Illinois' ban on texting while driving goes into effect. Additionally, cellular telephone use is banned entirely while driving through a highway construction or school speed zone in Illinois.[3]
January 9 – A 6.5 MwEureka earthquake shakes the north coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), causing $21.8–43 million in losses and 35 injuries.
14-year-old student, Hammad Memon, killed 14-year-old Todd Brown at Discovery Middle School as classes were changing. The shooting was possibly related to gang activity. In May 2013, Memon pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to thirty years of prison. After Memon is released from prison, he is likely to be deported to his native Pakistan.
Amy Bishop, a biology professor at the University of Alabama, opens fire at the Huntsville campus, killing at least three people.[24] When she was 21, Bishop fatally shot her 18-year-old brother, Seth Bishop, on December 6, 1986, at their home in Braintree, Massachusetts.[25][26] The incident was initially classified as an "accident" by Braintree police. On June 16, 2010, Bishop was charged with first degree murder in her brother's death nearly 24 years after his shooting.[27]
The Women's Medical Society abortion clinic in Philadelphia is raided by the FBI in an investigation into suspected illegal drug prescription use. The raid uncovers extreme unsanitary operations, use of untrained staff, and eventually leads to charges against a number of staff members for murdering babies at the clinic.[31]
After setting fire to his home, Andrew Joseph Stack commits suicide by flying his private plane directly into an IRS building in Austin, Texas.[32]
March 28–30 – Nine people thought to be Hutareemilitia members are arrested in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana for their alleged involvement in a plot to kill police officers and possibly civilians using explosives and/or firearms.[47]
April 3 – Apple releases the first iPad in the U.S.
April 4 – The 7.2 MwBaja California earthquake occurred on Easter Sunday with a moment magnitude a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). The shock originated at 15:40:41 local time south of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico. The 89-second quake was widely felt throughout the Western United States, some southern states, and northwest Mexico and was also felt across a large swath of North America. It was also the strongest to rock Southern California in at least 18 years (since the 1992 Landers earthquake, M 7.3). Most of the damage occurred in the twin cities of Mexicali and Calexico on the Mexico–United States border. There were at least two fatalities in Mexicali, one of which was caused by a collapsed house. Major damage to irrigation systems occurred, severely impacting over 80,000 acres of agriculture in the Mexicali Valley.
April 8 – The Pittsburgh Penguins play the final regular season game at Civic Arena with a 7-3 victory over the New York Islanders the arena will be torn down to make way for PPG Paints Arena which will open next season. The last game ever is a 5-2 playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens on May 12.
NewsTilt – A news website for independent professional journalists is launched.[52]
April 15 – President Barack Obama delivers a major speech on the future of NASA's human spaceflight program. He commits to increasing NASA funding by $6 billion over five years and completing the design of a new heavy-lift launch vehicle by 2015 and to begin construction thereafter. He also predicts a U.S. crewed orbital Mars mission by the mid-2030s.
June 19 – China announces it will raise the yuan against the US Dollar after the US Congress announces it will penalize China unless it does so, causing widely imported Chinese goods to the United States to become more expensive, and to raise demand for US goods.[61]
June 21 – Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project is decided in the Supreme Court: "a criminal prohibition on advocacy carried out in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization is constitutionally permissible".
Illegals Program: The Russian spies are deported from the United States in exchange for four people imprisoned for alleged contact with Western intelligence bodies.[68]
Another oil rig explodes and catches fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Thirteen workers that were on the rig were rescued from the water. The rig was not in production of oil or natural gas at the time of the explosion and no hazardous materials entered the waters of the Gulf.[81][82]
September 30 – Massachusetts bans text messaging for all drivers. Massachusetts is the 29th U.S. state to enact a text messaging while driving ban. Violators may be fined $100.[91]
October 19 – A US Federal Judge strikes down the appeal of the Department of Justice. The US Military begins accepting applications for gay service members. "Don't ask, don't tell" temporarily ends.
October 20 – Barack Obama's administration announces it will also appeal the judge's ruling on the constitutionally of "don't ask, don't tell" even though Obama announced earlier in the year that he wished to end the policy.
October 26 – A U.S. federal judge orders Limewire to shut down after they ruled that the website's ability to share music for free was illegal and violated copyright laws.
October 29 – President Barack Obama confirms that two packages sent to the US from Yemen were filled with explosives.
November 8 – An unexplained plume, seemingly from a "mystery missile", near Los Angeles, California, makes national headlines.[97] It is later determined to be the contrail of a commercial jet[98] as similar photos appear the next day coinciding with daily commercial flights.[99]
November 24 – Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th feature film, Tangled, is released in theaters. The most expensive animated film of all time, it receives critical acclaim and commercial success - the studio's best performance in both fields since the Disney Renaissance.
Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid announces he will not have enough votes to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill that would fund the federal government for fiscal year 2011.[115]
The results of the 2010 US Census are released. The US population grows by 9.7% to 310 million, the smallest percentage increase since the Great Depression.[117]
Hakim, Danny; Barron, James (February 26, 2010). "Paterson Drops Out of Governor Race". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2010. Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Friday afternoon that he was suspending his election campaign and would not run in November.
Tsang, Daniel. Friendly Fire: The Illusion of Justice (Book Review). Surf City Voice. Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-1-6.