Reality star Clara Lukasiak

Events in 2009 and 17-8

Events in US in the birth year of Clara Lukasiak

• Jan. 15: After allegedly striking a flock of geese, US Airways Flight 1549, en route from La Guardia Airport, New York City, to Charlotte, N.C., is forced to land in the Hudson River. All 150 passengers and 5 crew members survived. The pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, was hailed as the "Hero of the Hudson" for his quick thinking and deft landing of the plane.
• Jan. 20: Hundreds of thousands of people watched in front of the Capitol as President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are sworn into office. Obama makes history as the first African-American president.
• Jan. 22: President Obama signs executive orders closing all secret prisons and detention camps run by the CIA, including the infamous Guant�namo Bay prison in Cuba, and banning coercive interrogation methods.
• Jan. 31: Michael Steele is selected by the Republican National Committee to be its new chairman. He is the first African-American to hold the position.
• Feb. 27: President Obama announces his intention to withdraw most American troops from Iraq by August 31, 2010. As many as 50,000 troops will remain there for smaller missions and to train Iraqi soldiers.
• March 2: Insurance giant American International Group reports a $61.7 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008. A.I.G. lost $99.3 billion in 2008. The federal government, which has already provided the company with a $60 billion loan, will be giving A.I.G. an additional $30 billion, making it the largest company loan the government has provided during the bailout. March 14: A.I.G. announces they will pay top executives more than $165 million in bonuses, despite having received $170 billion in bailout funds from the U.S. government. The company claims the bonuses were promised in contracts and are no longer negotiable. Nearly 80% of A.I.G. is now owned by the federal government. March 16: President Obama has asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to pursue all "legal avenues" in order to block the bonuses to A.I.G. executives.
• March 6: Unemployment in the U.S., which has been steadily growing for several months, reaches 8.1% in February 2009. This is the highest rate since 1983.
• March 12: Bernard Madoff, who has admitted to operating a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded his many clients out of billions of dollars over the past 20 years, pleads guilty to 11 counts of fraud, money laundering, perjury and theft. The judge revoked bail and remanded the financial swindler due to his relatively high flight risk.
• April 2: Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois charged with attempting to sell President Obama's vacated senate seat to the highest bidder, is indicted on 19 charges, 16 of them felonies.
• April 3: The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously rejects a state law banning same-sex marriage. April 27: Same-sex couples are granted marriage licenses for the first time in Iowa. Iowa is the third state to allow same-sex marriages, after Massachusetts and Connecticut.
• April 7: Vermont becomes the fourth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, just days after Iowa becomes the third. The legislature votes to override Governor Jim Douglas's veto of a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, nine years after the state became the first in the nation to allow civil unions. Vermont is the first state legislature to legalize the practice; the other three U.S. states' approval of same-sex marriage came from the courts.
• April 13: President Obama announces that Cuban-Americans will no longer be restricted from visiting and sending money home to family. American companies will also be able to provide telephone services to Cuba. The original embargo will remain in effect until Congress votes otherwise.
• April 26: After confirming 20 cases of swine flu in the United States, including eight in New York City, the U.S. declares the outbreak a public health emergency.
• April 30: Justice David H. Souter announces he is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court when the current term ends in June. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. This will be the first Supreme Court pick for President Obama.
• May 6: Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. The law will not go into effect until summer 2009.
• May 11: Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is fired and replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says McKiernan brought too conventional an approach to the war and the Pentagon wanted a more innovative leader.
• May 26: President Obama announces his nomination of New York federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.
• May 26: The California Supreme Court upholds the ban on same-sex marriage, solidifying the vote made by California residents last November. The 18,000 same-sex couples who were married before the ban went to effect are still legally married, however.
• June 4: In a speech during a visit to Cairo, Egypt, President Obama calls for "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," asking for new alliances based on mutual respect and common interests.
• June 18: The Supreme Court rules in a 5–4 decision that prisoners have no right to a DNA test to prove their innocence long after they are convicted of a crime. The Court claims that most states already have laws in effect concerning DNA testing, so a federal law is unnecessary.
• June 25: Michael Jackson, lifelong musician, pop singer, and superstar, dies at age 50. He is found unconscious in his home, then rushed to a Los Angeles hospital where he is pronounced dead.
• June 30: Nearly eight months after the election and a long battle over a recount, the Minnesota Supreme Court rules that Al Franken (Dem.) wins the U.S. senate seat for Minnesota. The final recount gives Franken a 312-vote lead. His rival, Norm Coleman (Rep.) concedes. Franken's win gives the Democrats in the Senate the filibuster-proof 60-seat majority they have been hoping for.
• July 3: Sarah Palin, the first-term Republican governor of Alaska and former vice-presidential candidate, announces her resignation. Palin cites a desire to spend more time with her family and a lack of interest in running for reelection in 2010. Lt. Gov, Sean Parnell will take over for her.
• Aug. 6: The Senate approves, 68 to 31, the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She's the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice and the third woman to serve on the Court.
• Aug. 25: Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy, a fixture in the Senate for 46 years, dies of brain cancer at the age of 77. Sep. 24: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick names Paul Kirk, former Democratic National Committee chairman and friend of the late Ted Kennedy, as Kennedy's temporary replacement in the Senate.
• Oct. 1: President Obama signs an executive order banning federal workers from texting while driving.
• Oct. 19: The federal government announces it will no longer prosecute those who use or sell marijuana for medical reasons, if they are complying with state law.
• Nov. 3: Maine voters overturn a law allowing same-sex marriage, which had been instated by the state governor in May 2009. Maine is the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a public referendum.
• Nov. 5: A shooting at the Fort Hood army post in Texas kills 13 and injures 29. Ten of those killed are military personnel, while one is a civilian. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an army psychiatrist, is the alleged shooter. He was shot four times by an officer on the scene, but he survived the attack. Nov. 12: Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder; he will be tried in military court.
• Nov. 10: John Allen Muhammad, known as the D.C. sniper who killed 10 people in shooting spree in Maryland and Virginia in 2002, is executed in a Virginia prison.
• Dec. 1: President Obama announces that the U.S. military will be sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, in an attempt to prevent further Taliban insurgencies. The troop surge will begin in Jan. 2010, and will bring the total number of American troops in Afghanistan to 100,000.
• Dec. 25: A Nigerian man on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit allegedly attempted to ignite an explosive device hidden in his underwear. The explosive device that failed to detonate was a mixture of powder and liquid that did not alert security personnel in the airport. The alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told officials later that he was directed by the terrorist group Al Qaeda. (Dec. 26): Officials charge Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab with trying to blow up the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. The suspect was already on the government's watch list when he attempted the bombing; his father, a respected Nigerian banker, had told the U.S. government that he was worried about his son's increased extremism. (Dec. 28): Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group based in Yemen, takes responsibility for orchestrating the attack.
• Jan. 29: President Obama signs his first bill into law: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, an equal-pay act. The law expands workers' rights to sue in pay disputes.
• Jan. 9: Unemployment is at a 16-year high, 7.2%, according to the Labor Department. 524,000 jobs were lost in December 2008, for a total of 2.6 million in 2008.
• The U.S. Labor Department reports that January 2009 saw 598,000 jobs lost, the highest number since December 1974.
• Feb. 17: President Obama signs the $787 billion stimulus package into law. The president's hope is that the package will create 3.5 million jobs for Americans in the next two years.
• April 30: Chrysler files for bankruptcy protection while entering into a partnership agreement with Fiat. It is the first time since 1933 that an American automaker has been forced to restructure under bankruptcy protection.
• June 1: General Motors files for bankruptcy and announces it will close 14 plants in the United States.
• Sept. 9: The Federal Reserve releases a survey that concludes that the economy is showing signs of slow recovery. Credit conditions and retail sales remain down, but other aspects of the economy, such as employer hiring in some markets, are improving.
• Oct. 21: The Obama administration orders pay cuts for the top-paid employees at those firms that received the most stimulus money. The top 25 earners at seven of the companies that received the most taxpayer money will have compensation cut up to 50%.

Birthday Clara Lukasiak (17-8) in history

• Day 17-8 year 1807: Robert Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, began its trip up the Hudson River to Albany.
• Day 17-8 year 1863: Fort Sumter, S.C. was bombarded by Union ships during the Civil War.
• Day 17-8 year 1896: Prospectors found gold in Alaska, a discovery that set off the Klondike gold rush.
• Day 17-8 year 1945: Indonesian nationalists proclaimed independence from the Netherlands.
• Day 17-8 year 1962: 18-year-old Peter Fechter was shot and killed by guards at the Berlin Wall, spurring riots.
• Day 17-8 year 1969: Hurricane Camille devastated the Gulf Coast, killing 248 people.
• Day 17-8 year 1978: The first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight landed outside of Paris.
• Day 17-8 year 1987: Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's second in command, committed suicide.
• Day 17-8 year 2008: U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal, breaking the record set by Mark Spitz in the 1972 Games. Phelps also set the record for the most golds in a single Olympics.