November 2004

Updated July 10, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

World

• Karzai Declared Official Winner (Nov. 3): Afghanistan's electoral board announces Hamid Karzai won October's presidential election, taking 55.4% of the vote.
• Arafat Falls Gravely Ill (Nov. 4): Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, who's in France for treatment for stomach and blood ailments, slips into a coma. (Nov. 11): Arafat dies in Paris. PLO quickly elects former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas as its leader.
• U.S. Troops Launch Attack on Falluja (Nov. 8): U.S. forces initiate an all-out assault on the Iraqi city, which has been under the control of insurgents since May. (Nov. 11): U.S. troops battle with militants in Mosul. (Nov. 14): Troops take over last insurgent-held part of the city.
• Iran Vows to Halt Uranium Production (Nov. 14): In a letter delivered to French, German, and British officials, Iran pledges to suspend enrichment of uranium. (Nov. 22): Iran announces that it has suspended its uranium enrichment program.
• Committee Reports Abuses in Oil-for-Food Program (Nov. 15): U.S. Senate panel investigating Iraq's UN-sponsored oil-for-food program reports that Saddam Hussein's government made more than $21 billion in illegal profits during the 13 years of sanctions.
• Sudan Pledges to End Civil War (Nov. 19): Sudanese government and rebel leaders from the south of the country sign a pledge committing themselves to ending the country's 21-year-long civil war by Dec. 31.
• Ukraine Presidential Election in Turmoil (Nov. 21): In runoff election, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich takes 49.57% of the vote to opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko's 46.57%. International observers, however, say election was deeply flawed. (Nov. 22): Thousands of Yushchenko's supporters rally to protest the results. (Nov. 27): Parliament votes to nullify election results. Country thrust into turmoil.
• Red Cross Alleges Abuse at Guantánamo (Nov. 30): New York Times reports that International Committee of the Red Cross found military personal used physical and psychological abuse at the prison in Cuba that was “tantamount to torture.” Red Cross workers spent most of June 2003 at the prison. Report also indicates that medical personnel was involved.

Nation

• Bush Reelected (Nov. 2): High turnout, around 60%, in one of the most contentious presidential elections in recent history. The key issues in election were terrorism and security, the continuing war in Iraq, jobs, and health care. Election hinges on Ohio. (Nov. 3): Kerry concedes to Bush, giving Bush enough electoral votes to win the election. President Bush also wins the popular vote by 3.5 million, or 51% of all votes cast. Republicans also widen their margin in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
• Bush Outlines Plan for Second Term (Nov. 4): Vows to continue war on terrorism and in Iraq and will pursue plans to revamp Social Security and the tax code. Also says changes to his cabinet are expected.
• Edwards Has Breast Cancer (Nov. 4): Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Sen. John Edwards, announces she will have treatment for invasive ductal breast cancer.
• Bush Cabinet Officials Resign (Nov. 9): Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans submit resignations to President Bush. More are expected. (Nov. 10): President Bush nominates White House counsel Alberto Gonzales as Ashcroft's successor. (Nov. 15): White House announces that Secretary of State Colin Powell will step down when his replacement is named. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, and Secretary of Education Rod Paige have also submitted their resignations. (Nov. 16): Bush nominates National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. Rice's deputy, Stephen Hadley, will succeed Rice. (Nov. 17): Bush names domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings as secretary of education. (Nov. 29): Bush nominates Carlos Gutierrez, chief executive of Kellogg Co., as secretary of commerce. (Nov. 30): Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announces his resignation.
• House Changes Rules on Indictments (Nov. 17): In a closed-door meeting, House Republican Conference votes to allow leaders and committee members to hold on to positions if indicted. A committee would review the indictment and decide if the person should relinquish position.
• Clinton Library Opens (Nov. 18): The $165 million Clinton Presidential Library opens in Little Rock, Arkansas. The library contains 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 79,000 artifacts, and 21 million e-mails, a life-sized replica of the oval office, and a number of Mr. Clinton's saxophones.
• NAACP Leader to Resign (Nov. 30): Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, says he will step down on January 1, 2005.

Business/Society/Science

• Stem Cell Research Approved in California (Nov. 2): Sixty-nine percent of Californians vote in favor of a referendum to fund embryonic stem cell research. California is the first state in the nation to approve stem cell research. Proposition 71 will allow almost $3 billion to be put aside for stem cell research over the next 10 years.
• Economy Creates New Jobs (Nov. 5): Labor Department reports that the economy added 337,000 jobs in October. Unemployment rate increases to 5.5%, from 5.4% in September. Increase attributed to more people seeking employment.