Tag: government and public administration

Al Gore Fast Facts | CNN Politics

CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of Al Gore, 45th vice president of the United States and environmental activist.

Birth date: March 31, 1948

Birth place: Washington, DC

Birth name: Albert Arnold Gore Jr.

Father: Albert Gore Sr., former US senator from Tennessee

Mother: Pauline (La Fon) Gore

Marriage: Mary Elizabeth “Tipper” (Aitcheson) Gore (May 19, 1970-present, separated June 2010)

Children: Albert III, Sarah, Kristin, Karenna

Education: Harvard University, B.A., 1969; Vanderbilt University, Graduate School of Religion 1971-1972; Vanderbilt University, J.D., 1976

Military service: US Army, 1969-1971, served in Vietnam as a reporter with the 20th Engineering Battalion.

Religion: Baptist

Wrote his 1969 Harvard thesis on how television would impact the conduct of the American presidency.

In 2009, former President Bill Clinton flew to North Korea to negotiate the release of two journalists working for Gore’s Current TV.

1971-1976 – Is an investigative reporter and editorial writer for the Nashville Tennessean.

1977-1985 – US Representative in the 95th-98th Congresses, representing first the 4th and then the 6th District of Tennessee. Elected to the House in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982.

1985-1992 – US Senator from Tennessee.

1988 – Runs for the Democratic Party nomination for president in the 1988 election. Later drops out of the race.

July 9, 1992 – Bill Clinton chooses Gore to be his running mate in the 1992 presidential election.

1992 – Publishes “Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit.”

January 20, 1993 – Inaugurated as vice president.

January 20, 1997 – Second term as vice president begins.

March 9, 1999 – Gore states in an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country’s economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.” This quote creates a large amount of rhetoric with his opponents.

June 16, 1999 – Announces his intention to run for president in the 2000 election.

August 16, 2000 – Wins the Democratic Party nomination.

November 7, 2000 – Election Day.

November 8, 2000 – Concedes in the early morning to George W. Bush but later retracts his concession. Florida is too close to call for either Bush or Gore.

November 9, 2000 – Requests a recount in Florida.

December 13, 2000 – Concedes the election to Bush after the US Supreme Court rules that another recount in Florida would be unconstitutional, 36 days after the election.

2002 – “Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family,” co-written with Tipper Gore, is published.

March 19, 2003 – Joins the board of directors for Apple Computers Inc.

May 4, 2004 – Announces intention to purchase Newsworld International from Vivendi Universal SA for an undisclosed price and plans to transform it into a network aimed at viewers ages 18-35.

August 1, 2005 – Gore’s cable television channel, Current TV, debuts.

2006 – His crusade against global warming is featured in the book “An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do about It “ and documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

May 2007 – His book, “The Assault on Reason,” is published.

February 9, 2007 – Joins Sir Richard Branson at a press conference announcing the $25 million Virgin Earth Challenge, a prize for a design to safely remove man-made greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Gore and Branson are among the judges.

February 15, 2007 – Announces a series of concerts called Live Earth to be held on all seven continents on July 7, 2007. The 24-hour music event is the kickoff of a campaign to “Save Our Selves (SOS).”

February 25, 2007 – “An Inconvenient Truth” wins an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

March 21, 2007 – Testifies at separate House and Senate events, urging legislation to curb climate change.

October 12, 2007 – Is co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for work on global warming. The prize is shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

October 26, 2007 – Receives the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.

November 12, 2007 – Announces he is joining the venture capital firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers. He will help the company invest in start-up “green” companies. Gore will also donate his salary to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

November 2007 – Receives the International Emmy Founders Award at the 35th International Emmy Awards.

December 10, 2007 – Accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

February 12, 2009 – Receives the NAACP Chairman’s Award during the annual Image Award ceremony. The honor is given in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service. This year’s award is shared with Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai.

June 1, 2010 – Gore and wife Tipper, announce they are to separate after 40 years of marriage.

January 2, 2013 – Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera purchases Current TV for a reported $500 million, personally netting Gore an estimated $70 million.

December 5, 2016 – Meets with President-elect Donald Trump to speak about climate change issues.

January 19, 2017 – “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. Paramount Pictures releases the film worldwide in July.

2017 – Publishes “The Assault on Reason: 2017 Edition” with a new preface and conclusion: “Post-Truth: On Donald Trump and the 2016 Election.”

November 4, 2019 – Releases a statement expressing his disappointment over failing to persuade Trump to keep the US in the Paris climate agreement. “I thought that he would come to his senses on it, but he didn’t,” Gore said.

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March 22, 2024
Mike Pence Fast Facts | CNN Politics

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Mike Pence, the 48th vice president of the United States.

Birth date: June 7, 1959

Birth place: Columbus, Indiana

Birth name: Michael Richard Pence

Father: Edward Pence, gas station owner

Mother: Nancy Pence-Fritsch

Marriage: Karen Pence (1985-present)

Children: Michael, Charlotte and Audrey

Education: Hanover College (Indiana), B.A., 1981; Indiana University School of Law, J.D., 1986

Religion: Evangelical Christian

After two early unsuccessful runs for Congress, Pence wrote an essay, “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner.” In the 1991 piece, he pledged not to use insulting language or air ads disparaging opponents.

During the 2010 Value Voter Summit, Pence took the stage and said, “I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”

Pence was a Democrat as a teen. He has said that he voted for Jimmy Carter, not Ronald Reagan, in the 1980 election.

Pence’s Irish grandfather immigrated through Ellis Island in 1923.

1991-1993 – President of the conservative think tank, Indiana Policy Review Foundation.

1992-1999 – Hosts a talk radio show, “The Mike Pence Show.” The show is syndicated on 18 stations in Indiana.

2000 – Is elected to the US House of Representatives for the 2nd District of Indiana.

2002 – Is elected to the US House of Representatives for the 6th District of Indiana. The district was renumbered in 2002. He is reelected in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

2009-2011 – Is the Republican Conference chair.

2012 – Is elected governor of Indiana. His campaign includes a grassroots trek across the state called the “Big Red Truck Tour.”

January 2015 – Announces, then scraps plans to launch a state-run news outlet called “Just IN.”

January 27, 2015 – Gains federal approval for a state plan for Medicaid expansion, “Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0.”

March 26, 2015 – Pence signs the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), banning local governments from intervening when businesses turn away customers for religious reasons. The law sparks concern about discrimination, particularly within the LGBTQ community. After the law is passed, a wave of boycotts and petitions roil the state, with companies like Apple and organizations like the NCAA criticizing the bill and threatening to reconsider future business opportunities in Indiana.

April 2, 2015 – Pence signs a new version of the RFRA that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

July 15, 2016 – GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump tweets that he has chosen Pence to be his running mate. The formal announcement takes place July 16.

November 8, 2016 – Is elected vice president of the United States.

January 20, 2017 – Sworn in as vice president of the United States.

January 27, 2017 – Pence speaks at the March for Life, an anti-abortion rally in Washington. He is the first sitting vice president to make a speech at the annual event.

February 7, 2017 – Casts a tie-breaking vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as the next education secretary. This is the first time a vice president has needed to cast the deciding vote on a cabinet nomination.

February 18, 2017 – Pence delivers a speech at the Munich Security Conference, declaring that the United States will hold Russia accountable for acts of aggression even as the Trump administration makes an effort to cultivate stronger ties with Moscow. The vice president also says that the United States “strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our transatlantic alliance.” Pence adds a caveat, saying that NATO member nations should boost their defense spending.

March 2, 2017 – The Indianapolis Star reports that while governor of Indiana, Pence used a private email account to conduct some state business and that it was hacked. Indiana’s Code of Ethics does not address officials’ use of personal emails. Pence also had a state-provided email address. Pence says, “there’s no comparison” between his situation and that of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

August 9, 2018 – In a speech to US military and civilian personnel, Pence calls for the establishment of a Space Force by 2020. Pence also announces immediate steps the Department of Defense would take to reform how the military approaches space.

January 16, 2019 – At the Global Chiefs of Mission conference, Pence declares that “the caliphate has crumbled, and ISIS has been defeated.” Hours before, the US-led coalition confirmed that American troops had been killed in an explosion in Manbij, an attack that ISIS claimed responsibility for.

May 30, 2019 – During talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada, Pence says he is “very proud to be part of a pro-life administration” and that he is troubled by what he calls “the Democratic party in our country, and leaders around the country, supporting late-term abortion, even infanticide.”

February 26, 2020 – Trump places Pence in charge of the US government response to the novel coronavirus, amid growing criticism of the White House’s handling of the outbreak.

April 28, 2020 – Pence visits the Mayo Clinic without a face mask, ignoring the facility’s current policy requiring protective masks be worn at all times. Later, Pence says he should have worn a mask during his visit.

November 7, 2020 – Days after the presidential election on November 3, CNN projects Trump and Pence have lost to former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris.

April 7, 2021 – Pence announces the launch of a new political advocacy group, “Advancing American Freedom.” The group’s stated goal is to “promote the pro-freedom policies of the last four years that created unprecedented prosperity at home and restored respect for America abroad, to defend those policies from liberal attacks and media distortions, and to prevent the radical Left from enacting its policy agenda that would threaten America’s freedoms,” according to a statement from the group. On the same day, publisher Simon & Schuster announces it will publish Pence’s autobiography.

April 14, 2021 – Pence undergoes surgery to have a pacemaker implanted to help combat a slow heart rate.

November 14, 2022 – During a interview with ABC’s David Muir, Pence says he thinks “America will have better choices in the future” than Trump as president in 2024, and admits he’s considering running himself.

November 15, 2022 – Pence’s new memoir, “So Help Me God,” is published. The book includes Pence’s recollections of his experience during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

April 27, 2023 – Pence testifies to a federal grand jury investigating the aftermath of the 2020 election and the actions of Trump and others, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The testimony marks the first time in modern history a vice president has been compelled to testify about the president he served beside.

June 6, 2023 – Pence announces that he’s running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in a launch video. On October 28, he suspends his campaign for president.

March 15, 2024 – Says he “cannot in good conscience” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Trump, a stunning repudiation of his former running mate and the president he served with.

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March 20, 2024
Kamala Harris Fast Facts | CNN Politics

CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Birth date: October 20, 1964

Birth place: Oakland, California

Birth name: Kamala Devi Harris

Father: Donald Harris, economics professor

Mother: Shyamala Gopalan Harris, physician

Marriage: Douglas Emhoff (2014-present)

Education: Howard University, B.A. political science and economics, 1986; University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., 1989

Religion: Baptist

First African American, first woman and first Asian American to become attorney general of California.

First South Asian American attorney general in the nation.

First Indian American and second African American woman to serve as a senator.

First African American woman to represent California in the Senate.

She is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants.

Grew up attending a Black Baptist church and a Hindu temple.

Her name comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “lotus” flower.

1990-1998 – Serves as deputy district attorney for Alameda County, California.

1998 – Is named managing attorney of the Career Criminal Unit of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

2004-2011 – District attorney of San Francisco.

2009 – “Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer” is published.

2011-2016 – Attorney general of California.

January 3, 2017-January 18, 2021 – Serves in the US Senate.

December 5, 2018 – Accepts the resignation of Larry Wallace, a senior aide, after accusations of harassment surface from the time that he worked with her at the California Department of Justice.

January 8, 2019 – Harris’ memoir, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” and picture book, “Superheroes Are Everywhere,” are published.

January 21, 2019 – Announces she is running for president in a video posted to social media at the same time she appears on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

October 30, 2019 – In a memo to staff and supporters, Harris’ campaign manager says the campaign will cut staff and expenses to focus on strategy in Iowa. It will lay off staffers in her Baltimore headquarters and deploy staff from New Hampshire, Nevada and California to Iowa.

December 3, 2019 – Harris ends her 2020 presidential campaign.

March 8, 2020 – Harris endorses Joe Biden for president.

August 11, 2020 – Biden names Harris as his running mate, making her the first Black and South Asian American woman to run on a major political party’s presidential ticket.

November 7, 2020 – Days after the election on November 3, CNN projects Harris is elected vice president, making her America’s first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president.

January 20, 2021 – Is sworn in as vice president of the United States.

May 28, 2021 – Harris gives the commencement speech at the United States Naval Academy addressing the 2021 graduating class. She is the first woman to give a commencement speech at the school.

November 19, 2021 – Biden temporarily transfers power to Harris while he is under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. Harris becomes the first woman with presidential power.

April 26, 2022 – The White House announces that Harris has tested positive for Covid-19. She is exhibiting no symptoms. She will isolate and work from the vice president’s residence.

May 27, 2023 – Becomes the first woman to deliver a commencement address at the graduation ceremony at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York.

March 14, 2024 – Harris visits a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota, the first time a sitting US president or vice president is believed to visit an abortion provider.

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March 19, 2024
Theresa May Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Theresa May, former prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Birth date: October 1, 1956

Birth place: Eastbourne, England

Birth name: Theresa Mary Brasier

Father: Hubert Brasier, Anglican vicar

Mother: Zaidee (Barnes) Brasier

Marriage: Philip May (1980-present)

Education: St. Hugh’s College, University of Oxford, Geography, 1974-1977

Religion: Anglican

Has Type 1 diabetes.

Was the first female chairman of the Conservative Party.

Was introduced to her husband in 1976 at an Oxford Conservative Association dance by Benazir Bhutto, who later became the prime minister of Pakistan.

Lost both of her parents in her 20s.

Co-founded Women2Win, an organization dedicated to increasing the number of conservative women in Parliament.

Is the second female prime minister of Great Britain. Margaret Thatcher was the first. She served from 1979 to 1990.

1977 – Takes a job with the Bank of England.

1985 – Begins working for the Association for Payment Clearing Services as an adviser on international affairs.

1986-1994 – Councillor in the London borough of Merton.

May 1997 – Elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Maidenhead.

1999-2001 – Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment.

2001-2002 – Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

2004-2005 – Shadow Secretary of State for the Family.

May 2010-July 2016 – Home Secretary.

2012 – Introduces the controversial Data Communications Bill, which would require UK internet service providers and communications companies to collect more data about users’ online activities. Opponents call it the “Snoopers’ Charter.”

July 11, 2016 – Is named leader of the Conservative Party.

July 13, 2016 – Replaces David Cameron as British prime minister when he resigns after the UK votes to leave the European Union.

July 20-21, 2016 – Takes her first international trip as Britain’s prime minister, to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and to Paris, to meet with French President Francois Hollande.

January 26-27, 2017 – During a visit to the United States, May becomes the first serving foreign leader from outside the US to speak at the annual congressional Republican retreat and the first foreign leader to meet with US President Donald Trump since his inauguration.

April 18, 2017 – Calls for an early general election to take place.

May 22, 2017 – Following the Manchester explosion, May announces that election campaigning will be suspended until further notice.

June 8, 2017 – In a competitive general election, May’s Conservative Party loses its majority in the UK parliament, coming up eight seats short. The Labour Party, led by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, picks up 32 seats for a total of 262 seats.

June 9, 2017 – May visits Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, an early step in the process of forming a new coalition government. May’s proposed new government will be a partnership between the Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. The next day, two of May’s top advisers resign, even as May herself rebuffs calls to step down.

September 22, 2017 – During a speech in Florence, Italy, May proposes a “strictly time-limited” transition period to ease Britain’s 2019 withdrawal from the European Union.

December 6, 2017 – Prosecutors describe a plot to assassinate May involving an explosive device at the gates of Downing Street that would give the attacker access to No. 10, May’s residence as Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman appears in court on charges of terrorism offenses in the alleged plot.

April 17, 2018 – May apologizes for her government’s treatment of some Caribbean immigrants to the UK and insists they were still welcome in the country. The apology comes amid widespread condemnation of the government’s treatment of the so-called Windrush generation, the first large group of Caribbean migrants to arrive in the UK after World War II.

July 6, 2018 – At the end of a cabinet meeting on Brexit, May announces a proposal that aims to preserve free trade with the European Union. In return for free access to its biggest export market, the UK would commit to following EU rules and regulations on goods and accept a limited role for its highest court. Two cabinet members – Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson – resign days later in protest to the plan.

July 17, 2018 – May survives a crucial vote in parliament when MPs vote 307 to 301 against a proposal by Remain-supporting members of her Conservative party that would have significantly undermined her Brexit strategy.

September 21, 2018 – After an EU summit in Salzburg, Austria, at which her Brexit plan was largely rejected, May called for the EU to “respect” the British position and the Brexit vote. Negotiations, she said, are “at an impasse.”

December 12, 2018 – Survives a vote of no-confidence among Tory members of parliament, garnering 200 of the 317 possible votes. The vote was called after May postponed a parliamentary decision on a Brexit deal amid signs it would not be approved.

January 15, 2019 – May’s Brexit deal is defeated 432 votes to 202, the greatest margin of defeat since 1924. Corbyn calls for a vote of no-confidence after May’s defeat saying it will allow the House of Commons to “give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government.”

January 16, 2019 – May survives a vote of no-confidence in the House of Commons. Lawmakers voted 325 to 306 in favor of the government remaining in power. Following the vote, May calls on Britain’s political parties to “put self-interest aside” and word together on a compromise Brexit deal.

March 27, 2019 – Lawmakers in the House of Commons seize control of the parliamentary timetable from May in order to vote on alternatives to her Brexit plan. After hours debating, MPs in the House of Commons fail to back any of the propositions. At 5 p.m. local time, May regains the initiative and offers to resign if MPs back her withdrawal agreement.

May 24, 2019 – May announces that she will resign as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7th. She will stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen.

July 24, 2019 – Tenders her official resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Johnson becomes the new prime minister.

December 12, 2019 – Wins reelection as the Conservative MP for Maidenhead.

March 8, 2024 – Announces that she will step down as an MP at the next general election, ending 27 years in parliament.

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March 13, 2024
Rodrigo Duterte Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

Birth date: March 28, 1945

Birth place: Maasin, Southern Leyte, Philippines

Birth name: Rodrigo Roa Duterte

Father: Vicente Duterte, lawyer and politician

Mother: Soledad (Roa) Duterte, teacher

Marriage: Elizabeth Zimmerman (annulled in 2000)

Children: with Elizabeth Zimmerman: Paolo, Sebastian and Sara; with Honeylet Avanceña: Veronica

Education: Lyceum of the Philippines University, B.A.,1968; San Beda College, J.D.,1972

Religion: Roman Catholic

Duterte was mayor of Davao City for seven terms and 22 years, although not consecutively.

His father was the governor of unified Davao and a member of President Ferdinand Marcos’ cabinet.

Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte, was the mayor of Davao City.

Once compared himself to Adolf Hitler, saying he would kill millions of drug addicts.

Cursed Pope Francis for traffic problems caused by the pontiff’s visit to the Philippines.

For decades, he has allegedly been tied to “death squads” in Davao City.

Has declared that he will urge Congress to restore the death penalty by hanging in the Philippines.

1977-1986 – Special counsel, and then city prosecutor of Davao City.

1986-1988 – Vice-Mayor of Davao City.

1988-1998 – Mayor of Davao City.

1995 – After Flor Contemplacion, a Filipino domestic worker, is hanged in Singapore for murdering her co-worker in 1991, Duterte leads protestors in burning the Singapore flag.

1998-2001 – Becomes a congressman representing Davao City’s 1st District.

2001-2010 – Mayor of Davao City.

April 6, 2009 – Human Rights Watch publishes the findings of its “Davao Death Squad” investigation, scrutinizing more than two dozen killings that occurred in 2007 and 2008. Findings show no direct link to the killings and Duterte but do provide evidence of a complicit relationship between government officials and members of the DDS.

May 24, 2015 – He vows to execute 100,000 criminals and dump their bodies into Manila Bay.

April 2016 – Duterte comes under fire after making a controversial comment during a campaign rally about a 1989 prison riot that led to the rape and murder of a female missionary. According to a CNN Philippines translation of the video, he says, “they raped her, they lined up to her. I was angry she was raped, yes that was one thing. But she was so beautiful, I thought the mayor should have been first. What a waste.” His party issues an apology, but Duterte later disowns it.

May 30, 2016 – The Philippine Congress officially declares Duterte the winner of the May 9th presidential election after the official count is completed.

June 30, 2016 – Takes office as president.

August 5, 2016 – In a speech, he claims he told US Secretary of State John Kerry that US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg is a “gay son of a bitch.”

September 7, 2016 – Duterte and US President Barack Obama meet briefly in Laos while attending the yearly Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. The two were scheduled to meet prior for bilateral talks regarding the South China Sea, but Obama canceled their meeting as Duterte’s fiery rhetoric escalated.

September 15, 2016 – A witness, Edgar Matobato, testifies before a Philippine Senate committee, claiming he is a member of Duterte’s alleged “Davao Death Squad,” and that the Philippine president gave orders to kill drug dealers, rapists and thieves. The committee was set up to probe alleged extrajudicial killings in the three months since Duterte became president.

October 4, 2016 – The Philippines and the United States begin joint military exercises in Manila for what Duterte claims will be the final time under the decade-long landmark Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

October 20, 2016 – Duterte announces at the PH-China Trade & Investment Forum, “In this venue I announce my separation from the US; militarily, [but] not socially, [and] economically.”

November 29, 2016 – Nine members of Duterte’s security team are injured after their convoy is hit by an explosive device in advance of a planned visit by the president to Marawi City.

December 12, 2016 – Admits to killing suspected criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City.

November 9, 2017 – Ahead of APEC meetings with regional leaders, Duterte tells a group of Filipino expatriates, in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, that he stabbed someone to death when he was 16.

November 13, 2017 – US President Donald Trump and Duterte “briefly” discussed human rights and the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs during their closed-door conversation, the White House announces. However, the spokesman for Duterte tells reporters that “human rights did not arise” during the meeting.

February 8, 2018 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it is opening a preliminary examination of the situation in the Philippines regarding extrajudicial killings. The examination “will analyze crimes allegedly committed … in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” specifically since July 1, 2016. Duterte’s spokesman tells reporters that the president “welcomes this preliminary examination because he is sick and tired of being accused of the commission of crimes against humanity.”

December 5, 2018 – The ICC reports that they have a “reasonable basis to proceed with the preliminary examination” into the alleged extra-judicial killings of thousands of people since July 1, 2016.

March 17, 2019 – The Philippines officially leaves the ICC. The action, taken after a 12-month waiting period required by ICC statute, follows an initial announcement made March 14, 2018.

October 5, 2020 – Duterte reveals he has a chronic neuromuscular disease. In a speech in Moscow, he tells a crowd of Filipinos living in the Russian capital he had myasthenia gravis, which he describes as a “nerve malfunction,” reports CNN Philippines.

March 12, 2020 – Duterte places Metro Manila under community quarantine from March 15 to April 14 to contain the COVID-19 spread in the metropolis.

March 23, 2020 – The Senate, in a 12-0 vote, approves a bill declaring the existence of a national emergency and granting Duterte additional powers to address the COVID-19 crisis. The additional powers will remain in effect for at least three months or until the state of calamity in the entire country is lifted.

November 15, 2021 – Files to run for senator in the 2022 election. Duterte is not eligible to run for president again, and his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, is running for vice president. He withdraws his bid on December 14.

June 30, 2022 – Duterte steps down as president.

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March 13, 2024
John Major Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Sir John Major, former prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Birth date: March 29, 1943

Birth place: Carshalton, Surrey

Birth name: John Major

Father: Abraham Thomas Ball, stage name – Tom Major, performer

Mother: Gwen (Coates) Major, dancer

Marriage: Norma (Johnson) Major (1970-present)

Children: James and Elizabeth

Left school at age 16.

Worked at a bank prior to entering politics.

Was appointed financial guardian of Prince William and Prince Harry after Princess Diana’s death.

1968-1971 – Member of the Lambeth Borough Council.

1974 – Unsuccessfully runs for a seat in Parliament.

1979 – Wins a seat in Parliament, representing Huntingdonshire.

1983 – Becomes assistant government whip.

1984 – Becomes treasury whip.

1985-1986 – Serves as undersecretary state for social security.

1986 – Is appointed minister of state for social security.

1987-1989 – Serves as chief secretary to the Treasury.

July 1989 – Is appointed foreign secretary.

October 1989 – Is appointed chancellor of the exchequer.

November 28, 1990-1997 – Serves as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

June 1995 – Resigns as the head of the Conservative Party and calls for a parliamentary election to establish leadership of the party. He wins the election.

May 1, 1997 – Loses the election to the Labor Party and Tony Blair.

1999 – “John Major: The Autobiography” is published.

2001 – Retires from Parliament.

2002 – Admits to having a four-year affair with Edwina Currie, a fellow member of Parliament, during the 1980s.

2005 – Is made a Knight of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II.

2007 – Major’s book, “More Than A Game: The Story of Cricket’s Early Years,” is published.

2012 – Major’s book, “My Old Man: A Personal History of Music Hall,” is published.

August 30, 2019 – Announces that he intends to join the legal action brought by anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, who wants to stop Boris Johnson from closing down Parliament for five weeks. The following month Major submits written testimony outlining his opposition, In October, the Supreme Court unanimously rules that Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was unlawful.

October 17, 2022 – In a statement to CNN, Major slams the fifth season of Netflix’s “The Crown” for its depictions of his time in office as “damaging and malicious fiction” and “a barrel-load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum – and entirely false – dramatic impact.” Netflix defends the show as a “fictional dramatisation.”

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March 13, 2024
Samuel Alito Fast Facts | CNN

Here’s a look at the life of US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

Birth date: April 1, 1950

Birth place: Trenton, New Jersey

Birth name: Samuel Anthony Alito Jr.

Father: Samuel Alito, a teacher

Mother: Rose (Fradusco) Alito, a teacher

Marriage: Martha-Ann (Bomgardner) Alito (1985-present)

Children: Philip and Laura

Education: Princeton University, A.B., 1972; Yale University, J.D., 1975

Nicknamed “Scalito” as his views resemble those of the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, the first in 1982.

1976-1977 – Law clerk to Leonard I. Garth, judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

1977-1981 – Assistant US attorney for the District of New Jersey.

1981-1985 – Assistant to the US solicitor general.

1985-1987 – Deputy assistant to the US attorney general.

1987-1990 – Named by President Ronald Reagan as the US attorney for the District of New Jersey.

February 20, 1990 – Nominated by President George H.W. Bush to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

April 27, 1990 – Confirmed unanimously by the Senate on a voice vote.

April 30, 1990-2006 – Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, New Jersey.

1991 – Is the only dissenting voice in a Third Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion.

1993 – Agrees with the majority that an Iranian woman seeking asylum could establish eligibility by showing that she has an abhorrence with her country’s “gender specific laws and repressive social norms,” or because of a belief in feminism or membership in a feminist group.

1999 – Writes the opinion in a case that says a Christmas display on city property does not violate separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus as well as a Menorah and a banner hailing diversity.

2001 – Agrees with the majority that strikes down a public school district’s anti-harassment policy, saying the policy – which included non-vulgar, non-school-sponsored speech – violated the First Amendment.

October 31, 2005 – President George W. Bush nominates Alito to be Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s replacement on the Supreme Court.

January 31, 2006 – Alito is confirmed as an associate justice to the Supreme Court. The US Senate votes 58-42. He is immediately sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts.

February 1, 2006 – Sworn in as a Supreme Court justice a second time in a ceremony at the White House.

May 29, 2007 – In a 5-4 ruling, the court dismisses a pay discrimination lawsuit, with Alito writing for the majority. The original suit was filed by a female worker, Lilly Ledbetter against her employer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. She claimed that she was underpaid due to gender discrimination. In the opinion, Alito writes that Ledbetter filed the claim after the federally-mandated 180-day time window, concluding that the “filing deadline protects employers from the burden of defending claims arising from employment decisions long past.”

January 28, 2010 – During a State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, Alito is seen mouthing the words “not true” in response to the president’s criticism of the court’s 5-4 ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed long-established legal limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions.

March 2, 2011 – Alito is the sole dissenter in the free speech case involving Westboro Baptist Church. In an 8-1 decision, the court rules that the First Amendment allows the church to carry out anti-gay protests, even at military funerals. Westboro had been sued by the family of a fallen Marine whose funeral was disrupted by church protesters. In his dissent, Alito writes, “Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case.”

June 25, 2013 – Writes the majority opinion in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl where the question is, can an unwed non-custodial parent block an adoption using the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The court ruled, 5-4, in favor of the adoptive parents ruling that the ICWA did not apply when the parent had never had physical or legal custody of the child.

June 30, 2014 – Writes the majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, with the court ruling 5-4 that family-owned corporations can be exempt from a federal mandate requiring the inclusion of contraception coverage in employee health plans based on religious objections.

June 27, 2018 – The court issues a 5-4 ruling striking down an Illinois law requiring non-union public sector workers to pay fees for collective bargaining. The opinion, written by Alito, reads, “It is hard to estimate how many billions of dollars have been taken from nonmembers and transferred to public sector unions in violation of the First Amendment. Those unconstitutional exactions cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.”

February 1, 2019 – Alito temporarily blocks a Louisiana abortion law from going into effect, filing an order that says the justices need more time to review the filings in the case against a measure restricting access to clinics.

November 25, 2019 – Writes the sole dissent in the court’s denial of National Review’s defamation suit petition. Climate scientist Michael Mann sued the conservative magazine in 2012 after two columnists wrote about his work and the “Hockey Stick” curve graph illustrating the rise in average global temperatures, accusing him of “misconduct” and data “manipulation.” Alito writes that the case brings up First Amendment concerns “that go to the very heart of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and freedom of the press: the protection afforded to journalists and others who use harsh language in criticizing opposing advocacy on one of the most important public issues of the day. If the Court is serious about protecting freedom of expression, we should grant review.”

June 24, 2022 – The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. In his majority opinion, Alito says “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”

November 28, 2022 – In a letter, the Supreme Court legal counsel says there is no evidence that Alito violated ethics standards, in response to questions from congressional Democrats about allegations that Alito revealed the outcome of a 2014 decision before it was released.

July 28, 2023 – Alito agrees to temporarily freeze a lower court order that bars the US government from regulating so-called ghost guns – untraceable homemade weapons – as firearms under federal law.

October 6, 2023 – Alito freezes a lower court ruling that blocked the Biden administration from regulating so-called ghost guns.

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March 13, 2024
Jon Huntsman Fast Facts | CNN Politics

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Jon Huntsman, former Utah Governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate.

Birth date: March 26, 1960

Birth place: Palo Alto, California

Birth name: Jon Meade Huntsman Jr.

Father: Jon Meade Huntsman Sr., billionaire chemical magnate

Mother: Karen (Haight) Huntsman

Marriage: Mary Kaye Cooper (1983-present)

Children: Asha Bharati, adopted from India; Gracie Mei, adopted from China; William, Jon III, Elizabeth, Abigail and Mary Anne

Education: Attended University of Utah, 1978-1980; University of Pennsylvania, B.A. in Political Science, 1987

Religion: Mormon

Dropped out of high school in his senior year to play piano with local bands. The University of Utah, at the time, allowed completion of high school coursework after admission.

Served a two-year Mormon mission in Taiwan.

Speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.

Worked as legislative intern for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

His father owned the company that invented the McDonald’s Big Mac clamshell box.

The family chemical business, Huntsman Corp., is a global enterprise with subsidiaries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

Huntsman has served on numerous boards, including Caterpillar Inc., the US Naval Academy Foundation, Hilton Worldwide and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

1982-1983 – White House staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan.

1983-1989 – Executive at Huntsman Corp.

1989-1990 – Deputy assistant secretary for the Trade Development Bureau of the Commerce Department.

1990-1991 – Deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for East Asia and the Pacific.

1992-1993 – US ambassador to Singapore.

1995-2001 – President of Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

2001-2003 – Deputy US trade representative.

2001 – Divests of most personal stock upon becoming trade representative, including that held by his wife and held in the trust for his children.

2003-2004 – Chairman and CEO of Huntsman Family Holdings Co.

2004 – Places personal assets, 1.5% of Huntsman Family Holdings Co. in blind trust during gubernatorial campaign.

2005-2009 – 16th Governor of Utah, resigns in 2009 to become US ambassador to China.

2005 – Divests all personal holdings in Huntsman Corp.

July 2006 – Endorses Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in the 2008 presidential race.

2008 – Serves as national co-chairman of McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

August 7, 2009 – Huntsman is confirmed by the US Senate as US ambassador to China.

August 11, 2009-April 30, 2011 – Ambassador to China.

January 2011 – Delivers letter of resignation to President Barack Obama, stating his intention to step down as ambassador on April 30, 2011.

June 21, 2011 – Announces candidacy for 2012 GOP nomination for president at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, the same place Reagan launched his campaign in 1980.

October 18, 2011 – Boycotts the CNN/Western Republican Presidential Debate out of deference to New Hampshire, which is locked in a political scheduling fight with Nevada.

January 16, 2012 – Withdraws from the Republican presidential race and endorses former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

January 26, 2012 – Huntsman is named chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

June 20, 2012 – The Brookings Institution announces that Huntsman will serve as a distinguished fellow.

January 3, 2013 – The bipartisan political group No Labels names Huntsman and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) as leaders of the organization.

January 15, 2014 – The Atlantic Council names Huntsman chairman of its board of directors.

September 3, 2014 – Huntsman tells the Deseret News he feels same-sex marriage across the country is “inevitable,” and rules out another run for president in 2016.

July 18, 2017 – The White House announces that President Donald Trump has chosen Huntsman to be the US ambassador to Russia.

September 28, 2017 – The Senate confirms Huntsman as ambassador to Russia.

November 1, 2018 – The Deseret News publishes an interview in which Huntsman reveals he has stage one skin cancer.

August 6, 2019 – Huntsman submits his resignation letter to President Trump. His resignation is effective October 3.

November 14, 2019 – Announces he is running for governor of Utah in 2020.

February 7, 2020 – Huntsman announces Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi as his running mate in the Utah gubernatorial race.

July 6, 2020 – Hunstman concedes Utah’s GOP gubernatorial primary race to Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.

September 8, 2020 – Chevron announces that Huntsman has been reelected to the board of directors, effective September 15. Huntsman previously served on the board from 2014 to 2017.

October 2020 – Reelected to the board of directors for Ford Motor Company, after serving on the board from 2012 to 2017.

January 21, 2021 – Named chair of World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah), an organization promoting the state’s businesses globally.

March 11, 2024 – Is hired by Mastercard as the vice chairman and president of strategic growth.

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March 13, 2024
Notable US Supreme Court Decisions Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at some of the most important cases decided by the US Supreme Court since 1789.

1803 – Marbury v. Madison
This decision established the system of checks and balances and the power of the Supreme Court within the federal government.

Situation: Federalist William Marbury and many others were appointed to positions by outgoing President John Adams. The appointments were not finalized before the new Secretary of State James Madison took office, and Madison chose not to honor them. Marbury and the others invoked an Act of Congress and sued to get their appointed positions.

The Court decided against Marbury 6-0.

Historical significance: Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “An act of the legislature repugnant to the constitution is void.” It was the first time the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law that had been passed by Congress.

1857 – Dred Scott v. Sandford
This decision established that slaves were not citizens of the United States and were not protected under the US Constitution.

Situation: Dred Scott and his wife Harriet sued for their freedom in Missouri, a slave state, after having lived with their owner, an Army surgeon, in the free Territory of Wisconsin.

The Court decided against Scott 7-2.

Historical significance: The decision overturned the Missouri Compromise, where Congress had prohibited slavery in the territories. The Dred Scott decision was overturned later with the adoption of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in 1865 and the 14th Amendment in 1868, granting citizenship to all born in the United States.

1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson
This decision established the rule of segregation, separate but equal.

Situation: While attempting to test the constitutionality of the Separate Car Law in Louisiana, Homer Plessy, a man of 1/8 African descent, sat in the train car for whites instead of the blacks-only train car and was arrested.

The Court decided against Plessy 7-1.

Historical significance: Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote, “The argument also assumes that social prejudice may be overcome by legislation and that equal rights cannot be secured except by an enforced commingling of the two races… if the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.” The Court gave merit to the “Jim Crow” system. Plessy was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education decision. In January 2022 Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards granted a posthumous pardon to Homer Plessy. The pardon comes after the Louisiana Board of Pardons voted unanimously in November 2021 in favor of a pardon for Plessy, who died in his 60s in 1925.

1954 – Brown v. Board of Education
This decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and granted equal protection under the law.

Situation: Segregation of the public school systems in the United States was addressed when cases in Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware and Virginia were all decided together under Brown v. Board of Education. Third-grader Linda Brown was denied admission to the white school a few blocks from her home and was forced to attend the blacks-only school a mile away.

The Court decided in favor of Brown unanimously.

Historical significance: Racial segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

1963 – Gideon v. Wainwright
This decision guarantees the right to counsel.

Situation: Clarence Earl Gideon was forced to defend himself when he requested a lawyer from a Florida court and was refused. He was convicted and sentenced to five years for breaking and entering.

The Court decided in favor of Gideon unanimously.

Historical significance: Ensures the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee to counsel is applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment’s due process clause.

1964 – New York Times v. Sullivan
This decision upheld the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Situation: The New York Times and four African-American ministers were sued for libel by Montgomery, Alabama, police commissioner L.B. Sullivan. Sullivan claimed a full-page ad in the Times discussing the arrest of Martin Luther King Jr., and his efforts toward voter registration and integration in Montgomery were defamatory against him. Alabama’s libel law did not require Sullivan to prove harm since the ad did contain factual errors. He was awarded $500,000.

The Court decided against Sullivan unanimously.

Historical significance: The First Amendment protects free speech and publication of all statements about public officials made without actual malice.

1966 – Miranda v. Arizona
The decision established the rights of suspects against self-incrimination.

Situation: Ernesto Miranda was convicted of rape and kidnapping after he confessed, while in police custody, without benefit of counsel or knowledge of his constitutional right to remain silent.

The court decided in favor of Miranda 5-4.

Historical significance: Upon arrest and/or questioning, all suspects are given some form of their constitutional rights – “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

1973 – Roe v. Wade
This decision expanded privacy rights to include a woman’s right to choose pregnancy or abortion.

Situation: “Jane Roe” (Norma McCorvey), single and living in Texas, did not want to continue her third pregnancy. Under Texas law, she could not legally obtain an abortion.

The Court decided in favor of Roe 7-2.

Historical significance: Abortion is legal in all 50 states. Women have the right to choose between pregnancy and abortion.

1974 – United States v. Nixon
This decision established that executive privilege is neither absolute nor unqualified.

Situation: President Richard Nixon’s taped conversations from 1971 onward were the object of subpoenas by both the special prosecutor and those under indictment in the Watergate scandal. The president claimed immunity from subpoena under executive privilege.

The Court decided against Nixon 8-0.

Historical significance: The president is not above the law. After the Court ruled on July 24, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned on August 8.

1978 – Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke
This decision ruled that race cannot be the only factor in college admissions.

Situation: Allan Bakke had twice applied for and was denied admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. Bakke was white, male and 35 years old. He claimed under California’s affirmative action plan, minorities with lower grades and test scores were admitted to the medical school when he was not, therefore his denial of admission was based solely on race.

The Court decided in Bakke’s favor, 5-4.

Historical significance: Affirmative action is approved by the Court and schools may use race as an admissions factor. However, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment works both ways in the case of affirmative action; race cannot be the only factor in the admissions process.

2012 – National Federation of Independent Business et al v. Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services et al

Situation: The constitutionality of the sweeping health care reform law championed by President Barack Obama.

The Court voted 5-4 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act.

Historical significance: The ruling upholds the law’s central provision – a requirement that all people have health insurance or pay a penalty.

2013 – United States v. Windsor
This decision ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined the term “marriage” under federal law as a “legal union between one man and one woman” deprived same-sex couples who are legally married under state laws of their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection under federal law.

Situation: Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer were married in Toronto in 2007. Their marriage was recognized by New York state, where they lived. Upon Spyer’s death in 2009, Windsor was forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes, because their marriage was not recognized by federal law.

The court voted 5-4 in favor of Windsor.

Historical significance: The court strikes down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that legally married same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits.

2015 – King et al, v. Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al

Situation: This case was about determining whether or not the portion of the Affordable Care Act which says subsidies would be available only to those who purchase insurance on exchanges “established by the state” referred to the individual states.

The Court ruled 6-3 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Historical significance: The court rules that the Affordable Care Act federal tax credits for eligible Americans are available in all 50 states, regardless of whether the states have their own health care exchanges.

2015 – Obergefell et al, v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health, et al.

Situation: Multiple lower courts had struck down state same-sex marriage bans. There were 37 states allowing gay marriage before the issue went to the Supreme Court.

The Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Obergefell et al.

Historical significance: The court rules that states cannot ban same-sex marriage and must recognize lawful marriages performed out of state.

2016 – Fisher v. University of Texas

Situation: Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas after her admission application was rejected in 2008. She claimed it was because she is white and that she was being treated differently than some less-qualified minority students who were accepted. In 2013 the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts for further review.

The Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the University of Texas. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case, presumably because she dealt with it in her previous job as solicitor general.

Historical Significance: The court rules that taking race into consideration as one factor of admission is constitutional.

2020 – Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia

Situation: Gerald Bostock filed a lawsuit against Clayton County for discrimination based on his sexual orientation after he was terminated for “conduct unbecoming of its employees,” shortly after he began participating in a gay softball league. Two other consolidated cases were also argued on the same day.

The 6-3 opinion in favor of the plaintiff, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, states that being fired “merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII” of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Historical Significance: Federal anti-bias law now protects people who face job loss and/or discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

2022 – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

Situation: Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, passed in 2018 and which greatly restricts abortion after 15 weeks, is blocked by two federal courts, holding that it is in direct violation of Supreme Court precedent legalizing abortion nationwide prior to viability, which can occur at around 23-24 weeks of pregnancy, and that in an “unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases have established (and affirmed and re-affirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability.” The court said states may “regulate abortion procedures prior to viability” so long as they do not ban abortion. “The law at issue is a ban,” the court held. 

Mississippi appeals the decision to the Supreme Court.

The 6-3 opinion in favor of the plaintiff, written by Justice Samuel Alito states that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start…Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

In a joint dissenting opinion, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan heavily criticized the majority, closing: “With sorrow – for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection – we dissent.”

Historical Significance: The ruling overturns Roe v. Wade and there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion, leaving abortion rights to be determined by states.

1944 – Korematsu v. United States – The Court ruled Executive Order 9066, internment of Japanese citizens during World War II, is legal, 6-3 for the United States.

1961 – Mapp v. Ohio – “Fruit of the poisonous tree,” evidence obtained through an illegal search, cannot be used at trial, 6-3 for Mapp.

1967 – Loving v. Virginia – Prohibition against interracial marriage was ruled unconstitutional, 9-0 for Loving.

1968 – Terry v. Ohio – Stop and frisk, under certain circumstances, does not violate the Constitution. The Court upholds Terry’s conviction and rules 8-1 that it is not unconstitutional for police to stop and frisk individuals without probable cause for an arrest if they have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has or is about to occur.

2008 – District of Columbia v. Heller – The Second Amendment does protect the individual’s right to bear arms, 5-4 for Heller.

2010 – Citizens United v. FEC – The Court rules corporations can contribute to PACs under the First Amendment’s right to free speech, 5-4 for Citizens United.

2023 – Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard together with Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina – Colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in admissions. The majority opinion, written by Justice John Roberts, claims the court is not expressly overturning prior cases authorizing race-based affirmative action and suggests that how race has affected an applicant’s life can still be part of how their application is considered.

2024 – Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson, et al – The Court rules former President Donald Trump should appear on the ballot in Colorado in a decision that follows months of debate over whether Trump violated the “insurrectionist clause” included in the 14th Amendment.

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March 12, 2024
Michael Hayden Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Birth date: March 17, 1945

Birth place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Birth name: Michael Vincent Hayden

Father: Harry Hayden

Mother: Sadie Hayden

Marriage: Jeanine (Carrier) Hayden

Children: Margaret, Michael and Liam

Education: Duquesne University, B.A, 1967; Duquesne University, M.A., 1969

Military service: US Air Force, 1967-2008, General

Is a retired four-star general.

Is a distinguished visiting professor and founder of the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University.

Worked as a cab driver during college.

January 1970-January 1972 – Analyst at Headquarters Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

January 1972-May 1975 – Chief of Current Intelligence Division at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

July 1975-August 1979 – Academic Instructor at Reserve Officer Training Corps Program, St. Michael’s College in Vermont.

June 1980-July 1982 – Chief of Intelligence, 51st Tactical Fighter Wing, Osan Air Force Base, South Korea.

1984-1986 – Air attaché, US Embassy, Bulgaria.

1986-1989 – Political-Military Affairs Officer, US Air Force Headquarters.

1989-1991 – Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control, National Security Council.

1991-1993 – Chief, Secretary of the Air Force Staff Group.

1993-1995 – Director of Intelligence, US European Command.

1996-1997 – Commander, Air Intelligence Agency, and Director, Joint Command and Control Warfare Center.

1997-1999 – Deputy Chief of Staff, United Nations Command and US Forces Korea.

1999-2005 – Director of the National Security Agency.

April 2005 – Is appointed principal deputy director of national intelligence.

May 8, 2006 – President George W. Bush nominates Hayden to be director of the CIA.

May 30, 2006 – Is sworn in as the director of the CIA.

February 5, 2008 – During congressional testimony, Hayden acknowledges for the first time that the CIA has used waterboarding in the interrogations of detainees.

July 1, 2008 – Retires from the Air Force.

February 12, 2009 – Steps down as the director of the CIA.

February 13, 2009 – Leon Panetta is sworn in as the new director of the CIA.

April 2009 – Joins the Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm founded by Michael Chertoff, former Department of Homeland Security secretary.

September 11, 2014 – In an interview with U.S. News and World Report, Hayden compares the White House strategy of using air strikes against ISIS to casual sex. Hayden says, “The reliance on air power has all of the attraction of casual sex: It seems to offer gratification but with very little commitment.”

December 9, 2014 – The Senate releases a report criticizing the CIA’s interrogation tactics used against terrorist detainees during the Bush era. Hayden responds in an interview with Politico, calling the Senate’s conclusions “analytically offensive.”

February 23, 2016 – Hayden’s book “Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror” is published.

August 9, 2016 – After signing a letter, along with 49 other Republican national security officials, declaring Donald Trump unqualified to be president, Hayden tells CNN that Trump represents a “clear and present danger” and says he “fears for our future” if Trump governs as he has campaigned.

May 1, 2018 – Hayden’s book “The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies” is published.

November 23, 2018 – According to a statement released by his family, Hayden suffers a stroke at home earlier in the week.

January 18, 2019 – Hayden returns home after suffering a stroke.

October 7, 2020 – Hayden tells CNN’s Jim Sciutto that reelecting Trump would be “very bad for America,” while endorsing Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president.

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March 7, 2024
Detained Americans Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
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Here’s a look at some recent cases of foreign governments detaining US citizens. For information about missing Americans, see Robert Levinson Fast Facts or POW/MIA in Iraq and Afghanistan Fast Facts.

Afghanistan

Ryan Corbett
August 2022 – Corbett, a businessman whose family lived in Afghanistan for more than a decade prior to the collapse of the Afghan government, returns to Afghanistan on a 10 day trip. Roughly one week into his visit, he was asked to come in for questioning by the local police. Corbett, his German colleague, and two local staff members were all detained. All but Corbett are eventually released. The Taliban has acknowledged holding Corbett, and he has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department.

China

Mark Swidan
November 13, 2012 – Swidan, a businessman from Texas, is arrested on drug related charges by Chinese Police while in his hotel room in Dongguan.

2013 – Swidan is tried and pleads not guilty.

2019 – Convicted of manufacturing and trafficking drugs by the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in southern Guangdong province and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.

April 13, 2023 – The Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court denies Swidan’s appeal and upholds his death penalty.

Kai Li
September 2016 – Kai Li, a naturalized US citizen born in China, is detained while visiting relatives in Shanghai.

July 2018 – He is sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage following a secret trial held in August 2017.

Iran

Karan Vafadari
December 2016 – Karan Vafadari’s family announces that Karan and his wife, Afarin Niasari, were detained at Tehran airport in July. Vafadari, an Iranian-American, and Niasari, a green-card holder, ran an art gallery in Tehran.

March 2017 – New charges of “attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic and recruiting spies through foreign embassies” are brought against Vafadari and Niasari.

January 2018 – Vafadari is sentenced to 27 years in prison. Niasari is sentenced to 16 years.

July 2018 – Vafadari and Niasari are reportedly released from prison on bail while they await their appeals court rulings.

Russia

Paul Whelan
December 28, 2018 – Paul Whelan, from Michigan, a retired Marine and corporate security director, is arrested on accusations of spying. His family says he was in Moscow to attend a wedding.

January 3, 2019 – His lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, tells CNN Whalen has been formally charged with espionage.

January 22, 2019 – At his pretrial hearing, Whelan is denied bail. Whelan’s attorney Zherebenkov tells CNN that Whelan was found in possession of classified material when he was arrested in Moscow.

June 15, 2020 – Whelan is convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

August 8, 2021 – State news agency TASS reports that Whelan has been released from solitary confinement in the Mordovian penal colony where he is being held.

Evan Gershkovich
March 30, 2023 – Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, is detained by Russian authorities and accused of spying. The Wall Street Journal rejects the spying allegations.

April 3, 2023 – The Russian state news agency TASS reports Gershkovich has filed an appeal against his arrest.

April 7, 2023 – Gershkovich is formally charged with espionage.

April 10, 2023 – The US State Department officially designates Gershkovich as wrongfully detained by Russia.

April 18, 2023 – The Moscow City Court denies his appeal to change the terms of his detention. Gershkovich will continue to be held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison until May 29.

Saudi Arabia

Walid Fitaihi
November 2017 – Dual US-Saudi citizen Dr. Walid Fitaihi is detained at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh along with other prominent Saudis, according to his lawyer Howard Cooper. Fitaihi is then transferred to prison.

July 2019 – Fitaihi is released on bond.

December 8, 2020 – Fitaihi is sentenced to six years in prison for charges including obtaining US citizenship without permission.

January 14, 2021 – A Saudi appeals court upholds Fitaihi’s conviction but reduces his sentence to 3.2 years and suspends his remaining prison term. Fitaihi still faces a travel ban and frozen assets.

Syria

Austin Tice
August 2012 – Tice disappears while reporting near the Syrian capital of Damascus. The Syrian government has never acknowledged that they have Tice in their custody.

September 2012 – A 43-second video emerges online that shows Tice in the captivity of what his family describe as an “unusual group of apparent jihadists.”

Majd Kamalmaz
February 2017 – Kamalmaz is detained at a checkpoint in Damascus. The Syrian government has never acknowledged Kamalmaz is in its custody.

Cuba

Alan Gross
December 2009 – Alan Gross is jailed while working as a subcontractor on a US Agency for International Development project aimed at spreading democracy. His actions are deemed illegal by Cuban authorities. He is accused of trying to set up illegal internet connections on the island. Gross says he was trying to help connect the Jewish community to the internet and was not a threat to the government.

March 12, 2011 – Gross is found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against the Cuban state.

April 11, 2014 – Ends a hunger strike that he launched the previous week in an effort to get the United States and Cuba to resolve his case.

December 17, 2014 – Gross is released as part of a deal with Cuba that paves the way for a major overhaul in US policy toward the island.

Egypt

16 American NGO Employees
December 2011 – Egyptian authorities carry out 17 raids on the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations. The Egyptian general prosecutor’s office claims the raids were part of an investigation into allegations the groups had received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a proper license.

February 5, 2012 – Forty-three people face prosecution in an Egyptian criminal court on charges of illegal foreign funding as part of an ongoing crackdown on NGOs. Among the American defendants is Sam LaHood, International Republican Institute country director and the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

February 15, 2012 – The US State Department confirms there are 16 Americans being held, not 19 as the Egyptian government announced.

February 20, 2012 – South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Arizona Senator John McCain meet with top Egyptian military and political leaders in Cairo.

March 1, 2012 – Some of the 43 detainees including American, Norwegian, German, Serbian and Palestinian activists leave Cairo after each post two-million Egyptian pounds bail.

April 20, 2012 – CNN is told Egyptian officials have filed global arrest notices with Interpol for some of the Americans involved in the NGO trial.

June 4, 2013 – An Egyptian court sentences the NGO workers: 27 workers in absentia to five-year sentences, 11 to one-year suspended jail sentences, and five others to two-year sentences that were not suspended, according to state-run newspaper Al Ahram. Only one American has remained in Egypt to fight the charges, but he also left after the court announced his conviction.

Iran

UC-Berkeley Grads
July 31, 2009 – Three graduates from the University of California at Berkeley, Sarah Shourd of Oakland, California, Shane Bauer, of Emeryville, California, and Joshua Fattal, of Cottage Grove, Oregon, are detained in Iran after hiking along the unmarked Iran-Iraq border in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region.

August 11, 2009 – Iran sends formal notification to the Swiss ambassador that the three American hikers have been detained. Switzerland represents the United States diplomatic interests in Iran since the United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations.

October 2009 – The Iranian government allows a Swiss diplomat to visit the hikers at Evin Prison.

November 9, 2009 – Iran charges the three with espionage.

March 9, 2010 – The families of the three detained hikers speak by phone to the hikers for the first time since they were jailed.

May 20, 2010 – The detainees’ mothers are allowed to visit their children.

May 21, 2010 – The mothers are allowed a second visit, and the detained hikers speak publicly for the first time at a government-controlled news conference.

August 5, 2010 – Reports surface that Shourd is being denied medical treatment.

September 14, 2010 – Shourd is released on humanitarian grounds on $500,000 bail.

September 19, 2010 – Shourd speaks publicly to the press in New York.

November 27, 2010 – Two days after Thanksgiving, Fattal and Bauer are allowed to call home for the second time. Each call lasts about five minutes.

February 6, 2011 – Fattal and Bauer’s trial begins. Shourd has not responded to a court summons to return to stand trial.

May 4, 2011 – Shourd announces she will not return to Tehran to face espionage charges.

August 20, 2011 – Fattal and Bauer each receive five years for spying and three years for illegal entry, according to state-run TV. They have 20 days to appeal.

September 14, 2011 – A Western diplomat tells CNN an Omani official is en route to Tehran to help negotiate the release of Fattal and Bauer. Oman helped secure the release of Shourd in 2010.

September 21, 2011 – Fattal and Bauer are released from prison on bail of $500,000 each and their sentences are commuted. On September 25, they arrive back in the United States.

Saeed Abedini
September 26, 2012 – According to the American Center for Law and Justice, Saeed Abedini, an American Christian pastor who was born in Iran and lives in Idaho, is detained in Iran. The group says that Abedini’s charges stem from his conversion to Christianity from Islam 13 years ago and his activities with home churches in Iran.

January 2013 – Abedini is sentenced to eight years in prison, on charges of attempting to undermine the Iranian government.

January 16, 2016 – Iran releases four US prisoners including Abedini, Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, and Jason Rezaian, in exchange for clemency of seven Iranians imprisoned in the United States for sanctions violations.

Amir Mirzaei Hekmati
August 2011 – Amir Mirzaei Hekmati travels to Iran to visit relatives and gets detained by authorities, according to his family. His arrest isn’t made public for months.

December 17, 2011 – Iran’s Intelligence Ministry claims to have arrested an Iranian-American working as a CIA agent, according to state-run Press TV.

December 18, 2011 – Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency broadcasts a video in which a young man says his name is Hekmati, and that he joined the US Marine Corps and worked with Iraqi officers.

December 19, 2011 – The US State Department confirms the identity of the man detained in Iran and calls for his immediate release.

December 20, 2011 – Hekmati’s family says that he was arrested in August while visiting relatives in Iran. The family asserts that they remained quiet about the arrest at the urging of Iranian officials who promised his release.

December 27, 2011 – Hekmati’s trial begins in Iran. Prosecutors accuse Hekmati of entering Iran with the intention of infiltrating the country’s intelligence system in order to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorist activities, according to the Fars news agency.

January 9, 2012 – An Iranian news agency reports that Hekmati is convicted of “working for an enemy country,” as well as membership in the CIA and “efforts to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorism.” He is sentenced to death.

March 5, 2012 – An Iranian court dismisses a lower court’s death sentence for Hekmati and orders a retrial. He remains in prison.

September 2013 – In a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry, Hekmati says that his confession was obtained under duress.

April 11, 2014 – Hekmati’s sister tells CNN that Hekmati has been convicted in Iran by a secret court of “practical collaboration with the US government” and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

January 16, 2016 – Iran releases four US prisoners including Hekmati, Abedini, and Jason Rezaian, in exchange for clemency of seven Iranians indicted or imprisoned in the United States for sanctions violations.

Jason Rezaian
July 24, 2014 – The Washington Post reports that its Tehran correspondent and Bureau Chief Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and two freelance journalists were detained on July 22, 2014. An Iranian official confirmed to CNN that the group is being held by authorities.

July 29, 2014 – Iran releases one of three people detained alongside Rezaian, a source close to the family of the released detainee tells CNN. The released detainee is the husband of an Iranian-American photojournalist who remains in custody with Rezaian and his wife, according to the source.

August 20, 2014 – The Washington Post reports the photojournalist detained with Rezaian in July has been released. At her family’s request, the Post declines to publish her name.

October 6, 2014 – According to the Washington Post, Rezaian’s wife, Yeganeh Salehi, has been released on bail.

December 6, 2014 – During a 10-hour court session in Tehran, Rezaian is officially charged with unspecified crimes, according to the newspaper.

April 20, 2015 – According the Washington Post, Rezaian is being charged with espionage and other serious crimes including “collaborating with a hostile government” and “propaganda against the establishment.”

October 11, 2015 – Iran’s state media reports that Rezaian has been found guilty, but no details are provided about his conviction or his sentence. His trial reportedly took place between May and August.

November 22, 2015 – An Iranian court sentences Rezaian to prison. The length of the sentence is not specified.

January 16, 2016 – Iran releases four US prisoners including Rezaian, Hekmati, and Abedini, in exchange for the clemency of seven Iranians indicted or imprisoned in the United States for sanctions violations.

May 1, 2018 – Joins CNN as a global affairs analyst.

Reza “Robin” Shahini
July 11, 2016 – San Diego resident Reza “Robin” Shahini is arrested while visiting family in Gorgan, Iran. Shahini is a dual US-Iranian citizen.

October 2016 – Shahini is sentenced to 18 years in prison.

February 15, 2017 – Goes on a hunger strike to protest his sentence.

April 3, 2017 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran says Shahini has been released on bail while he awaits the ruling of the appeals court.

July 2018 – A civil lawsuit filed against the Iranian government on Shahini’s behalf indicates that Shahini has returned to the United States.

Xiyue Wang
July 16, 2017 – The semi-official news agency Fars News, citing a video statement from Iranian judicial spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejheie, reports that a US citizen has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of spying. Princeton University identifies the man as Chinese-born Xiyue Wang, an American citizen and graduate student in history. According to a university statement, Wang was arrested in Iran last summer while doing scholarly research in connection with his Ph.D. dissertation.

December 7, 2019 – The White House announces that Wang has been released and is returning to the United States. Iran released Wang in a prisoner swap, in coordination with the United States freeing an Iranian scientist named Massoud Soleimani.

Michael White
January 8, 2019 – Michael White’s mother, Joanne White, tells CNN she reported him missing when he failed to return to work in California in July, after traveling to Iran to visit his girlfriend.

January 9, 2019 – Bahram Ghasemi, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, says White “was arrested in the city of Mashhad a while ago, and within a few days after his arrest the US government was informed of the arrest through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.” Ghasemi denies allegations that White, a US Navy veteran, has been mistreated in prison.

March 2019 – White is handed a 13-year prison sentence on charges of insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and for publicly posting private images, according to his attorney Mark Zaid.

March 19, 2020 – White is released into the custody of the Swiss Embassy on medical furlough. One condition of his release is that he must stay in Iran.

June 4, 2020 – White is released, according to White’s mother and a person familiar with the negotiations.

Baquer and Siamak Namazi
October 2015 – Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman with dual US and Iranian citizenship, is detained while visiting relatives in Tehran.

February 2016 – Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF official and father of Siamak Namazi, is detained, his wife Effie Namazi says on Facebook. He is an Iranian-American.

October 2016 – The men are sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $4.8 million, according to Iran’s official news channel IRINN. Iran officials say five people were convicted and sentenced for “cooperating with Iran’s enemies,” a government euphemism that usually implies cooperating with the United States.

January 28, 2018 – Baquer Namazi is granted a four-day leave by the Iranian government, after being discharged from an Iranian hospital. Namazi’s family say the 81-year-old was rushed to the hospital on January 15 after a severe drop in his blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat and serious depletion of energy. This was the fourth time Namazi had been transferred to a hospital in the last year. In September, he underwent emergency heart surgery to install a pacemaker.

February 2018 – Baquer Namazi is released on temporary medical furlough.

February 2020 – Iran’s Revolutionary Court commutes Baquer Namazi’s sentence to time served and the travel ban on him is lifted.

May 2020 – According to the family, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) places a new travel ban on Baquer Namazi, preventing him from leaving the country.

October 26, 2021 – Baquer Namazi undergoes surgery to clear a “life-threatening blockage in one of the main arteries to his brain, which was discovered late last month,” his lawyer says in a statement.

October 1, 2022 – Baquer Namazi is released from detention and is permitted to leave Iran “to seek medical treatment abroad,” according to a statement from UN Secretary General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

March 9, 2023 – Siamak Namazi makes a plea to President Joe Biden to put the “liberty of innocent Americans above politics” and ramp up efforts to secure his release, in an interview with CNN from inside Iran’s Evin prison.

September 18, 2023 – Siamak Namazi is freed, along with four other Americans as part of a wider deal that includes the United States unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds.

North Korea

Kenneth Bae
December 11, 2012 – US officials confirm that American citizen Kenneth Bae has been detained in North Korea for over a month.

April 30, 2013 – North Korea’s Supreme Court sentences Bae to 15 years of hard labor for “hostile acts” against the country.

October 11, 2013 – Bae meets with his mother in North Korea.

January 20, 2014 – A statement is released in which Bae says that he had committed a “serious crime” against North Korea. Any statement made by Bae in captivity is sanctioned by the North Korean government. The country has a long history of forcing false confessions.

February 7, 2014 – The State Department announces that Bae has been moved from a hospital to a labor camp.

November 8, 2014 – The State Department announces that Bae and Matthew Miller have been released and are on their way home.

Jeffrey Fowle
June 6, 2014 – North Korea announces it has detained US citizen Jeffrey Edward Fowle, who entered the country as a tourist in April. Fowle was part of a tour group and was detained in mid-May after leaving a bible in a restaurant.

June 30, 2014 – North Korea says that it plans to prosecute Fowle and another detained American tourist, Matthew Miller, accusing them of “perpetrating hostile acts.”

October 21, 2014 – A senior State Department official tells CNN that Fowle has been released and is on his way home.

Aijalon Gomes
January 25, 2010 – Aijalon Mahli Gomes, of Boston, is detained in North Korea after crossing into the country illegally from China.

April 7, 2010 – He is sentenced to eight years of hard labor and ordered to pay a fine of 70 million North Korean won or approximately $600,000.

July 10, 2010 – Gomes is hospitalized after attempting to commit suicide.

August 25-27, 2010 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in North Korea, with hopes of negotiating for Gomes’ release.

August 27, 2010 – Carter and Gomes leave Pyongyang after Gomes is granted amnesty for humanitarian purposes.

Kim Dong Chul
October 2015 – Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized American citizen, is taken into custody after allegedly meeting a source to obtain a USB stick and camera used to gather military secrets. In January 2016, Kim is given permission to speak with CNN by North Korean officials and asks that the United States or South Korea rescue him.

March 25, 2016 – A North Korean official tells CNN that Kim has confessed to espionage charges.

April 29, 2016 – A North Korean official tells CNN that Kim has been sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for subversion and espionage.

May 9, 2018 – Trump announces that Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, appear to be in good health and are returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

May 10, 2018 – The three freed American detainees arrive at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Kim Hak-song
May 7, 2017 – The state-run Korean Central News Agency reports that US citizen Kim Hak-song was detained in North Korea on May 6 on suspicion of “hostile acts” against the regime. The regime describes Kim as “a man who was doing business in relation to the operation of Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.”

May 9, 2018 – Trump announces that Kim Hak-song, Kim Dong Chul and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, appear to be in good health and are returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

May 10, 2018 – The three freed American detainees arrive at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Kim Sang Duk
April 22, 2017 – US citizen Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, is detained by authorities at Pyongyang International Airport for unknown reasons. Kim taught for several weeks at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.

May 3, 2017 – State-run Korean Central News Agency reports that Kim is accused of attempting to overthrow the government.

May 9, 2018 – Trump announces that Tony Kim, Kim Hak-song and Kim Dong Chul appear to be in good health and are returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

May 10, 2018 – The three freed American detainees arrive at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling
March 2009 – Journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling are arrested while reporting from the border between North Korea and China for California-based Current Media.

June 4, 2009 – They are sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

August 4, 2009 – Former US President Bill Clinton travels to Pyongyang on a private humanitarian mission to help secure their release.

August 5, 2009 – Lee and Ling are pardoned and released.

Matthew Miller
April 25, 2014 – North Korea’s news agency reports that Matthew Todd Miller was taken into custody on April 10. According to KCNA, Miller entered North Korea seeking asylum and tour up his tourist visa.

June 30, 2014 – North Korea says that it plans to prosecute Miller and another detained American tourist, Jeffrey Fowle, accusing them of “perpetrating hostile acts.”

September 14, 2014 – According to state-run media, Miller is convicted of committing “acts hostile” to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor.

November 8, 2014 – The State Department announces Miller and Kenneth Bae have been released and are on their way home.

Merrill Newman
October 26, 2013 – Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, California, is detained in North Korea, according to his family. Just minutes before his plane is to depart, Newman is removed from the flight by North Korean authorities, his family says.

November 22, 2013 – The US State Department says North Korea has confirmed to Swedish diplomats that it is holding an American citizen. The State Department has declined to confirm the identity of the citizen, citing privacy issues, but the family of Newman says the Korean War veteran and retired financial consultant has been detained since October.

November 30, 2013 – KCNA reports Newman issued an apology to the people of North Korea, “After I killed so many civilians and (North Korean) soldiers and destroyed strategic objects in the DPRK during the Korean War, I committed indelible offensive acts against the DPRK government and Korean people.” His statement ends: “If I go back to (the) USA, I will tell the true features of the DPRK and the life the Korean people are leading.”

December 7, 2013 – Newman returns to the United States, arriving at San Francisco International Airport. North Korea’s state news agency reports Newman was released for “humanitarian” reasons.

Eddie Yong Su Jun
April 14, 2011 – The KCNA reports that US citizen Eddie Yong Su Jun was arrested in November 2010 and has been under investigation for committing a crime against North Korea. No details are provided on the alleged crime.

May 27, 2011 – Following a visit from the US delegation which includes the special envoy for North Korean human rights, Robert King, and the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, Jon Brause, to North Korea, Yong Su Jun is released.

Otto Frederick Warmbier
January 2, 2016 – Otto Frederick Warmbier, a University of Virginia college student, is detained in North Korea after being accused of a “hostile act” against the government.

February 29, 2016 – The North Korean government releases a video of Warmbier apologizing for committing, in his own words, “the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel.” It is not known if Warmbier was forced to speak.

March 16, 2016 – Warmbier is sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for crimes against the state, a North Korean official tells CNN.

June 13, 2017 – Warmbier is transported back to the United States via medevac flight to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. There, doctors say that he has suffered severe brain damage. Doctors say Warmbier shows no current signs of botulism, which North Korean officials claim he contracted after his trial.

June 19, 2017 – Warmbier’s family issues a statement that he has died.

April 26, 2018 – Warmbier’s parents file a wrongful death lawsuit against the North Korean government charging that the country’s regime tortured and killed their son, according to lawyers for the family.

December 24, 2018 – A federal judge in Washington awards Warmbier’s parents more than half a billion dollars in the wrongful death suit against the North Korean government. North Korea did not respond to the lawsuit – the opinion was rendered as a so-called “default judgment” – and the country has no free assets in the US for which the family could make a claim.

Russia

Trevor Reed
2019 – While visiting a longtime girlfriend, Trevor Reed is taken into custody after a night of heavy drinking according to state-run news agency TASS and Reed’s family. Police tell state-run news agency RIA-Novosti that Reed was involved in an altercation with two women and a police unit that arrived at the scene following complaints of a disturbance. Police allege Reed resisted arrest, attacked the driver, hit another policeman, caused the car to swerve by grabbing the wheel and created a hazardous situation on the road, RIA stated.

July 30, 2020 – Reed is sentenced to nine years in prison for endangering “life and health” of Russian police officers.

April 1, 2021 – The parents of Reed reveal that their son served as a Marine presidential guard under the Obama administration – a fact they believe led Russia to target him.

April 27, 2022 – Reed is released in a prisoner swap.

June 14, 2022 – Reed tells CNN that he has filed a petition with the United Nations (UN), declaring that Russia violated international law with his detention and poor treatment.

Brittney Griner
February 17, 2022 – Two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and WBNA star Brittney Griner is taken into custody following a customs screening at Sheremetyevo Airport. Russian authorities said Griner had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance, an offense the Russian government says is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

July 7, 2022 – Griner pleads guilty to drug charges in a Russian court.

August 4, 2022 – Griner is found guilty of drug smuggling with criminal intent and sentenced by a Russian court to 9 years of jail time with a fine of one million rubles (roughly $16,400).

October 25, 2022 – At an appeal hearing, a Russian judge leaves Griner’s verdict in place, upholding her conviction on drug smuggling charges and reducing only slightly her nine-year prison sentence.

November 9, 2022 – Griner’s attorney tells CNN she is being moved to a Russian penal colony where she is due to serve the remainder of her sentence.

December 8, 2022 – US President Biden announces that Griner has been released from Russian detention and is on her way home.

Turkey

Serkan Golge
July 2016 – While on vacation in Turkey, Serkan Golge is arrested and accused of having links to the Gulenist movement. Golge is a 37-year-old NASA physicist who holds dual Turkish-US citizenship.

February 8, 2018 – Golge is sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.

September 2018 – A Turkish court reduces Golge’s prison sentence to five years.

May 29, 2019 – The State Department announces that Golge has been released.

Andrew Brunson
October 2016 – Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native, is arrested in Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast, where he is pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church. Brunson, an evangelical Presbyterian pastor, is later charged with plotting to overthrow the Turkish government, disrupting the constitutional order and espionage.

March 2018 – A formal indictment charges Brunson with espionage and having links to terrorist organizations.

October 12, 2018 – Brunson is sentenced to three years and one month in prison but is released based on time served.

Venezuela

Timothy Hallett Tracy
April 24, 2013 – Timothy Hallett Tracy, of Los Angeles, is arrested at the Caracas airport, according to Reporters Without Borders. Tracy traveled to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country.

April 25, 2013 – In a televised address, newly elected President Nicolas Maduro says he ordered the arrest of Tracy for “financing violent groups.”

April 27, 2013 – Tracy is formally charged with conspiracy, association for criminal purposes and use of a false document.

June 5, 2013 – Tracy is released from prison and expelled from Venezuela.

Joshua Holt
May 26, 2018 – Joshua Holt and his Venezuelan wife, Thamara Holt, are released by Venezuela. The two had been imprisoned there since 2016. The American traveled to Venezuela to marry Thamara in 2016, and shortly afterward was accused by the Venezuelan government of stockpiling weapons and attempting to destabilize the government. He was held for almost two years with no trial.

“Citgo 6”

November 2017 – After arriving in Caracas, Venezuela, for an impromptu business meeting, Tomeu Vadell and five other Citgo executives – Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano and Jose Angel Pereira – are arrested and detained on embezzlement and corruption charges. Citgo is the US subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil and natural gas company PDVSA. Five of the six men are US citizens; one is a US legal permanent resident.

December 2019 – The “Citgo 6” are transferred from the detention facility, where they have been held without trial for more than two years, to house arrest.

February 5, 2020 – They are moved from house arrest into prison, hours after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido met with US President Donald Trump

July 30, 2020 – Two of the men – Cárdenas and Toledo – are released on house arrest after a humanitarian visit to Caracas by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and a team of non-government negotiators.

November 27, 2020 – The six oil executives are found guilty and are given sentences between 8 to 13 years in prison.

April 30, 2021 – The men are released from prison to house arrest.

October 16, 2021 – The “Citgo 6,” all under house arrest, are picked up by the country’s intelligence service SEBIN, just hours after the extradition of Alex Saab, a Colombian financier close to Maduro.

March 8, 2022 – Cardenas is one of two detainees released from prison. The other, Jorge Alberto Fernandez, a Cuban-US dual citizen detained in Venezuela since February 2021, was accused of terrorism for carrying a small domestic drone. The releases take place after a quiet trip to Caracas by a US government delegation.

October 1, 2022 – US President Biden announces the release and return of Toledo, Vadell, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, and Pereira.

Matthew Heath

September 2020 – Is arrested and charged with terrorism in Venezuela.

June 20, 2022 – Family of Heath state that he has attempted suicide. “We are aware of reports that a US citizen was hospitalized in Venezuela,” a State Department spokesperson says. “Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”

October 1, 2022 – US President Biden announces the release and return of Heath.

Airan Berry and Luke Denman

May 4, 2020 – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says two American “mercenaries” have been apprehended after a failed coup attempt to capture and remove him. Madura identifies the captured Americans as Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41. On state television, Maduro brandishes what he claims are the US passports and driver’s licenses of the two men, along with what he says are their ID cards for Silvercorp, a Florida-based security services company.

May 5, 2020 – Denman appears on Venezuelan state TV. He is shown looking directly at the camera recounting his role in “helping Venezuelans take back control of their country.”

August 7, 2020 – Prosecutors announce that Berry and Denman have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

December 20, 2023 – It is announced that the US has reached an agreement to secure the release of 10 Americans, including Berry and Denman, held in Venezuela.

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March 7, 2024
Gloria Steinem Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of writer and activist Gloria Steinem.

Birth date: March 25, 1934

Birth place: Toledo, Ohio

Birth name: Gloria Marie Steinem

Father: Leo Steinem, an antique dealer

Mother: Ruth (Nuneviller) Steinem

Marriage: David Bale (2000-2003, his death)

Education: Smith College, B.A., 1956

Steinem’s paternal grandmother, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem, was the president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association.

Breast cancer survivor.

Did not spend a full year in school until age 12.

1956-1958 – Lives in India on a Chester Bowles Fellowship.

1960 – Moves to New York and begins working at Help! magazine.

September 1, 1962 – One of her first feature articles is published by Esquire magazine.

1963 – Works undercover as a “Bunny” at the Playboy Club in New York and then writes an exposé about the poor pay and working conditions.

1968 – Helps found New York magazine, and begins writing features and political columns including, “The City Politic.”

1969 – Begins writing and speaking about feminism after attending a meeting held by a women’s movement group that addressed the issue of abortion.

May 6, 1970 – Testifies before the United States Senate in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

1971 – Co-founds the National Women’s Political Caucus, which works to increase the number of women in the political field.

1972 – Co-founds Ms. Magazine, the first feminist magazine, and the first to be created and operated entirely by women.

1973 – Co-founds the Ms. Foundation for Women.

November 18-21, 1977 – Organizes and attends the National Women’s conference in Texas. The conference is the first to be backed by the US government, and its purpose was proposing recommendations for widespread gender equality.

1983 – Steinem’s collection of essays “Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions” is published.

1992 – Steinem’s book “Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem” is published.

1992 – Co-founds Choice USA (now URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity), along with Julie Burton and Kristina Kiehl.

April 22, 1993 – Celebrates the first “Take Our Daughters To Work Day,” an educational program created by the Ms. Foundation to give girls a voice and presence in the workplace.

1993 – Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

January 12, 1993 – Co-produces the movie for television “Better off Dead” an examination of the parallels between abortion and the death penalty.

1996 – Creates the Women and AIDS Fund with the Ms. Foundation to support women living with HIV/AIDS.

2005 – Co-founds the Women’s Media Center with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan.

2006 – Steinem’s book “Doing Sixty & Seventy” is published.

August 15, 2011 – The HBO documentary, “Gloria: In Her Own Words,” airs.

2013 – Steinem is a subject in the PBS documentary, “Makers,” a project that aims to record the stories of women who “made America.”

November 20, 2013 – Is awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama.

October 19, 2015 – Pens an op-ed in The Guardian declaring her support for 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

October 27, 2015 – Her memoir, “My Life on the Road,” is published.

February 5, 2016 – Steinem makes a controversial comment on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” saying young women are supporting Senator Bernie Sanders in the presidential race because “the boys are with Bernie.” She later apologizes and claims her comment was misinterpreted.

May 10, 2016 – Steinem’s television show “WOMAN” premieres on VICELAND.

October 18, 2018 – The Off-Broadway production, “Gloria: A Life,” officially opens at the Daryl Roth Theatre.

October 29, 2019 – Steinem’s book “The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!” is published.

June 15, 2020 – Steinem and S. Mona Sinha co-write a New York Times letter to the editor opposing the elimination of civil rights protections for transgender healthcare.

September 30, 2020 – ”The Glorias,” a film is based on Steinem’s memoir “My Life on the Road,” premieres.

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March 6, 2024
Andrew Young Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of civil rights activist and former ambassador Andrew Young.

Birth date: March 12, 1932

Birth place: New Orleans, Louisiana

Birth name: Andrew Jackson Young Jr.

Father: Andrew Jackson Young, a dentist

Mother: Daisy (Fuller) Young, a teacher

Marriages: Carolyn (McClain) Young (April 15, 1996-present); Jean (Childs) Young (June 7, 1954-September 16, 1994, her death)

Children: with Jean (Childs) Young: Andrea, Lisa, Paula, Andrew III

Education: Attended Dillard University, 1947-1948; Howard University, B.S., Biology, 1951; Hartford Theological Seminary, B.D., 1955

Began working with the National Council of Churches on voter registration and voter education projects. Young also started working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at this time.

Helped draft both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Made a speech in the House of Representatives supporting President Richard Nixon’s choice of Gerald Ford as vice president. Is the only African American who voted for Ford’s confirmation.

Quote regarding his role as UN ambassador, “There is a sense in which the United States Ambassador speaks to the United States, as well as for the United States. I have always seen my role as a thermostat, rather than a thermometer. So I’m going to be actively working…for my own concerns. I have always had people advise me on what to say, but never on what not to say.”

1955 – Is ordained a minister in the United Church of Christ.

mid-1950s – Pastor to several churches in Alabama and Georgia.

1960 – Wins the Peabody Broadcasting and Film Commission Institutional Award for Radio -Television Education given to the National Council of Churches of Christ for the programs “Look Up and Live,” “Frontiers of Faith,” “Pilgrimage” and “Talk-back.”

1961 – Moves to Atlanta and joins the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

May 3, 1963 – Organizes the anti-segregation march in Birmingham, Alabama, where demonstrators are hosed and set upon by dogs by order of Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor.

1964 – Becomes the executive director of SCLC.

July-August 1966 – Race riots in predominantly white neighborhoods on Chicago’s Southwest Side have Dr. King, Young, SCLC and the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) demonstrating to end housing discrimination.

April 1968 – Becomes the executive vice president of SCLC after the death of Dr. King.

August 1969 – Changes SCLC’s focus from integration and anti-segregation activities to voter registration and political activities.

1970 – Resigns from the SCLC to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives from Georgia’s 5th congressional district. He loses by more than 20,000 votes.

1972 – Second run for Georgia’s 5th congressional district seat. Redistricting changes the population distribution somewhat and Young wins by 7,694 votes.

1974 – Wins reelection by 72% of the vote.

1976 – Wins reelection by 80% of the vote.

December 16, 1976 – President-elect Jimmy Carter nominates Young as ambassador to the United Nations.

January 30, 1977 – Is sworn-in as the first African American and 14th US ambassador to the United Nations by Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

August 15, 1979 – Resigns his UN ambassadorship over controversy stemming from an unauthorized July meeting with PLO representatives.

1979 – Establishes the consulting firm Young Ideas.

1981 – President Carter presents Young with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

October 27, 1981 – Wins Atlanta mayoral race with 65,798 votes (55.1%) beating Georgia Congressman Sidney Marcus with 53,549 votes (44.8%).

January 5, 1982-January 2, 1990 – Mayor of Atlanta.

October 8, 1985 – Wins reelection with 81% of the vote. In contrast to the 1981 election where 61% of the registered voters turned out, only 32% turn out for this election.

1990 – Becomes chairman of the Atlanta Organizing Committee to bring the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta.

February 5, 1990 – Announces plans to run for Georgia governor.

August 7, 1990 – Loses the runoff for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Lt. Governor Zell Miller.

September 18, 1990 – The IOC announces Atlanta as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

1996 – Co-founds GoodWorks International, a consulting firm advising on responsible business development in Africa and the Caribbean.

1998 – Serves on the US Commission on National Security in the 21st Century established by President Bill Clinton.

2000-2001 – President of the National Council of Churches.

2007 – Writes and produces documentary “Rwanda Rising.”

2008 – “Andrew Young Presents,” the documentary series which Young writes and produces premieres.

February 25, 2011 – Receives a special lifetime achievement Emmy Award, the Trustee Award.

March 9, 2013 – The Democratic Party of Georgia presents Young with the John Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award.

August 28, 2013 – The sons of Martin Luther King Jr., Dexter King and Martin Luther King III, sue to remove Young from the board of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. At issue is Young’s use of images of their father in a documentary produced by Young.

May 11, 2015 – Young is taken to the hospital in Atlanta as a precaution after a cement truck overturns on his car. He is released the same day.

May 6, 2018 – Young is taken to the hospital after becoming ill in Nashville, with what he later says was a staph infection. After a few days, he is transferred to Atlanta where he spends several days at Emory University Hospital before being released.

October 8, 2020 – Greenwood Bank announces it has raised more than $3 million in seed funding. Young cofounded the bank with Michael “Killer Mike” Render, rapper and activist, and Ryan Glover, founder of Bounce TV network. It is inspired by the former Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a Black business community destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. The business, which is owned, managed and operated by Black and Latino people, is expected to launch mid-2021.

October 19, 2023 – Is promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest honor, for “his outstanding contributions to human rights and equality.” Young received the rank of Knight in 1984.

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March 1, 2024
Mitch McConnell Fast Facts | CNN Politics

CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky.

Birth date: February 20, 1942

Birth place: Colbert County, Alabama

Birth name: Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr.

Father: Addison Mitchell McConnell

Mother: Julia (Shockley) McConnell

Marriages: Elaine Chao (1993-present); Sherrill Redmon (1968-1980, divorced)

Children: with Sherrill Redmon: Porter; Claire; Eleanor

Education: University of Louisville, B.A., 1964; University of Kentucky, J.D., 1967

Religion: Baptist

Contracted polio at age 2 and was not allowed to walk for two years while completing physical therapy.

His wife, Elaine Chao, served as secretary of the Department of Labor under President George W. Bush and deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation under President George H.W. Bush. Chao served as the secretary of the Department of Transportation under President Donald Trump.

1968-1970 – Chief legislative assistant to Senator Marlow Cook.

1974-1975 – Deputy Assistant United States Attorney for Legislative Affairs.

1975 – Acting Assistant Attorney General.

1978-1985 – Judge-Executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky.

1984 – Elected to the US Senate to represent Kentucky.

1990 – Reelected to the US Senate.

1996 – Reelected to the US Senate.

2002 – Reelected to the US Senate.

2003-2007 – Senate Republican Whip.

November 16, 2006 – Elected Senate Republican leader. McConnell replaces Bill Frist.

January 4, 2007-January 6, 2015 – Senate Minority Leader.

2008 – Reelected to the US Senate.

October 23, 2010 – During an interview with the National Journal, McConnell says, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President [Barack] Obama to be a one-term president.”

November 4, 2014 – Reelected to the US Senate.

November 13, 2014 – McConnell is reelected leader of the Republican party in the Senate. When Congress reconvenes in January 2015, McConnell will take over as Senate majority leader from Harry Reid.

January 6, 2015–January 20, 2021 – Senate Majority Leader.

December 12, 2016 – Announces he supports a congressional investigation into findings that Russian hackers attempted to influence the election.

June 12, 2018 – Becomes the longest-serving Republican leader in the Senate’s history, surpassing former Sen. Robert Dole’s record.

August 4, 2019 – McConnell fractures his shoulder after falling in his Kentucky home. “This morning, Leader McConnell tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder,” David Popp, McConnell’s communications director, says in a statement. “He has been treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville.”

August 15, 2019 – McConnell undergoes surgery to repair the fracture in his shoulder. “The surgery was performed without incident, and the Leader is grateful to the surgical team for their skill,” Popp says in a statement.

November 3, 2020 – Wins reelection to the US Senate, defeating Democratic opponent Amy McGrath and her massive fundraising efforts to unseat him.

November 10, 2020 – McConnell is reelected as a Senate party leader, but the party holding the Senate majority won’t be determined until two runoff elections in Georgia take place in January.

December 15, 2020 – Six weeks after Election Day McConnell finally acknowledges Joe Biden’s victory and refers to him as president-elect.

January 2, 2021 – Police report that McConnell’s home has been vandalized. The damage takes place after the Senate stalls on increasing stimulus checks to $2,000. The home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the other highest-ranking member of Congress, was vandalized the previous day.

January 20, 2021-present – Senate Minority Leader.

February 13, 2021 – McConnell directly blames former President Trump for instigating last month’s riot at the Capitol but votes to acquit him anyway of inciting an insurrection.

November 16, 2022 – Wins a secret-ballot leadership election, putting him on pace to become the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history. McConnell defeats Florida Sen. Rick Scott in a 37-10-1 vote, his first challenger in his 15 years atop his conference.

March 8, 2023 – McConnell is being treated for a concussion and is staying at a hospital for observation after a fall at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, DC.

July 26, 2023 – McConnell stops speaking in the middle of remarks at his regularly scheduled weekly news conference on Capitol Hill. After a 30-second pause, his colleagues crowded around to see if he was OK and asked him how he felt. He later tells reporters that he’s “fine.”

August 30, 2023 – Appears to freeze for about 30 seconds while speaking with reporters after a speech in Covington, Kentucky.

February 28, 2024 – McConnell will step down at GOP leader in November, a source tells CNN.

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February 28, 2024
Jamie Dimon Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here is a look at the life of Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Birth date: March 13, 1956

Birth place: New York, New York

Birth name: James Dimon

Father: Theodore Dimon, stockbroker

Mother: Themis Dimon

Marriage: Judith “Judy” (Kent) Dimon (May 1983-present)

Children: Julia, Laura and Kara Leigh

Education: Tufts University, B.A. 1978; Harvard University, M.B.A., 1982

He has a twin brother, Theodore Dimon Jr., who is the founder of the Dimon Institute in New York.

1982-1985 – Assistant to American Express president Sandy Weill.

1996-1997 – Chairman and CEO of Smith Barney.

1997-1998 – Co-chairman and co-CEO of Salomon Smith Barney Holdings.

1998 – President of Citigroup. Dimon is forced out of the company after a falling-out with Weill.

2000-2004 – Chairman and CEO of Bank One Corporation.

2004 – Becomes president and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. when it merges with Bank One Corporation.

December 31, 2005 – Assumes title of chief executive officer and president at JPMorgan Chase & Co., effective January 1, 2006.

December 31, 2006 – Named chairman of the board at JPMorgan Chase & Co., effective January 1, 2007.

2011 – Earned $23.1 million in compensation as chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., making him the best paid bank CEO.

May 10, 2012 – On a conference call, reveals that a trading portfolio that was designed to help JPMorgan Chase hedge its credit risk lost $2 billion and could lose $1 billion more.

May 15, 2012 – Apologizes to JPMorgan Chase shareholders at the annual meeting. Shareholders approve Dimon’s $23 million pay package and preliminary results show that only 40% support a proposal that calls for the appointment of an independent chairman.

May 17, 2012 – Senate Banking Committee announces Dimon has been invited to appear before the committee at hearings looking into the JP Morgan trading losses from a regulatory angle.

June 13, 2012 – Dimon testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee telling senators that while he did not approve the trades that led to the multi-billion dollar loss, he was aware of it.

June 19, 2012 – Dimon testifies before the House Financial Services Committee and says that he did not mislead shareholders.

July 13, 2012 – JPMorgan announces that the trading loss originally believed to be $2 billion is now approximately $5.8 billion. JPMorgan later discloses that the loss increased to $6.2 billion in the third quarter.

2012 – Due to the London Whale losses, Dimon’s pay package is reduced to $11.5 million, down from the previous year’s $23.1 million.

January 23, 2013 – Dimon apologizes to the shareholders by stating that the “whale” trade that caused the $6 billion loss was a “terrible mistake.”

May 21, 2013 – Approximately 68% of JPMorgan Chase stockholders vote to keep Dimon as chairman and CEO at the annual meeting, but three directors on the risk committee receive a narrow majority of only between 51% and 59% of votes.

September 19, 2013 – JPMorgan Chase agrees to pay about $920 million in fines to US and UK regulators to settle charges related to the “London Whale” trading scandal.

November 19, 2013 – Officials announce JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a $13 billion settlement to resolve several investigations into the bank’s mortgage securities business. According to the Justice Department, the deal is the “the largest settlement with a single entity in American history.”

January 24, 2014 – Dimon gets a 74% pay hike for 2013, even though JPMorgan Chase & Co was forced to pay billions in fines and settlements last year. In a government filing, JPMorgan Chase says that Dimon will receive $18.5 million worth of restricted stock that will vest over the next three years as his 2013 bonus. That’s up from a $10 million bonus for 2012. His $1.5 million base salary remains unchanged.

July 1, 2014 – Dimon releases a memo saying that he has been diagnosed with a curable throat cancer. He will receive radiation and chemotherapy treatment over the next eight weeks at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York, but will remain working while undergoing treatment.

February 11, 2016 – After the price of JPMorgan Chase shares drop 25% from their all-time high during the summer, Dimon purchases $26.6 million in stock.

January 30, 2018 – Announces, along with Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos, a plan to “find a more efficient and transparent way to provide health care services” in order to tackle the rising cost of healthcare.

March 5, 2020 – In a letter to employees, shareholders and clients, JPMorgan Chase’s co-COOs Gordon Smith and Daniel Pinto announce that Dimon is recovering after undergoing emergency heart surgery. Dimon required surgery after experiencing an “acute aortic dissection,” a tear in the inner lining of the aorta blood vessel.

July 20, 2021 – According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, JPMorgan Chase awards Dimon 1.5 million stock options for him “to continue to lead the Firm for a further significant number of years.”

February 22, 2024 – SEC filings show that Dimon has sold $150 million worth of JPMorgan Chase stock.

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February 27, 2024
Robert Levinson Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran in 2007.

Birth date: March 10, 1948

Birth place: Flushing, New York

Birth name: Robert Alan Levinson

Father: Name unavailable publicly

Mother: Name unavailable publicly

Marriage: Christine (Gorman) Levinson

Children: Douglas, Samantha, David, Daniel, Sarah, Stephanie and Susan

Education: City College of New York, B.A., 1970

During his career at the FBI, Levinson specialized in investigating organized crime in Russia.

His family said Levinson suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.

1970s – Levinson is hired by the FBI after six years with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

1998 – Levinson retires from the FBI.

1998-2007 – Levinson works as a private investigator.

2006 – Levinson is hired as a contractor by Tim Sampson, head of the Illicit Finance Group within the Office of Transnational Issues at the CIA, to write reports for the agency. The contract is for approximately $85,000. Three CIA employees, including Sampson, later lose their jobs for overstepping their authority as analysts and withholding information about Levinson after he disappeared.

March 8-9, 2007 – According to State Department officials, Levinson travels to Kish Island in Iran and checks into a hotel. Reportedly, Levinson is in the Middle East to investigate cigarette smuggling on behalf of a client. During the visit, he meets with American fugitive Dawud Salahuddin, who is the last person to acknowledge seeing him on March 9.

June 1, 2007 – US President George W. Bush says he is “disturbed” by Iran’s refusal to provide any information on Levinson. “I call on Iran’s leaders to tell us what they know about his whereabouts.”

December 2007 – Levinson’s wife, Christine Levinson, meets with government officials in Iran, but does not learn anything about her husband’s disappearance.

2008 – The CIA pays the Levinson family more than $2 million to head off a lawsuit, according to family attorney David McGee.

March 3, 2011 – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that evidence is growing that Levinson is alive and being held somewhere in southwest Asia.

December 2011 – The Levinson family publicly releases a “proof of life” video they received in November 2010. In the video, Levinson says, “I have been treated well, but I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me for three-and-a-half years. And please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something. Please help me.”

March 6, 2012 – The FBI offers a $1 million reward for information leading to his safe return.

September 2012 – Christine Levinson attempts to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the UN General Assembly in New York. He does not meet with her but tells CNN, “They told me (Levinson) was in Iran, and of course the question came up in my mind, what was an American intelligence officer doing in Iran…an individual is lost, how are we supposed to find him among 7 billion people spread across the globe? What we can do is assist, help and cooperate, which we have been doing, and we are doing… as a humanitarian gesture and action.”

January 2013 – The Levinson family releases a series of photographs they received in April 2011. In the photos, a bearded, shackled Levinson, wearing an orange jumpsuit, holds signs written in broken English.

September 27, 2013 – US President Barack Obama speaks by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. One of the topics discussed is Levinson.

December 12, 2013 – The Associated Press and The Washington Post report that Levinson was working for the CIA when he disappeared in 2007, possibly investigating corruption among Iranian officials. The AP says it first learned of Levinson’s CIA ties in 2010 but delayed publishing the information at the government’s request. The next day the New York Times reports it has known of Levinson’s CIA work since 2007 but also delayed publishing the information to avoid jeopardizing his safety.

December 13, 2013 – White House Spokesman Jay Carney says Levinson “was not a US government employee when he went missing in Iran.”

December 2013 – Salahuddin, the last person to acknowledge seeing Levinson, tells the Christian Science Monitor that both he and Levinson were detained by Iranian police on March 9, 2007.

January 21, 2014 – In an interview with CNN, Levinson’s family discloses that they have known for some time that he was working for the CIA. They accuse the US government of failing to do enough to find Levinson.

March 9, 2015 – The FBI increases the reward for information on Levinson to $5 million.

February 11, 2016 – The Senate passes a resolution recognizing that Levinson is the longest held US civilian in US history and urges Iran to “act on its promises to assist in the case of Robert Levinson.”

March 21, 2017 – Levinson’s family files a lawsuit against Iran with the US District Court in Washington, DC. The complaint states that the family is filing suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act “for injuries suffered by each of them as a result of Iran’s unlawful acts of hostage taking, torture and other torts.”

November 4, 2019 – The Department of State Rewards for Justice Program announces a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to the safe return of Levinson, in addition to the FBI’s previously announced reward of $5 million.

March 9, 2020 – On the 13th anniversary of Levinson’s abduction, the FBI renews its “repeated calls to Iran to uphold its prior commitments to cooperate and to share information which could lead to Bob’s return.”

March 25, 2020 – The family of Levinson announces that they believe he is dead. “We recently received information from U.S. officials that has led both them and us to conclude that our wonderful husband and father died while in Iranian custody,” they said in a statement.

October 1, 2020 – A US court orders the government of Iran to pay more than $1.4 billion to Levinson’s family for compensatory and punitive damages.

December 14, 2020 – Senior US government officials say they have identified and sanctioned two senior Iranian intelligence officials who were involved in the abduction and “probable death” of Levinson.

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February 22, 2024
Rick Perry Fast Facts | CNN Politics

Here is a look at the life of former US Secretary of Energy and former Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Birth date: March 4, 1950

Birth place: Paint Creek, Texas

Birth name: James Richard Perry

Father: Joseph Ray Perry, a farmer

Mother: Amelia (Holt) Perry

Marriage: Anita (Thigpen) Perry (November 6, 1982-present)

Children: Sydney and Griffin

Education: Texas A&M University, B.S., 1972

Military Service: US Air Force, 1972-1977, Captain

Religion: Methodist

Is an Eagle Scout.

Met his wife, Anita, in elementary school.

Has devoted years to supporting psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Is the longest-serving governor in Texas history.

1972-1977 – Serves in the US Air Force flying transport planes.

1977 – Returns to Texas to live and work on his father’s farm.

1978 – Forms JR Perry Farms with his father.

1985-1991 – Member of the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from the 64th District.

1989 – Switches to the Republican Party.

1991-1999 – Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture.

1999-2000 – Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

December 21, 2000 – Perry is sworn in as governor after George W. Bush resigns to become president of the United States.

November 5, 2002 – Perry is elected to a four-year term.

November 7, 2006 – Is reelected governor.

2008 – Perry’s book “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For” is published.

November 2, 2010 – Perry is elected for a third term in office.

August 13, 2011 – Declares his candidacy for president during a speech in South Carolina.

January 19, 2012 – Suspends his presidential campaign and endorses Newt Gingrich.

July 8, 2013 – Announces that he will not run for reelection as Texas governor in 2014.

August 15, 2014 – A grand jury indicts Perry on charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of his official capacity. He allegedly threatened to veto funding for a statewide public integrity unit run by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg unless she resigned following her arrest on a drunk driving charge. She stayed in office, and he later vetoed the funding.

August 19, 2014 – Perry voluntarily appears at the Travis County Court house to be booked and fingerprinted and to have his mug shot taken. He pleads not guilty to charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of official capacity. The next day he makes the first of six campaign style stops across New Hampshire.

November 18, 2014 – A state district judge in Texas denies a defense motion to have two felony charges dismissed against Perry.

January 15, 2015 – Delivers his farewell address as governor.

June 4, 2015 – Announces he is running for president at a rally in Addison, Texas.

July 24, 2015 – A Texas appeals court dismisses one of two criminal charges against Perry. The court agrees with the argument from Perry’s legal team that a Texas law concerning “coercion of a public servant” violates Perry’s First Amendment freedom of speech rights. The court is allowing a charge related to abuse of power to move forward.

September 11, 2015 – Suspends his campaign for the presidency.

January 25, 2016 – Perry endorses Ted Cruz.

February 24, 2016 – The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals drops charges against Perry alleging he abused his power while in office.

August 30, 2016 – Perry is revealed as one of the members of the upcoming 23rd season of reality television dance competition “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC.

September 27, 2016 – Is eliminated from “Dancing With The Stars.”

November 22, 2016 – Returns to “Dancing With The Stars” for the season finale. Perry dances with Vanilla Ice during a live performance of “Ice Ice Baby.”

December 13, 2016 – President-elect Donald Trump announces he has selected Perry to be his nominee for energy secretary.

January 19, 2017 – Perry says that he regrets recommending the elimination of the Department of Energy during a presidential debate in 2012.

March 2, 2017 – Perry is confirmed as energy secretary with a 62-37 vote in the Senate.

July 26, 2017 – Perry’s office acknowledges that he was the target of a prank call on July 19. During the 20-minute call from Russian pranksters, real names Vladimir Krasnov and Aleksey Stolyarov, respectively, one pretends to be Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

February 5, 2019 – Is named the designated survivor for Trump’s second State of the Union address. As the one member of the Cabinet remaining outside the House chamber during the speech in case disaster strikes, Perry will remain in an undisclosed location.

October 10, 2019 – House Democrats issue a subpoena to Perry for documents related to the Trump administration’s contacts with Ukraine as part of the ongoing House impeachment inquiry.

October 17, 2019 – Perry says he plans to resign in a video posted to YouTube.

November 20, 2019 – Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland testifies that he, along with special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker and Perry, worked with Giuliani on Ukraine at the “express direction” of Trump and against their better judgment. Sondland also tells lawmakers that he had discussed the investigation in a July 19 email sent to several top US officials, including Perry. In response, the Department of Energy releases a statement denying Sondland’s claims, saying he “misrepresented both Secretary Perry’s interaction with Rudy Giuliani and direction the Secretary received from President Trump.”

December 1, 2019 – Perry resigns as US Secretary of Energy.

January 1, 2020 – Perry is appointed as a director of the general partner that controls Energy Transfer LP, a pipeline company.

February 17, 2021 – In a blog post on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s website, Perry is quoted as saying “partly rhetorically,” that “Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business.” Millions of Texans lost power as the state experienced a massive failure brought on by a historic freeze and a power grid that – unlike the other 47 contiguous states – is separated from the rest of the country and is not under federal regulatory oversight, which prevents Texas from being able to borrow power from other states.

December 17, 2021 – January 6 House committee investigators believe that a November 4 text pushing “strategy” to undermine the presidential election came from Perry, three sources familiar with the investigation tell CNN. First presented on the House floor December 14, the text was included in about 6,000 documents turned over to the committee by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Perry denies being the author.

Moments from Rick Perry’s career

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February 21, 2024
1965 Selma to Montgomery March Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march in Alabama.

Throughout March of 1965, a group of demonstrators faced violence as they attempted to march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, to demand the right to vote for black people.

One of the pivotal days was March 7, when 17 people were hospitalized and dozens more injured by police, including future Congressman John Lewis who suffered a fractured skull. Since that time, March 7 has been known as “Bloody Sunday.”

The march has been reenacted many times on its anniversary. In 2015, President Barack Obama marked the 50th anniversary of the march by delivering a speech at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.

It is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Selma to Montgomery.

February 1965 – Marches and demonstrations over voter registration prompt Alabama Governor George C. Wallace to ban nighttime demonstrations in Selma and Marion, Alabama.

February 18, 1965 – During a march in Marion, state troopers attack the demonstrators. State trooper James Bonard Fowler shoots and kills Jimmie Lee Jackson. Fowler was charged with murder in 2007 and pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2010.

March 7, 1965 – About 600 people begin a march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, led by Lewis and Hosea Williams. Marchers demand an end to discrimination in voter registration. At the Edmund Pettus Bridge, state and local lawmen attack the marchers with billy clubs and tear gas, driving them back to Selma.

Read More: Selma priest remembers Bloody Sunday.

March 9, 1965 – Martin Luther King Jr. leads another march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The march is largely symbolic; as arranged previously, the crowd turns back at a barricade of state troopers. Demonstrations are held in cities across the United States to show solidarity with the Selma marchers.

March 9, 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson speaks out against the violence in Selma and urges both sides to respect the law.

March 9, 1965 – Unitarian Universalist minister James Reeb, in Selma to join marchers, is attacked by a group of white men and beaten. He dies of his injuries two days later.

March 10, 1965 – The US Justice Department files suit in Montgomery, Alabama, asking for an order to prevent the state from punishing any person involved in a demonstration for civil rights.

March 17, 1965 – Federal District Court Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. rules in favor of the marchers. “The law is clear that the right to petition one’s government for the redress of grievances may be exercised in large groups.”

March 18, 1965 – Governor Wallace goes before the state legislature to condemn Johnson’s ruling. He states that Alabama cannot provide the security measures needed, blames the federal government, and says he will call on the federal government for help.

March 19, 1965 – Wallace sends a telegram to President Johnson asking for help, saying that the state does not have enough troops and cannot bear the financial burden of calling up the Alabama National Guard.

March 20, 1965 – President Johnson issues an executive order federalizing the Alabama National Guard and authorizes whatever federal forces the Defense Secretary deems necessary.

March 21, 1965 – About 3,200 people march out of Selma for Montgomery under the protection of federal troops. They walk about 12 miles a day and sleep in fields at night.

March 25, 1965 – The marchers reach the state capitol in Montgomery. The number of marchers grows to about 25,000.

August 6, 1965 – President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

June 4, 2015 – After a state resolution to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge is not acted upon, Lewis and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama), publish an article in the Selma Times-Journal in favor of keeping the name. “Keeping the name of the bridge is not an endorsement of the man who bares its name but rather an acknowledgment that the name of the bridge today is synonymous with the Voting Rights Movement which changed the face of this nation and the world.”

February 24, 2016 – The marchers receive a Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor.

June 3, 2021 – The National Trust for Historic Preservation includes the campsites used by the marchers in its annual list of the most endangered historic places in the United States.

Beaten, bloodied and murdered – Selma 50 years later

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February 21, 2024
Michelle Obama Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of Michelle Obama, wife of 44th US President Barack Obama.

Birth date: January 17, 1964

Birth place: Chicago, Illinois

Birth name: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson

Father: Fraser Robinson, water filtration worker

Mother: Marian (Shields) Robinson

Marriage: Barack Obama (October 3, 1992-present)

Children: Sasha, Malia

Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1985; Harvard University, J.D., 1988

Religion: Christian

Graduated magna cum laude with a sociology degree from Princeton.

Met Barack Obama when she was assigned to be his mentor at Sidley & Austin, a Chicago law firm.

Her father suffered from and eventually died of multiple sclerosis.

Has won a Grammy Award.

Nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award.

1988-1991 – Associate attorney at Sidley & Austin in Chicago.

1991-1992 – Assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

1992-1993 – Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development.

1993-1996 – Founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago.

1996-2002 – Associate Dean of Student Services for the University of Chicago and director of the University Community Service Center.

2002-2005 – Executive Director for Community Affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals.

2005-2007 – Member of the board of Tree House Foods, a food supplier for Walmart stores.

2005-January 2009 – Vice President of Community and External Affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals.

January 20, 2009 – Becomes the first lady of the United States.

April 2009 – “Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words” is published.

February 2009 – Appears on the March cover of Vogue magazine.

February 9, 2010 – Launches the national campaign, “Let’s Move!,” to reduce childhood obesity.

April 2011 – Launches the national veterans’ campaign, “Joining Forces,” with Jill Biden.

June 20, 2011 – Travels to Africa for a week to focus on youth leadership, education, health and wellness.

June 21, 2011 – Visits former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela at his home.

May 29, 2012 – “American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America” is published.

February 24, 2013 – Presents the Academy Award for best picture.

March 13, 2013 – Along with other high profile celebrities and politicians, Obama’s financial information is hacked and posted online. Her student loan information and credit report are posted.

March 14, 2013 – Is on the cover of April’s edition of Vogue. This is the second time she has appeared on the cover.

May 2014 – Launches the national campaign, “Reach Higher,” a higher education initiative.

March 2015 – Launches the national campaign, “Let Girls Learn,” a global focus on girls’ education.

July 2015 – Guest edits “More” magazine. Obama is the magazine’s first guest editor as well as the first, first lady to guest edit an entire issue of “More.”

November 10, 2016 – Obama hosts the soon-to-be first lady, Melania Trump, for tea and a tour of the White House residence, Press Secretary Josh Earnest says in a White House briefing.

November 11, 2016 – Is on the cover of December’s edition of Vogue. This is the third time she has appeared on the cover.

January 13, 2017 – Gives her final White House remarks thanking her supporters and saying, “being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life and I hope I’ve made you proud.”

September 27, 2017 – Remarks that “any woman who voted against Hillary Clinton voted against their own voice” during an appearance at the Inbound 2017 conference in Boston.

May 21, 2018 – Netflix announces the Obamas have signed a multi-year production deal that in which the two will work both in front of and behind the camera.

November 13, 2018 – Obama’s memoir “Becoming” is published, shooting to No. 1 on the Amazon Best Sellers list.

December 27, 2018 – Is voted the woman most admired by Americans this year, knocking Hillary Clinton from the top spot for the first time in 17 years, according to Gallup’s annual survey.

November 20, 2019 – Is nominated for a Grammy for best spoken word album for the audio version of “Becoming.”

December 30, 2019 – For the second year in a row, a Gallup survey lists Obama as the woman most admired by Americans.

January 26, 2020 – Wins a Grammy for best spoken word album for the audio version of “Becoming.”

July 16, 2020 – Announces that she is launching “The Michelle Obama Podcast” on Spotify.

March 10, 2021 – Obama speaks candidly, in an interview with People magazine about her struggles with low-grade depression during the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges of 2020. “Depression is understandable in these circumstances, during these times,” she said in the interview. “To think that somehow that we can just continue to rise above all the shock and the trauma and the upheaval that we have been experiencing without feeling it in that way is just unrealistic.”

June 21, 2022 – Audible, Amazon’s audiobook and podcast service, announces that Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, signed an exclusive multi-year first-look production deal with Audible.

Michelle Obama’s evolving style

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January 3, 2024
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
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Here’s a look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in January.

January 15, 2024 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

King’s actual birthday was on January 15.

April 8, 1968 – Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduces legislation for a federal holiday to commemorate King, just four days after his assassination.

January 15, 1969 – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta sponsors and observes the first annual celebration of King’s birthday.

April 1971 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presents to Congress petitions containing three million signatures in support of the holiday. Congress does not act.

1973 – Illinois is the first state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.

November 4, 1978 – The National Council of Churches urges Congress to enact the holiday.

1979 – Coretta Scott King speaks before Congress and joint hearings of Congress in a campaign to pass a holiday bill. A petition for the bill receives 300,000 signatures, and President Jimmy Carter supports passage of a bill.

November 1979 – The House fails to pass Conyers’ King Holiday bill by five votes.

1982 – Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder bring the speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, petitions with more than six million signatures in favor of a holiday.

1983 – Congress passes and President Ronald Reagan signs legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) attempt to block the bill’s passing.

January 20, 1986 – First national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place.

January 16, 1989 – The King holiday is legal in 44 states.

1994 – Coretta Scott King goes before Congress and quotes King from his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” in which he said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” She requests that the holiday be an official national day of humanitarian service.

1994 – Congress designates the holiday as a national day of service through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.

1999 – New Hampshire becomes the last state to adopt a holiday honoring King.

January 17, 2011 – Marks the 25th anniversary of the holiday.

December 15, 2021 – The family of King calls for “no celebration” of MLK Day without the passage of voting rights legislation.

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December 29, 2023