1991 — The Gulf War is waged in the Middle East, by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from thirty-four nations, led by the U.S. and United Kingdom, against Iraq.
1992 — Los Angeles riots result in over 60 deaths and $1 billion in damage, spurred by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King.
1992 — Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, kills 65 people and causes $26 billion in damage to Florida and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast, and will be the costliest natural disaster until Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
1993 — The "Storm of the Century" strikes the Eastern Seaboard, with blizzard conditions and severe weather, killing 300 people and causing $6 billion in damage.
1993 — Massive flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers kill 50 people and devastate the Midwest with $15–$20 billion in damage.
1993 — President Clinton signs 'Don't ask, don't tell' into law which prohibits gay or bisexual people from serving openly in the military.[1]
1995 — Oklahoma City bombing kills 168 and wounds 800. The bombing is the worst domestic terrorist incident in U.S. history, and the investigation results in the arrests of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
1995 — Retired professional football player O. J. Simpson is acquitted of two charges of first-degree murder in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. The nine-month trial receives worldwide publicity.
1995 — A heat wave kills 739 in Chicago, bringing to attention the plight of the urban poor and the elderly in extreme weather conditions.
1998-1999 — Clinton-Lewinsky scandal: President Clinton is accused of having a sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. This leads to the impeachment of Clinton later in the year by the U.S. House of Representatives. Clinton is acquitted of all impeachment charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in a 21-day Senate trial.
1999 — The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark for the first time, at 10,006.78.
1999 — Along with the rest of the world, the U.S. prepares for the possible effects of the Y2K bug in computers, which was feared to cause computers to become inoperable and wreak havoc. The problem isn't as large as theorized, preparations are successful, and disaster is averted.
2001 — September 11 attacks; 19 terrorists hijack four planes and crash them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring over 6,000. All civilian air traffic is suspended for three days, the first time an unplanned suspension had occurred in U.S. history.
2001 — Congress passes an emergency bailout package for the airline industry as a result of the attacks
2001 — Anthrax attacks kill 5 and infect a further 17 through the U.S. Mail system.
2002 — 10 people are killed and 3 are injured in the Beltway sniper attacks around the Washington D.C. area.
2003 — Republicans retake narrow control of the Senate following 2002 elections.
2003 — Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts and resulting in a 29-month suspension of the Space Shuttle program.
2003 — A series of incidents occur that institute a crackdown on building, fire, and safety code violations across the United States, including the E2 nightclub stampede which killed 21, The Station nightclub fire which killed 100, and a porch collapse which killed 13.
2003 — U.S. forces continue fighting an insurgency in Iraq while helping the Iraqis build a new army of their own and develop a democratic form of government
2004 — The social networking website Facebook is launched.[2]
2004 — The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season produces four deadly and damaging hurricanes which impact Florida, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, which kill a combined 100 people in the U.S. and produce over $50 billion in damage
January 20, 2005 — President Bush and Vice President Cheney begin their second terms.
2005 — Hurricane Katrina devastates the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastlines killing at least 1,836 people and causing $81 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Weeks later, Hurricane Rita causes $10 billion damage along the Louisiana and Texas coastlines. In October, Hurricane Wilma kills 35 and causes $20 billion in damage in Florida.
Pelosi being sworn in2006 — The Democratic Party retakes control of both houses of Congress, and gains a majority of state governorships (28-22).[3]
2007 — George W. Bush orders a troop surge which substantially increases the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and ultimately leads to reductions in casualties and major victories for coalition and Iraqi forces, against the insurgency.
2007 — A South Korean student shoots and kills 32 other students and professors in the Virginia Tech massacre before killing himself. It stands as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history until 2016 and spurs a series of debates on gun control and journalism ethics.
2007 — The first IPhone is released for sale in the U.S.
2007 — The I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses, killing 13 people. The bridge collapse brings to national attention the need to rehabilitate the aging U.S. infrastructure system.
2008 — Hurricane Ike kills 100 people along the Texas coast, produces $31 billion in damage, and contributes to rising oil prices.
2008 — U.S. oil prices hit a record $147 per barrel in the wake of—among other factors—international tensions and the falling U.S. dollar vs. the Euro.
January 20, 2009 — Obama becomes the 44th president, Biden becomes the 47th vice president. Obama is the first African-American to hold the office.[5]
2009 — The first of a series of Tea Party protests are conducted across the United States, focusing on smaller government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedoms and conservative views of the Constitution.
