January 4 – Government data reveals that the U.S. economy added 312,000 jobs in December, far ahead of predictions of 177,000, and that manufacturing ended 2018 with the most jobs added in one year since 1997.[8]
January 8 – In a televised address to the nation, President Donald Trump makes the case for his proposedborder wall.[9]
January 19 – President Trump offers a "compromise" of three years' additional protection for 700,000 Dreamers who entered the US illegally with their parents and the 300,000 people holding visas under Temporary Protection Status (TPS) in exchange for funding for his security wall, but the offer is rejected by Democrats.[15]
Large portions of the United States are hit by apolar vortex, bringing "once-in-a-generation" low temperatures and heavy snow. A state of emergency is declared in several states and a number of cold-related deaths are reported.[23]
Teachers rally inDenver following a vote on January 22 to strike for higher pay.[24]
February 16 – BishopTheodore Edgar McCarrick isdefrocked, following historical sexual abuse allegations. He becomes the most senior Catholic figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.[37]
President Trump issues the first veto of his presidency, striking down a Senate resolution to end his national emergency declaration to build a border wall.[58]
Hundreds of students stage awalkout and rally at theCapitol building, demanding legal action onclimate change. They are joined by students in over 1,600 simultaneous protests in 100 countries around the world.[59]
Robert Gentile, 82, whom federal authorities believe is a person of interest in the $500 millionIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, is released from federal custody.[60]
TheWashington State Senate approves legislation that would legally require all presidential candidates to release the last five years of their personaltax returns in order to have their names featured on both primary and general election voting ballots.[62]
TheUniversity of Tennessee announces it will guarantee freetuition and fees to admitted in-state residents with a family household income of less than $50,000.[63]
March 18 – Floods across theMidwest kill at least three people and inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.[64]
AttorneyMichael Avenatti is arrested in New York on charges of attempting toextort more than $20 million from sports companyNike. He is also charged with wire and bank fraud in a separate case in Los Angeles.[77]
March 31 – A 23rd horse is reported to have died atSanta Anita racetrack in California, the latest in a string of deaths occurring since December 2018.[85]
The U.S. halts the delivery ofF-35 fighter jet-related equipment to Turkey to protest the country's planned purchasing of Russia'sS-400 missile defense system.[87]
TheColorado legislature passes ared flag law, allowing seizure of guns from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.[88]
Prosecutors inWaco, Texas decide to not go ahead with prosecution of individuals allegedly involved in the2015 Waco shootout that left nine dead and 20 people injured.[92]
An explosion at a chemical plant inCrosby, Texas leaves one dead and two injured. This comes just weeks after a similar Houston-area explosion in Deer Creek, Texas on March 17.[93]
ThePittsburgh City Council votes for new gun laws, including a ban on certain semiautomatic assault weapons.[96]
April 4 – The 1973War Powers Resolution is invoked for the first time when the House votes 247–175 to end U.S. military assistance toSaudi Arabia in itsintervention in theYemeni Civil War; the Senate voted 54–46 on the bill in March 2019. President Trump vetoes the bill on April 16, the second veto of his presidency.[97][98]
Arson is suspected as the cause of three fires in historically black churches since March 26 inSt. Landry Parish, Louisiana. A fourth, smaller fire was set at a majority-white church inCaddo Parish on March 31.[99] The culprit in the case of the three black churches is arrested and charged on April 11.[100]
Federal prosecutors announce a 36-count indictment against lawyerMichael Avenatti, including bank fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion and wire fraud.[102]
April 16 –Apple andQualcomm settle a multi-year legal dispute regarding patent royalties. The deal between the two tech giants helps, among other arrangements, pave the way for Apple to have5GiPhones on the market by 2020.[106][107]
Former Vice PresidentJoe Biden announces his candidacy for the2020 presidential election, expanding the field to a record 20 candidates, the largest field of presidential candidates in U.S. history.[113]
April 28 – Undersea explorerVictor Vescovo sets a new world record for the deepest ever sea dive at 10,972 metres (35,997 ft) in thePacific Ocean'sMariana Trench. Several unusual things are discovered at the bottom, including four new species of prawn-likecrustaceans and a new species ofsnailfish.[123]
Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor is convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter for shooting and killing Australian womanJustine Damond after she called9-1-1 to report the possible assault of a woman.[125]
May 3 – New economic data shows that the U.S.unemployment rate fell from 3.8 percent to 3.6 percent in April 2019, the lowest in49 years, with employers adding 263,000 jobs in April versus the expected 190,000.[130]
The New York Times publishes newly obtained tax information revealing that from 1985 to 1994, Donald Trump lost $1.17 billion from his various businesses – a far greater amount than previously known, and more than any tax payer in U.S. history.[140]
May 10 – At 12:00 a.m. EST, President Trump's proposed25 percent tariff hike on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports takes effect, escalating tensions between the two nations amid the ongoingChina–United States trade war. The deadline hits as negotiations between trade representatives continued.[142]
Abortion is outlawed in the state ofAlabama, except for cases where a woman's life is threatened or a lethal fetal anomaly is present. The anti-abortion law, written to serve as a catalyst for a legal challenge against theRoe v. Wade ruling, is set to go into effect in November.[144][145]
May 16 –New York City mayorBill de Blasio announces his candidacy in the 2020 presidential election, expanding theDemocratic primary field to a record 24 candidates, already the largest presidential primary field for any political party in American history.[150]
May 21 –Washington becomes the first state to legalize humancomposting, the right to allow people to have their body turned into soil after death. The process is seen as an alternative to traditional cremations and burials.[154]
May 23 – California nativeJohn Walker Lindh, a formerTaliban fighter and the first person to be convicted of a crime in theWar on Terror, is released from federal prison after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence.[156]
President Trump announces his intentions to apply a 5 percenttariff on all Mexican imports, effective June 10, to pressure Mexico to do more to crack down on a surge inCentral American migrants trying to cross the U.S. southern border. The tariffs are to increase to 10 percent on July 1, and by another 5 percent each month for three months. The tariffs are averted on June 7.[161]
United Technologies andRaytheon agree to a merger. The resultant company is projected to be the second largestdefense and aerospace contractor in the U.S.[168]
At least two dozen police officers and two journalists are injured in overnight riots inMemphis, Tennessee afterU.S. Marshals kill a 20-year-old black man, Brandon Webber, during an attempted arrest.[171]
Journalist and advice columnistE. Jean Carroll accuses President Trump of having sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.[176]
Rucho v. Common Cause andBenisek v. Lamone: The Supreme Court rules 5–4 that federal courts are constitutionally powerless to hear challenges to excessive partisangerrymandering, leaving it up to states and Congress to legally address the issue.[180]
During a2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries debate, Moderator andNBC "Today" hostSavannah Guthrie asked the 10 Democratic primary candidates on stage if their health plans would provide coverage for the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. Every candidate raised their hands.[181] One study predicts this would cost American taxpayers up to $23 billion a year.[182]
During athree-way meeting at theKorean Demilitarized Zone with South and North Korean leaders, President Trump becomes the first sitting U.S. president to set foot on North Korean territory. Both Trump and North Korean leaderKim Jong-un pledge to restart stalled nuclear negotiations between the two countries.[183]
In a one-hourIndependence Day event titledSalute to America, President Donald Trump becomes the first U.S. president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at theNational Mall during the holiday. PresidentHarry Truman had previously done so in 1951.[186]
July 7 – The U.S. women's soccer team wins their fourth World Cup, defending their status as the No. 1 team in the world and renewing their campaign for pay equity.[193]
Hurricane Barry approaches theGulf Coast, becoming the first hurricane of the 2019 season, with a sustained wind speed of 75 mph (120 km/h).[200]
Willem Van Spronsen, a self-describedAntifa member armed with a rifle and incendiary devices,attacks an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Washington state. Van Spronsen fires several shots at the detention center, throws incendiary devices, and sets vehicles on fire. While attempting to ignite a propane tank, Van Spronsen is shot and killed by Tacoma police officers.[201]
July 14 – President Trump sparks controversy over remarks directed atfour Democratic congresswomen that were widely perceived as racist; Trump sharply denies the comments were racist.[202][203][204] The House of Representatives votes 240–187 to condemn the President's remarks two days later.[205][206] The controversy persisted as Trump supporters chanted similar remarks at a subsequent rally inGreenville, North Carolina on July 18.[207] Trump disavowed the chant the next day.[208]
Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell blocks legislation to improve election security less than 24 hours after Special CounselRobert Mueller warns of the continued threat of interference in American elections.[216]
Five women (Alexandria "Ally" Kostial, 21; Zaria Newton, 20; Arykah Patrice White, 16; Lisa Nguyen, 59; and Shayna Catherine Cline, 19) are killed inMississippi in separate incidents within 24 hours. All five were killed by firearms.[218]
Three students from theUniversity of Mississippi, members ofKappa Alpha Order a fraternity at the University, post a photo onInstagram taken at theEmmett Till Memorial that is widely seen as racist.[219] The students are suspended by the fraternity but not charged with a hate crime.[220]
TheFederal Reserve cuts interest rates for the first time since 2008, with a 0.25% reduction to a baseline level of 2–2.25%.[225]
Leslie McCrae Dowless faces new charges of electoral fraud inNorth Carolina. Dowless was arrested in2017 and charged with trying to rig the election in North Carolina's9th Congressional District in favor of Mark Harris, the Republican candidate.[226]
Puerto Rico governorRicardo Rossello resigns, andPedro Pierluisi (who was appointed secretary of state on July 31) takes the oath of office to succeed him.[229]
August 4 –2019 Dayton shooting: A mass shooting occurs in the Oregon Historic District in downtownDayton, Ohio, resulting in 10 fatalities (including the perpetrator) and 27 injuries.[232]
The Trump administration issues new rules that reject applicants for temporary or permanentvisas for failing to meet income standards or for receiving public assistance such as welfare,food stamps,public housing orMedicaid.[241]
August 17–18 – Anti-gun rallies are held in over 100 cities in all 50 states.[251]
August 20 –Richard Ross Jr., police commissioner ofPhiladelphia, resigns amid allegations that members of his department engaged in sexual harassment and racial and gender discrimination against women serving in the ranks.[252]
August 22 – A federal grand jury in Los Angeles charges 80 people, mostlyNigerians, in a conspiracy to steal and then launder millions of dollars. 14 people are arrested.[254]
August 31 –Midland–Odessa shootings: Seven people are killed and 21 others wounded in a spree shooting in West Texas, between the cities of Midland and Odessa. The suspect is shot and killed by police outside a movie theater in Odessa.[264]
Walmart announces they will stop selling handgun ammunition and certain types of ammo for short-barrelled rifles.[267]Kroger asks shoppers to refrain from openly carrying guns even if it is legal.[268] Other major retailers follow suit.[269]
Hurricane Dorian makes landfall onCape Hatteras, North Carolina as aCategory 1 storm. 350,000 residents and businesses in North Carolina and South Carolina are left without electricity.[272]
Saturday Night Live fires comedianShane Gillis after his anti-Asian and anti-gay videos come to light.[286] Presidential candidateAndrew Yang, who is Taiwanese-American and was called a “Jew c***k,” forgives Gillis.[287]
HUD SecretaryBen Carson is accused by members of his department of making transphobic remarks at a meeting in San Francisco.[293] He says his comments about "big, hairy men" using women's homeless shelters were a "mischaracterization."[294]
Six-year-old Kaia Rolle is handcuffed, fingerprinted, mug-shot, and charged with battery after throwing a tantrum at Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy, acharter school in Orlando, Florida. The same police officer also arrested an eight-year-old in an unrelated incident the same day.[295] The officer was subsequently suspended.[296]
The proposed "invasion" by 2,000,000 truth-seekers of the classified Air Force base known asArea 51 falls short of its goal by about 1,999,970 participants. Only the Pentagon takes it seriously, threatening to bomb participants. They later apologize.[301]
At least five deaths are reported due toTropical Storm Imelda in southeast Texas. 40 inches (101.6 cm) of rain falls in 72 hours in one of the wettest tropical storms in American history.[304]
September 22 – Three men are dead and four are hospitalized due to a mysterious "medical situation" inPittsburgh. All are believed to be middle-aged men, and all were wearing orange wristbands.[307]
September 25 – The White House releases details of a July 25 phone call between President Trump andVolodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asks the Ukrainian President to investigate Democratic presidential candidateJoe Biden.[310]
September 26 – TheTrump administration says it plans to allow only 18,000 refugees to resettle in the United States in the 2020 fiscal year, its lowest level since the modern program began in 1980.[311][312][313][314]
Coal miners inCumberland, Kentucky have called off the protest that began two months ago against their employer,Blackjewel, when the company suddenly declaredbankruptcy and did not pay their wages. They intend to continue their fight in court.[318]
California becomes the second state, afterNorth Dakota, to allow the establishment of public banks as an alternative to commercial banks. The idea is to provide low-interest loans for businesses, affordable housing, and municipal infrastructure.[326]
Dallas police officerAmber Guyger is sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering Botham Jean in his home. This is the first time a white female police officer has been convicted of murdering an unarmed black man.[327] Joshua Brown, a key witness in the trial, is killed two days later.[328]
European Commission spokespersonDaniel Rosario threatens retaliatory measures if the United States imposes a US$7.5 billion (€6.823 billion) tariff on products such as olives, whiskey, wine, cheese, yogurt, and airplanes. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on October 18.[335]
Microsoft says a group calledPhosphorus, which is linked to theIranian government, has attempted to hack accounts belonging to American journalists, former government officials, and the2020 United States presidential election, as well as prominent Iranians living outside Iran.[336]
Defense SecretaryMark Esper says the United States has picked up its attacks inAfghanistan since peace talks with theTaliban fell apart last month. In August,Politico reported that the U.S. troop strength is about 13,000, fewer than the authorized 14,000.[338]
A report by theAssociated Press finds that 1,700 Roman Catholic priests accused of beingsex offenders live freely in the United States.[339]
October 7 – Federal judgeVictor Marrero orders Trump to turn over eight years of tax returns, saying he cannot endorse a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process."[340] Anappeals court grants a temporarystay of the order.[341]
Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, testifies at theImpeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.[344] Former diplomats and oversight committee members praise Yovanovitch's "bravery" for testifying in response to a subpoena but in defiance of a State Department order.[345]
Democratic incumbentGovernor of LouisianaJohn Bel Edwards is narrowly forced into a run-off in his bid for a second term. He advances to a runoff (November 16) with wealthy Republican businessman Eddie Rispone.[349]
Two people are killed and 20 injured when aHard Rock Hotel and Casino under construction in downtownNew Orleans partially collapses.
Senator Kamala Harris reverses herself on participation in the "Second Step Justice Forum" after 20/20 Club drops its sponsorship. SenatorCory Booker announces he will attend also.[368]
ANorth Carolina court rules that the state can't proceed with next year's House primary elections due to politicalgerrymandering.[375]
On his first visit toChicago, PresidentDonald Trump calls the city "embarrassing to us as a nation" and blasts the police superintendent for not attending his speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police.[376] Thousands protest against Trump, who called for "a surge," or militarization, of the nation's police.[377][378]
Dr. Michael Baden, one of the world's leadingforensic pathologists, describes his findings of theJeffrey Epstein suicide, noting that the financier's injuries appeared more consistent with murder than suicide, contradicting an earlier report by the New York City Medical Examiner.[383] Dr. Barbara Sampson, the chief Medical Examiner, sticks by the original finding that Epstein's death was due to suicide by hanging.[384]
Wildfires rage across California, with a rare "extreme red-flag warning" issued from weather officials, as gusts exceed 70 mph (113 km/h).[385]
TheFederal Reserve lowers its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, the third cut in four months.[386]
Social media websiteTwitter bans all political advertising worldwide.[387]
New York City voters approve a ballot measure that would establishranked-choice voting in primary and special elections for all local offices beginning in 2021.[401]
TheSan Francisco Chronicle publishes a report that says the Halloween shooting at anAirbnb rental property inOrinda, California is part of a pattern of violence at such parties, involving the shooting of 42 people and 17 deaths.[404]
Transcripts released from the closed-door hearings of the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump reveal that witnesses were concerned about aquid pro quo (English: "this for that") holding up millions of dollars in aid toUkraine in return for dirt onHunter Biden and his father, former Vice PresidentJoe Biden. Witnesses were Marie Yovanovitch and Michael McKinley,[405] Bill Taylor,[406] Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker,[407][408] George Kent,[409] Alexander Vindman,[410] Fiona Hill,[411] and Laura Cooper.[412] LawyerRudy Giuliani hires three attorneys as his dealings in Ukraine have attracted the scrutiny of federal prosecutors and House impeachment investigators.[413]
Two formerTwitter employees are charged with spying forSaudi Arabia. Ahmad Abouammo, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Seattle on November 3, but Ali Alzabarah, a Saudi citizen, is presumably back in the Middle East.[414]
Transform Holdco LLC, which purchased nearly all of the assets ofSears Holdings Corp in February, announces that it will be closing 96 Sears and K-Mart stores across the country.[416]
Walt Disney Animation Studios' 58th animated film,Frozen 2, a sequel to 2013'sFrozen, is released in theaters. Although critical reception is not as strong as its predecessor (though still positive), it is, to date, the animation studio's biggest commercial success (earning $1.450 billion), the tenth highest-grossing film of all time and the second highest-grossing animated film of all time behindThe Lion King remake earlier in the year.
Democrats in the House of Representatives announce formal charges against President Trump that accuse him of abusing power and obstructing Congress, making him the fourth U.S. president in history to face impeachment.[462]
TheWorld Trade Organization (WTO) is left unable to intervene in trade disputes, after the U.S. blocks the appointment of new panel members.[464]
Kentucky GovernorMatt Bevin controversially pardons or commutes sentences for 428 convicts, including child rapists and murderers; one commutation was for the brother of a family that raised $21,500 to pay off Bevin's campaign debt.[465][466]
December 15 –Hallmark Channel faces a backlash after pulling ads that show same-sex couples celebrating marriages.[471] The backlash caused an almost immediate reversal of the plan.[472]
A former employee of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints alleges that the Church illegally built a $100 billion investment fund intended for charitable purposes and owes billions in taxes. The Church denies the allegations.[476]
December 28 – Police in New York City are reported to have investigated at least five and possibly eight cases ofantisemitic attacks during the week.[502][503] These follow shootings at a Kosher grocery store and a Jewish cemetery in Jersey City just two weeks earlier.[504]
Personal income in the United States: Increase 0.5% in November 2019, compared to +0.1% in October; Wages and salaries increase 0.4% in November, compared to 0.5% in October.[510]
Current account deficit: Down $1.1 billion, or 0.9%, to $124.1 billion in the third quarter of 2019. The third quarter deficit was 2.3% of GDP.[510]
Programme for International Student Assessment (15-year-olds): TheOECD ranks the United States #24/63 with 1489 total points; 500 in reading (average 493), 487 in math (average 496), and 502 in science (average 501).
Immigrants (2017, the year with the most recent figures): 44.4 million people, 13.6% of the total population; 77% are legally authorized and 45% arenaturalized citizens.[515]
Country of origin of immigrant population (2017): Mexico (25%) China (6%), India (6%), the Philippines (5%) and El Salvador (3%). Regionally: South and East Asia (27%), Europe/Canada (13%), the Caribbean (10%), Central America (8%), South America (7%), the Middle East (4%) and sub-Saharan Africa (4%).[515]
Country of origin for new immigrants (2017): Total: 1,000,000; India (126,000 people), Mexico (124,000), China (121,000) and Cuba (41,000).[515]
Overstayed visas vs. illegal border crossings: TheCenter for Migration Studies of New York estimates that 62% of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S. had overstayed their visas versus 38% who crossed the border illegally.[516]
Population 330,193,593 (est, Dec 26); #3 in world.[523] Most populous: California (39,747,267) Least populous: Wyoming (572,381).
Life expectancy: 78.6 years for a baby born in 2017, down from 78.7 years in 2016.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites a 72% increase in overdoses in the last decade (including a 30% increase in opioid overdoses from July 2016 to September 2017), a ten-year increase in liver disease (men 25 to 34 increased by 8%; women by 11%), and a 33% increase in suicide rates since 1999.[524]
^Kumar, Devika Krishna (31 October 2019). "Keystone pipeline shut after spilling 9,000 barrels of oil in N. Dakota."Thomson Reuters Foundation News website Retrieved 1 November 2019.
Media related to2019 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons