The following lists events that happened during 2000 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas) Vice President: Al Gore (D-Tennessee) Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (Wisconsin) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) Senate Majority Leader: Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) Congress: 106th
Events
January
January 4 – Alan Greenspan is nominated for a fourth term as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman. January 5–8 – The 2000 al-Qaeda Summit of several high-level al-Qaeda members (including two 9/11 American Airlines hijackers) is held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. January 10 – America Online announces an agreement to purchase Time Warner for $162 billion (the largest-ever corporate merger). January 12 – Elián González affair: Attorney General Janet Reno rules that a child rescued by the Coast Guard must be returned to his father in Cuba. January 14 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 11,722.98 (at the peak of the Dot-com bubble). January 19 – A dorm fire at Seton Hall University kills three people and injures several others. Three years later, Sean Ryan and Joseph LePore are convicted of arson and sentenced to five years in prison. January 26 – The rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine plays in front of Wall Street, prompting an early closing of trading due to the crowds. January 30 – Super Bowl XXXIV: The St. Louis Rams win the NFL Championship for the first time since 1951, defeating the Tennessee Titans 23–16. January 31 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashes in the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people on board.
February
February 11 – A blast from an improvised explosive device in front of a Barclay's Bank, across from the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, wounds dozens but kills none. February 13 – The final original Peanuts comic strip is published, following the death of its creator, Charles Schulz. February 17 – Microsoft releases Windows 2000.
March
March 7 – Texas Governor George W. Bush and U.S. Vice President Al Gore emerge victorious in the Republican and Democratic caucuses and primaries of the United States presidential election. March 9 – The FBI arrests art forgery suspect Ely Sakhai in New York City. March 10 – The NASDAQ Composite Index reaches an all-time high of 5,048. March 20 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown), a former Black Panther, is captured after a gun battle in Atlanta, Georgia that leaves a sheriff's deputy dead. March 21 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the government lacks authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug, throwing out the Clinton administration's main anti-smoking initiative. March 26 – The 72nd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Sam Mendes' American Beauty wins five awards out of eight nominations, including Best Picture and Director. The telecast garners over 46.5 million viewers. March 27 – The Phillips explosion of 2000 kills one and injures 71 in Pasadena, Texas.
April
April – The unemployment rate drops to a low of 3.8%, the lowest since December 1969. April – The labor force participation rate hits a historical peak of 67.4%. April – The employment-population ratio reaches an all-time high of 64.8%. April 1 The 2000 United States Census determines the resident population of the United States to be 281,421,906. Boomerang, a secondary digital Cartoon Network channel, debuts. April 3 – United States v. Microsoft: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors. April 22 – In a predawn raid, federal agents seize 6-year old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida and fly him to his Cuban father in Washington, DC, ending one of the most publicized custody battles in U.S. history. April 25 – The State of Vermont passes HB847, legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples. April 28 – Richard Baumhammers begins a two-hour racially motivated shooting spree in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, leaving five dead and one paralyzed.
May
May 3 – In San Antonio, Texas, computer pioneer Datapoint files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. May 16 – The Federal Reserve raises its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 6.5 percent, the first increase of more than a quarter point since February 1995. May 19 – Walt Disney Pictures' 39th feature film, Dinosaur, is released. May 24 – Five people are shot and killed during a robbery at a Wendy's in Queens, New York. May 28 – The comic strip Bringing Up Father ends its 87-year run in newspapers. May – Northern Lights Local Exchange Point is founded.