Fitness expert Elena Arenas

Events in 2001 and 31-8

Events in US in the birth year of Elena Arenas

• In final days of presidency, Bill Clinton issues controversial pardons, including one for Marc Rich, billionaire fugitive financier (Jan. 20).
• George W. Bush is sworn in as 43rd president (Jan. 20).
• U.S. submarine Greeneville sinks Japanese fishing boat, killing 9 (Feb. 9).
• FBI agent Robert Hanssen is charged with spying for Russia for 15 years (Feb. 20).
• Race riots in Cincinnati continue for several days following a shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer (April 7 et seq.).
• Four are declared guilty in 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (May 29). Background: U.S. Embassy Bombings.
• Balance of the Senate shifts after Jim Jeffords of Vermont changes his party affiliation from Republican to Independent. The move strips Republicans of control of the Senate and gives Democrats the narrowest of majorities (50-49-1) (June 5).
• Bush signs new tax-cut law, the largest in 20 years (June 7). Background: Economic Downturn and a Tax Cut.
• Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh executed (June 11).
• Budget surplus dwindles. The Congressional Budget Office attributes this rapid change in the nation's fortunes to the slowing economy and the Bush tax cut (Aug. 22). Background: Economic Downturn and a Tax Cut.
• Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes 80 mi outside of Pittsburgh (Sept. 11). Toll of dead and injured in thousands. Within days, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network are identified as the parties behind the attacks.
• Anthrax scare rivets nation, as anthrax-laced letters are sent to various media and government officials. Several postal workers die after handling the letters (throughout October).

Birthday Elena Arenas (31-8) in history

• Day 31-8 year 1887: Thomas Edison received a patent for his "Kinetoscope," and moving pictures were born.
• Day 31-8 year 1888: Mary Ann Nicholls, considered to be Jack the Ripper's first victim, was found murdered in London.
• Day 31-8 year 1962: Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from Great Britain.
• Day 31-8 year 1980: Poland's Solidarity labor movement had its beginnings when an agreement ending a 17-day strike was signed in Gdansk.
• Day 31-8 year 1994: Russia officially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltic states.
• Day 31-8 year 1997: Princess Diana and her companion Dodi al-Fayed were killed in a car accident in Paris.
• Day 31-8 year 2012: Armenia severed diplomatic relations with Hungary, after the pardoning of Ramil Safarov. In 2004, Safarov was convicted of killing an Armenian soldier.