Cover Story | From the death of a former president to the reelection of another commander in chief, here's a look at the people and events that shaped our world in 2004
By the Numbers |
1 Crusade likely before retirement for Billy Graham, scheduled at
Madison Square Garden June 2005. 20 Years of age for most U.S.
combat deaths in Iraq. 50…
International |
Much-vaunted nuclear talks with the Axis of Evil's third member
fizzled with no sign of when the next session of six-party talks
would resume.In the…
International |
Iran's Islamic theocracy had a successful year shoring up its power
structure at home and giving the West the runaround over its
nuclear program. In February…
International |
With cries of "Pora!" or "It's time!," Ukrainians flocked by the
hundreds of thousands in Kiev for two weeks to protest a fraudulent
presidential election.
International |
The State Department named Saudi Arabia one of the world's worst
religious persecutors in September, adding it to a list that has
long included the likes of…
International |
Indians tossed out their country's Hindu nationalist government in
May in an election upset, handing a seemingly weak National
Congress Party a decisive…
International |
Bertrand Aristide fled Haiti Feb. 29 amid a three-week rebellion.
His U.S.-backed government, increasingly linked to widespread
corruption, could not stem…
International |
Long-suffering Sudan earned its way into the U.S. election campaign
lexicon, onto magazine covers, and into headlines around the world
after Secretary of…
International |
Three years ago it was the most dictatorial and backward regime in
the world. Now it boasts the only democratically elected head of
state in its region.
National |
Forget about going around the world in 80 days. What about three
and a half hours? NASA tested an engine which could do just that.
On Nov. 16, the…
National |
If the 1960s were about free love, the first four years of the 21st
century have been about free music. The Recording Industry
Association of America prefers…
Terror |
For Saudis, the year ended much as it began: with gunfire, smoke,
and screams. A Dec. 6 al-Qaeda raid on the American consulate in
Jeddah left five employees…
Terror |
PLO chief Yasser Arafat may have died of natural causes, but
Israeli officials openly bragged of helping another leading
terrorist on to his reward. On March…
Terror |
The March 11 bombings along Madrid's busy commuter rail line
claimed nearly 200 lives, marking the deadliest terrorist attack in
the history of Western…
Terror |
The first major strike came in February, when a bomb ripped through
a Moscow subway train car, killing 39 and injuring at least 120.
The rest came later in a…
Iraq |
The last time Iraqis went to the polls, 99 percent of all votes
went into Saddam Hussein's column. Knowing the result would be
rigged, Iraqis who could get…
Iraq |
U.S. Marines rolled into the heart of the Sunni stronghold in May,
seeming to quiet the restive city of Fallujah after terrorists
attacked and hanged from a…
Iraq |
There are things you expect from a war, things you steel yourself
to accept: bombings and bloodshed, death, and dismemberment.
Despite growing comparisons…
Iraq |
The beheadings started in May, ostensibly in retaliation for the
mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Nick Berg, a
26-year-old civilian from…
Iraq |
With all the images of death and destruction, it's easy to forget
there was good news in Iraq this year: Schools opened, embassies
got to work, free presses…
Elections |
Recounts. Court battles. Once again, an election has Washington
tied in knots-only this time it's not the nation's capital. Long
after voters decided the…
Elections |
Campaign 2004 may have forever changed the conventional wisdom on
conventions. They're not supposed to matter anymore, now that
front-loaded primary schedules…
Elections |
A year ago this time, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was widely
expected to be the Democratic champion who would drive George W.
Bush from the White House.
Elections |
What a difference a year makes. As 2004 dawned, a sputtering
economy and a stubborn war made George W. Bush look unusually
vulnerable for an incumbent…
National |
Floridians can still call them by name, like shirt-tail relatives
who insist on visiting too often and staying too long: Charley,
Frances, Ivan, Jeanne. Week…
National |
Soaring gas prices throughout the summer and fall were blamed for
slowing the nation's economic recovery-and President Bush's
reelection bid. By Election Day,
National |
Advocates for the unproven potential of embryonic stem-cell
research found allies this year in famous families. After former
President Ronald Reagan died of…
National |
With the worldwide 77-million-member largely conservative Anglican
Communion tottering at the edge of schism over homosexuality
issues, Archbishop of…
National |
After the Massachusetts Supreme Court gave a thumbs-up to gay
marriage last year, 2004 seemed destined to go down as the year
homosexual nuptials went…
National |
The Supreme Court in June dealt a blow to President Bush's war on
terror, ruling that nearly 600 "enemy combatants" held for years at
a naval base in Cuba…
National |
Call it a case of delayed justice. On June 14 the Supreme Court
unanimously agreed that the phrase "under God" should remain a part
of the Pledge of…
National |
After years of waiting, President Bush decided enough was enough.
With Senate Democrats refusing to consider a half dozen of his
judicial nominees, Mr. Bush…
National |
For the first time in nearly 20 years, William Rehnquist is not
presiding over a new session of the Supreme Court. The 80-year-old
chief justice announced in…
National |
New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey (D) in August dropped a political
bombshell, announcing that he was a homosexual, had engaged in
adultery with a man, and…
National |
Largely emotionless throughout his six-month trial, Scott Peterson
remained so when a jury decided he should die. Mr. Peterson was
convicted Nov. 12 of…
National |
Martha Stewart began 2004 a near-billionaire, overseeing a vast
media empire built on her knack for cooking and home decor. She
ended it with friends…
National |
Millions of extra viewers tuned into NBC Nightly News on Dec. 1 for
the farewell broadcast of longtime anchor Tom Brokaw. But the
graceful exit of the…
National |
Martian rovers haven't found evidence of it. But the NASA
interplanetary dune buggies have found evidence that water once
existed on the Red Planet. If Spirit…
National |
On July 22, nearly three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in
New York and Washington, a nonpartisan commission released its
567-page report on what went…
Elections |
Even as the votes were being cast, John Kerry was convinced he had
won. Turnout looked huge-a good sign for Democrats-and exit polls
were encouraging. Early…
Culture |
Rap music now completely dominates American pop music. Along with a
revived R&B (what used to be called "soul music"), the
so-called "urban music" from…
Culture |
Ken Jennings ruled the quiz show "Jeopardy!" from June 2 to Nov.
30-a streak of 74 games that earned the Mormon software engineer
from Salt Lake City over…
Culture |
The Guinness Book of World Records this year identified the
television personality on camera more than anyone else in history:
Regis Philbin. The 73-year-old…
Culture |
Janet Jackson bared her breast at the Super Bowl halftime show, a
quick flash that outraged most viewers of the biggest family TV
event of the year. One of…
Culture |
When "a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing" beat
the pressed suits of CBS, American news media jumped into the 21st
century and bloggers…
Culture |
If Mel Gibson brought religion to the multiplex, Michael Moore
opened the door to politics. Fahrenheit 9/11, his ripping
quasi-documentary on the Bush…
Culture |
Whatever its faults, that Mr. Gibson put on screen such a singular,
uncompromising vision as The Passion of the Christ is an
achievement. But the real lasting…
Culture |
Pop singer Britney Spears married twice in a year . . . Australia's
crocodile hunter Steve Irwin fed a chicken to a voracious croc
while holding his month-old…
Sports |
1. Jason Giambi, Yankees first baseman Once, Mr. Giambi was the
American League MVP with a .342 average. But in 2004, the Yankees
first baseman could only…
Sports |
1. Vijay Singh, golfer The Fiji native's quiet winning ways sure
added up. Not only did Mr. Singh become the first golfer to surpass
$10 million of winnings…
Sports |
With the United States track team reeling from steroid scandals,
sprinters Allyson Felix, Justin Gatlin, and Jeremy Wariner gave a
new face to a sport in…
Sports |
The differences were nearly poetic. One was a team of stars,
superstars, and megastars in a city of glitz and glamor. The other,
a functional unit with a…
Sports |
How far has the NHL fallen this year? All the way to the minor
leagues. When the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey
League needed a left winger, the…
Sports |
This was supposed to be the era of parity in the NFL. But the New
England Patriots torpedoed the theory that football dynasties were
dead by taking home a…
Sports |
Even the Boston Red Sox's World Series drought couldn't outlast
Fred Hale. Born in 1890, four years before Babe Ruth was born, Hale
was 16 when the Red Sox…
