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2018 in the United States

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This is a list of events in the year 2018 in the United States.

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Events

January

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President Donald J. Trump arrives at Zurich Airport Thursday, January 25, 2018, in Zurich, Switzerland, and proceeds to Marine One traveling to Davos, Switzerland over the Swiss Alps.

February

March

April

May

  • May 1 – A study conducted by health services company Cigna reveals that American adults are experiencing a "loneliness epidemic" with nearly half of Americans reporting they sometimes or always feel alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).[100]
  • May 2
    • The state of Iowa approves the so-called "heartbeat" bill, banning most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.[101]
    • A C-130 military plane crash in Savannah, Georgia kills nine people.[102]
    • Following a series of small earthquakes, the USGS warns that the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii could erupt.[103] Two days later it erupts, there are stronger earthquakes and Hawaii declares a state of emergency, evacuating 1,700 residents.[104]
  • May 4
    • The national unemployment rate hits 3.9 percent, the lowest rate since 2000.[105]
    • The Trump administration announces an end to the special Temporary Protected Status program for 57,000 Hondurans.[106]
  • May 5
    • NASA's InSight spacecraft, designed to study the interior and subsurface of Mars, successfully launches at 11:05 UTC, with an expected arrival on November 26, 2018.[107][108]
    • The state of California becomes the world's fifth-largest economy, with the state's GDP surpassing that of the United Kingdom's.[109]
    • In horse racing, pre-race favorite Justify wins the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, becoming the first horse since 1882 to win the race while unraced as a two-year-old. The race was run under the wettest conditions in its history; by post time, more than 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) of rain had fallen on race day, breaking a record that had lasted since 1918.[110][111][112]
  • May 8
    • The Senate Intelligence Committee releases an unclassified version of its investigation into Russian cyberattacks in 2016, concluding: "Russian-affiliated cyber actors were able to gain access to restricted elements of election infrastructure. [...] In a small number of states, these cyber actors were in a position to, at a minimum, alter or delete voter registration data; however, they did not appear to be in a position to manipulate individual votes or aggregate vote totals."[113]
    • New York's attorney general Eric Schneiderman resigns over multiple allegations of assault.[114]
    • President Trump announces his intention to withdraw the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement.[115] In a statement, former U.S. President Barack Obama calls the move "a serious mistake".[116]
    • The National Centers for Environmental Information reports that April 2018 was the coldest month in the U.S. since 1997.[117][118]
  • May 9 – The California Energy Commission introduces its 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, requiring all new homes to be fitted with solar power from 2020. It is the first state in the US to enact such a law.[119]
  • May 10
    • At around 2 a.m. local, President Trump ceremoniously greets three freed Korean-Americans, who were detained by North Korea for more than a year for "anti-state activities", on Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.[120]
    • NASA's Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) is cancelled by the Trump administration.[121]
  • May 11 – U.S. fighter jets intercept two Russian TU-95 bombers in Alaskan airspace.[122]
  • May 16 – President Trump meets with Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
  • May 17 – The Kīlauea shield volcano on the Big Island of the state of Hawaii erupts from its summit, shooting ash 30,000 feet (9,100 m) into the sky.[123]
  • May 18 – A school shooting takes place at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. Eight students and two teachers are killed and thirteen other people are injured.
  • May 20 – U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin states that the Trump administration will put its proposed tariffs on Chinese imports "on hold", averting fears of a trade war between the two countries.[124]
  • May 21 – The Supreme Court, in a 5–4 ruling, upholds a law preventing employees from filing class action lawsuits against their employers over pay and hour disputes.[125]
  • May 23 – It is reported that Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, received a secret payment of at least $400,000 to fix talks between the Ukrainian president and President Trump.[126]
  • May 24 – Actor Morgan Freeman is accused of sexual harassment by eight women.[127]
  • May 25 – Harvey Weinstein is charged with rape and several other counts of sexual abuse involving two separate women after turning himself in to police in New York City.[128]
  • May 28 – The Center for the Study of the Drone at New York's Bard College estimates that just over 900 law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency services across the country are now using drones, no longer seen as a novelty by officials.[129]
  • May 29
    • ABC TV cancels comedian Roseanne Barr's show after she tweets a racist comment, likening Valerie Jarrett to an ape.[130]
    • Missouri Governor Eric Greitens announces his resignation (effective June 1) amid a sex scandal.[131]
    • Starbucks temporarily closes its stores for one day to undergo racial sensitivity training following an incident in April in which two black men were arrested in its Philadelphia store.
  • May 30
  • May 31 – The Trump administration announces that it will extend its tariffs on imported steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) to include the EU, Mexico and Canada, starting at midnight.[134]

June

July

  • July 5 – Scott Pruitt resigns as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, effective July 6. He is replaced by Andrew Wheeler.[157]
  • July 6
  • July 9 – President Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh, a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to become an Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • July 11 – President Trump attends the NATO Summit in Brussels.
  • July 12 – President Trump arrives in the UK. The four-day visit includes talks with Theresa May, tea with the Queen and a trip to Scotland. There are mass protests in London, featuring a 'Trump baby' blimp flown over Westminster.[160]
  • July 13 – Special counsel Mueller charges 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking during the 2016 election.[161]
  • July 16 – President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin for private talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki. In a press conference afterwards, Trump praises Russia and Putin, drawing sharp criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike.[162] Senator John McCain describes it as "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."[163]
  • July 18 – In an interview with CBS News, President Trump says he holds Putin personally responsible for interference in the 2016 US election; a sharp contrast to his earlier comments in Helsinki.[164]
  • July 19
  • July 20 – The New York Times reports that President Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded his client discussing payments to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had an affair with Trump.[168]
  • July 26
    • Tesfaye Cooper is convicted of hate crime and aggravated kidnapping charges in Illinois and sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the 2017 Chicago torture incident. He is the fourth and final member of an African-American group to be convicted in relation to the kidnapping of a mentally disabled white man in Chicago who livestreamed their torture of him on Facebook, shouting "Fuck Trump" and "Fuck white people" while doing so.[169]
    • The share price of Facebook drops by almost 20 percent after the company warns investors that user growth has slowed following the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal. More than $109bn is wiped from its market value, the biggest stock market loss in corporate history, which includes a $14.5bn personal loss for founder Mark Zuckerberg.[170]
    • Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, claims he is representing three other women who were allegedly paid by Donald Trump, AMI and Michael Cohen to keep quiet.[171]
  • July 28 – John Delaney announces his candidacy for U.S. president in 2020.[172]
  • July 29 – Wildfires in northern California continue to rage across vast swathes of land, destroying hundreds of structures and causing several deaths.[173]

August

September

  • September 5
  • September 8 – The Cortlandt Street subway station reopens in Lower Manhattan, 17 years after it was destroyed by the 9/11 attacks.[211]
  • September 13 – Overpressured natural gas lines in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts cause a massive outbreak of explosions and fires in nearly 40 homes, killing one and injuring dozens.[212]
  • September 14 – Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina, with evacuation warnings in place for more than a million people.[213]
  • September 15 – NASA launches ICESat-2, the agency's most technologically advanced ice-monitoring spacecraft to date.[214]
  • September 16 – Christine Blasey Ford alleges that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s.[215]
  • September 22 – Christine Blasey Ford agrees to testify against Brett Kavanaugh the following week.[216]
  • September 23 – A second woman comes forward with sexual misconduct claims against Brett Kavanaugh.[217]
  • September 25 – TV star Bill Cosby, 81, is given a three to 10-year jail term for drugging and molesting a woman in 2004. Judge Steven O'Neill designates Cosby a "sexually violent predator", meaning he must undergo counselling for life and be listed on the sex offender registry.[218]
  • September 26 – A third woman accuses Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.[219]
  • September 27

October

  • October 2 – The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, triggering a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
  • October 5 – A Star Is Born is theatrically released by Warner Bros. A remake of the 1934, 1957 and 1976 versions, it was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $436 million worldwide and receiving praise for the performances Bradley Cooper (who also directed), Lady Gaga and Sam Elliott as well as the screenplay, cinematography and music.
  • October 6
    • The Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination by a vote of 50–48, amid controversy over sexual assault claims against him.
    • Twenty people are killed in a crash involving a limousine transporting birthday party guests in Schoharie County, New York.[222] It is the deadliest transport crash in the U.S. since Colgan Air Flight 3407, also in New York state, which claimed 50 lives in 2009.[223]
  • October 9 – America's ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, a senior Trump cabinet member, resigns unexpectedly.[224]
  • October 10 – Hurricane Michael approaches the Florida Panhandle, attaining peak wind speeds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and becoming the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in that region.
  • October 17 – After 50 years of performing the characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, longtime Sesame Street puppeteer Caroll Spinney announces his retirement in 2015. Spinney's role was limited to voice only due to health problems.
  • October 20 – President Trump announces that the US will "terminate" the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty over alleged Russian violations.[225]
  • October 24 – After a bomb was found at the home of George Soros in the suburbs of New York, suspected explosive devices are also sent to former US President Barack Obama and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The latter devices are intercepted by technicians who screen mail sent to former US officials. The Time Warner building in New York (home to news broadcaster CNN) is also evacuated, after a package containing an explosive and suspicious powder is found addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan. Additional suspicious packages, addressed to Democratic Representative Maxine Waters and former Attorney General Eric Holder, are investigated by law enforcement.[226]
  • October 25 – A suspicious package is found in Tribeca, New York City, addressed to actor Robert De Niro. Authorities also find two packages in Delaware, addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden.[227]
  • October 26
    • Two more suspicious packages are found, addressed to New Jersey senator Cory Booker and the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper.[228]
    • The perpetrator, Cesar Sayoc Jr., is captured in Plantation, Florida, in connection with the mail bombing attempts. He is questioned by FBI agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.[229]
  • October 27 – A mass shooting occurs at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, leaving 11 congregants dead. A 46-year-old male suspect is arrested and charged on making anti-semitic chants.[230][231]
  • October 28 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, four games to one, to win their ninth World Series Championship.
  • October 29 – 800 U.S. soldiers are deployed to the Mexico–United States border as a part of Operation Faithful Patriot, reinforcing the border against incoming Central American migrant caravans.[232]
  • October 30
    • NASA announces that its Kepler space telescope mission has ended, with the telescope having run out of fuel two weeks before, after nine-and-a-half years in space. The telescope discovered 2,681 exoplanets, with a further 2,900 candidates at the time of its retirement. The spacecraft also discovered that there are more planets than stars in our galaxy.[233][234][235]
    • The Supreme Court of Hawaii approves the resumption of construction on Mauna Kea of one of the world's biggest telescopes, the Thirty Meter Telescope, costing $1.4 billion. Some native Hawaiians, regarding the mountain as sacred, opposed the construction since 2015.[236]

November

December

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Deaths

January

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Frank Buxton
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Rick Hall
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Jerry Van Dyke
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John W. Young
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Denise LaSalle
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Doreen Tracey
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Jean Porter
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Naomi Stevens
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Dan Gurney
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Bradford Dillman
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Jo Jo White
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Stansfield Turner
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Olivia Cole
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Dorothy Malone
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John Coleman
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Ursula K. Le Guin
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Lari White
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Mort Walker
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Eddie Shaw
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Mark Salling
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Rasual Butler
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Leah LaBelle

February

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Dennis Edwards
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Jon Huntsman Sr.
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Edwin Jackson
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John Mahoney
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John Perry Barlow
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Mickey Jones
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Pat Torpey
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Reg E. Cathey
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John Gavin
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Vic Damone
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Jan Maxwell
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Tom Rapp
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Marty Allen
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Daryle Singletary
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Billy Graham
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Nanette Fabray

March

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Billy Herrington
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David Ogden Stiers
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Nokie Edwards
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Morgana King
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Debbie Lee Carrington
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Zell Miller
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Linda Carol Brown

April

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Steven Bochco
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Susan Anspach
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Tim O'Connor
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Cecil Taylor
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Chuck McCann
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Miloš Forman
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R. Lee Ermey
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Harry Anderson
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Barbara Bush
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Bruno Sammartino
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Verne Troyer
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Charles Neville
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Robert Mandan

May

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Margot Kidder
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Tom Wolfe
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Joseph Campanella
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Patricia Morison
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Allyn Ann McLerie
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Clint Walker
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Philip Roth
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Jerry Maren
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Alan Bean
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Donald H. Peterson

June

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Eddy Clearwater
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Paul D. Boyer
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Anthony Bourdain
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D. J. Fontana
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Big Van Vader
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XXXTentacion
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Charles Krauthammer
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Deanna Lund
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Vinnie Paul
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Stanley Anderson
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Richard Harrison
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Joe Jackson
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Harlan Ellison
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Steve Ditko

July

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Henry Butler
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Richard Swift
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Ed Schultz
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Tab Hunter
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Billy Knight
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Frank Ramsey
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Roger Perry
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Robert Wolders
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Adrian Cronauer
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Meg Randall
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Jonathan Gold
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Elbert Howard
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Johnny Lewis
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Brian Christopher
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Nikolai Volkoff

August

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Mary Carlisle
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Lorrie Collins
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Charlotte Rae
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Stan Mikita
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Jim Neidhart
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Aretha Franklin
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Eddie Willis
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Robin Leach
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John McCain
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Kyle Pavone
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Neil Simon
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Susan Brown

September

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Randy Weston
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Bill Daily
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Christopher Lawford
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Burt Reynolds
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Mac Miller
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Arthur Mitchell
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Gary Kurtz
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Marty Balin
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Otis Rush

October

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Scott Wilson
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Peggy McCay
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Celeste Yarnall
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Jim Taylor
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Paul Allen
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James Karen
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Tony Joe White
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Sonny Fortune
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Freddie Hart
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Ntozake Shange
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Beverly McClellan
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Willie McCovey

November

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Roy Hargrove
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Sondra Locke
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Wayne Maunder
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Stan Lee
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David Pearson
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Roy Clark
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William Goldman
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Willie Naulls
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Ricky Jay
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Stephen Hillenburg
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George H. W. Bush

December

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Ken Berry
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Nancy Wilson
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Joe Osborn
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Penny Marshall
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Steve Daskewisz
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Richard Arvin Overton
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