Events from the year 2019 in the United States.
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Federal government
- Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) (until January 3)
- Nancy Pelosi (D-California) (starting January 3)
More information Governors and lieutenant governors ...
Governors and lieutenant governors
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Governors
- Governor of Alabama: Kay Ivey (Republican)
- Governor of Alaska: Mike Dunleavy (Republican)
- Governor of Arizona: Doug Ducey (Republican)
- Governor of Arkansas: Asa Hutchinson (Republican)
- Governor of California: Jerry Brown (Democratic) (until January 7), Gavin Newsom (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Governor of Colorado: John Hickenlooper (Democratic) (until January 8), Jared Polis (Democratic) (since January 8)
- Governor of Connecticut: Dannel Malloy (Democratic) (until January 9), Ned Lamont (Democratic) (since January 9)
- Governor of Delaware: John Carney (Democratic)
- Governor of Florida: Rick Scott (Republican) (until January 8), Ron DeSantis (Republican) (since January 8)
- Governor of Georgia: Nathan Deal (Republican) (until January 14), Brian Kemp (Republican) (since January 14)
- Governor of Hawaii: David Ige (Democratic)
- Governor of Idaho: Butch Otter (Republican) (until January 7), Brad Little (Republican) (since January 7)
- Governor of Illinois: Bruce Rauner (Republican) (until January 14), J. B. Pritzker (Democratic) (since January 14)
- Governor of Indiana: Eric Holcomb (Republican)
- Governor of Iowa: Kim Reynolds (Republican)
- Governor of Kansas: Jeff Colyer (Republican) (until January 14), Laura Kelly (Democratic) (since January 14)
- Governor of Kentucky: Matt Bevin (Republican) (until December 10), Andy Beshear (Democratic) (since December 10)
- Governor of Louisiana: John Bel Edwards (Democratic)
- Governor of Maine: Paul LePage (Republican) (until January 2), Janet Mills (Democratic) (since January 2)
- Governor of Maryland: Larry Hogan (Republican)
- Governor of Massachusetts: Charlie Baker (Republican)
- Governor of Michigan: Rick Snyder (Republican) (until January 1), Gretchen Whitmer (Democratic) (since January 1)
- Governor of Mississippi: Phil Bryant (Republican)
- Governor of Missouri: Mike Parson (Republican)
- Governor of Minnesota: Mark Dayton (Democratic) (until January 7), Tim Walz (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Governor of Montana: Steve Bullock (Democratic)
- Governor of Nebraska: Pete Ricketts (Republican)
- Governor of Nevada: Brian Sandoval (Republican) (until January 7), Steve Sisolak (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Governor of New Hampshire: Chris Sununu (Republican)
- Governor of New Jersey: Phil Murphy (Democratic)
- Governor of New Mexico: Susana Martinez (Republican) (until January 1), Michelle Lujan Grisham (Democratic) (since January 1)
- Governor of New York: Andrew Cuomo (Democratic)
- Governor of North Carolina: Roy Cooper (Democratic)
- Governor of North Dakota: Doug Burgum (Republican)
- Governor of Ohio: John Kasich (Republican) (until January 14), Mike DeWine (Republican) (since January 14)
- Governor of Oklahoma: Mary Fallin (Republican) (until January 14), Kevin Stitt (Republican) (since January 14)
- Governor of Oregon: Kate Brown (Democratic)
- Governor of Pennsylvania: Tom Wolf (Democratic)
- Governor of Rhode Island: Gina Raimondo (Democratic)
- Governor of South Carolina: Henry McMaster (Republican)
- Governor of South Dakota: Dennis Daugaard (Republican) (until January 5), Kristi Noem (Republican) (since January 5)
- Governor of Tennessee: Bill Haslam (Republican) (until January 19), Bill Lee (Republican) (since January 19)
- Governor of Texas: Greg Abbott (Republican)
- Governor of Utah: Gary Herbert (Republican)
- Governor of Vermont: Phil Scott (Republican)
- Governor of Virginia: Ralph Northam (Democratic)
- Governor of Washington: Jay Inslee (Democratic)
- Governor of West Virginia: Jim Justice (Republican)
- Governor of Wisconsin: Scott Walker (Republican) (until January 7), Tony Evers (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Governor of Wyoming: Matt Mead (Republican) (until January 7), Mark Gordon (Republican) (since January 7)
Lieutenant governors
- Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: vacant (until January 14), Will Ainsworth (Republican) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Kevin Meyer (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Tim Griffin (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of California: Gavin Newsom (Democratic) (until January 7), Eleni Kounalakis (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Donna Lynne (Democratic) (until January 8), Dianne Primavera (Democratic) (since January 8)
- Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Nancy Wyman (Democratic) (until January 9), Susan Bysiewicz (Democratic) (since January 9)
- Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Bethany Hall-Long (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Carlos Lopez-Cantera (Republican) (until January 8), Jeanette Nunez (Republican) (since January 8)
- Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Casey Cagle (Republican) (until January 14), Geoff Duncan (Republican) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Josh Green (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Brad Little (Republican) (until January 7), Janice McGeachin (Republican) (since January 7)
- Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Evelyn Sanguinetti (Republican) (until January 14), Juliana Stratton (Democratic) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Suzanne Crouch (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: vacant (until January 14), Adam Gregg (Republican) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Tracey Mann (Republican) (until January 14), Lynn Rogers (Democratic) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Jenean Hampton (Republican) (until December 10), Jacqueline Coleman (Democratic) (since December 10)
- Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Billy Nungesser (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Boyd Rutherford (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Karyn Polito (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Brian Calley (Republican) (until January 1), Garlin Gilchrist (Democratic) (since January 1)
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Michelle Fischbach (Republican) (until January 7), Peggy Flanagan (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Tate Reeves (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Mike Kehoe (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Mike Cooney (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Mike Foley (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Mark Hutchison (Republican) (until January 7), Kate Marshall (Democratic) (since January 7)
- Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey: Sheila Oliver (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: John Sanchez (Republican) (until January 1), Howie Morales (Democratic) (since January 1)
- Lieutenant Governor of New York: Kathy Hochul (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Dan Forest (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Brent Sanford (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Mary Taylor (Republican) (until January 14), Jon A. Husted (Republican) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Todd Lamb (Republican) (until January 14), Matt Pinnell (Republican) (since January 14)
- Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Mike Stack (Democratic) (until January 15), John Fetterman (since January 15)
- Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Daniel McKee (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Kevin L. Bryant (Republican) (until January 9), Pamela Evette (Republican) (since January 9)
- Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Matt Michels (Republican) (until January 5), Larry Rhoden (Republican) (since January 5)
- Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: Randy McNally (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Texas: Dan Patrick (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Utah: Spencer Cox (Republican)
- Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: David Zuckerman (Progressive)
- Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Justin Fairfax (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Cyrus Habib (Democratic)
- Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Rebecca Kleefisch (Republican) (until January 7), Mandela Barnes (Democratic) (since January 7)
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January
- January 1
- January 3 – The Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, with a promise to end the government shutdown, but without funding for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.[4] The Republicans increase their control of the United States Senate.[5]
- January 4 – Government data reveals that the U.S. economy added 312,000 jobs in December, far ahead of predictions of 177,000, and that manufacturing ended 2018 with the most jobs added in one year since 1997.[6]
- January 8 – In a televised address to the nation, President Donald Trump makes the case for his proposed border wall.[7]
- January 11 – Representative Tulsi Gabbard announces her candidacy for U.S. president.[8]
- January 12
- January 14 – J. B. Pritzker is sworn in as the 43rd governor of Illinois, replacing Bruce Rauner.[11]
- January 15 – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announces her candidacy for U.S. president.[12]
- January 19 – President Trump offers a "compromise" of three years' additional protection for 700,000 Dreamers who entered the US illegally with their parents and the 300,000 people holding visas under Temporary Protection Status (TPS) in exchange for funding for his security wall, but the offer is rejected by Democrats.[13]
- January 21 – The Supreme Court rules that the Trump administration is allowed to limit military service for transgender people.[14]
- January 23 – South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg announces his candidacy for U.S. president.[15]
- January 25
- January 28 – The Justice Department charges Chinese tech firm Huawei with multiple counts of fraud, raising U.S.-China tensions.[19]
- January 29 – Author Marianne Williamson announces her candidacy for U.S. president.[20]
- January 30
- Large portions of the United States are hit by a polar vortex, bringing "once-in-a-generation" low temperatures and heavy snow. A state of emergency is declared in several states and a number of cold-related deaths are reported.[21]
- Teachers rally in Denver following a vote on January 22 to strike for higher pay.[22]
- Sandusky, Ohio becomes the first city in the country to make Election Day a paid holiday while eliminating Columbus Day.[23]
February
- February 1
- February 3 – Super Bowl LIII is hosted at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.[26] Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots football team, wins his sixth championship, the most NFL world championships ever won by a single player,[27] with the Patriots' six titles tying the Steelers for most Super Bowl wins.[28]
- February 5 – State of the Union Address.
- February 9 – Senator Elizabeth Warren announces her candidacy for U.S. president.[29]
- February 10 – Senator Amy Klobuchar announces her candidacy for U.S. president.[30]
- February 12 – Mexican drug boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is found guilty on all 10 counts at his drug-trafficking trial at a federal court in New York.[31]
- February 15
- February 16 – Bishop Theodore Edgar McCarrick is defrocked, following historical sexual abuse allegations. He becomes the most senior Catholic figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.[35]
- February 19 – Senator Bernie Sanders announces his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election.[36]
- February 20 – U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson, who planned a domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists, is arrested.[37]
- February 21
- February 22
- February 23 – Atlas Air Flight 3591 crashed into Trinity Bay, near Anahuac, Texas, approximately 40 miles southeast of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, killing everyone onboard.[42]
- February 24 – The 91st Academy Awards, the first since 1989 to have no official host, are held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with Peter Farrelly's Green Book winning Best Picture. Bryan Singer's Bohemian Rhapsody wins four awards, among them Rami Malek for Best Actor, and both Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite and Alfonso Cuarón's Roma both lead with ten nominations. Cuarón wins his second Best Director award, Olivia Colman wins Best Actress for The Favourite, Mahershala Ali Best Supporting Actor for Green Book and Regina King Best Supporting Actress for If Beale Street Could Talk. The telecast garners nearly 29.6 million viewers.
- February 27 – President Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen tells Congress that Trump had advanced knowledge of leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.[43]
- February 27–28 – The 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit is held in Vietnam. It is the second summit with a United States president and the North Korean leader.[44]
March
- March 1 – Washington State governor Jay Inslee announces his candidacy in the 2020 presidential election.[45]
- March 3
- March 4 – Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper announces his candidacy for the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[48]
- March 8 – Captain Marvel, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, is released by Marvel Studios[49] as the 21st film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).[50] It becomes the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2019 during its run, earning $1.128 billion worldwide.[51]
- March 12
- March 13
- March 15
- March 17
- The Washington State Senate approves legislation that would legally require all presidential candidates to release the last five years of their personal tax returns in order to have their names featured on both primary and general election voting ballots.[60]
- The University of Tennessee announces it will guarantee free tuition and fees to admitted in-state residents with a family household income of less than $50,000.[61]
- March 18 – Floods across the Midwest kill at least three people and inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.[62]
- March 19 – American Karen Uhlenbeck is the first woman to win the Abel Prize for outstanding contributions to mathematics.[63][64]
- March 20 – The International 2019 Major League Baseball season begins with the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners playing in Japan at the Tokyo Dome.[65]
- March 21 – Cesar Sayoc, 57, the Florida man accused of the October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts, pleads guilty in Manhattan federal court to 65 felony counts, including using weapons of mass destruction in an attempted domestic terrorist attack.[66]
- March 22
- March 23 – For the second time in a week, a survivor of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, commits suicide.[71] On March 17, Sydney Aiello, 19, committed suicide after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.[72]
- March 24 – Attorney General William Barr sends members of Congress a four page letter outlining the principle conclusions of the Mueller Report.[73]
- March 25
- March 26
- March 28 – The 2019 Major League Baseball season has its earliest season opener in history.[79]
- March 29
- March 30 – President Trump issues a new permit to construct the Keystone Pipeline.[82]
- March 31 – A 23rd horse is reported to have died at Santa Anita racetrack in California, the latest in a string of deaths occurring since December 2018.[83]
April
- April 1
- April 2
- Lori Lightfoot wins the run-off in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, becoming the first black woman to hold the post and the first openly gay Chicago mayor.[89]
- Prosecutors in Waco, Texas decide to not go ahead with prosecution of individuals allegedly involved in the 2015 Waco shootout that left nine dead and 20 people injured.[90]
- An explosion at a chemical plant in Crosby, Texas leaves one dead and two injured. This comes just weeks after a similar Houston-area explosion in Deer Creek, Texas on March 17.[91]
- April 3
- April 4 – The 1973 War Powers Resolution is invoked for the first time when the House votes 247–175 to end U.S. military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its intervention in the Yemeni Civil War; the Senate voted 54–46 on the bill in March 2019. President Trump vetoes the bill on April 16, the second veto of his presidency.[95][96]
- April 5 – Shazam!, directed by David F. Sandberg, is released as the seventh film in the DC Extended Universe.
- April 6
- Arson is suspected as the cause of three fires in historically black churches since March 26 in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. A fourth, smaller fire was set at a majority-white church in Caddo Parish on March 31.[97] The culprit in the case of the three black churches is arrested and charged on April 11.[98]
- April 8 – Joining Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the Trump administration announces its intentions to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. The official designation takes place on April 15.[99]
- April 11
- April 15 – Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld officially announces his candidacy in the 2020 presidential election. He will run as a Republican primary challenger to incumbent President Donald Trump, the first to do so.[103]
- April 16 – Apple and Qualcomm settle a multi-year legal dispute regarding patent royalties. The deal between the two tech giants helps, among other arrangements, pave the way for Apple to have 5G iPhones on the market by 2020.[104][105]
- April 18 – A redacted version of the final Mueller Report is released by Attorney General William Barr to Congress and the general public. The report goes into detail on findings from the 2017–2019 Special Counsel probe regarding Russian contacts with the 2016 Donald Trump election campaign and matters regarding obstruction of justice by President Trump himself.[106][107]
- April 23 – Wing Aviation, a Google offshoot company, becomes the first drone delivery service to receive Air Carrier Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.[108][109][110]
- April 25
- April 26 – Avengers: Endgame is released by Marvel Studios[114] as the sequel to 2018's Avengers: Infinity War. It breaks several box office records[115][116] and eventually becomes the second highest-grossing film of all time, grossing $2.798 billion.[117][118]
- April 27
- April 28 – Undersea explorer Victor Vescovo sets a new world record for the deepest ever sea dive at 10,972 metres (35,997 ft) in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. Several unusual things are discovered at the bottom, including four new species of prawn-like crustaceans and a new species of snailfish.[121]
- April 30
May
- May 1 – Maine becomes the first state to ban Styrofoam containers.[124]
- May 2
- May 3 – New economic data shows that the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 3.8 percent to 3.6 percent in April 2019, the lowest in 49 years, with employers adding 263,000 jobs in April versus the expected 190,000.[128]
- May 4
- May 5 – National security adviser John Bolton announces the U.S. will deploy the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Carrier Strike Group and four B-52 bombers to the Middle Eastern theater to "send a clear and unmistakable message" to Iran following Israeli intelligence reports of an alleged Iranian plot to attack U.S. forces in the region.[131][132] The military would later deploy the USS Arlington (LPD-24) Marine transport ship and a Patriot SAM battery to the Middle East as well.[133]
- May 6
- May 7 – A school shooting occurs at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in Douglas County, Colorado, leaving one dead and seven injured.[137]
- May 8
- The New York Times publishes newly obtained tax information revealing that from 1985 to 1994, Donald Trump lost $1.17 billion from his various businesses – a far greater amount than previously known, and more than any tax payer in U.S. history.[138]
- Denver, Colorado, becomes the first city in the U.S. to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, in a vote of 51 to 49%.[139]
- May 10 – At 12:00 a.m. EST, President Trump's proposed 25 percent tariff hike on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports takes effect, escalating tensions between the two nations amid the ongoing China–United States trade war. The deadline hits as negotiations between trade representatives continued.[140]
- May 13 – 2019 college admissions bribery scandal: Actress Felicity Huffman pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and admits to paying $15,000 for a proctor to change her daughter's SAT answers.[141]
- May 14
- May 15 – President Trump issues an executive order invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in response to security threats from foreign telecom companies such as Huawei.[147]
- May 16 – New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announces his candidacy in the 2020 presidential election, expanding the Democratic primary field to a record 24 candidates, already the largest presidential primary field for any political party in American history.[148]
- May 17
- May 17–30 – A major tornado outbreak strikes the Central United States, killing at least eight people and causing "catastrophic" damage in many areas.[151]
- May 21 – Washington becomes the first state to legalize human composting, the right to allow people to have their body turned into soil after death. The process is seen as an alternative to traditional cremations and burials.[152]
- May 22 – The Alabama Historical Commission announces that the wreckage of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring African slaves to the United States during the Atlantic slave trade, is found in the Mobile River.[153]
- May 23 – California native John Walker Lindh, a former Taliban fighter and the first person to be convicted of a crime in the War on Terror, is released from federal prison after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence.[154]
- May 24
- May 26 – Simon Pagenaud wins the Indianapolis 500, driving a Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. It was Pagenaud's first win in the event and Penske's 18th.[157]
- May 30
- May 31 – 12 people are killed, including the perpetrator, and four are injured in a mass shooting at a municipal center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[162]
June
- June 3 – Jay-Z becomes the first hip-hop billionaire, according to Forbes magazine.[163][164]
- June 7 – NASA announces that, beginning in 2020, the International Space Station will be commercialized, allowing private companies to use the station to conduct for-profit activities, including marketing, advertising and space manufacturing.[165]
- June 10
- June 11 – Alabama legalizes chemical castration as a stipulation for child sex offenders applying for parole; the law goes into effect September 1.[168]
- June 12
- June 14 – Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill making Florida the 12th state to ban sanctuary cities.[171]
- June 17 - Amphibia debuts on Disney Channel.
- June 18 – Twelve Federal Police agents are sentenced to 34 years of prison for the August 24, 2012 murder of two CIA agents in Tres Marias, Morelos, Mexico.[172]
- June 19 – Keith Raniere, leader of sex cult NXIVM, is found guilty of all charges against him in a New York court.[173]
- June 20 – 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone: President Trump orders then aborts conventional military strikes against Iran after the shoot-down of an RQ-4A surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. He reportedly approves cyber attacks against Iranian missile systems.[174]
- June 21
- June 23 – In a public stunt, two members of The Flying Wallendas successfully walk a quarter-mile tightrope 25 stories above Times Square.[176]
- June 24 – President Trump signs an executive order sanctioning Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the first such sanctions in history.[177]
- June 25 – San Francisco becomes the first major U.S. city to ban the sale of e-cigarettes.[178]
- June 27
- Rucho v. Common Cause and Benisek v. Lamone: The Supreme Court rules 5–4 that federal courts are constitutionally powerless to hear challenges to excessive partisan gerrymandering, leaving it up to states and Congress to legally address the issue.[179]
- During a 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries debate, Moderator and NBC "Today" host Savannah Guthrie asked the 10 Democratic primary candidates on stage if their health plans would provide coverage for the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. Every candidate raised their hands.[180] One study predicts this would cost American taxpayers up to $23 billion a year.[181]
- June 30
- Date unknown – According to CNN and Financial Times reports, President Trump promised Chinese President Xi Jinping that the US would remain quiet on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong while trade talks continued.[184]
July
- July 2 – Spider-Man: Far from Home, directed by Jon Watts, is released by Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures as the 23rd film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the final film in its "Phase Three" slate, the final installment in its self-styled "Infinity Saga" and the sequel to 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
- July 4
- July 5 – A second, stronger earthquake of 7.1 magnitude hits Southern California. There are no reported casualties.[188]
- July 6
- July 7 – The U.S. women's soccer team wins their fourth World Cup, defending their status as the No. 1 team in the world and renewing their campaign for pay equity.[192]
- July 9 – Billionaire Tom Steyer announces his candidacy for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, on the Democratic Party ticket.[193]
- July 11
- July 12
- July 13
- A blackout occurs in Manhattan's West Side, affecting 73,000 customers. The blackout occurs exactly 42 years after the New York City blackout of 1977.[198]
- Hurricane Barry approaches the Gulf Coast, becoming the first hurricane of the 2019 season, with a sustained wind speed of 75 mph (120 km/h).[199]
- Willem Van Spronsen, a self-described Antifa member armed with a rifle and incendiary devices, attacks an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Washington state. Van Spronsen fires several shots at the detention center, throws incendiary devices, and sets vehicles on fire. While attempting to ignite a propane tank, Van Spronsen is shot and killed by Tacoma police officers.[200]
- July 14 – President Trump sparks controversy over remarks directed at four Democratic congresswomen that were widely perceived as racist; Trump sharply denies the comments were racist.[201][202][203] The House of Representatives votes 240–187 to condemn the President's remarks two days later.[204][205] The controversy persisted as Trump supporters chanted similar remarks at a subsequent rally in Greenville, North Carolina on July 18.[206] Trump disavowed the chant the next day.[207]
- July 16–20 – The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission is observed.[208]
- July 17 – Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, former head of the Sinaloa cartel, which became the biggest supplier of drugs to the US, is sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.[209]
- July 24 – Ricardo Rosselló, governor of Puerto Rico, announces he will resign on August 2 following revelations of his participation in a chat group with sexist, profane, and homophobic comments.[210]
- July 25
- July 26 – Cindy Lovell discovers the long-sought signature of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose pen name was Mark Twain, inside the Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, Missouri.[220][221]
- July 27 – Logan Paul hosts the Challenger Games at Long Beach City College in California. Notable participants included Tobi Brown, Jake Paul, and Deestroying.
- July 28 – Four people, including the shooter, are killed and twelve others injured in a mass shooting in Gilroy, California.[222]
- July 30 – The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), owner of Holiday Inn and other hotels, announces it will stop using small soap and shampoo containers in order to cut down on plastic waste. Marriott International and Hilton Hotels & Resorts have made similar announcements.[223]
- July 31
- The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for the first time since 2008, with a 0.25% reduction to a baseline level of 2–2.25%.[224]
- Leslie McCrae Dowless faces new charges of electoral fraud in North Carolina. Dowless was arrested in 2017 and charged with trying to rig the election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District in favor of Mark Harris, the Republican candidate.[225]
August
- August 2
- August 3 – 2019 El Paso shooting: A mass shooting occurs at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, resulting in 23 fatalities and 23 injured.[229][230]
- August 4 – 2019 Dayton shooting: A mass shooting occurs in the Oregon Historic District in downtown Dayton, Ohio, resulting in 10 fatalities (including the perpetrator) and 27 injuries.[231]
- August 7 – The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico rules that Pedro Pierluisi's swearing in as governor was unconstitutional and removes him from office. Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez Garced becomes governor.[232]
- August 8 – The largest U.S. immigration raids in a decade result in 680 arrests in Mississippi.[233][234][235]
- August 9 – The North Dakota Supreme Court upholds a voting law that disenfranchises 10% of the state's Native Americans.[236]
- August 10
- August 12
- August 14
- August 15
- August 16 – Denmark rejects the suggestion that the United States might purchase Greenland.[247]
- August 17 – Protests are held in Portland that rally: Proud Boys Three Percenters, a “patriot movement” militia group, and American Guard. They are met with three times as many counter protesters.[248][249]
- August 17–18 – Anti-gun rallies are held in over 100 cities in all 50 states.[250]
- August 20 – Richard Ross Jr., police commissioner of Philadelphia, resigns amid allegations that members of his department engaged in sexual harassment and racial and gender discrimination against women serving in the ranks.[251]
- August 21 – Washington governor Jay Inslee announces the end of his 2020 presidential bid.[252]
- August 22 – A federal grand jury in Los Angeles charges 80 people, mostly Nigerians, in a conspiracy to steal and then launder millions of dollars. 14 people are arrested.[253]
- August 23
- August 26 – Johnson & Johnson is ordered to pay $572 million for contributing to the opioid crisis in Oklahoma.[258]
- August 28
- August 29 – Federal judge Amy Totenberg rules that the state of Georgia must replace all of its voting machines or use paper ballots in time for the March 24, 2020 presidential primary election.[261] Several faulty voting machines were reported during the Mississippi gubernatorial primary on August 27.[262]
- August 31 – Midland–Odessa shootings: Seven people are killed and 21 others wounded in a spree shooting in West Texas, between the cities of Midland and Odessa. The suspect is shot and killed by police outside a movie theater in Odessa.[263]
September
- September 2 – An early-morning fire on a dive boat off San Miguel Island and Santa Cruz Island, California results in 25 dead and 9 missing.[264]
- September 3
- September 4 – CNN hosts ten town hall meetings for as many Democratic presidential hopefuls to discuss climate change.[270]
- September 6
- September 7 – President Trump announces he called off planned Camp David peace talks with the Taliban after they claimed responsibility for the September 5th Kabul bombings which killed a U.S. soldier.[274]
- September 8 – Mark Sanford, former governor and US representative from South Carolina announces his candidacy for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.[275]
- September 9 – The inspector general of Intelligence, Michael Atkinson, notifies the House Intelligence Committee about an "urgent" and "credible" whistleblower complaint involving an apparent July 25 telephone call in which President Donald Trump promised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky $250 million if he would reopen an investigation into Hunter Biden son of former Vice President Joe Biden. The White House denies doing anything wrong and refuses to release the complaint.[276][277]
- September 10
- September 12
- September 13 – Actress Felicity Huffman is sentenced to 14 days in prison, a fine of $30,000 and 250 hours of community service for her involvement in the college admissions scandal.[282]
- September 15 – Drug company Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy in response to lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic.[283]
- September 16
- September 17
- September 18 – President Donald Trump revokes California's authority to set its own auto emission standards.[290]
- September 19
- President and CEO Dennis Veilleux of gun manufacturer Colt announces the company will stop producing rifles such as the AR-15 for personal use.[291]
- 30 Afghan nut farmers are killed and 40 injured in a U.S. drone attack in Nangarhar Province.[292]
- HUD Secretary Ben Carson is accused by members of his department of making transphobic remarks at a meeting in San Francisco.[293] He says his comments about "big, hairy men" using women's homeless shelters were a "mischaracterization."[294]
- Six-year-old Kaia Rolle is handcuffed, fingerprinted, mug-shot, and charged with battery after throwing a tantrum at Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy, a charter school in Orlando, Florida. The same police officer also arrested an eight-year-old in an unrelated incident the same day.[295] The officer was subsequently suspended.[296]
- September 20
- September 21
- September 22 – Three men are dead and four are hospitalized due to a mysterious "medical situation" in Pittsburgh. All are believed to be middle-aged men, and all were wearing orange wristbands.[308]
- September 24
- September 25 – The White House releases details of a July 25 phone call between President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asks the Ukrainian President to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.[311]
- September 26 – The Trump administration says it plans to allow only 18,000 refugees to resettle in the United States in the 2020 fiscal year, its lowest level since the modern program began in 1980.[312][313][314][315]
- September 27
- September 28
- September 30
October
- October 1
- October 2
- October 3
- October 4
- Microsoft says a group called Phosphorus, which is linked to the Iranian government, has attempted to hack accounts belonging to American journalists, former government officials, and the 2020 United States presidential election, as well as prominent Iranians living outside Iran.[337]
- The Bureau of Land Management ends a five-year moratorium on leasing federal land in California to fossil fuel companies, opening 725,000 acres (1100 sq. miles; 29,000 ha) to drilling in San Benito, Monterey, and Fresno counties.[338]
- Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the United States has picked up its attacks in Afghanistan since peace talks with the Taliban fell apart last month. In August, Politico reported that the U.S. troop strength is about 13,000, fewer than the authorized 14,000.[339]
- A report by the Associated Press finds that 1,700 Roman Catholic priests accused of being sex offenders live freely in the United States.[340]
- Joker is released in theatres.
- October 7 – Federal judge Victor Marrero orders Trump to turn over eight years of tax returns, saying he cannot endorse a "categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process."[341] An appeals court grants a temporary stay of the order.[342]
- October 9 – The Wall Street Journal reports that two foreign-born businessmen, close associates of Rudy Giuliani, have been arrested on campaign finance violation charges. Igor Fruman (Belarusian) and Lev Parnas (Ukrainian), worked with Giuliani in trying to convince the Ukraine government to find dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.[343]
- October 11
- October 12
- October 14 – Indigenous Peoples' Day is celebrated in Alaska, Minnesota, and North Carolina as well as several cities.[351]
- October 15 – Twelve Democratic presidential candidates appear on the same stage at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio in a debate sponsored by The New York Times and CNN.[352]
- October 18
- October 19 – 26,000 people attend a campaign rally for Bernie Sanders in Long Island City, Queens, New York.[356]
- October 21
- October 23 – Google announces that its 53-qubit 'Sycamore' processor has achieved quantum supremacy.[359][360][361][362]
- October 24
- October 25
- October 26
- Senator Kamala Harris reverses herself on participation in the "Second Step Justice Forum" after 20/20 Club drops its sponsorship. Senator Cory Booker announces he will attend also.[369]
- Two are killed and at least twelve injured at a shooting during a party in Greenville, Texas, celebrating the homecoming of Texas A&M University–Commerce.[370]
- October 27
- October 28
- A North Carolina court rules that the state can't proceed with next year's House primary elections due to political gerrymandering.[376]
- On his first visit to Chicago, President Donald Trump calls the city "embarrassing to us as a nation" and blasts the police superintendent for not attending his speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police.[377] Thousands protest against Trump, who called for "a surge," or militarization, of the nation's police.[378][379]
- October 29
- October 30
- Dr. Michael Baden, one of the world's leading forensic pathologists, describes his findings of the Jeffrey Epstein suicide, noting that the financier's injuries appeared more consistent with murder than suicide, contradicting an earlier report by the New York City Medical Examiner.[384] Dr. Barbara Sampson, the chief Medical Examiner, sticks by the original finding that Epstein's death was due to suicide by hanging.[385]
- Wildfires rage across California, with a rare "extreme red-flag warning" issued from weather officials, as gusts exceed 70 mph (113 km/h).[386]
- The Federal Reserve lowers its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, the third cut in four months.[387]
- Social media website Twitter bans all political advertising worldwide.[388]
- The Washington Nationals defeat the Houston Astros in the seventh and deciding game of the 2019 World Series, capturing their first championship in franchise history.[389]
- October 31
November
- November 1
- November 2 – The Washington Post reports that the United States-Mexico Border Wall has been easily breached multiple times using inexpensive and easily attainable electric saws.[396]
- November 3
- November 5
- November 6
- Donald Trump Jr. Tweets a Breitbart News link purportedly revealing the name of the whistleblower whose allegations started the Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.[403] Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called for the media to release the person's name. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), said the name out loud in a hearing unrelated to the impeachment inquiry.[404]
- The San Francisco Chronicle publishes a report that says the Halloween shooting at an Airbnb rental property in Orinda, California is part of a pattern of violence at such parties, involving the shooting of 42 people and 17 deaths.[405]
- Transcripts released from the closed-door hearings of the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump reveal that witnesses were concerned about a quid pro quo (English: "this for that") holding up millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine in return for dirt on Hunter Biden and his father, former Vice President Joe Biden. Witnesses were Marie Yovanovitch and Michael McKinley,[406] Bill Taylor,[407] Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker,[408][409] George Kent,[410] Alexander Vindman,[411] Fiona Hill,[412] and Laura Cooper.[413] Lawyer Rudy Giuliani hires three attorneys as his dealings in Ukraine have attracted the scrutiny of federal prosecutors and House impeachment investigators.[414]
- November 7
- November 8
- November 9 – KSI wins his rematch against fellow youtuber Logan Paul in both of their professional boxing debuts.
- November 12
- November 13
- November 14
- November 15
- President Trump pardons two officers convicted of war crimes and restores the rank to a third.[426]
- Roger Stone is found guilty on all seven felony counts over lying to Congress and witness tampering.[427]
- November 17 – Four people are killed and six are wounded in a shooting at a football-watch party in Fresno, California.[428]
- November 18 – Smithsonian National Zoo returns a four year-old giant panda named "Bei Bei" to China.[429]
- November 20
- November 21 – At a showcase in Los Angeles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Cybertruck, the company's first electric pickup truck.[432]
- November 22
- November 23 – More than 100 students and alumni from Harvard and Yale protest the universities' complicity in climate change by running onto the field during half-time at the annual Harvard–Yale football game.[433]
- November 24
- November 25
- November 27 – The federal government passes the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.[442]
- Economics
- Nominal GDP: $21,439.45 billion (#1), per capita: 65,112 (#8).[510]
- Purchasing power parity Ranking: $21,439.45 (#2), per capita: $65,112 (#11).[510]
- Growth rate: 2.1% (3rd quarter estimate).[511]
- Personal income in the United States: Increase 0.5% in November 2019, compared to +0.1% in October; Wages and salaries increase 0.4% in November, compared to 0.5% in October.[511]
- Current account deficit: Down $1.1 billion, or 0.9%, to $124.1 billion in the third quarter of 2019. The third quarter deficit was 2.3% of GDP.[511]
- Unemployment rate: Fell from 3.9% in January to 3.5% in November.
- Federal debt: $22.6 trillion on September 30; up from $22 trillion in February.[512]
- Federal deficit (Fiscal 2019): $984 billion (highest since 2012.[513]
- Stock Market: S&P 500 close: 3,230.78; NASDAQ Composite close: 8,972.60; Dow Jones Industrial Average close: 28,534.44.[514]
- Education
- Immigration
- Immigrants (2017, the year with the most recent figures): 44.4 million people, 13.6% of the total population; 77% are legally authorized and 45% are naturalized citizens.[516]
- Country of origin of immigrant population (2017): Mexico (25%) China (6%), India (6%), the Philippines (5%) and El Salvador (3%). Regionally: South and East Asia (27%), Europe/Canada (13%), the Caribbean (10%), Central America (8%), South America (7%), the Middle East (4%) and sub-Saharan Africa (4%).[516]
- Country of origin for new immigrants (2017): Total: 1,000,000; India (126,000 people), Mexico (124,000), China (121,000) and Cuba (41,000).[516]
- Overstayed visas vs. illegal border crossings: The Center for Migration Studies of New York estimates that 62% of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S. had overstayed their visas versus 38% who crossed the border illegally.[517]
- Persons detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (September 10, 2019): 52,722.[518] in 200 detention centers.[519]
- Deaths during ICE custody: 15 (2019);[520] 24 (January 21, 2017 – June 9, 2019).[519]
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) participants: 600,000.[517]
- Gun violence
- Total deaths: 38,820 (children 0-11, 208), (teens 12–17, 765).[521]
- Homicide, murder, unintentional: 14,494.[521]
- Suicide: 23,826.[521]
- Injuries : 29,054.[521]
- Mass shootings: Measurements of mass shootings vary greatly. Gun Violence Archive reports 410 incidents by December 27;[521] ABC News reports 21 incidents and 124 killed by September 30.[522]
- Mass murders: 30 incidents.[521]
- Gun safety laws passed (2019 legislative session): 23 states and DC; 70 laws.[523]
- Officer-involved incidents: 70 incidents; officer killed or injured: 297; suspect killed: 1,197.[521]
- Population 330,193,593 (est, Dec 26); #3 in world.[524] Most populous: California (39,747,267) Least populous: Wyoming (572,381).
- Life expectancy: 78.6 years for a baby born in 2017, down from 78.7 years in 2016. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites a 72% increase in overdoses in the last decade (including a 30% increase in opioid overdoses from July 2016 to September 2017), a ten-year increase in liver disease (men 25 to 34 increased by 8%; women by 11%), and a 33% increase in suicide rates since 1999.[525]
Wikinews has related news:
"Washington state lawmaker accused of "domestic terrorism" refuses to resign", CBS News, Dec 20, 2019 Melissa Luck (Dec 19, 2019), "Rep. Matt Shea removed from caucus, report sent to FBI and U.S. Attorney", KXLY News, archived from the original on December 20, 2019, retrieved December 20, 2019 "'I will not back down': Rep. Matt Shea, accused of 'domestic terrorism,' refuses to resign", KREM 2, Dec 19, 2019