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Mt. St. Helen Explodes
The Mt. St. Helens volcano in Washington State erupts, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in economic damage to the area. -
Unemployment in 1982
With a rate of 10.4 percent, this was the highest unemployment rate since 1940. About eleven million people would be unemployed by the end of November. -
Beirut Barracks Bombings
At Beirut International Airport, two hundred and forty-one US peacekeeping troops are killed by a terrorist truck bomb. A second bomb detonated two miles away, destroying French barracks and killing forty people. -
Geneva Summit
Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan hold a five-hour summit meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, for the first time in six years between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States. -
MLK Day
Martin Luther King Day is declared a federal holiday in the United States for the first time. -
The 1989 Oil Spill
The Exxon Valdez makes contact with Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, resulting in the largest oil spill in American history, with eleven million gallons spilled over a 45-mile radius. -
The Soviet Union Gives Up Monopoly Power
The Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee loses its monopoly on power, continuing the pattern that began with the fall of the Berlin Wall, signaling the end of the Cold War. A proposal to reunite Germany was revealed six days later. -
The Bombing of The World Trade Center
When a van parked under the North Tower of the World Trade Center by Islamic terrorists explodes. Six people were killed, and over a thousand others were wounded. -
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Expansion
One hundred and seventy nations decide to extend the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty indefinitely. -
The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal
In a televised interview, US President Bill Clinton denies his involvement with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, igniting the Monica Lewinsky controversy. This refusal, along with others to a grand jury investigation, led to the president's impeachment. -
Hit Song "I Want it That Way" is Released
"I Want it That Way" was listed at the top of many lists, including that of the band's best songs. It is said to be the best song Backstreet Boys ever released and is still a worldwide hit. -
Twin Towers Bombing
Terrorists from the Islamic State hijack four American planes and fly them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City. Two planes strike the World Trade Center, destroying it, and one plane crashes into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing almost 3,000 people. As passengers learned of the plot, they heroically crash the fourth plane into a cornfield in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, preventing the destruction of another structure.