Dance artist Asia Ray

Events in 2005 and 10-8

Events in US in the birth year of Asia Ray

• George W. Bush is officially sworn in for his second term as president (Jan. 20).
• In his State of the Union address, President Bush announces his plan to reform Social Security (Feb. 2). Despite months of campaigning, his plan receives only a lukewarm reception.
• The Terry Schiavo case becomes the focus of an emotionally charged battle in Congress (March 20).
• Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement (July 1).
• President Bush signs the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will remove trade barriers between the U.S. and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (Aug. 2).
• Hurricane Katrina wreaks catastrophic damage on the Gulf coast; more than 1,000 die and millions are left homeless. Americans are shaken not simply by the magnitude of the disaster but by how ill-prepared all levels of government are in its aftermath. (Aug. 25-30). See also Hurricane Katrina Timeline.
• Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, dies (Sept. 3).
• John Roberts becomes 17th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (Sept 22).
• Another major hurricane, Rita, ravages the Gulf coast (Sept. 23).
• House majority leader Tom Delay is accused of conspiring to violate Texas's election laws. He steps aside from his House leadership position (Sept. 28).
• Number of deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq reaches 2,000 (Oct. 25).
• President Bush selects Harriet Miers, White House counsel, to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Oct 3). Miers withdraws her nomination after strong criticism from the president's conservative base (Oct. 27).
• A federal grand jury indicts I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, with obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with a White House leak investigation. (Oct. 28).
• President Bush nominates conservative judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court (Oct. 31).
• California Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigns after pleading guilty to taking at least $2.4 million in bribes (Nov. 28).
• The Sept. 11 Public Discourse Project reports that the country is still "alarmingly vulnerable to terrorist strikes." (Dec. 5).
• The press reveals that in 2002, Bush signed a presidential order to allow the National Security Agency to spy on Americans suspected of being connected to terrorist activity without warrants. (Dec. 15).
• See also People in the News, 2005 and 2005 News Quizzes.

Birthday Asia Ray (10-8) in history

• Day 10-8 year 1821: Missouri became the 24th state in the United States.
• Day 10-8 year 1846: The Smithsonian Institution was established in Washington, D.C., from funds left by British scientist James Smithson.
• Day 10-8 year 1921: Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on Campobello island.
• Day 10-8 year 1944: U.S. forces seized Guam from Japan.
• Day 10-8 year 1948: Candid Camera with Allen Funt debuted on television.
• Day 10-8 year 1988: President Reagan signed a bill that awarded $20,000 to each survivor of the Japanese-American internment.
• Day 10-8 year 1993: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female U.S. Supreme Court justice.