doug Ducey orders all bars, nightclubs, gyms, movie theaters and water parks to close for 30 days, due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. •
June 30 – Following a vote by the
state legislature, Mississippi governor
Tate Reeves signs a bill retiring the official
Mississippi state flag, the last state flag incorporating the
Confederate Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia into its design. A commission is established to design a new state flag.
July •
July 1 – The
House Armed Services Committee votes for a
National Defense Authorization Act amendment to restrict President Trump's ongoing troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and prospective withdrawal from Germany. •
July 2 • The
FBI arrests British socialite
Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of late convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein, in
New Hampshire. •
July 4 • Rapper
Kanye West announces his
candidacy in the
2020 presidential election. • The
2020 Salute to America Independence Day event is held in Washington, D.C. •
July 8 • The Supreme Court rules that President Trump must release his financial records for examination by prosecutors in New York. •
July 10 – President Trump commutes the 40-month sentence of political consultant
Roger Stone. •
July 11 – COVID-19 pandemic: President Trump is seen publicly wearing a
face mask for the first time while visiting wounded soldiers and health care workers at
Walter Reed Military Hospital. •
July 14 • White supremacist and murderer
Daniel Lewis Lee is executed by lethal injection in
Terre Haute, Indiana, becoming the first
federal execution since 2003. • COVID-19 pandemic: Pharmaceutical company
Moderna announces that its
vaccine will begin the final phase of testing, with approximately 30,000 human volunteers. •
July 15 • The
Twitter accounts of prominent political figures, CEOs, and celebrities are
hacked to promote a
bitcoin scam. • COVID-19 pandemic: Georgia Governor
Brian Kemp ends all of the state's local face mask mandates. •
July 17 – Secretary of Defense
Mark Esper issues a memorandum to the military on the appropriate display of flags, which excludes the
Confederate flag, effectively banning it. •
July 21 – Ohio House Speaker
Larry Householder (R) is arrested by federal agents in connection with a $60 million bribery case. Former Ohio GOP Chairman
Matt Borges is also arrested, along with a GOP advisor and two lobbyists. •
July 22 – George Floyd protests: President Trump announces a "
surge" of federal officers to cities, following an earlier crackdown on protests in Oregon. •
July 23 – The Trump administration announces that it is revoking the
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision of the 1968
Fair Housing Act. •
July 25 –
Hurricane Hanna makes two landfalls in
South Texas, one in
Padre Island and another in
Kenedy County, killing 5 people. •
July 29 – George Floyd protests: Oregon Governor
Kate Brown and Vice President
Mike Pence agree to a phased withdrawal of
deployed federal law enforcement from Portland. •
July 30 • Federal economic figures show a 32.9% annualized rate of GDP contraction between April and June, the sharpest decline since records began in
1945. • President Trump suggests delaying the
2020 presidential election, saying increased
voting by mail could lead to fraud and inaccurate results.
August •
August 2 –
Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first U.S.-crewed
splashdown since
1975, lands in the
Gulf of Mexico. •
August 3 •
Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in North Carolina. • Thousands of Los Angeles residents are evacuated due to the
Apple Fire. •
August 4 – The
Great American Outdoors Act is passed, improving conservation and maintenance of national parks. •
August 5 –
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar travels to
Taiwan, the highest
U.S. official visit to the country in 40 years. •
August 6 •
New York Attorney General Letitia James announces a lawsuit aimed at dissolving the
National Rifle Association of America over alleged financial mismanagement. • President Trump signs an executive order banning any U.S. companies or citizens from making transactions with
ByteDance, the parent company of
TikTok, in 45 days. He takes similar action against
Tencent. • Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg reaches a net worth exceeding $100 billion, becoming the third
centibillionaire, alongside Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. •
August 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally begins despite concerns by health officials. •
August 9 – President Trump is
escorted from a news briefing by the
Secret Service following a shooting near the
White House. • August 11 – Democratic presidential candidate
Joe Biden names Senator
Kamala Harris as his vice presidential nominee, the first
African-American and
South Asian American woman to serve in the role. •
August 13 • The
2020 Postal Service crisis begins after plans are revealed to remove hundreds of high-volume
mail sorting machines from postal facilities across the country. •
The Pentagon reportedly begins establishing a new task force to investigate
UFO sightings, particularly over military bases, similar to the U.S. Navy's
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. •
August 16 – During a record-breaking heat wave, a remnant thunderstorm from
Tropical Storm Fausto spawns
hundreds of wildfires in
California. •
August 17 – The
Democratic National Convention is begins in
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, with events happening virtually. Delegates of the
Democratic Party formally choose former Vice President
Joe Biden and Senator
Kamala Harris of California as the party's respective nominees for president and vice president for the
2020 election. •
August 19 –
Apple Inc. becomes the first U.S. company to be valued at over $2 trillion. •
August 20 • Former White House advisor
Steve Bannon is arrested and charged with fraud over a fundraising campaign to build a
wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. He is released on a $5 million bail bond after pleading not guilty. •
August 23 •
Violent protests break out in
Kenosha, Wisconsin following the
shooting of Jacob Blake, by a police officer. • COVID-19 pandemic: The FDA grants emergency use authorization to antibody-rich
blood plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. •
August 24 – The
Republican National Convention begins in
Charlotte,
North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Delegates of the
Republican Party formally nominate incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as the party's nominees for the
2020 election. •
August 26 –
Riots break out in downtown Minneapolis following false rumors about the suicide of an African-American man being pursued by police. •
August 26 • Kenosha protests: • Two people are
fatally shot overnight during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin; a suspect is arrested. •
Professional athletes begin boycotting their respective sports contests in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake. • Amazon CEO
Jeff Bezos becomes the first person in history to have a net worth exceeding $200 billion, according to
Forbes. •
August 28 – Thousands of people gather at the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. for the
Commitment March in support of
black civil rights.
September •
September 2 – Protests breakout in
Rochester, New York following the release of
police body camera footage of the
fatal March 2020 arrest of Daniel Prude. •
September 4 – A Trump administration memo calls on all
executive branch agencies to cease funding for
diversity and
sensitivity training and teachings of
critical race theory. •
September 5 –
Authentic wins the
2020 Kentucky Derby. •
September 6 – California sets a new record for land area destroyed by
wildfires, with 2.1 million acres burned in the year thus far. •
September 9 – President Donald Trump is nominated for the 2021
Nobel Peace Prize by a
Norwegian lawmaker for his role in facilitating the
Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement. •
September 10 – Over 10 percent of
Oregon's state population are reported to be fleeing
wildfires. •
September 12 – Two
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies are
shot and critically injured while sitting in their patrol car in
Compton, California. •
September 16 –
Hurricane Sally brings massive flooding to
the South after making landfall, killing eight people and costing billions in damage. •
September 18 –
Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies, creating a vacancy in the court, which President Trump says he will fill with a woman. •
September 19 – Law enforcement officials report the interception of a package, addressed to President Trump, containing the lethal toxin
ricin. •
September 21 –
Microsoft agrees to buy
ZeniMax Media holding company and its subsidiaries for $7.5 billion, the largest and most expensive takeover in the history of the
video game industry. •
September 25 – President Trump unveils his "
Platinum Plan" at a campaign rally in
Atlanta, in which he proposes making
Juneteenth a federal holiday, labeling the
Ku Klux Klan and
Antifa as terrorist organizations, and making
lynching a national hate crime, among other socioeconomic initiatives aimed at African Americans. •
September 26 – President Trump
nominates Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. •
September 27 – A
New York Times report on President Trump's personal and business
tax returns alleges years of tax avoidance and millions in debt and
IRS penalties, among other allegations. •
September 28 – The
Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the
Dallas Stars 4–2 to win their second
Stanley Cup championship. •
September 29 – The first
2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President
Joe Biden takes place in
Cleveland,
Ohio.
October •
October 1 •
COVID-19 pandemic: President Donald Trump and First Lady
Melania Trump, along with several White House staffers and multiple members of Congress test positive for coronavirus during the
White House COVID-19 outbreak. • The Trump administration announces plans to slash U.S. refugee admissions for 2021 to a record low–15,000 refugees, down from a cap of 18,000 for 2020. •
October 2 – President Trump is hospitalized at
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. •
October 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: President Trump returns to the White House after three days of hospitalization. •
October 7 •
Ruby Tuesday files for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing 185 restaurants.
Pizza Hut files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after closing 163 restaurants. • The
2020 vice presidential debate takes place in
Salt Lake City. •
October 8 – The FBI charges 13
militiamen with
plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home. A fourteenth suspect is arrested on October 15. •
October 9 •
Hurricane Delta makes landfall near
Creole, Louisiana, the tenth landfalling storm in the
2020 season, a record breaking amount. • COVID-19 pandemic: The Broadway League extends its shutdown of Broadway theaters for a third time, until May 30, 2021. •
October 11 – The
Los Angeles Lakers defeat the
Miami Heat in the
2020 NBA Finals to win their 17th championship in franchise history. •
October 12 •
Facebook bans content relating to
Holocaust denial. • Activists in
Portland, Oregon, topple statues of former presidents
Theodore Roosevelt and
Abraham Lincoln in
protest of the
execution of 38 Dakota people in 1862 and Roosevelt's views on
Native Americans. •
October 15 –
President Trump and
Joe Biden participate in dueling town halls. Biden's is hosted by
ABC's
George Stephanopoulos and Trump's is hosted by
NBC's
Savannah Guthrie. •
October 22 – The
second 2020 presidential debate takes place in
Nashville,
Tennessee. •
October 26 • The Senate confirms
Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court justice with a
party line vote of 52–48. • The Supreme Court rules 5-3 that
Wisconsin cannot count mail-in ballots received after election day. •
Walter Wallace Jr. is shot and killed by two
Philadelphia police officers, resulting in subsequent protests and riots. •
October 27 – The
Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the
Tampa Bay Rays to win the
2020 World Series, their first in 32 years. •
October 28 – President Trump declares a state of emergency for
Louisiana ahead of
Hurricane Zeta's landfall. •
October 30 – Trump supporters are reported to have
surrounded the Biden campaign bus in Texas. •
October 31 – COVID-19 pandemic: New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo announces all out-of-state visitors must test negative for COVID-19 three days before arrival.
November is elected the 46th
president of the United States •
November 3 •
2020 United States elections: • The
2020 United States presidential election takes place. Shortly after midnight, President Trump asserts that he has won the election and demands all vote counting to stop, alleging potential
electoral fraud. •
Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of
narcotics, including
heroin,
cocaine and
LSD. • Voters in
Arizona,
Montana,
New Jersey, and
South Dakota vote to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters in
Mississippi and South Dakota vote to legalize medical marijuana. • Mississippi approves a
new state flag to replace the previous design that featured a
Confederate battle flag, while voters in
Rhode Island approve the removal of "...and Providence Plantations" from the state's official name. •
November 4 – The United States formally
withdraws from the
Paris Agreement. •
November 5 • Former White House advisor
Steve Bannon is permanently banned from
Twitter after suggesting FBI Director
Christopher Wray and
NIAID Director Dr.
Anthony Fauci be
beheaded during a live broadcast. • 2020 presidential election:
Facebook bans a 300,000-member
Stop the Steal group page being used by supporters of President Trump to organize
protests against the election results. •
November 7 • 2020 presidential election: •
Joe Biden is projected to have won the presidential election, following several days of uncertainty due to
postal vote counting. It is the first time since
1992 that an incumbent president's challenger has won the election over the incumbent president, when
Bill Clinton defeated
George H. W. Bush. •
Kamala Harris is the first woman and second
person of color to be elected
Vice President of the United States. Her husband,
Doug Emhoff, is to become the first
Second Gentleman and the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president. •
Rudy Giuliani, attorney for then-president Donald Trump, hosts a press conference at
Four Seasons Total Landscaping. The event was considered a symbolic end to Trump's first presidency, according to several news outlets. •
November 9 • 2020 presidential election: President Trump's
re-election campaign files multiple
lawsuits in several states alleging widespread
electoral fraud. • Defense Secretary
Mark Esper is dismissed from his position in a tweet by President Trump. •
November 10 – President Trump promotes a number of reported loyalists to various roles in the Defense Department. • The FBI arrests convicted murderer
Leonard Rayne Moses, who escaped from custody in 1971 and had been on the
Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. •
November 13 • 2020 presidential election: President-elect Joe Biden is projected to win
Arizona, the first Democrat to do so since
Bill Clinton in
1996. Biden also becomes the first Democrat to win
Georgia since Clinton did so in
1992. • COVID-19 pandemic –
Oregon and
North Dakota issue new mask mandates and restrictions on businesses. •
November 14 – 2020 presidential election: Thousands of protesters march in Washington, D.C. in support of President Trump and his
claims of electoral voter fraud. •
November 15 – 2020 presidential election: President Trump concedes that Joe Biden won the presidential election, but alleges
vote rigging. •
November 16 –
SpaceX Crew-1, the first operational
SpaceX crew dragon mission, launches from the
Kennedy Space Center. •
November 17 • COVID-19 pandemic: •
Pennsylvania announces that out-of-state travelers will be required to either quarantine or present a negative
COVID-19 test result to enter the state. •
Ohio Governor
Mike DeWine orders a three-week night time curfew from 10:00 pm until 5:00 am
EST beginning November 19. • The FDA grants emergency use authorization to a home testing kit by Lucira Health, Inc. that provides COVID-19 results in 30 minutes. •
November 18 • COVID-19 pandemic: •
New York City Mayor
Bill de Blasio orders
public schools to conduct classes exclusively online. •
Minnesota Governor
Tim Walz imposes several new four-week restrictions on businesses and indoor gatherings beginning November 20. • The
Federal Aviation Administration allows the
Boeing 737 MAX to fly in the United States citing modifications following a 20-month ban. •
November 19 • One-third of the nine-member
Cincinnati City Council had been arrested on
bribery charges by this date. • 2020 presidential election: Joe Biden's win in Georgia is upheld and reaffirmed following a hand recount, making him the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. • COVID-19 pandemic:
California Governor
Gavin Newsom orders a 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
PST curfew for 41
counties beginning November 21, affecting more than 90 percent of the state population. •
November 21 • COVID-19 pandemic: The FDA grants emergency use authorization for
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' antibody cocktail to treat COVID-19 patients. •
November 22 – The United States withdraws from the
Treaty on Open Skies. •
November 23 • 2020 presidential election: • The
presidential transition of President-elect Joe Biden formally begins. • Joe Biden announces several people he will nominate to his
cabinet, including
Avril Haines as the first female
Director of National Intelligence,
Alejandro Mayorkas as the first Hispanic
Secretary of Homeland Security, and
Janet Yellen as the first female
Treasury Secretary. •
November 24 – The Dow Jones increases by 500 points to surpass 30,000 for the first time. •
November 28 •
Wilton Daniel Gregory becomes the first African American
cardinal. •
Mike Tyson returns to boxing in an
exhibition bout against
Roy Jones Jr.. •
November 29 • President-elect Biden nominates an all-female communications team, including
Kate Bedingfield as
Communications Director and
Jen Psaki as
Press Secretary. •
November 30 – Arizona
becomes the 12th state to
legalize recreational cannabis.
December •
December 1 – COVID-19 pandemic: Congress unveils a $908 billion
COVID-19 relief plan. •
December 2 – Former astronaut
Mark Kelly is sworn in as a U.S. Senator after a
special election in Arizona. •
December 3 • COVID-19 pandemic: President-elect Joe Biden announces that Dr.
Vivek Murthy and
Jeffrey Zients will lead
his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and asks Dr.
Anthony Fauci to become the
White House Coronavirus Task Force's chief medical advisor. • The Department of Justice files a lawsuit against
Facebook, accusing them of discriminating against American workers. • The circuit court of
Kenosha, Wisconsin orders 17-year old suspect
Kyle Rittenhouse in the fatal
Kenosha protest shooting to stand trial on two
first-degree homicide charges, as well as possession of a firearm by a minor, and two counts of reckless
endangerment. •
December 4 – The House of Representatives passes the
MORE Act to
decriminalize recreational cannabis at the federal level. •
December 6 • President-elect Biden nominates
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be the first Hispanic
Health and Human Services Secretary. •
December 7 • 2020 presidential election: Georgia re-certifies Joe Biden as the winner of the state following a second recount. • Joe Biden nominates retired Army General
Lloyd Austin to be the first African American
Secretary of Defense. • The
National Football League announces an investigation into the
Washington Football Team for allegations of workplace sexual harassment. • COVID-19 pandemic: • Michigan extends its statewide partial shutdown on businesses, indoor dining in restaurants, and in-person instruction at high schools and colleges through December 20. • Wyoming issues new restrictions, including a statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces from December 9 to January 8. •
December 9 •
Vice President Mike Pence announces the 18
Artemis astronauts at the eighth meeting of the
National Space Council. • COVID-19 pandemic:
Alabama Governor
Kay Ivey announces that the statewide mask mandate and stay-at-home order will be extended until January 22. •
December 11 • 2020 presidential election: The Supreme Court denies a
lawsuit to overturn Joe Biden's victory in four battleground states. • COVID-19 pandemic: The FDA grants emergency authorization of the
Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. •
December 12 • Four people are stabbed, one is shot, and 33 are arrested during
2020–2021 United States election protests in
Washington, D.C.. • The
MLS Cup 2020 hosted in
Columbus, Ohio,
Columbus Crew defeated
Seattle Sounders FC with the score 3–0 and win their second
MLS Cup championship. •
December 13 – The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine begins shipment to all 50 states. •
December 14 • COVID-19 pandemic: • The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are administered. • U.S. Representative
Paul Mitchell (R-Michigan) announces he is leaving the Republican Party and becoming an
independent. •
December 15 – President-elect Joe Biden nominates
Pete Buttigieg to be
Secretary of Transportation, becoming the first
openly gay person appointed to a cabinet-level position if confirmed. •
December 17 – Joe Biden nominates
Deb Haaland for Secretary of the Interior, becoming the first Native American appointed to a cabinet-level position if confirmed. •
December 18 •
Roy Charles Waller, also known as the NorCal Rapist, is sentenced to 897 years in prison for a series of rapes that spanned from 1991 to 2006. • COVID-19 pandemic: The FDA authorizes emergency use of the
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. •
December 21 • COVID-19 pandemic: Congress passes the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a packaged $2.3 trillion pandemic relief and omnibus spending bill. At 5,593 pages, it is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. After initial objections, President Trump signs the bill into law on December 27, averting a partial government shutdown. •
December 22 • President Trump begins issuing a new round of
pardons for dozens of associates, including
Roger Stone,
Paul Manafort, and
Charles Kushner. •
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is appointed to fill the remaining Senate term of
Kamala Harris, becoming the state's first Latino senator. • The local council of
Murdock, Minnesota gives permit approving for a whites-only church. The
Asatru Folk Assembly describes itself as a "warrior" religion of "white people" from northern Europe. • The
United States Department of Justice begins trial with
Walmart and other chain retail stores for illegally selling
opioids to its customers. •
December 25 – A
suicide car bomb explosion in downtown
Nashville, Tennessee leaves multiple people injured. •
December 29 • A statue of
Abraham Lincoln in Boston that featured a slave kneeling before the former president is removed. • The Department of Justice announces there will be no charges against the two
Cleveland, Ohio police officers accused of
killing Tamir Rice. •
December 31 • COVID-19 pandemic: A
Wisconsin pharmacist is arrested after destroying 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. ==Deaths==