1. JJAANNUUAARRYY
Jan.2:SevenNewOrleanspoliceofficerssurrendertoface
chargesofmurderorattemptedmurderrelatedto
shootingsonabridgeafterHurricaneKatrina.
Jan.2:OprahWinfreyopensaschoolfordisadvantaged
girlsinSouthAfrica.
Jan.4:NancyPelosiiselectedfirstfemalespeakerofthe
HouseasDemocratstakecontrolofCongress.
Jan.12:Twokidnappedboys,BenOwnbyandShawn
Hornbeck,arefoundaliveinthesamesuburbanSt.Louis
apartment—fourdaysafterBenvanishedand41
⁄2 years
afterShawndisappeared.
Jan.18:ActorIsaiahWashingtonapologizesforusinga
gaysluragainsta“Grey’sAnatomy”castmateontheset
andattheGoldenGlobesceremony.
Jan.23:InhisStateoftheUnionaddress,PresidentBush
imploresCongresstogivehisunpopularplantosendmore
U.S.troopstoIraq“achancetowork.”
FFEEBBRRUUAARRYY
Feb.2:Apanelofinternationalscientistssaysglobal
warmingis“verylikely”man-made.
Feb.5:NASAastronautLisaNowakisarrestedand
accusedoftryingtokidnapBeaverCountynativeColleen
Shipman,whomNowakconsideredarivalforthe
affectionsofaspaceshuttlepilot.
Feb.12:Ateenagegunmanshootsninepeople,killingfive,
atamallinSaltLakeCitybeforeheisshotandkilledby
police.
Feb.14:ConAgrarecallsallPeterPanandGreatValue
peanutbuttermadeataGeorgiaplantbecauseofa
salmonellaoutbreak.
Feb.24:TheVirginiaGeneralAssemblypassesaresolution
expressing“profoundregret”forthestate’sroleinslavery.
Feb.26:The“forever”stamp—goodformailingaletter
nomatterhowmuchpostalratesrise—isrecommended.
MMAARRCCHH
March1:AtornadoblowsdownwallsatEnterpriseHigh
SchoolinAlabama,killingeightteenagersasthestudents
huddledinthehallway.
March1:TheArmygeneralinchargeofWalterReedArmy
MedicalCenterisrelievedofcommandafterdisclosures
aboutdilapidatedbuildingsandinadequatetreatmentof
woundedsoldiers.
March6:VicePresidentDickCheney’sformerchiefof
staff,ScooterLibby,isconvictedoflyingandobstructing
theCIAleakinvestigation.
March13:AttorneyGeneralAlbertoGonzalesadmits
mistakesweremadeinhowtheJusticeDepartment
handledthedismissalofeightfederalprosecutorsbutsays
hewon’tresign.
March14:ThePentagonreleasesthetranscriptofa
militaryhearinginwhichKhalidSheikhMohammedsays
he“wasresponsibleforthe9/11operationfromAtoZ.”
March18:Dogandcatfoodssoldundermultiplebrand
namesarerecalledbecauseofpetillnessesanddeaths;
inspectorslatersayaningredientfromChinawastainted
withmelamine.
March22:JohnandElizabethEdwardssayhercancerhas
returnedinanincurableform,butheplanstocontinuehis
presidentialcampaign.
AAPPRRIILL
April4:RadiohostDonImusmakesoffensiveremarks
abouttheRutgersUniversitywomen’sbasketballteam,
apologizingtwodayslater.CBSRadiofireshim,butheis
hiredelsewherebytheendoftheyear.
April11:NorthCarolina’stopprosecutordropssexual
assaultchargesagainstthreeDukeUniversitylacrosse
playersandsaystheathleteswereinnocentvictimsofa
“tragicrushtoaccuse.”
April16:Asuicidalstudentkills32peopleontheVirginia
TechcampusinthedeadliestshootingrampageinU.S.
history.
April18:TheSupremeCourtrules5-4thatabanona
specificabortionmethodisconstitutional.
April26:Congressnarrowlyapproveslegislationthat
containsa12-monthtimetableforthewithdrawalofU.S.
combattroopsfromIraq,whichBushlatervetoes.
MMAAYY
May4:TornadodestroysmostofGreensburg,Kan.,killing
11people.
May8:Sixforeign-bornmenarechargedinwhat
authoritiessaywasaplottoattacktheFortDixArmybase
inNewJersey.
May25:Amaninfectedwithdrug-resistanttuberculosisis
quarantinedafterhereturnsfromhisEuropeanwedding
andhoneymoon.Healthofficialslateradvisepassengers
onthesameflightsasAndrewSpeakertobetestedfor
tuberculosiseventhoughtheirriskofinfectionislow.
JJUUNNEE
June1:TheFDAwarnsthattoothpastemadeinChinamay
containapoisonouschemicalusedinantifreeze.
June3:AfterattendingtheMTVMovieAwards,Paris
Hiltonreportstojailtoserve23daysforaprobation
violation.She’sreleasedthreedayslaterforanunspecified
medicalcondition.
June4:Rep.WilliamJefferson,D-Louisiana,ischargedina
briberyscheme.
June5:ScooterLibbyissentencedto21
⁄2 yearsforlying
andobstructingtheCIAleakinvestigation,butPresident
Bushlatercommutestheprisonsentence.
June6:BobBarkerfilmshislastepisodeof“ThePriceIs
Right”andretires.
June10:“TheSopranos”finalepisodecutstoblack,
leavingviewerstoeternallydebatewhetherTonySoprano
survived.
June14:AreputedKlansmanisconvictedofkidnapping
twoblackteenagerswhoweredeliberatelydrownedin
Mississippiin1964.
June16:DurhamDistrictAttorneyMikeNifongis
disbarredovertheDukelacrossecase
June16:SunitaWilliamsendsthelongestspaceflightby
anywoman,195days.
June18:Awarehousefirekillsninefirefightersin
Charleston,S.C.
June28:TheAmericanbaldeagleisremovedfromthe
endangeredspecieslist.
JJUULLYY
July15:LosAngeles’RomanCatholicarchdiocesesaysitis
settlingsex-abusecasesfor$660million.
July18:AnundergroundsteampipeexplodesonaNew
YorkCitystreet,swallowingatowtruckandkillingone
person.
July21:Thefederalminimumwagerises70centsto$5.85
anhour,thefirstincreaseinadecade.
July21:SenatorsquestionAlbertoGonzales’honesty
duringablisteringhearingwheretheattorneygeneral
repeatedlyapologizesbutrefusestoanswermany
questions.
AAUUGGUUSSTT
Aug.1:MinneapolisbridgecollapsesintotheMississippi
Riverduringeveningrushhour;13peoplearekilled.
Aug.6:CrandallCanyonMineincentralUtahcollapses,
trappingsixminers.
Aug.8:SpaceshuttleEndeavourlauncheswithteacher-
astronautBarbaraMorganonboard.
Aug.13:PresidentBush’spoliticalstrategistKarlRove
saysheisresigning.
Aug.16:JosePadillaisconvictedofsupportingterrorism
afterbeingheld31
⁄2 yearsasanenemycombatant.
Aug.16:Acave-inkillsthreerescuersinCrandallCanyon
Mine;searchforthesixtrappedminersislatersuspended.
Aug.27:AttorneyGeneralAlbertoGonzalesresigns.
Aug.28:Sen.LarryCraigofIdahodeniesanywrongdoing
despitehisguiltypleafromanairportrestroompolice
sting,andheemphaticallyadds,“Iamnotgay.Inever
havebeengay.”
Aug.30:AB-52bomberarmedwithsixnuclearwarheads
fliescross-countryunnoticed,inseriousbreachofnuclear
security;AirForcelaterpunishes70people.
SSEEPPTTEEMMBBEERR
Sept.3:PlanepilotedbyadventurerSteveFossett
disappearsinwesternNevada.
Sept.7:Ahusbandandwifeareacquittedofnegligent
homicidefornotevacuatingthenursinghometheyowned
where35patientsdiedduringHurricaneKatrina.
Sept.12:Oilpricesreach$80abarrel.
Sept.16:O.J.Simpsonisarrestedinanallegedarmed
robberyofsportsmemorabiliacollectorsinLasVegas.
Sept.26:JudgedeclaresamistrialinPhilSpector’smurder
trialbecausethejurywasdeadlocked10-2infavorof
convictingthemusicproducerofkillingactressLana
Clarkson.
OOCCTTOOBBEERR
Oct.3:PresidentBushvetoesexpansionofachildren’s
healthinsuranceprogram.
Oct.12:AlGoreandU.N.climatescientistswinNobel
PeacePrize.
Oct.20:U.S.Rep.BobbyJindalwinstheLouisiana
governor’selection,thefirstnonwhitetoholdthe
jobsinceReconstruction.
Oct.21:WildfiresdrivenbypowerfulSantaAnawinds
burnseveralhomesnearSanDiegoandinMalibu,Calif.
Oct.23:Evacuationsduetoout-of-controlwildfiresin
SouthernCaliforniatop500,000;morethan2,000homes
burnand14peoplediebeforefiresaretamed.
Oct.26:GeorgiaSupremeCourtfreesGenarlowWilson,
sayinghis10-yearsentenceforconsensualoralsexwitha
15-year-oldgirlwascruelandunusualpunishment.
Oct.28:FireburnsNorthCarolinabeachhouse,killing
sevencollegestudents.
NNOOVVEEMMBBEERR
Nov.5:Hollywoodwritersstrike,eventuallysending
televisionshowsintoreruns.
Nov.8:SenatehandsPresidentBushhisfirstveto
override,enactingabillthatpaysforwaterprojectshe
deemedtoocostly.
Nov.10:StagehandsstrikeshutsdownmostBroadway
shows.
Nov.30:MantakeshostagesataHillaryClintoncampaign
officeinNewHampshire,surrendersaboutsixhourslater.
DDEECCEEMMBBEERR
Dec.5:Teenagegunmankillseightpeople,thenhimself,at
Omaha,Neb.,shoppingmall.
Dec.6:CIAdirectorsaysinterrogationsoftwotopterror
suspectsin2002werevideotapedbutthetapeswere
destroyedlatertopreventleaks;lawmakersandcourts
investigatewhetherevidencewasdestroyed.
Dec.9:Ayoungmanonceaffiliatedwithamissionary
schoolshootsninepeopleattheschoolnearDenveranda
megachurchinColoradoSprings;fourvictimsdiedandthe
gunmankilledhimself.
Dec.17:Gov.JonS.CorzinesignslawmakingNewJersey
thefirststatetoabolishthedeathpenaltyinmorethan40
years.
Dec.17:NBCsaysJayLenoandConanO'Brienplanto
returntotheirlate-nightshowsearlynextyear,evenas
thewriters'strikecontinues.
Dec.19:PresidentBushsignslegislationthatincreases
fuel-efficiencystandardsforvehiclesandrequireswider
useofethanol.
66.. BBUUSSHH VVSS..
CCOONNGGRREESSSS
Democrats were full of
promises when they took
control of Congress in January
for the first time in a dozen
years. Almost a year later, they
delivered on a minimum-wage
increase and lower-interest
student loans but were
outmaneuvered on Iraq,
immigration and other
priorities.
It was a painful irony for
Democrats: In the space of a
year, the Iraq war that was the
source of the party’s
resurgence in Congress
became the measure of its
impotence. By the end of
2007, a Congress controlled
by Democrats for the first
time since 1994 had an
approval rating of only 25
percent, down from 40
percent in the spring. The
debate over the war split the
party and cast shadows over
other issues, spawning a
series of legislative failures
and losing confrontations with
President Bush.
It’s not as if the new
Democrat-controlled Congress
did nothing in 2007. In the
year’s firmest push-back,
Congress for the first time
overrode one of Bush’s vetoes,
on a $23 billion bill for
restoring hurricane-ravaged
wetlands along the Gulf Coast
and other water projects. But
the story of Congress in 2007
is more about what it failed to
accomplish during a war the
public opposes and Democrats
vowed to end. On that, they
found themselves repeatedly
outflanked, unable to break
bill-killing GOP filibusters in
the Senate. Plans to expand
health care for 10 million
children stalled. And a fragile
compromise put together by
Bush and liberal Democrats to
provide a path to citizenship
for millions of immigrants
buckled with only lukewarm
support from all sides.
Perhaps the most bitter pill
came near the end of the year.
Democrats were forced to
acknowledge that the decrease
in violence in Iraq might mean
Bush’s much-criticized surge
buildup of troops was
working.
77.. DDUUKKEE
RRAAPPEE CCAASSEE
When the Department of Justice announced Dec. 5
that it wouldn’t investigate Mike Nifong for malicious
prosecution despite copious evidence, it was the latest
turn in a drawn-out legal drama involving the former
Durham County, N.C., district attorney and his debunked
rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players.
In March 2006, a black stripper claimed white Duke
players raped her at an on-campus party. Nifong quickly
moved ahead with the case despite spotty evidence and
a less-than-credible alleged victim. Critics said Nifong was using the case to help him
win a tough re-election race against two opponents in Durham, a city with a sizable
black community. He won in November 2006.
In January 2007, Nifong asked to be taken off the case. That was a month after all
charges were dropped when a lab found DNA from multiple males in the alleged victim
— but none that matched the accused players. By August, Nifong was disbarred for
what North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper termed a “tragic rush to accuse.”
Meanwhile, the legal wrangling over the case is far from over. The players are
pursuing a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Nifong, high-ranking officials and police.
88.. AALLBBEERRTTOO GGOONNZZAALLEESS AANNDD
TTHHEE UU..SS.. AATTTTOORRNNEEYY FFIIRRIINNGGSS
When news broke in January about Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales’ role in the firing of eight federal prosecutors, many
observers considered it a mildly sensational, fairly routine
political brouhaha.
Then it stretched into the spring and summer, with an
endless loop of Gonzales’ vague, apologetic denials for the
alleged politically fueled firings. Called before Congress in April,
Gonzales found more than 70 ways to say he could not
remember what happened. In June, Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S.
attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, testified
before Congress. According to Buchanan’s lawyer, she was
“absolutely not involved” in the firings. At Gonzales’ request,
she doubled as director of the Justice Department’s Executive
Office for U.S. Attorneys from 2004-05, more than a year
before the dismissals Dec. 6, 2006.
By the time Gonzales finally resigned effective in September,
the focus on right or wrong had largely been replaced by a grinding frustration over why
resolution — any resolution — had taken so long. Even when it ended, it did so
without clarity or full explanation of what occurred or why.
Gonzales, a longtime friend of President Bush, was replaced by Michael Mukasey.
The retired federal judge’s nomination was approved by Congress despite rancor over
his refusal to label “water boarding” as torture.
1100.. UUTTAAHH MMIINNEE CCOOLLLLAAPPSSEE
Utah’s Crandall Cranyon mine has become a tomb, leaving the families of six men trapped inside with
no clear way to say goodbye. Rescue efforts at the mine were suspended indefinitely in September, nearly
a month after the miners were trapped by an Aug. 6 “bump” — an explosive collapse of mine shaft
support pillars.
Before efforts to save the miners were halted, three rescue workers were killed during a second bump
Aug. 16.
Through it all, mine owner Bob Murray exuded confidence to the media throng that the miners would
be saved and his company, Cleveland-based Murray Energy, absolved of any blame. Yet as recently as
2006, the mine had been cited for several safety violations, including not having enough escape routes.
In the end, Murray vanished from the public eye, with one last quote: “Had I known that this evil
mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here. I’ll never
go near that mountain again.”AP
AP
BUCHANAN
GONZALES
· TRIB TOTAL MEDIA · TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2008 · 55 ·
chronology
99.. TTHHEE DDEEBBAATTEE OOVVEERR TTOORRTTUURREE
In May, Democrats returned to Congress from recess and spoke boldly of intentions to shut down the U.S. military prison at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by denying funds. They assailed President Bush for allowing alleged torture techniques like “water
boarding,” which Vice President Dick Cheney endorsed as “a no-brainer” and the administration deemed necessary to gather
information used to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. Democrats took issue with what they claimed was the
unconstitutional offshore detention there of “enemy combatants,” the phrase used by the Bush administration for detainees not
protected by the Geneva Conventions.
But the Democrats’ blustery declarations turned out to be nothing but hot air — by year’s end, Democrats still failed to do
anything. As Democrats made their hollow threats, Bush said he had been planning to close Guantanamo and ship detainees to
other locations, such as Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Even when a furor arose over CIA destruction of videotapes that allegedly revealed its harshest interrogation tactics, the Bush
administration appeared to emerge unscathed because of a legal technicality. Two federal judges prohibited the administration
from discarding evidence of detainee torture and abuse months before the tapes were destroyed in 2005. Normally, that would
force the government to defend itself against obstruction allegations. But the CIA appeared to have an out: its clandestine network
of overseas prisons, where the two detainees might have been beyond the arm of the law.
At the end of 2007, North Side native Michael Hayden, confirmed as CIA director in May 2006, testified in grueling testimony
before Congress that he knew of the tapes but not that they were destroyed.
national
NIFONG